Creative to adopt Nvidia/DAAMIT's distribution strategy

[W1nTry]

This could be a good thing for us all, or a bad thing for creative... but then considering they've not been doing that well in ages save for owning the top end PC audio market... I guess there should hopefully be only UP to go.

Creative gets in the licensing game

Auzentech picks up its chip

By Wily Ferret: Tuesday 17 April 2007, 09:22
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SAN JOSE-BASED Auzentech has become the first non-Creative Labs manufacturer to use Creative Labs audio chips.

Dubbed the Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1, its main attraction will be the Creative X-Fi chipset sat at the heart of the board.

Auzentech makes high end products with top-spec connectors, converters and expandability. The new card will support EAX, obviously, but also Dolby Digital Live encoding.

Said the chaps at Auzentech, ""When you're playing games, the Auzen X-Fi Prelude soundcard will output the best 3D audio and latest EAX effects. And when you're listening to music or watching movies, you'll enjoy an audiophile-quality experience."

This marks an interesting departure in strategy for Creative Labs. Previously, the company has been content to sell its own-brand products in its own boxes. But this move indicates a desire to see a larger ecosystem built up around its products, and the logical extension of this move would be to see Creative become the 'audio processing unit' provider to a number of board partners who would build their own products around it - the same model that Nvidia and ATI operate on.

Expect to see the card towards the end of May.

[TriniXaeno]

If it's good for the goose....

This was a brilliant strategy and it has worked for Nvidia and ATI. No doubt.

Not embracing it cost 3dfx their business. They tried to supply all cards themselves at one stage. That lead to disaster.

It's amazing that Apple's PC line survives on that model. Though I guess that is what they are doing, just surviving. lol

[TrinireturnofGamez]

hopefully means cheaper sond cards,  creative has always pushed crazy prices for mundane pieces of technology  , only really new thing they have is with the X-Fi line .

[TriniXaeno]

only if you don't know better.

They have always had cheap but good products in the oem market.

A basic audigy could be had for under TT$200.00

If you go for the fancy setup, with front audio connectors and all of that jazz, you'll fork over $1500+

Really not necessary unless you are an audiophile.

The $200 card will do the trick for john doe gamer and a regular 5.1 / 7.1 speaker setup.

[Arcmanov]

True, but on-board audio has gotten MUCH better, almost negating the need for sound-cards anyway.
My Asus board has 7.1 HD Audio on-board.  Will I be buying a sound-card?
I think not.

This is still a good development though, so we might start to see card bundles akin to video-card
manufacturers, and obviously, better cards overall.

[Crixx_Creww]

does this mean that creative will stop manufacturing their own cards???
if not, then are there cards gonna be competing with companies using their own chips??

that could be a bad move unless they stop manufacturing and go totally licence, a la nvidia/daamit

[TriniXaeno]

but does it have proper EAX and EAX 2 support arc?

most onboard audio solutions have botched positional 3d audio support. Hence the need for a good audigy if you're into that.

To be honest, I am and if I get my dream headset ($100, 3d audio headset) I'll definitely slap in an audigy for true EAX and EAX 2 nirvana.

Don't intend to setup a 7.1 or even a 5.1 speaker system for my PC at this stage. Just too much hassle and where I live, the neighbours would have a fit if they started hearing gun shots whizzing from left to right at all hours of the night. lol

So a headset is the only real option.

I think this almost warrants a poll.

As a gamer, do you currently use 3D positional audio?

[W1nTry]

Integrated sound has always and still is PANTS imho. The difference in sound quality between anything int (even 7.1) and an Audigy is ASTOUNDING. Creative products make sound louder, clearer and though their apps are blochy, I do appreciate alot of the things you can do with the software. I've owned 2 Audigys now and i'll always pick up a decent card once they are around.