Reviewed by:JasonN Location:
Huntsville, AL
Duration of product use:
Over a year
Level of expertise:
Expert
Title: Best Sound for Laptop Users
Date: February 10, 2009
ProsI heard various wonderful sounds from movies, music, and games on my laptop for the first time after adding this. It's a must have, especially for surround sound headphones like the Razer Barracudas. ConsBecause it's a creative product, the adapter is required to split the proprietary interface into the more standard mini plugs used for the 2 front channels, 2 rear channels, and single center channel. This adapter can make things cumbersome.
Review:This product makes sound from the laptop speakers much better than that Integrated HD Audio cr@p that Dell pushes during your laptop purchase. Bypass that, save $25, and put it toward this guy.
Reviewed by:AlaskanJohn Location:
Wasilla, Alaska
Duration of product use:
Less than a month
Level of expertise:
Average
Title: not impressed
Date: February 7, 2009
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ProsAs it comes from Dell, it does enhance the sound if listening to headphones. Installation pretty easy, just watch what you install with the disc. A lot of useless junk on it. ConsWas expecting a little more with it after speaking with the Dell rep to order it. You must go to a different site, Creative, to be able to get the adapter for surround sound, which is what I was looking for to begin with. While watching movies, using laptop speakers, there is a few second delay so not worth it as far as I am concerned.
Review:If you accidentally pull your headphones a little the card comes out of the slot and can crash your laptop. Should be held in a bit better. Dell could tell some of this in the description and tech info. Would save a lot of headache on user end.
ProsVery good with headphones ConsNot great if you use speakers, unless you buy the extra surround sound upgrade which means more money if you can even find them. They should be included.
Review:I like to kick back and relax whjle listening to music but if you have to keep adjusting your headphones it takes that away and I can't wear earbuds, they keep falling out.
ProsExcellent sound compared to what is provided by internal notebook. Also with provided software can change sound environment such as concert hall, live audience, living room, etc. Crystal clear clarity and can choose from several speaker setups or headphones. ConsNeed to buy additional equipment from Creative if you want to hook-up to home theater or other external equipment.
Review:Nice unit but the need for extra equipment makes it more expensive than it appears at first glance.
ProsWorks Great in my M1530 and accomplishes two major things....Moves the sound port to the right side of the computer and puts out great audiphile quality music ConsIt doesn't securely fasten into the expresscard slot of the m1530 and can be pulled out very easily. Sticks out a bit too far as well.
Reviewed by:dgkpcon1 Location:
virginia beach,VA
Duration of product use:
Months
Level of expertise:
Good
Title: Excellent sound
Date: January 20, 2008
ProsThis product along with the upgrade kit brings your movies,games,and music to a new level.Pair this with a set of G51's and the surround sound is awesome with 5.1 and 7.1 surround.The price,Dell is the cheapest place to find this item and as usual creative is out of them again. ConsLack of support from creative.No updated driver,and you have to purchase the upgrade kit seperatly if you want surround sound.This item should be sold with the card.If you have any problems with this item do not expect a fast reply if any from creative.
Review:awesome product,works great sounds even better if you are looking to add surround sound to your laptop this is it.
Reviewed by:Stevey1337 Location:
Rochester, NY
Duration of product use:
Less than a week
Level of expertise:
Expert
Title: Good...But Deceiving
Date: January 16, 2008
Pros- Comes with a nice case - Great sound ConsYou would think that this card would come with some sort of cable to hook the card up to a surround sound system.. but nope! If you want to do that you need to buy either the $40 surround box from Creative, or go searching everywhere for a TOSLINK cable and mini adapter. I was under the impression that this card came with at least the optical cable since it does say right on the card "optical out".
Review:I was extremely disappointed that I had to go out and buy more accessories to make this card work with my surround system. Not really worth it.
ProsThe sound quality is greatly increased with this card. The audio panel options are the same as my xtreme audio for my desktop, and my xtreme gamer for my other desktop. Consdoesn't offload the CPU, oh well still sounds 10X better than onboard audio.
Review:Great for if you want maximum sound quality for your laptop during music or gaming. The x-fi crystalizer is great. the highs are high. The CMSS-3D works great. Buy now. Bought it direct from dell because newegg wasn't even selling this unit yet.
Reviewed by:j3eremiah Location:
Deland Florida
Duration of product use:
Months
Level of expertise:
Good
Title: Delays
Date: September 24, 2007
ProsThe card makes audio sound crystal clear. It is light and small and doesn't get very hot. ConsWhen routing the sound to notebook speakers the sound lags and repeats sometimes when listening to music.
Review:I would still buy this card even if it had the delay because it makes the audio on headphones sound so clear.
Reviewed by:suberjeme Location:
Waco, TX
Duration of product use:
Months
Level of expertise:
Good
Title: Overall, thumbs up.
Date: August 29, 2007
ProsExcellent sound quality and control. Small, lightweight and very portable-- provides great sound recording for a good price. ConsNo ASIO support, which makes it more difficult to run programs such as the Premiere and Audition to their fullest extent.
I've had several problems with installation and fluid running. The volume control panel frequently crashes. Beware of removing the card when the computer is still on as it causes issues.
If you thread the sound back through to the notebook speakers, there is a huge delay (around a second), which is inconvenient while watching video files. I recommend using built-in audio instead for the notebook speakers.
Review:Despite the issues, it runs well and is most everything I expected for the price, minus ASIO support. Definitely a good buy, just tread carefully when inserting or removing the card while the computer is on.
Pros- Supports 5.1 DTS over TOSLINK CABLE. (I'm using a Sony Digital Receiver) - Sound is excellent. - Compact. * Using with a Dell Inspiron E1705 notebook under Vista 32-bit. No garbles, no glitches, works flawlessly. ConsEven thou I didn't need the speakers port because I have a digital receiver, it would be nice if it came with it. If you have ANALOG speakers you may want to buy the speaker port as well as the card (Thru Creative), otherwise you will get stuck with Stereo sound.
Review:There's a patch under Creative's website in order to EAX work with Games (Not all Games). Works well with MediaCenter, WinDVD and MediaPlayer Classic.
Reviewed by:invalidbuffalo Location:
Oregon
Duration of product use:
Less than a week
Level of expertise:
Expert
Title: No ASIO :(
Date: July 11, 2007
ProsGood-sounding sound card, installation was easy, works in my XPS M1210. Made in Malaysia! ConsNo ASIO support, doesn't take much load off the CPU. Breakout multichannel connector not included.
Review:It's a great card for those who just listen to music or watch movies, but it doesn't reduce cpu load when processing audio, and the lack of ASIO makes it almost unusable for making music.
