If you believe that your new laptop can rival high-end desktop PCs in audio output, you're sadly mistaken. Even the most advanced desktop-replacement laptops are deficient in the sound department. Creative Audigy 2 Zs Mac Os XHere to add more boom to your laptop is the $129.99 Creative USB Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX. The low-profile, easy-to-use package upgrades the 16-bit audio found in most laptops to 24-bit sound resolution while delivering full 7.1-channel support. With a bevy of audio inputs and outputs, the highly flexible Audigy 2 NX is primed for turning laptops into powerful home entertainment devices. Housed in an external box that's a smidge larger than a PDA, the Audigy 2 NX requires a separate power cable and connects via USB 2.0. It is also studded with useful connections. Creative Sound Blaster Audigy PCIe 5/RX (Working) Discussion in 'Audio' started by bubbl3, Feb 1, 2015. Four minijack audio outputs, one of which doubles as a jack, provide both 5.1- and 7.1-channel PC speaker support. Line-in and microphone-in jacks are included, as well. Interestingly, the device also features separate ports for optical input and output plus a digital S/PDIF-out connector, which lets you add your home audio/video components to the equation. Buttons for power, mute, and Creative's proprietary multichannel mixing technology, called CMSS 3D (Creative Multi Speaker Surround), sit on top of the Audigy 2 NX, accompanied by dials for microphone input and audio output volume. And when you're not sitting in front of your laptop, you can control the action with the included IR remote. Setting up the Audigy 2 NX was relatively simple on our test bed laptop. Located the device quickly, and installing the driver and the bundled Creative Media Source software was a breeze. We did have to go online for a software update because the shipping drivers supported only 16-bit/48KHz audio over the USB 2.0 connection. Once the update provided full 24-bit/96KHz support, we connected our set of 7.1 PC speakers and were up and running in short order. I don't know specifically about that Creative product, but I do know that most USB audio devices are natively supported by OS X through the builtin drivers. You likely wouldn't gain control over specific settings for individual channels unless Creative developed mac specific drivers however; but if it was hooked to the mac, the mac would see it in the Sound control panel and you could set it for the output. If you are looking to enhance your audio output options and want mac specific drivers, I suggest looking into M-Audio and their products. I have the Revolution 7.1 in my G4 tower, and the Sonica Theatre on my G4 PB. Both work great (although drivers sometime don't work after an OS update; simple trash and reinstall fixes it) and really sweetens the experience if you view a lot of media with your mac. I don't know specifically about that Creative product, but I do know that most USB audio devices are natively supported by OS X through the builtin drivers. You likely wouldn't gain control over specific settings for individual channels unless Creative developed mac specific drivers however; but if it was hooked to the mac, the mac would see it in the Sound control panel and you could set it for the output. If you are looking to enhance your audio output options and want mac specific drivers, I suggest looking into M-Audio and their products. I have the Revolution 7.1 in my G4 tower, and the Sonica Theatre on my G4 PB. Both work great (although drivers sometime don't work after an OS update; simple trash and reinstall fixes it) and really sweetens the experience if you view a lot of media with your mac. Well, for my PB, I have those Creative 6.1 speakers connected to the M-Audio Sonica using the analog outs. For the G4, the digital out is connected to a Pioneer reciever. Anyway, if you can't find M-Audio (they are a pretty big brand, not as big as Creative, but big none-the-less, and they were just bought out by AVID a few weeks ago), then I would suggest going to a store that has a good return policy and pick up the Creative product. If it works–great. Creative Audigy 2 DriversIf not–just return it. It shouldn't be that expensive to begin with, and if you lose a few bucks even for a small restocking fee (hopefully find a store that has no restocking fee if possible), at least it wouldn't be that bad. In the past, I have even been able to convince a store manager at a place that had a restocking fee, that I wanted to buy this product that wasn't listed as mac compatible, and if I tried it and it didn't work, would he wave the fee, and he agreed.
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