- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 4 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
0.5 stars
"Squeal of Death"
Pros: Claims great features.
Cons: Doesn't work on many machines, countless problems.
Summary: I have tried both the Audigy 2 Value and the Audigy 2 ZS. My experience was that after 3 days of long distance tech support and countless web research, I was unable to get either to work.
What my web research led me to was pretty infuriating: that there is a known, very specific set of problems with this product line, which often have no solution... and yet Creative front-line tech support is NOT INFORMED. If your case is escalated, you start talking to people who know the problem all too well, but overall, Creative seems to be denying anything is wrong EVEN THOUGH they originally (Feb 2002) admitted they were investigating it.
Basically this card will lock up a surprisingly large number of computers. I am posting more information (from my other post) below.
----
Do a Google search for "squeal of death" and you'll start to get a sense of how awful this product line is. As in, "in need of a recall." The Audigy, Audigy 2, Audigy 2 Value, ZS, and so on, are the targets of countless consumer complaints. And not just because they don't live up to their promise (the first Audigy had a class-action suit against it, which Creative settled on, because of false claims about delivering 24-bit audio).
The real problem: they don't work. On a large number of machines, and a wide variety. They lock up, repeat sound loops, give the dreaded blue error screen, and, worst of all: the now famous "Squeal of Death" that plagues countless users and has had tech articles devoted to it. This SoD occurs when almost any program plays sound for a prolonged period... including the bundled Creative diagnostic software.
Don't just believe this review. Search "squeal of death" and check the following links... and avoid this series like the plague.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=972039&goto=nextnewest
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&message.id=21230&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
(24 pages of negative posts)
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,48708,00.asp
(article on the squeal of death)
Where to buy
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value - sound card:
$27.00
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon.com Marketplace
|
$27.00 | Yes |
|
