Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product Platinum eX Creative
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User’ s Guide Cr eativ e Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Creative T e chnology Ltd.
Important: This PDF file has been designed to pro vide you with complete product knowledge. The follo wing ar e instructions on ho w to make use of this PDF file ef fectiv ely by launching applications and help files, as well as acces sing rele v ant web sites, where applicable, via specially prepared links.
Contents.
Contents Intr oduction High-definition digital audio entertainment ........... ................ ................ ............... ................ ......... i What is EAX ADV ANCED HD? ....................... ................... ................ ......
Connecting Speakers Systems ...... ................................ ................................................ .............. ..... ...... 2-11 Positioning Y our Speakers ................... ................ ................ ................... .
Creativ e Audio Stream Recorder 2 ............ ................ ................ ................... ................ .............. 4- 9 Creativ e W ave Studio.................. ................ ................ ................ ................ ....
Intr oduction.
Intr oduction i Intr oduction High-definition digital audio enter tainment Thank you for purchasing Sound Blaster ® Audigy ™ 2 Platinum eX, consisting of the Sound Blaste r Audigy 2 Platinum eX card, the Sound Blas ter Audi gy 2 Platinum eX Extern al I/O Module and an IR remote control.
Intr oduction ii What is EAX AD V ANCED HD? EAX ® AD V ANCED HD ™ brings a new le vel of performance, power , and flexibility to PC aud io. T aking advantage of the increased processing capabilitie.
Intr oduction iii Package Contents The follo wing items are included in your package: ❑ Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card ❑ Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module and IR rem ote control ❑ AD_LINK cable ❑ Po wer con verter Cable ❑ Joystick/MIDI bracket ❑ 3.
Intr oduction iv ❑ Headphones or amplified speakers (a v ailable separately) ❑ At least one CD-R OM/CD-R W or D V D-R OM dri ve installed SB1394/FireWir e appli- cations, games, D VD audio and vid.
Intr oduction v T echnical Suppor t Vi s i t http://www .soundblaster .com /support/faq/ for general help. Document Conv entions The following typographical con ventions are used throughout this manual : The notepad icon indicates information th at is of particular importance and should be considered before continuing .
1 About y our Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinu m eX har dwar e.
About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -1 About y our Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX hardwar e What Y ou Need Before you begin installatio n, be sure that you h av e these: In addition, you will also need an av ailable PCI slot and another adjacent av ailable slot on your computer .
About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -2 Y our Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX car d Y our audio card has these jacks and connectors to enable the attachment of a wide v ariety of devices: Click any circled number in the diagram to see a description of the item.
About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -3 Y our Audig y 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module Y ou r Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Plati num eX External I/O Module has these jacks, connectors and controls: Click any circled number in the diagram to see a description of the item.
About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -4 T able 1: The Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX card Number Description 1 Joystick/MIDI connector Connects to the Joystick/MIDI bracket for gamepads, other input and MID I de vices. 2A D _ L I N K 2 p o r t Connects to the External I/O Module’ s AD_LINK 2 port to supply power .
About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -5 T able 2: A udigy 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module Number Description 1 SB1394/FireW ire port Connects to an IEEE 1394 compatible e xte rnal device ( such as a digital video camcorder , digital still camer a, print er or scanner).
About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -6 10 Line In 3 (Aux In) jacks Connects to analog devices lik e VCRs, TVs and CD players. 11 Standard MIDI In/Out connecto rs Connects to MIDI devices via standard DIN cables. 12 SPDIF In/O ut Coaxial jacks For digital audio recording/playback devices such as D A T and MiniDisc recorders.
About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -7 Adjusting the v olume-le v el of Headphones and Micr ophone Y ou can adju st the headphones volume and microphone gain in two ways.
About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -8 Using Cr eativ e Surr ound Mixe r T o adjust headphones volume: 1. Click Start -> Programs -> Cre ati ve -> Sound Blaster A udigy 2 -> Surr ound Mixer .
About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -9 Remote Contr ol Functions Refer to Figure 1-4 and Figure 1-5 below for a description of your remote control’ s functions. F igure 1-4: Navigation Buttons on the Remote Contr ol. Rewind/Left but t on Used for rewinding a t rac k, decreasing a value or navigat ing left.
About your Soun d Blaster A u digy 2 Pl atinum eX har dware 1-10 F igure 1-5: Other Butt ons on the Remote Contr ol. Close/Cancel bu tton Cancels the current OSD menu or closes the application currently being controlled b y the remote control. Display b utton Displays t he current task status, and the time and date on the OSD .
2 Installing Har dwar e This chapter tells y ou how to install the Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platin um eX hardwar e ..
Installing Har dware 2-1 Installing Har dwar e Installation Steps Step 1: Prepar e the Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX hardwar e 1. Place the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX Extern al I/O Module near your computer . 2. Locate the AD_LINK cable that links your External I/O Module to your So und Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card.
Installing Har dware 2-2 Step 2: Pr epar e y our computer 1. T urn off your computer and all peripheral devices. 2. T ouch a metal plate on your computer to ground yo urself and to discharge any static electricity , an d then unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
Installing Har dware 2-3 Step 3: Install the audio card 1. Align the audio card with the PCI slot and press the card gently but firmly into the slot as shown in Figur e 2-3.
Installing Har dware 2-4 Step 5: Install the cables 1. Connect the AD_LIN K 1 connectors on the AD_LINK cable first. W ith the connecto r’ s side springs pressed do wn, push the connector unt il it clicks firmly into place on both the audio card and the External I/O module.
Installing Har dware 2-5 5. Connect you r CD-R OM or D VD drive’ s analog audio output cable to the Audigy 2 Platinum eX card’ s Aux_IN connector .
Installing Har dware 2-6 Step 6: Connect to A C pow e r sock et 1. Replace the computer cov er . 2. Plug the power cord into the AC w all outlet, and turn on the computer . T o conn ect your Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card and Ex ternal I/O Module to other devices, see “Connecting Related Peripherals” on page 2-7 .
Installing Har dware 2-7 Connecting Related P eripherals Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX will give you endless hours of listening pleasure. Figure 2-7 shows you how to connect related peripherals to your Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX to optimise your enjoyment.
Installing Har dware 2-8 F igur e 2-8: Connecting peripherals to the External I/O Module. Dolby Digital (A C-3) Amplifier SPDIF In 1 2 3 4 5 7 Other IEEE 13 94 devices y ou can connect: • IEEE 1394 .
Installing Har dware 2-9 T a ble 1: Descript i o n of components on P a ge 2 - 7 Number Description 1 Surrou nd Amplifier or po wered sp eakers Multichannel analog audio-video amplifier or 5.1/6.1 analog multi-speaker system, or ordinary stereo recei ver .
Installing Har dware 2-10 T able 2: Description of co m p o nen t s on P a ge 2 - 8 Number Description 1 Optical In put/Output Connect to digit al recording/playback devices with TOSLINK optical input and output connectors. 2 Line In 1/Mic In jack Connects to analog line-lev el devices like electric guitars, or microphones.
Installing Har dware 2-11 Connecting Speak ers Systems If you hav e a 5.1 or 6.1 channel speaker system, you can “upmix” your stereo sources (such as MP3, WMA, MIDI and W ave) to 6.1 channels b y us ing the Creati ve MultiSpeaker Surround (CMSS) technology .
Installing Har dware 2-12 P ositioning Y our Speak ers If you are using four to six speakers, place them to form a circle around you (Figure 2-10), and the speak ers angled tow ard you. Make sure that the computer monitor is not blocking the path of your front speakers.
3 Installing Softwar e This chapter tells y ou how to in stall the Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX softwar e ..
Installing Softwar e 3 -1 Installing Softwar e Installing Driv ers and Applications Y ou need to install de vice driv ers and application s prior to using Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX. T o install these drivers and the selected software applications, use the fo llowing instructions.
Installing Softwar e 3 -2 For your pr iv acy , no personal information is captured b y or sent to Creativ e Labs during the Software AutoUpdate process. Only system informa tion and Creativ e product details are required for the AutoUpdate analysis. None of this information can or will be used b y Creative for any other purpose.
Installing Softwar e 3 -3 Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Applications and De vice Driv ers At times you may need to uninstall or reinstall some or all of the audio card's appl ications and device dri vers to correct problems, change conf ig urations, or upgrade o utdat ed driv ers or applications.
Installing Softwar e 3 -4 5. In the InstallShield Wizard dialog box, select the Remove option. 6. Click th e Ye s button. 7. Restart your comput er when prompted. T o uninstall Creati ve MediaSource and all its components, do the following: 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Contr o l Panel .
Installing Softwar e 3 -5 T o uninstall a selected component in Creativ e MediaSource, do the follo wing: 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Contr o l Panel . 2. Double-cli ck the Add/Remov e Programs icon. 3. Click th e Install/Uninstall tab (or the Change or Remove Pr og rams but to n ) 4.
4 Using Audig y 2 Softwar e Find out how the softwar e accompanyi ng y our audio card can be used to contr ol and customise the card for best performance.
Using Audigy 2 Software 4-1 Using Audig y 2 Software Cr eativ e Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Applications The follo wing software is designed for you to access th e basic as well as the adv anced features of your audio card.
Using Audigy 2 Software 4-2 Demos Three demo packages hav e been included to sho wcase the basic as well as the adv anced features of your Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX hardware. W e reco mmend that you play them at least once in order to hav e a good o vervie w of your card’ s features.
Using Audigy 2 Software 4-3 Intr oduction to the Sound Blaster Audig y 2 softwar e suite This section walks you through the main suite of the Sound Bl aster Audigy 2 software that enables you to make full use of Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX’ s versatile and po werful features.
Using Audigy 2 Software 4-4 For more information and usage details on Cr eativ e MediaSource Go! Launcher , refer to its online Help . Cr eativ e MediaSour ce Pla y er Creati ve Me diaSource Player is the only software you will need for music and multimedia entertainment.
Using Audigy 2 Software 4-5 Finding and organizing songs Creativ e MediaSource Organizer searches your hard disk to compile a database of songs available, called a “PC Music Library” or PCML . Once you hav e a PCML, you can sort it and search for songs.
Using Audigy 2 Software 4-6 Storing music on re c o rd a b l e C D If you have a CD-writer , another way to reduce music st orage on your computer’ s h ard disk is to record audio tracks onto CD-R or CD-R W for playback on m any consumer hi-fi de vices.
Using Audigy 2 Software 4-7 Audio Effects: Envir onmental Sound Pr ocessing In Audio Effects, you can choose ho w you want to enhance all kinds of ordi nary two-channel sounds. ❑ Advanced EQ lets you boost or de-emphasise the low , mid or high frequenci es of sound to suit indi vidual preference and equipmen t characteristics.
Using Audigy 2 Software 4-8 Audio Clean-up: Removing noise and distor tion Audio Clean-up allows you to process prerecorded as well as real-time au dio, in order to remov e noise, click sounds and other artifacts. Fo r e xample, when recording music fr om old vinyl records, “click” and “pop” sounds can be remov ed with the Clean-up feature.
Using Audigy 2 Software 4-9 Cr eativ e MiniDisc Center Creativ e MiniDisc Center all o ws you to play back songs on CDs or supported audio formats, and record them to digital recorders such as Digital Audio T a pe machines, and also MiniDisc (MD) recorders.
Using Audigy 2 So ftwar e 4-10 Audio Stream Recorder 2 (ASR2) is designed to overcome this problem by letting you record streaming audio onto your hard disk as standard MP3 or WMA files. T o use ASR2, select from its predefin ed list of radio stations to listen to.
A General Specifications T echnical details of the Sound Blaste r Audig y 2 Platinum eX card and External I/O Module ..
General Specif ications A- 1 General Specifications T echnical details of Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card and your Audigy 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module.
General Specif ications A- 2 Note: SPDIF outpu t not av ailable during playback of pr otected digital audio contents authored with DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology ❑ Selectable 6-channel S.
General Specif ications A- 3 Connectivity Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX Card Audio Outputs ❑ 2 x line-le vel analog output s via stereo jacks on rear bracket: Fr ont and Rear Line-Out s 1 and 2 ❑ Stereo headphone (32-ohm load) support on Line Out 1 ❑ 1 x line-lev el three channel analog output via 4-pole 3.
General Specif ications A- 4 Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module Inputs and outputs on fr ont panel ❑ One headphone out put with auto detecti on vi a ¼” stereo jack with volume control ❑ One shared line-l e vel analog Line/Microphone inpu t (Line-In 1/Mic-In) via ¼” stereo jack.
B T r oub leshooting and F A Qs This section pr ovides solutions to pr oblems y ou ma y encounter during installation or normal use ..
T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-1 T o check if you r audio card is producing sound, connect a pair of headphones to it. If you hear sound, then the problem is with the speakers or connection; if not, t.
T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-2 Individual analog r ecording sour ces ar e not displaye d in Cr eativ e Surr ound Mixer . The following analog recording sources are combined in one reco rding control.
T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-3 No audio output when playing digital file s such as .W A V , MIDI files or A VI clips. Check the following: ❑ The speakers’ v olume control knob, if any , is set at mid-range. Use Creativ e Surround Mixer to adjust the volume, if necessary .
T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-4 ❑ Click the OK button. F or Windo ws 2000 and Window s XP ❑ Click Start -> Settings -> Control P anel . ❑ In the Contr ol Panel dialog box, double-click the System icon. ❑ In the System Pr operties dialog box, click the Hardware tab .
T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-5 T o solve this pr oblem: Open that other mixer , and center the ba lances for all the audio input sources. This ensures that your analog sources will not turn silent when you pan them in Creative Surround Mixer .
T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-6 ❑ In W indows: i. Click Start -> Settings -> Contr ol Panel . ii. Double-click the System icon. iii. Click the Device Manager or Hardwar e tab . i v . Click the Systems devices icon. v . In the list that appears, s ee if the items highlig hted in Figure B-1 appear .
T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-7 i. Click the Bank button. The Configure Bank dialog box appears. ii. Click the Select Bank drop-do wn button, and select a bank inde x. iii. Highlight the bank and cl ick the Remove button. i v . Click the OK b utton to finish conf iguring your banks.
T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-8 • Clear the check box to disable it. If you hav e a Disable I n This Hard ware Pro fi le check box: • Make sure that the check box is selec ted to disable it. 7. Click OK to restart Windo ws and for the change to take ef fect.
T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-9 ❑ If your computer detects any other installed a udio card, a message box recommending that you completely uninst all and remove the older audio de vice will appear . Click the Ye s button to continue with the installation of the Soun d Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card.
T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-10 4. Double-cli ck Sound, V ideo And Game Cont rollers , and then select Cr eative Sound Blast er Liv e! Series or Creati ve Sound Blaster PCI512 . 5. Click th e Properties b utton. 6. In the Properties di alog box: If you hav e an Original Configuration (Current) check box: • Clear the check box to disable it.
T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-11 7. Restart your system to al lo w W ind ows 98 SE/Me to reassign resources to your audio card and/ or the conflicting device. Pr oblems with Encor e D VD Pla y er The Encore D VD Player is not launched when a D VD disc is inserted into the drive.
T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-12 Pr oblems with D V driver f or Windows 98 SE/ 2000/Me/XP The D V camcorder is not working properly . The MSD V camcorder driver may not be th e latest version (v4.10.2226 or later). T o solve this pr oblem: 1. V isit th e http:// www .
T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-13 Pr oblems in XP A Hardwar e Installation error message appears on a W indows XP operating system when non- Creativ e applications are being install ed. At the time of this product's rel ease, Microsoft strongly encouraged companies to submit their hardware solutions for certification.
T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-14 Pr oblems with Digital Audio De vices Intermittent hi ssing or no sound is heard f rom my d igital speak ers. Make sure you select the sampling rate of the PCM SPDIF output of your Di gital Out connector to matc h the requirements of the recei ving device.
T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-15 5. Double-cli ck the ATA / ATA P I I D E C o n t r o l l e r s icon. Y our ID E channels will appear . 6. Right-cli ck the Primary IDE Channel icon. 7. Click Properties . 8. In the Properties dialog box, click the Advanced Settings tab .
An important point after buying a device Creative Platinum eX (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Creative Platinum eX yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data Creative Platinum eX - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Creative Platinum eX you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Creative Platinum eX will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Creative Platinum eX, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Creative Platinum eX.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Creative Platinum eX. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Creative Platinum eX along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
