11. Behavior On Playback At 24 Bits/96 KHz (recording With E-MU 1820)

Since all the preceding tests were done with the Notebook both recording and playing back, we wanted to evaluate its performance for playback only. Recording was done with an E-MU 1820 card with significantly higher performance, and thus relatively transparent against the tests done with the Notebook.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz) : +0.02, -0.29 dB Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 96.9 dB(A) Distortion : 0.0011 % Stereo separation : 96 dB

The results showed some improvement in performance, but the difference wasn't really obvious. Frequency response was a little more linear in the lower end of the spectrum (down to 10 Hz approximately) and distortion was lower. But stereo separation is where the biggest improvement was, and that's not a decisive point. The Notebook is indeed a high-performance card, but we weren't able to get a signal-to-noise ratio comparable to the 104 dB(A) claimed by Creative.

In playback only, the Notebook's response (here at 24 bits / 48 kHz) is more linear than in record/playback.

Games And 3D

The Notebook has EAX 4.0 Advanced HD, the most sophisticated hardware 3D accelerator currently offered by Creative. It includes several technologies that significantly improve 3D sound in games:

Multi-Environment, which can render several simultaneous audio environments in real time; Environment Panning, which lets players perceive the location and movements of passive and active characters in the game with three-dimensional precision. This gives players the advantage of being more "in harmony" with the game scenario; Environment Reflections, which renders precise locations by generating realistic sound reflections and echoes; Environment Filtering, for precise simulation of the propagation of sound in open and closed environments; Environment Morphing, for providing seamless transitions between audio environments.

Our tests using RightMark 3DSound gave us the results we hoped for - that is, reduced consumption of processor power. At worst, we only reached an average value of 8%, whereas a USB sound card like the Creative Live 24 External - though it offers lesser performance - came close to 14%. This is an area where the advantage of PCMCIA card is obvious.