Reviews
MAXIMUMPC APRIL 2004
N
otebook owners must be deaf.
How else to explain why
manufacturers pack their
laptops with top-of-the-line CPUs,
tons of RAM, and fast graphics
chips, but insist on craptastic audio
components. Thankfully, if you want
high-quality surround sound with
your mobile PC and have a free high-
speed USB 2.0 port, both Philips and
Creative Labs promise to turn your
notebook into a sweet-sounding
desktop replacement.
—GORDON MAH UNGPhilips Aurilium
Philips’ Aurilium is a
sleek-looking external
sound “card” that lets
you add 5.1 audio to
any PC equipped with
a high-speed USB 2.0
port. Amazingly, the
Aurilium is completely
bus-powered, which
means there’s no
need for an external
power brick. Like some
other soundcards,
the Aurilium promises
to recognize and configure
your speakers on the fly. Unlike
other sound solutions we’ve played
with, this one works. We plugged in
a set of headphones and they were
instantly recognized as headphones.
On the downside, we detected faint
static and crackling during booting.
Perhaps this is the price of a bus-
powered audio device?
To test sound quality, we listened
to 24-bit source material using both
the Aurilium and the onboard AC97
codec built into the test notebook.
It reinforced what we’ve beenabove what you can find in the
majority of notebooks on the market.
At 104dB, the Aurilium is spec’d
higher than Creative’s Audigy 2 NX
(102dB), but we thought the Audigy
sounded slightly fuller. In gaming
performance, the Aurilium has the
advantage in 3DMark2003’s sound
test. In other benchmarks, both
cards performed adequately. Unfor-
tunately, Philips dropped the ball in
designing the Aurilium’s feature set.
Not only does the card lack a remote
control, it’s unable to record in 24-bit
audio. Also, if you have 6.1 or 7.1
speakers, take note: The Aurilium
tops out at 5.1 audio.Creative Labs Audigy 2 NX
Like the Aurilium, the Audigy 2 NX
is high-speed USB 2.0–compliant
and provides up to EAX 3 support,
including Advanced HD. Unlike
the Aurilium, it also allows you to
listen to DVD-Audio.
The NX is smaller than the
Aurilium but features four line-out
ports: a coax and optical SPDIF, a
line-in, and a mic-in. An optical
SPDIF in-port is also included for
mini-disc fanatics. The NX isn’t
bus-powered like the Aurilium,
but its power brick is fairly
unobtrusive. Unlike Creative Labs’
Extigy model, the Audigy 2 NX
isn’t a stand-alone Dolby Digital
decoder. All of those functions
have now been moved onto the
host processor, i.e., your CPU.
In terms of audio quality, the
NX worked perfectly with our 7.1
GigaWorks speaker set. Using the
same 24-bit audio source, we tended
to favor the NX over the Aurilium—it produces a fuller sound. But
frankly, the difference is negligible.
Creative doesn’t push the NX as
the “optimal” gaming solution, but
more as a solution for casual gaming.
That’s good, because we did suffer
a big frame rate hit in 3DMark2003
due to excessive CPU usage. In the
other game tests— Comanche 4 and
Quake III Arena —the Audigy’s frame
rates held up fine.
We’ve long hated the difficult-
to-turn volume knobs on Creative’s
soundcards, and the NX is no
different. You can’t adjust the
volume without keeping your other
hand on the unit to prevent it from
sliding off your desk. Fortunately,
an infrared remote lets you adjust
the volume from afar.
Still, as much as we liked this
card, it wouldn’t make our notebook
a satisfactory desktop replacement.
Not a chance. A PCI card still offers
better performance than a USB
2.0 device. But , if we were already
using a notebook as a desktop
replacement, we’d sure as heck want
better sound, and the Audigy 2 NX
would be our first choice.External Soundcard Skirmish
Creative Labs’ Audigy 2 NX vs. Philips’ Aurilium
supports up
to 5.1-channel
audio and
doesn’t require
a power brick.Audigy 2 NX allows
notebook owners to listen
to DVD-Audio discs.saying for years:
Notebook vendors
need to improve the audio
quality of their laptops! When
compared with the Aurilium, our
onboard audio sounded like an 8-
track tape. The Aurilium’s 24-bit
audio is easily head and shouldersExternal Soundcard Skirmish
Creative’s
diminutivePhilips Aurilium
Philips’ Aurilium is a
sleek-looking external
sound “card” that lets
you add 5.1 audio to
any PC equipped with
a high-speed USB 2.0
port. Amazingly, the
Aurilium is completely
bus-powered, which
means there’s no
need for an external
power brick. Like some
other soundcards,
the Aurilium promises
to recognize and configure
your speakers on the fly. Unlike
The Aurilium other sound solutions we’ve played5“3.75“6.5“6.5“Automatically reconfigures audio on your notebook
when disconnected.7.12.1
Volume knobs are difficult to use and there is no
EAX 4.0 support. Sluggish frame rates.
$130, http://www.creativelabs.comMAXIMUMPC VERDICT 9
Audigy 2 NXBus powered, and the QSound 3D effects are very
pleasing.DVD-AUDIO8-TRACK TAPE
Must reconfigure audio in order to get sound back
on when the card is unplugged from a notebook.
$100, http://www.pcsound.philips.comMAXIMUMPC VERDICT 8
Aurilium