DVD & DVD-Audio & Games
DVD and DVD-Audio
What can I add to the fire that hasn't already been said? DVD-Audio is little more than a gimmick. What is compelling about DVD-Audio is the promise of 24 bit/192kHz high-fidelity audio and, depending on your point of view, built in DRM. But, there is very little music released in DVD-A format at the moment. Where's the classical? Where's the punk? Where's the grunge? Where's the jazz? You get the idea. There's little use for a feature if there is nothing to use it with, no?
That being said, the only consumer grade sound cards on the market that can play DVD-Audio discs are from Creative. There are other sound cards out that can play DVD-Audio (the Terratec Aureons, for example), but those rely on your software DVD players like PowerDVD and WinDVD, and will refuse to play the 2-channel audio tracks.
Y Tu Mama Tambien
The eX has an interesting feature, the Creative MultiSpeaker Surround, or CMSS for short. There are two versions of it, CMSS1 and CMSS2. The button on the outside of the break-out box will activate which version you set in the control panel. This feature will simulate surround sound on two speakers (CMSS2) or it will simulate surround sound on 5.1 or 6.1 system from a stereo source (CMSS1). For a two speaker system, the effect is not subtle. Sound sources will indeed appear to be coming from the sides as well as the front. I did not have a true 5.1 sound system to play with CMSS1 too much. With headphone listening, I preferred not to have CMSS2 on while watching movies. It made me kind of seasick after a while.
Using my cobbled together 4.1 system, consisting of two Harmon/Kardon speakers and a Cambridge SoundWorks 2.1 system, DVD's were fine, if not excellent. In a pressing of Alfonso Cuardon's Y Tu Mama Tambien, the sound was excellent. Gotta blame Hilbert for the inspiration: those burritos muchos gracias, mi amigo. Sound moved between speakers smoothly and believably. Now if I could get a capture of the back seat scene
The Matrix: One Last Time
Ah, The Matrix. Well. I've actually worn out my DVD player with this one. One thing that the original The Matrix does so well is sound. Everything from dialogue, kung-fu whacks and snaps, to the slow-motion sound of a Desert Eagle firing, is just outstanding and the eX presented it just about as best as I've ever heard it. It's even better with headphones and CMSS2 kicked in. You can actually hear depth and exact placement of sounds all around your head. CMSS2 turns your 2-speaker or headphones into a surround sound system. I believe it is a little heavy-handed in its effect, but it does do something. I did have to turn it off after a short time as I felt a little disoriented.
Games
I used a few games to test the eX's gaming prowess. Creative has paid a lot of attention to the gaming crowd, with its EAX 3.0 and Advanced HD so I expected the eX to kick even more ass here. It did.
Freelancer
This was a surprise. The name of the game is immersion. The eX really did suspend disbelief. Everything from just blowing stuff up, hanging out in bars, to the "Tzzzok!" of an asteroid bouncing off the shields was well done and believable. Now, if the game had been properly finished, I'd probably still be playing it. But I've got to play...
Half-Life/Counterstrike
We all know it's coming. The second coming, that is. I'm sporting wood just thinking about taking Mr. Freeman out for a stroll of ass-kicking in Half-Life 2. That all being said, for FPS's it is incredibly important to be able to localize opponents with sound. And you know what that means: the eX has this game down pat. I did notice a little bit of popping and clicking of the sound for Counterstrike. I was used to this with the DMX 6-fire, but not with a Creative product. I believe there still might be some incompatibility with the nForce2 chipset and these sound cards.
Colin McCrea 3.0 Demo
This is an amazing game. I don't have any of those fancy wheels 'n pedals to really play the game how it's meant to be played, but anyway, it's a nearly perfect game. But, you have to patch the demo first. The DMX 6-fire actually had better sound for this title, which was a surprise. The engine sounds were a roaring, popping, zinging, good time. The engine is the soul of a car and it was nice to hear it clearly and accurately. The eX actually sounded a little synthetic with the engine sound.
So you know, Creative is the best for gaming. It's not even really a close race. Creative's overwhelming market-share (1) and it's reluctance to license EAX 3.0 (2) with anyone makes it pretty clear: the Audigy2 line plays games very well. If you are a gamer that likes to dabble in sound creation, then the eX is a bargain.
