Finally, a great laptop sound card!
Pros:
Inexpensive, amazing sound quality. 7.1 channel decoding. Portable. THX certified. Fantastic software bundle.
Cons:
Drivers install AOL, yuck.
The Bottom Line:
For under $100, you get THX-ceritified sound with full 7.1 decoding. Your laptop CAN produce great sound with the help of the Audigy 2 ZS Notebook!
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Most laptops have lousy built-in sound cards. For the longest time, I was stuck with only basic stereo from a headphone jack, my sound often ruined by static from a poor ground. Creative came to the rescue with an ingenious product, the Audigy 2 ZS Notebook.
The card's footprint is very small. A small nub sticks out from the laptop...that's all you need to put up with for amazing sound quality. The coloring even matched my Dell laptop's case.
In terms of sound quality, this card is just as good as the Audigy 2 ZS for desktops. The card outputs very clean sound, and it shows. My old Audigy 2 NX (which I thought was good) isn't even close in terms of clarity and soundfield reproduction. The ZS Notebook is THX certified, and has a very good signal-to-noise ratio...I think these are the primary reasons for such great sound. Everything has taken on a new light, even the lousy Windows alert sounds are much cleaner and enjoyable.
If you are a gamer, you'll appreciate the full EAX 4 hardware decoding. The card supports up to 8 (7.1) speakers. If you enjoy watching movies, the built-in Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES decoders ensure that you'll hear every last nuance and background noise. If you are a music buff, the enhanced clarity makes music sound much more rich and full, with a very accurate sound stage. You can even use the CMSS2 to get a nice surround sound effect.
What really blew me away was the portability. Obviously this thing is small, but I'm now taking it on airplanes for movie watching. Since the footprint is so small, and it has a headphone port, I can enjoy movies on the plane with the same clarity I'd get from my speakers.
The bundled software is equally as impressive. There are tons of calibration and setup utilities to ensure that you get the best sonic experience. I particularly like the THX Optimizer, which automatically calibrates speaker levels based on your listening position. I don't think you'll find drivers like this with any other product.
