14 DAY TRIAL // Creative Labs are one of the most serious and best-known brands when it comes to PC audio: their soundcards represented a milestone in the past and it looks like the latest models are sworn on such history-making endeavors as well. The Soundblaster meant a giant step in what audio - both listening and production - meant; gaming-related audio also changed for ever because of Creative's constant struggles.
I guess a lot of music lovers and even semi-professional producers are happy these days as Creative have released their utmost contraption: the X-Fi Extreme Audio for notebooks! Since the Audigy ZS notebook edition, there has been little movement on this side of audio tech; nevertheless, it looks like it was all worth waiting as Creative came in with one of their finest products so anyone could enjoy top-grade music, gaming, in-movie audio or even produce some audio while on the go.
So far, the small jewel has rather scant specs available as Creative have been quite quiet about it. Nevertheless, some things are sure: THX 24-bit certification, full compliance with PCMCIA specifications and it will deliver Advanced HD sound to 7.1 channels. As its predecessor, the ZS, the notebook edition of the X-Fi sports optical in-out connection and will be also to feed extreme-quality sound to any speaker configuration below 7.1.
The price is not known yet, but full official data is expected soon; I guess we won't have to wait too much for such info: some pictures of the device are already out so it's most likely that Creative won't spoil the surprise by delaying the pleasant moment of unveiling the X-Fi Extreme Audio Notebook Edition.
