Taking A Closer Look

- Many different flavor

There are three basic flavors of Audigy 2: the vanilla card for budget conscious users; the Audigy 2 Platinum for mid-range users; and the Audigy 2 Platinum eX for the high-end. These are all very similar to each other; however, the Platinum version comes with a 5 1/4" internal breakout box, while the Platinum eX includes an external breakout box.

These breakout boxes include an infrared port for the bundled remote, MIDI-in/out, microphone and line-in jacks, optical and coaxial SPDIF in/out, two RCA inputs and a second SB1394 port.

Aside from the bundled breakout boxes, all three versions are identical; however, there is one slight difference with the Platinum eX. This version supports the ASIO 2.0 standard, whereas the Platinum and regular Audigy 2 only provide support for the ASIO 1.0 standard. The difference between ASIO 1 and ASIO 2 is that ASIO 2 supports 24-bit/96kHz recording and processing, whereas ASIO 1 can only record/process at 16-bit/48kHz.

The regular Audigy 2 will retail for around $129 US (about $260 AU), while the Audigy Platinum will retail for $199 US (about $400 AU). Due to the fact that the Platinum eX is not due for release until early 2003, there is no pricing information available for it as yet.