Posted by Eric on February 20, 2001 at 06:01:10:
In Reply to: is Creative Sb Live 5.1 good ?? posted by sahnie on February 20, 2001 at 03:50:00:
I've been researching SB Lives quite a bit recently because I thought I was going to have to replace my SBL Value (it turns out it was something else that was causing the problem. Here's what I've found:
ALL SB LIVE CARDS ARE THE SAME!
This means the original SB Live, SB Live MP3+, SB Live X-Gamer, and Platinum. The ONLY difference is the software (and I don't mean the basic drivers and midi stuff but the useless stuff that comes with it), but the cards are virtually identical except for some very minor details that have to do more with the year they were made than anything else. The Platinums come with the live drive which is deffinitely something for a heavy recorder to look into, but, there's cheaper ways of going about that. My only suggestion, don't get a SB Live Value. They too are pretty much exactly the same cards, except for the fact they are incompatable with the live drive (probably on purpose) and they don't have a digital out. Though if you don't care about the midi ports and extra stuff, I have a SBL Value and I've been VERY happy with it (quite good midi sounds for a sound card).
If you are interested in the live drive, which is a really slick unit, people are selling them on ebay for about $30! New they are about $120. They are compatable with any Live card other than the values. So my advice is, go to www.pricewatch.com and purchase a Live MP3+ (I think the most basic Live card out right now) or the original SBL (if they still make them), and go to ebay and order a Live Drive. The total cost, if you go through pricewatch and ebay could be as low as $70 to $80 including shipping. And that's the equivalent to a Platinum ($250 street price), except it's got a few extra pieces of software which you can download off of their site!
Me, I'm hoping they'll come out with a Digital ADAT IN port (fat chance, I know)! What's this about having minidisc players with a digital in and soundcards with a digital out, they're going the wrong way! F*ck mp3s, I want to sample stuff onto my keyboard!
- Eric