Creative Sound Blaster User Manual
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Creative Sound Blaster User Manual

Creative Sound Blaster User Manual

Creative sound blaster user's guide
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  • Page 2 Version 1.1 Copyright © 2003 Creative Technology Ltd. Sound Blaster and Blaster are registered trademarks, the Sound Blaster logo, Creative Inspire and Creative Multi Speaker Surround are trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft, MS-DOS, and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
  • Page 3 Contents...

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    In Windows 98 SE/Me/2000/XP... 2-2 Verifying the software installation ... 2-3 In Windows 98 SE/Me ... 2-3 In Windows 2000/XP... 2-3 Attaching Sound Blaster ... 2-4 Using a clip ... 2-4 Using velcro strips ... 2-5 Connecting Microphones ... 2-6...
  • Page 5 Connecting Peripherals ... 3-1 Connecting Speaker Systems ... 3-2 Mixing analog inputs ... 3-3 Sound Blaster Applications Creative Sound Blaster Applications ... 4-1 Creative MediaSource Go! ... 4-2 Creative MediaSource Go! Launcher... 4-2 Creative MediaSource Player ... 4-3 Creative MediaSource Organizer ... 4-3 Finding and organizing songs ...
  • Page 6 Using Applications Multimedia Playback... 5-1 Watching DVDs ... 5-1 Playing MP3, WMA, WMV or Dolby Digital 5.1 files ... 5-1 Playing back Wave and CD Audio files ... 5-2 Playing MIDI files... 5-2 Compiling personal albums ... 5-2 Content Creation... 5-3 Recording digital audio ...
  • Page 7 Introduction...

  • Page 8: Introduction

    Introduction Welcome to Thank you for purchasing Creative's external Sound Blaster Sound Blaster is simple to set up via your USB port. The compact and portable high-quality digital design is lightweight and requires no additional power adapter. audio entertainment Sound Blaster delivers high quality stereo sound for digital music, movie and gaming.

  • Page 9: Package Contents

    Refer to the individual application’s online Help for details. Note:Your Sound Blaster can be used with Apple computers running Mac OS X v10.2 (up to version 10.2.8) as well. It works with the native Mac OS X v10.2 audio driver and does not require software installation from the Installation CD.

  • Page 10: Getting More Information

    View the contents of the Sound Blaster Installation CD for additional demonstrations, libraries and other software. Visit the Information for the latest Sound Blaster news and products. The site also includes information on making purchases, technical help, and software and driver updates. Product Registration Enjoy a host of benefits by registering your product during installation, or at www.creative.com/register.

  • Page 11: About Sound Blaster

    About Sound Blaster This chapter explains the physical features of your Creative Sound Blaster...

  • Page 12: What You Need

    About Sound Blaster Before you begin installation, be sure that you have these: What You Need In addition, you will also need an available USB port on your computer. Sound Blaster Y-splitter cable Clip 2 velcro strips Figure 1-1: Items needed for installation.

  • Page 13: Sound Blaster

    Sound Blaster has these jacks and connectors that allow you to attach other Sound Blaster devices: Rear Panel Line In jacks Line Out jacks Connects to audio Connects to powered devices such as tape speakers or an external decks and audio players.

  • Page 14: Side Panel

    Connects to the computer’s USB port using a USB cable. Side Panel Figure 1-3: Jacks, connectors and ports on Sound Blaster Power LED Lights up blue when Sound Blaster is connected to your computer. Microphone jack Connects to an external microphone.

  • Page 15: Switching Modes

    Switching modes You can switch between Digital Only and Digital/Analog mode using the Digital/ Analog switch located on the side panel of Sound Blaster. The table below illustrates the different functions between each mode: It is recommended that you do not play any audio...

  • Page 16: Installing Sound Blaster

    Installing Sound Blaster This chapter tells you how to install Sound Blaster...

  • Page 17: Installing Hardware

    • The USB port(s) on some computers are located on the front panel instead of the back. Notebook computer USB port USB port Figure 2-1: Connecting Sound Blaster to the computer. Desktop computer Installing Sound Blaster...

  • Page 18: Installing Software

    Use the appropriate software installation procedure, depending on your computer’s operating system. 1. Insert the Sound Blaster Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. In Windows 98 SE/Me/ 2. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the drivers and applications 2000/XP installation.

  • Page 19: Verifying The Software Installation

    Verifying the Follow the steps below to verify that Sound Blaster has been installed correctly. software installation 1. Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop. In Windows 98 SE/Me 2. On the menu that appears, click Properties. 3. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Device Manager tab.

  • Page 20: Attaching Sound Blaster

    1. Insert the clip provided into the slot located at the Using a clip back of Sound Blaster, as shown in Figure 2-2. 2. Using the clip, place Sound Blaster onto the top of your notebook’s LCD screen as shown in Figure 2-3.

  • Page 21: Using Velcro Strips

    Using velcro strips Figure 2-4. 2. Peel the stickers off the velcro strips as shown in Figure 2-5. 3. Attach Sound Blaster to your computer, as shown in Figure 2-6. Figure 2-6: Attaching Sound Blaster using velcro strips. Figure 2-4: Pulling apart velcro strips.

  • Page 22: Connecting Microphones

    Connecting You can connect personal stereo headphones, usually fitted with a 3.5 mm stereo plug, such as those used for portable audio players, to Sound Blaster. Headphones Note: When headphones are plugged in, speaker output is muted. Headphones volume is controlled by the headphones volume control, see Adjusting Headphones Volume below.
  • Page 23 Using Creative Surround Mixer: 1. Click Start -> Programs -> Creative -> Sound Blaster -> Creative Surround Mixer. 2. On Surround Mixer, make sure that the Mute check box under the Volume slider To install Creative Surround Mixer and other applications, is clear.

  • Page 24: Using Sound Blaster

    Using Sound Blaster This chapter tells you how to use Sound Blaster...

  • Page 25: Connecting Peripherals

    Using Sound Blaster Figure 3-1 shows you the various connectivity options for Sound Blaster. Connecting Peripherals Creative digital audio player Portable cassette player Headphones Figure 3-1: Connectivity options for Sound Blaster. Creative 2.1 Analog Speakers MiniDisc recorder Optical cable Creative Inspire or Cambridge SoundWorks 5.1 Digital Speaker Systems...

  • Page 26: Connecting Speaker Systems

    Y-splitter cable Analog 2.1 channel speaker system* Optical In jack Optical Out jack Creative Inspire or Cambridge SoundWorks 5.1 Digital Speaker Systems Figure 3-2: Connecting speaker systems to Sound Blaster. Optical cable *For example, Creative 2.1 Analog Speakers Using Sound Blaster...

  • Page 27: Mixing Analog Inputs

    Mixing analog inputs Mix music and microphone inputs to sing along with your favorite tunes. Digital Audio Player / CD Player / Cassette Player analog source. Figure 3-3: Mixing Analog Inputs. Enjoy singing along to your favorite tunes. Using Sound Blaster...

  • Page 28: Sound Blaster Applications

    Sound Blaster Applications This chapter tells you about the applications included with Sound Blaster...

  • Page 29: Creative Sound Blaster Applications

    Sound Blaster Applications Sound Blaster is supported by a full range of applications to help you get the most Creative Sound from your audio device. The following set of software is most important to the Blaster operation of Sound Blaster: ❑...

  • Page 30: Creative Mediasource Go

    Launcher Creative MediaSource Go! Launcher consists of four tabs: Programs, Product Settings, Product Support and Companion Products. ❑ Programs houses shortcuts to Sound Blaster applications. ❑ Product Settings houses shortcuts to specific programs for changing Sound Blaster’s hardware settings. ❑ Product Support contains diagnostic software, product update information, product registration forms, demonstration software as well as helpful documentation such as Getting Started guides.

  • Page 31: Creative Mediasource Player

    Unlike other media players, Creative MediaSource MediaSource Player Player is specially designed to access the power of Sound Blaster’s hardware. With it, you can: ❑ play back music and multimedia files: MP3, WAV, WMA, WMV, NVF, VideoCD, etc ❑...

  • Page 32: Keep Your Music Database Up To Date

    To eliminate the need for you to manually type the track information of an audio CD’s ripped tracks, a feature called CDDB can connect your computer to the Internet (Gracenote’s CDDB service) and automatically retrieve the track names and other useful track information for you. Sound Blaster Applications...

  • Page 33: Storing Music On Recordable Cd

    A speaker test is also provided to let you test the physical connections from Sound Blaster to the speakers. If the test detects problems, Creative Diagnostics will provide solutions. Use Creative Diagnostics to help you have a trouble-free audio experience.

  • Page 34: Creative Eax Console

    “click” and “pop” sounds can be removed with the Clean-up feature. The Click Meter informs you whenever the noise clean- distortion up feature is activated during recording and also how many clicks are removed. Sound Blaster Applications...

  • Page 35: Time Scaling: Varying The Speed Of Playback

    ❑ Open and edit several audio files at the same time ❑ Open Raw (.RAW) and MP3 (.MP3) data files For more information and usage details on Creative WaveStudio, refer to its online Help. Sound Blaster Applications...

  • Page 36: Creative Speaker Settings

    (up to 12 dB) for 10 preselected frequency bands. You can also save the settings as a custom preset once you are satisfied with the adjustments. For more information and usage details on Creative Graphic Equalizer, refer to its online Help. Sound Blaster Applications...

  • Page 37: Using Applications

    Using Applications This chapter tells you which applications to use for content creation, gaming and entertainment purposes...

  • Page 38: Multimedia Playback

    Out jack. It also supports 2-channel audio via a software DVD player. Dolby Digital 5.1 files, however, require an external decoder. Your software DVD Player can select 5.1 audio mode, which utilizes Sound Blaster’s Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS CMSS 3D to produce virtual surround sound with your stereo speaker system.

  • Page 39: Playing Back Wave And Cd Audio Files

    Playing back Wave Creative MediaSource supports the playback of .MP3, .WMA, .WAV, and .CDA (CD- Audio) files, in addtion to MIDI (.MID) files. Dolby Digital decoding of Dolby Digital and CD Audio files 5.1 files and Dolby Digital content from DVDs are also managed through MediaSource in conjunction with your software DVD player.

  • Page 40: Downloading And Playing Mp3/Wma Songs

    Content Creation Recording digital You can do digital recording and editing on your computer with Sound Blaster using Creative Wave Studio. Connect any SPDIF compatible device such as a DAT deck audio and select SPDIF In in Creative Device Mixer.

  • Page 41: Gaming Reference

    Visit support compatible titles. Enjoying DirectSound3D (DS3D) games are supported on Sound Blaster. You can hear sounds positioned in 3D space to enhance your game experience. Use the CMSS 3D DirectSound3D feature to enjoy virtual 3D audio for your games.

  • Page 42: A General Specifications

    General Specifications This section displays the specifications of your Sound Blaster...

  • Page 43: Inputs And Outputs

    General Specifications This section lists the specifications of Sound Blaster. ❑ TOSLink connector for Optical SPDIF input Inputs and Outputs ❑ TOSLink connector for Optical SPDIF output ❑ Pair of RCA jacks for stereo line-level analog input ❑ Pair of RCA jacks for stereo line-level analog output ❑...
  • Page 44 Troubleshooting This section provides solutions to problems you may encounter during installation or normal use...

  • Page 45: Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting This appendix provides solutions to problems you may encounter during installation or normal use. The installation does not start automatically after the Sound Blaster Installation CD Problems is inserted. Installing The AutoPlay feature in your Windows system may not be enabled.

  • Page 46: Problems With Sound

    ❑ You have connected your speakers to Sound Blaster's output. ❑ You have selected the correct source in Creative Surround Mixer. ❑ Headphones are not connected to Sound Blaster. Output to the speakers is automatically cut off when headphones are connected.
  • Page 47 Crackling sound heard when playing back media files. Enable Direct Memory Access to your storage devices. Follow the steps below: For Windows 98 SE and Windows Me users: 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel. 2. In the Control Panel dialog box, double-click the System icon. 3.
  • Page 48 10.Click the OK button. No audio output when playing audio CDs. Sound Blaster does not support analog CD audio playback. To listen to audio CDs, digital CD playback must be enabled. Do the following to enable digital CD playback: Digital CD Playback may not...
  • Page 49 For Windows Me users: 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel. 2. In the Control Panel dialog box, double-click the System icon. 3. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Device Manager tab. 4. Double-click the DVD/CD-ROM drives icon. Your computer drives will appear.

  • Page 50: Problems With Hardware

    Unplug and plug the USB cable from your computer or notebook to reset Sound Hardware Blaster. Sound Blaster does not function properly when used with a USB 2.0 hub connected to your computer or notebook equipped with a USB 2.0 port. Check for information availability at http://www.creative.com.
  • Page 51 The media file player application does not function properly after switching between Digital/Analog and Digital Only mode. Close and launch the media file player application. It is recommended that you do not play any audio files before switching between Digital Only and Digital/Analog mode.

  • Page 52: Index

    Index...
  • Page 53 Adjusting headphones volume 2-6 Applications 4-1 Attaching using a clip 2-4 using velcro strips 2-5 Attaching your Sound Blaster 2-4 Compiling personal albums 5-2 Connecting headphones 2-6 microphones 2-6 related peripherals 3-1 speaker systems 3-3 Content creation 5-3 Controls A-1...
  • Page 54 Playing back CD Audio files 5-2 Wave files 5-2 Power LED 1-3 Recording digital audio 5-3 Sound Blaster 1-2 Sound Blaster applications 4-1 Sound Blaster web site x Switch Digital/Analog 1-3 Troubleshooting B-1 hardware B-6 installing software B-1 software B-6...

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