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May introduce to you the Audigy 4 Pro. As you already figured from my way too long and boring introduction, this is not that different compared to it's little sister, the Audigy 2 ZS. Basically it's nothing more than an upgrade. You need to seek differences in the Digital/Analog converters and some minor card (PCB) changes. Gaming wise it's the same thing, yet sound quality has gone up slightly, nothing that you are able to hear though. But the Audigy 4 is now truly at the level of a professional soundcard.

Summarizing the Differences

So compare them then Hilbert... Pleaaaasee... okay then since you really need to know: key factors that are different are the following two items. DACs - Our Audigy 4 has the highest possible quality DACs,

Audigy 2 DAC: 1x CS4382: 8out 114dB dynamic range, -100dB THD+N
Audigy 4 DAC: 4x CS4398: 2out 120dB dynamic range, -107dB THD+N

For those that don't know. The DAC's are Digital to Analog Converters. The better the quality the better the sound as they are responsible for a better signal to noise ratio (SNR). The Audigy 2 ZS had an SNR of 108 bD where the newer Audigy 4 series have an amazing 113 dB SNR.

The Audigy 4 Pro uses Cirrus Logic's flagship DACs, the CS4398 in a quad setup for 8 channel output. (7.1), to my knowledge there simply is nothing better at this date. It's the same stuff used on professional studio cards.

Software  - Other than that there are some minor differences in feature set and drivers. The Audigy cards offer the most in terms of "stuff" with their cards. The new Audigy 4 did receive a small layout upgrade and of course supports the basics from Speaker control, to EAX, THX and finally an Equalizer. We'll show you some software goodness later on.

Other then that, of course the breakout box and the way cool remote control. We will talk about that in a bit as we of course will show you all of it in a photo-shoot.

The Audigy 4 Pro bundle.

Here are the card's features as posted on Creative's site:

Audigy 4 Pro Processor

• Advanced hardware accelerated digital effects processing
• 32-bit digital processing, which maintains a theoretical 192 dB of dynamic range
• Patented 8-point interpolation that reduces distortion to inaudible levels
• 64-voice hardware Wavetable synthesizer
• Professional quality digital mixing and equalization

High Definition Audio Quality for Playback and Recording

• Playback of 64 audio channels, each at an arbitrary sample rate
• 24-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion of analog inputs at 96 kHz sample rate
• 24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion of digital sources at 96 kHz to analog 7.1 speaker output
• 24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion of stereo digital sources at 192 kHz to stereo output
• 16-bit to 24-bit recording sampling rates: 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz.
• Supports Sony/Philips Digital Interface (SPDIF) format of up to 24-bit/96 kHz quality. Selectable sampling rate of 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz
• Low latency multitrack recording with ASIO 2.0 support at 16-bit, 48 kHz and 24-bit, 96 kHz resolution.

*(Latency performance may vary based on system configuration)

FireWire® (IEEE® 1394) Connectivity

• Compliant with IEEE 1394a specification
• Supports data rates of 100, 200, and 400 Mbps
• Supports up to 63 FireWire (IEEE 1394) compatible devices in a daisy-chain configuration
• Supplies up to 3 Watts to FireWire (IEEE 1394) compatible devices

Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro On-Board Connectors

• Line level out (Front / Side / Rear / Center / Subwoofer)
• Digital CD Audio in
• Aux Audio in
• AD Link 1 and AD Link 2 connectors to connect with external I/O hub.
• Power connector

Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro External I/O Hub Front / Rear Panel Connectors

• Headphone Out (1/4" Stereo Jack)
• Line In 1 (1/4" Stereo Jack , shared with Mic In with Gain Control)
• Line In 2 (1/4" Stereo Jack)
• Line In 3 (2x RCA Jack)
• Optical SPDIF In/Out
• Coaxial SPDIF In/Out
• Digital Out for 5.1 support (6-channel SPDIF Output to Creative digital speakers)
• 2x FireWire® (IEEE® 1394) ports
• MIDI In / Out
• Infra-red Receiver to communicate with Remote Control
• AD Link 1 and AD Link 2 connectors to connect with Audigy 4 Pro

Audio Performance:

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (AES17, A-Weighted)

Output Voltage @ 2Vrms
Stereo Output 113dB
Front and Rear Channels 113dB
Center, Subwoofer and Side Channels 113dB

Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz (AES17) = 0.003% (2V Rated Output) Frequency Response +/-3dB: 10Hz to 46kHz

Works with the Following Standards:

• Windows® XP and 2K
• Sound Blaster MIDI and General MIDI
• Plug and Play
• Sound Blaster PCI
• EAX, EAX ADVANCED HD
• Microsoft® DirectSound® , DirectSound 3D & derivatives
• OpenAL
• PCI 2.3 compliant
• AC '97
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Digital EX
• DTS Digital Surround®
• DTS-ES Surround
• Meridian Lossless Packing
• ASIO 2.0
• Sound Font 2.1
• DVD-Audio
• Windows Media® Audio 9