Introduction

Just when we thought the PC sound card market couldn't get any better, Creative have once again surprised us all with the release of their latest product, the Soundblaster Audigy 2.

As many of you will already be aware of, Creative have comfortably enjoyed industry leadership for quite some time now, with the only real competition still alive being Hercules with their Gametheatre XP/Fortissimo products.

The release of the impressive Gametheatre XP gave Creative quite a run for their money, so when you think about it, the release of the Audigy 2 was the next logical step for Creative to gain back much of their lost market share.

Although the Audigy 2 does not bring as many revolutionary features to the table as seen on its predecessors, the Live! and the Audigy 1 - it still includes a number of features that are sure to interest both gamers and audiophiles alike. These include: DVD audio support, 192kHz/24-bit playback, 6.1 channel audio support, Dolby Digital EX decoding, THX certification, and much more.

Do these extra features make the Audigy 2 a worthy upgrade for users that already own previous generation Creative sound cards? Read on to find out!