It brings sounds to my ears

Sound quality testing consisted of:

Music:

- Titanic CD

- Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Californication) MP3

- Christina Aguilera (I turn to you) MP3

- Blink 182 (What's my age again) MP3

- Britney Spears (Lucky) MP3

- Toni Braxton (He wasn't man enough) MP3

DVD:

- Jurrasic Park

- Jurrasic Park (The lost world)

- What Women Want

- A View To A Kill (James Bond)

- Tomorrow Never Dies (James Bond)

Games:

- Need For Speed 5 Porche 2000

- Quake 3

- Alice

Music:

After many hours listening to various music the end result is positive, but that could be expected from this kind of hardware.  A lot had to do with how we positioned the speakers, but even so, the audio seemed vibrant. It filled the room with realistic sounds through pathways sourcing from each of the five satellite speakers. Of course to create this effect 5.1 speakers had to be selected as the output source and CMSS (Creative Multi-Speaker Surround) needed to be enabled. Without it, audio files would not be played through all speakers, thus not creating a surround effect. Solid bass was present where appropriate through the 18W RMS subwoofer despite its relatively low rated power output when compared to traditional subwoofers from Cambridge Soundworks. This was not the case straight out the box though. To get the best effect we had to change the default settings. In Windows we lowered the bass slider to ~33% and in turn adjusted the subwoofer volume at the rear to maximum. This combination, we feel, provides the most realistic bass. We best advise to leave the bass control at speaker level, and not use the control within Windows. Failing to do so will result in bass distortion that can heavily ruin your hearing experience.

Despite the Inspire 5.1 5300 speakers being analog there is little if any criticism we can convey. Regardless what music we played the sound exceeded expectations and was crystal clean throughout. Creative's Audio Clean-Up technology really only excels itself on a polluted track where it is successful at removing foreign sounds. Using this feature on a clear track without distortion will not deLive!r better results, but there is no feasible reason to leave it disabled unless one gets annoyed at the extra 4-6% more CPU usage it consumes. With the Audigy chipset claiming 4x the power of previous Live! cards, one would wonder why is Audio Clean-Up still performed in software, a trivial question yet with a logical meaning nevertheless.

The Creative mixer allows you to fine tune the audio settings. (Click image to view larger version).

Adjusting Windows audio settings improves bass quality when using the Creative Inspire 5.1 5300 speakers.

DVD:

Modern DVD movies take full advantage of 5.1 speakers, and at this the Inspire 5.1 5300 excelled. The speakers can be very loud so if you accidentally turn up the volume at a quiet interval in the movie, you will be blown away the moment an action scene enters the stage. The most amazing aspect of loud action scenes is the richness of the bass managing to shake the floor, amazing because one normally doesn't expect this from a 18W RMS subwoofer. Dialogs are clearly voiced via the center 6W RMS speaker including the front left/right channels where necessary, in conjunction the rear channels fulfill the remaining surround special effects all working together to create a blend of realism especially if you sit in the middle of the room. As I purposely stated above, the speakers can be very loud, and even if you play them at 50% of their volume it might still upset the wife (or parents). As the total RMS of this speaker system is 48W there is no need to use their full power, more so if your computer room isn't all that large. The 30W RMS provided by all satellites combined is efficiently enough for most users requiring clean powerful high tones and as is the case here they do not distort even at high volume levels. Watching DVD's combining the Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum and Inspire 5.1 5300 speakers is a most rewarding experience, simply set the speakers up according to Dolby Digital standards and you're set. The Sound Blaster Audigy has built-in Dolby Digital decoding mechanisms permitting it to offer true 5.1 surround sound in movies. This has to be one area where there it is most difficult to say anything negative about the two products working in tandem as a home cinema system.

	For DVD sound quality testing we used WinDVD 3.0 provided to us by Intervideo supporting true Dolby Digital and DTS sound.
	All DVD movies used for testing used Dolby Digital sound for use with 5.1 speakers.

Clean-Up improves poluted tracks by removing their  scratches and foreign sounds.

Recommended 5.1 speaker positions.

Games:

Gamers are already familiar with what EAX and what multiple speakers can do for them in games. With the Sound Blaster Audigy the next generation of EAX called EAX ADVANCED HD enters the scene. Unfortunately for any kind of real performance this requires further support from game developers via using the updated EAX API. With that said EAX ADVANCED HD remains backwards compatible meaning existing EAX game titles can be enjoyed with even cleaner sound due to the improvements found on Sound Blaster Audigy cards. Sound is crisp, distinctive and carries sign on its origin, the Inspire 5.1 5300 speakers prove to be a good match making your gaming experience as loud as you want it. Bass is consistent through the revving of engines, shots being fired as well as alerts of danger.

Overall:

It has to be said, the audio sounds very good and I'm not being paid to say that -- the facts speak for themselves. The Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum deLive!rs as one would hope for. My single concern ventures from the  Inspire 5.1 5300 speakers. As you listen in while playing tracks that aren't as well harmonized or use extensive sets of instrumental sounds all in one go, you may well notice the subwoofer not knowing which way to bounce. Instead it vibrates chaotically producing an ugly sound rather than what the song author had intended. Why does this happen? It's hard to say. The easiest explanation is that it's just not powerful enough. We seem to think that, and perhaps that's why the Inspire 5.1 5700 speakers feature a 30W RMS subwoofer instead (which we might get a chance to look at sometime later). The situation looks as if Creative is aware of this setback yet has decided that for $99 things cannot be perfect. To be honest, this problem only annoys the listener rarely, and using the settings we suggested above, the bass will be properly passed onto your ears in a true realistic sounding manner.

Check out the Audigy Experience as part of the bundled software and witness the crystal clear realism. (Click image to view larger version).

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