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The Week in
Review: February 3-9, 2003
Last week's features at
3DsoundSurge
Boston Acoustics BA7800 Speaker System
In our latest review we check out the Boston Acoustics BA7800 4.1 speaker system.
Available directly from Gateway for $150 the system bears a striking similarity to the
satellites and subwoofer that Boston Acoustics uses in their Kenwood-partnered Unity 5.1
system (that comes with a custom amp/DVD player from Kenwood). It's of course not the
same system but Boston Acoustics material indicates that by using a “sophisticated
home theater-grade crossover”, the front satellites have been “meticulously
voiced for superior response”. The Subwoofer is also promising with an 8"
down firing ported design that promises bass extension down to 33 dB within +/- 3dB. After
all our tests we conclude that the BA7800 is a system worthy of further scrutiny for
anyone in the market for a 4.1 system. For all the details on
performance including strengths and weaknesses of the BA7800 head on to the review,
which as per our recent norm comes with a summary sheet and two review flavors - a lengthy
in-depth review and a shorter, but still fairly detailed, condensed review.
Last week's sound news
Drivers and bugs
- CMedia Drivers and AC-3 decoding News
While checking Hercules site I noticed that they released new drivers for its CMedia based series as well which includes
Gamesurround Muse LT, Muse XL and Muse DVD 5.1. No mention what's new but they are based
on the 639 reference drivers. If you would rather get the 639 reference drivers from
CMedia you can download them from CMedia site. The driver date is as early as August 2002. A more recent
release (643 and feature Sensaura of version 2216) from November 27, 2002, is available
using the WindowsXP update feature. Again no details what's new. CMedia has also released new drivers (UDA 025) for its AC97 software based solutions, 9739
and 9738. They were released January 24, 2003. No details on what's new.
On CMedia's site I also spotted a press release
offering a few more details on the real-time Dolby Digital 5.1 encoder for the CMI9739
6CH AC97 CODEC that we mentioned earlier this month. Perhaps most interesting is the info it requires
only 7% of the CPU consumption from a Pentium 4 processor. Lacking is any mention what the
latency may be.
New Hercules Crystal Sound Card Drivers (v.6.09)
Hercules has released new (v.6.09)unified drivers for their Fortissimo II series, GTXP
series, Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1, all cards using either the CS4624 or CS4630
chipset from Cirrus Logic/Crystal. Here is what's new:
- Corrected the AC-3 Digital output when using Power DVD.
- Fixed false detection of internet connection due to proxy server
settings during the installation phase.
You can grab the drivers which come in two versions (with and without DLS sample
set) from Hercules site. Thanks to Jure Repinc for the pointer.
New
games, demos, patches and bugs
Freelancer Gold
Lancer Reactor reports that
Microsoft Game Studios has announced that Freelancer has gone gold and is scheduled to
ship to stores on March 4 in North America. Here's some interesting bits from their
FAQ
Will there be surround sound in Freelancer?
Freelancer will support Direct3D Sound, thus allowing for true surround sound. When you
fly inside a nebula with electric charges going off, you'll be able to hear the rumble
above and behind you. In a unique way, that make the whole gaming experience very intense!
What type of music will be in Freelancer?
This is a fascinating part of Freelancer. All the music created for the game is specific
to Freelancer. There were 6 different composers used for generating the music you'll hear
in the game. What is even more interesting is the fact each of the 5 major
"sectors" will have it's own unique theme music playing in the background. This
will enable you to know just by listening to the sound coming from your system where you
are currently located in the galaxy. The gameplay and combat music sequences were all
composed by the same composer too so there will be a sort of familiar sound to that part
of the game. This could be a comfort for some pilots or a sign of pending danger for
others depending on your character strength.
Is Freelancer the sequel to Starlancer?
Actually, Starlancer was thought of as the first of a trilogy, telling the story of the
"Solar Wars", which end just prior to the introduction to Freelancer with the
destruction of our solar system - major bummer, eh?
All of Digital Anvil's games are set in the same universe, and, as
such, part of a massive storyline spanning hundreds of years.
Starlancer supported EAX and A3D according to Lancers Reactor's FAQ
for that game.
Black Hawk Down Demo
The demo of
Black Hawk Down is now available from NVIDIA. It features a WDM 5.1 option that offers
3D sound on at least 4 and 5.1 speaker systems. That they refer to it as WDM 5.1 may
indicate it only works on WDM drivers (what all cards use in Windows 2000 and later, and
some on all systems using Windows 98SE and later). Unlike most other games it appears to
be using its own 3D sound engine and direct channel access rather than depending on the
soundcards 3D sound engine.
- Interview with New Medal of Honor Composer
Music for games has posted an interview
with with new Medal of Honor Composer Christopher Lennertz. Here's a snip:
M4G: Seems like every week now a film composer is composing for
videogame soundtracks; Media Ventures is composing the soundtrack for American' McGee's
next opus, Don Davis is scoring Infogrames' Enter The Matrix videogame, and Basil
Poledouris recently composed a spot for Nintendo. Why do you think videogames are becoming
increasingly attractive for the top film composers and what specifically attracts you to
the medium?
CL: I think that any composer looks for the opportunity to really
stretch out and write big, dramatic scores. A lot of movies today don't always call for
that…and so often, you are working around songs, fx, and tons of dialogue, that the
score plays a much more secondary role. The vivid and epic quality of video games actually
allows more freedom for the composer in some cases. As far as my own attraction, I think
it was the subject matter of MOH and EA's desire to approach the score like an epic
blockbuster film that really grabbed me.
Reviews
of soundcards, speakers, headphones and MP3 players.
- Audigy 2
3D Velocity has posted a fairly detailed and overall positive review of Creative Labs Audigy 2 card.
They mostly compare it to the original Audigy and find it an improvement but for those
into games only not enough to be worth an upgrade. One thing worth noting is that the
comment about only the new WinDVD support Dolby Digital EX is not correct since the Audigy
2 offer Dolby Digital EX with any DVD player that supports SPDIF output. In addition some
editions of PowerDVD also offer Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES support.
- Creative® Inspire™ 5.1 Console 5500D
Hardware Fusion has posted a review of Creative® Inspire™ 5.1 Console 5500D. The 5.1
system which features a Dolby Digital decoder and wireless remote control retails for
£150. The short review is a bit mixed but considering the price ends on a positive note.
- Creative Inspire 6700 6.1 Speakers
Techspot has posted a detailed
review of Creative's Inspire 6700 6.1 Speakers. The review is overall positive, noting
its a slight improvement over the 5300, especially when it comes to the subwoofer, but of
course not anywhere near the quality of Creative's MegaWorks line. They didn't found the
benefit of rear center channel to be significant (tested with the Audigy 2).
Other sound news
- Creative announce immediate shipment of Audigy 2
Platinum eX
Creative has announced immediate shipment of the Sound Blaster® Audigy(TM) 2 Platinum eX.
It includes the convenient and easy-to-use Audigy 2 External I/O Module for home studio
quality connectivity through three analog stereo connections, plus optical and coaxial
digital I/O, full-sized MIDI I/O and two SB1394(TM) (FireWire®) ports. Unlike the other
Audigy 2 cards it offers 24/96 ASIO recording. The Sound
Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX is currently shipping with an estimated street price of
US$249.99. You can find
more details in the full press release.
- QSound Launches QDVD Plug-in For InterVideo's
WinDVD
QSound Labs has announced the immediate availability of the QDVD plug-in for InterVideo's
popular DVD player, WinDVD. QDVD is available for download from both QSound and
InterVideo's web sites for $14.95 US. QDVD is based on
QSound's High Definition audio library (QHD(TM)). At the heart of QHD is QSound's
best-selling audio expansion technology, QXpander®, which takes the existing mono or
stereo sound information and applies 3D processing proportionately to it, resulting in
two-channel stereo output with a dramatically wider perceived sound field. QHD uses
QSound's QRumble(TM) and QSizzle(TM) to restore both punch and brilliance to music,
bringing the "warmth" of analogue playback to digital audio files. QDVD also
features QSound's newly developed "Dialog Enhancer", which allows users to
improve the dialog intelligibility independent of the remaining soundtrack, addressing the
problem of muffled or masked dialog due to competing audio effects. You can find some additional
details in the press release.
- SRS Labs' WOW(TM) Technology Goes Mobile With New
Kenwood Car CD Receivers
SRS Labs has announced that Kenwood has included SRS WOW(TM) as Kenwood's premier audio
feature in its new 2003 line of in-dash CD receivers. Kenwood introduced its new 2003
models, including the three that feature SRS WOW, at last month's Consumer Electronics
Show in Las Vegas. These products mark the first time that WOW audio processing has been
incorporated into car audio products on a worldwide basis. You can find more details about
SRS WOW and Kenwood's receivers in the press release.
- Kano Technologies Launches Retail DVD+RW/R USB
2.0 Packages
Kano Technologies, a new DVD+RW/R storage solutions company, has introduced its first
retail products. The K2XTREME DVD+RW/R 2.4x internal and external drive packages tout
"on-the-fly" video recording, enabling easy conversion of personal videos into
DVDs -- in the shortest possible recording time. The K2XTREME DVD+VR support allows the
user to edit parts of a recorded DVD+RW disk without re-recording the complete disk, while
maintaining the renowned DVD+RW playback compatibility. Also featured is Roxio's new Easy
CD Creator 5.3 DVD Edition with its popular easy-to-use interface. Additionally,
award-winning NTI Backup NOW! Combo software provides complete desktop backup and restore.
You can find more
details in the full press release.
- AIAS Announces Finalists For 2003 Interactive
Achievement Awards
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences today announced finalists for the 2003
Interactive Achievement Awards, which will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in
Las Vegas, February 27, 2003. The Academy will present awards in 30 craft, console,
computer, and online categories. Award highlights include an overall Game of the Year as
well as Game of the Year in different genres including two audio related categories, and
the prestigious Hall of Fame Award. Finalists for 2003's
Outstanding Achievement in Original Musical Composition include:
- Medal of Honor: Frontline for the PlayStation 2, published by
Electronic Arts, developed by Electronic Arts LA;
- Metroid Prime for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, published by Nintendo of
America, developed by Retro Studios;
- The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind for the PC, published and developed by
Bethesda Softworks;
- Rygar: The Legendary Adventure for the PlayStation 2, published and
developed by Tecmo;
- Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos for the PC, published and developed by
Blizzard Entertainment.
Finalists for 2003's Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
include:
- Eternal Darkness for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, published by Nintendo of
America, developed by Silicon Knights;
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the PlayStation 2, published by
Rockstar, developed by Rockstar North;
- Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers for the PlayStation 2, published by
Electronic Arts, developed by Stormfront Studios;
- Medal of Honor: Frontline for the PlayStation 2, published by
Electronic Arts, developed by Electronic Arts LA;
- Metroid Prime for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, published by Nintendo of
America, developed by Retro Studios;
- No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way for the PC, published
by Sierra Entertainment, developed by Monolith;
- Splinter Cell for the Xbox, published by Ubi Soft, developed by Ubi
Soft Montreal.
Details of the announcement can be found in the press release
and a full list of categories and nominees can be found at the Academy Of
Interactive Arts And Sciences website.
For more news from last week check out our news archive.
Upcoming features at 3DsoundSurgeReviews that we are currently working on:
Updated Santa Cruz/Sonic Fury and GameTheaterXP reviews
Hercules Fortissimo II
Terratec DMX Xfire 1024
CMedia CM8738 Reference Review
Full Audigy Review
Full Philips MMS305 Review
There are several other hardware reviews in the pipeline
including, but not limited to the following:
Guillemot Maxi Sound MUSE
Terratec m3po
DigMedia MusicStore
Philips Seismic Edge
Lots of other stuff on the go in including several guides and major site revisions that we
will soon be releasing more details on.
As always if you have any ideas for products we should review or features we should do,
please let us know.
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