Following up on the earlier post, here’s my understanding of the situation as it affects owners of Creative Audigy cards:
- If you have a stereo gaming PC, with or without a subwoofer, Creative Vista drivers will work just great for you. You don’t need the ALchemy add-on.
- If you have a multi-channel system that you use for media playback, it will work fine with only the Vista drivers. (I know, because I’m in that category.)
- If you play games that use hardware-accelerated 3D audio and EAX on a multi-channel system, you need to install the Creative ALchemy for Audigy software. It costs $9.95
I’m not a gaming expert, so if I got any of that wrong, I know I can count on my readers who are avid gamers to set me straight right away.
Now, the Audigy line is Creative’s budget series. The X-Fi line costs more and does more, and if you own an X-Fi card you can download the X-Fi edition of Creative ALchemy for free.
This raises all sorts of questions about business models in an industry where profit margins are notoriously slim. If you segment your product line into a budget line and a high-end line, should both sets of customers expect to get the same type of support? The quality of support should be the same, of course, but maybe the high-end customers get free updates while those who buy the budget line have to pay for updates, as Creative decided to do here.
These economic and business decisions are not made in a vacuum. The $30 Audigy SE card I just bought has four jacks on it. Those outputs are fine for making direct connections to speakers, but I needed to pay an extra $16 for a Digital I/O adapter that plugs into RCA jack #4 and includes SPDIF digital/optical inputs and outputs. What percent of customers are going to use this? Way less than 10%, maybe less than 1%. If you add those I/O connectors to every card you make, you drive the cost up for every card and you raise the price for every customer. Or you charge full price to the ones who are going to use this connection. Although I find this business model annoying because it hit me right in the pocketbook, I understand it.
Ed Bott (@ wordpress.com) 
“If you play games that use hardware-accelerated 3D audio and EAX on a multi-channel system, you need to install the Creative ALchemy for Audigy software. It costs $9.95”
Wow, absolute ripoff. Sorry but I consider hardware-accelerated audio and EAX one of the reasons to even own a creative labs card. Why else would anyone buy one? For performance on par with the onboard audio crap? Please. I also consider them part of the driver. Creative can go suck a duck.
Sorry Ed but you needing a digital audio jack does not equal DRIVER support for hardware-accelerated audio and EAX.
I can solve this in 2 seconds. Go post on a gamer forum if they want to pay $10 more for DRIVER support that makes their card do what they paid who knows what for it when it came out.
This also highlights another problem with Vista = going backwards in Soundcard support.
But the only reason this is even happening is that Creative has a Monopoly on Soundcards.
Andrew, you write:
“Sorry but I consider hardware-accelerated audio and EAX one of the reasons to even own a creative labs card. Why else would anyone buy one?”
I bought a Creative Audigy card because I needed full 5.1 surround sound output via an optical connection, and the otherwise excellent onboard sound for my Dell C521 didn’t have this functionality. To complicate matters, I needed this support on a low-profile PCI card.
The Creative card was $30 with shipping. The digital port dongle was $16 with shipping. I don’t plan to play games on this box, ever, so I don’t care about EAX support. That price was better than ANY comparable solution I could find from any other vendor. And no, Creative doesn’t have a monopoly on sound cards. I had lots of options from other vendors, but they were either more expensive or didn’t have Vista support.
So, why would someone buy a Creative card who isn’t a gamer? That’s why.
Well you are in the minority for people that buy these cards and Creative knows it. But lets look at the misleading advertising:
http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=205&product=14103
“Step up to high-quality audio and great gaming performance plus a convenient remote control”
“Whether you enjoy music, movies, games, or all three, Sound Blaster® Audigy® 4 has something for you. Full EAX® ADVANCED HD™1 4.0 performance and compelling 7.1 surround sound take your PC gaming to the next level.”
“GAMES
Hardware Accelerated Performance:
Don’t put up with inferior frame-rates! Sound Blaster Audigy 4 delivers faster, smoother game-play to maximize your gaming enjoyment!”
“EAX® ADVANCED HD™1:EAX 4.0 ADVANCED HD1 supports multiple simultaneous audio environments for exceptionally realistic 3D sounds in games ranging from first person shooters to multiplayer online games.”
Ok so tell me how the consumer is supposed to know by this blatant advertisement for Hardware accelerated audio and EAX support that they are going to have to pay $10 more for this on Vista?
Someone should sue Creative for false advertising.
Ed, if Creative does not have a monopoly on high end sound cards for gamers. Please tell me who their competitors are? And I do not mean onboard junk like Realtec, CMI or Crystal.
Andrew, you keep changing the terms of the debate. Your original post said: “But the only reason this is even happening is that Creative has a Monopoly on Soundcards.”
You then say, “…if Creative does not have a monopoly on high end sound cards for gamers. Please tell me who their competitors are?”
Big difference in those two statements.
As for the advertising, I looked at the statements you quoted. Follow the footnotes, which say that these features are supported in Windows Vista by OpenAL and lead to the web pages I quoted.
Anyway, you seem to think I’m trying to defend Creative here. I’m not. Just pointing out the facts in response to an original story that was somewhat off the mark. If you want to sue them, go right ahead.
Technically of course Creative does not have a “monopoly” if a sole competitor exists, correct? I am still interested in who their competitors are. Onboard sound does not count either.
Yes, I saw the same footnotes and I have worked for an OEM selling in the retail market for over 10 years, and no customer is going to read that let alone clearly understand what it means. When customers bought or buy those cards they clearly expect EAX and hardware acceleration to work on Vista.
I don’t believe the original story was off the mark at all.
The Audigy line was THE top of the line ultra premium line just a few years ago. Calling a series of cards that retailed for $199 and UP ‘budget’ is a bit of a stretch…
We all overlook one important point here. It is not really a Creative Labs issue. In fact it is clearly Microsoft that throws the spanner into the works. Creative is just so nice to offer a ‘workaround’. I also beleive it should be free for all Audigy owners for download or at least for all registered users, however Bill Gates and Co created the problem not Creative. About time that MS would create a game only OS and we would not have these issues I believe…or how about something entirely new?? Now that would e something LOL…but now I am dreaming. 🙂
Regards