Creative SB1500 manual

User ’ s Guide SB1500 / SB1502 SB1506[...]

Intro ductio n Co ng ratu lati on s on you r pu r ch ase of Cr eative' s l atest aud i o rev olut i on , Sou n d Bl aster Z-Seri es! With cu tt i n g edge tech no l og y f r om th e l eaders i n PC au dio, Sou n d Bl aster Z-Seri es w il l giv e you year s of re li able e n tertainmen t on your PC I  E xpress (PCIe ® ) enab le d p er so[...]

Mo re Hel p F or th e l atest news and p r od u cts f or Sou n d Blaster , vi si t w ww.s ou n db laster .com . Th e si te also i nclud es i n for mation on maki ng p urch ases , tech n i cal h el p, an d th e latest dri v er up dat es. Us in g C reat iv e Sof tware A u toUpdate L ocating , do wnloadin g, and inst al l ing u p dat es f or y ou r Cr[...]

A bou t Y o ur Hardw ar e F or i n struct i on s on install i n g your Sou n d Blas ter Z-Seri es, and an y add iti on al ac cessor i es, consu lt th e Q u i ck Start l eaf l et. To l ear n mor e ab ou t y ou r produ ct, c on su l t th e fol l owi n g s ection s: l You r Sou n d Blaster Z-Ser i es Au dio car d l Au d i o Con t rol Mod u l e No tes [...]

J ack o r C on n ect or Descrip t io n 1 . Lin e In / Mic ro p h one In jac k C onn ects t o li n e- le vel so urces  ( fo r exampl e, M P3 p la yer s) o r m i cro p h ones w ith a 3 .5m m ( 1/8-i nch ) p lug . 2 . Hea d p h one jac k C onn ects t o stereo head p hon es with a 3.5 mm ( 1 / 8 - inch) pl u g . 3 . Lin e O u t 1 jac k ( Front L / R[...]

A ud io C ont rol M odul e An external ACM  (A u dio Co nt rol Mod u l e) p r ovi des a bu il t-in beamf ormi ng mi croph on e an d mi cr op h on e/head p h on e I /O  con n ections. No te: Th e ACM acces sory i s bu n d le d wi th Sou n d Blaster Zx only. 1 3 4 5 2 6 J ack, Con n ect or or C omponen t Descrip t io n 1 . Vo lum e Co n t ro l [...]

Th e Vo l u me Con t r ol knob on t he A CM con trol s th e volume ou t pu t to your h eadp h on es, giv ing you qu ick con trol over th e au d io lev el f r om you r g ames or mu si c. No te: Th e AC M Volume C on trol Kn ob all ows you to ad j u st h ead ph on e lev el s con venient l y based on th e maxi mum l eve l se t by you r c omp u ter&apo[...]

C o nnecting Sp eakers and Headp ho nes Th e c on n ectors and associated compon en ts s h own h er e may be d i f fer ent f rom th at of you r speaker system. Con su l t th e d ocu ment ation of y ou r speaker sy stem to iden tif y si mi l ar i n pu t con n ectors. You can u pmix your stere o sources (f or ex ample, CD Au dio, MP3 , WM A, MIDI [...]

P ositioni n g Y our Spe a k e rs Go od speaker plac ement is cr ucial to get ting o pt i mal per for mance f r om y ou r aud i o sy stem and ach i evi ng an en h an ced l i sten ing experi ence. Below ar e ou r r ecommend ation for 5 .1 ch ann el speaker s. F or d etail ed sp eake r p l acement tips, con su lt t h e d ocu men tat i on of you r spe[...]

C onne cting A n a log Spe a k er S ystems You r au dio car d sup p or ts analog speaker sy stems of up t o 5 .1 chan n els. To l ear n mor e abou t con n ecti n g dif fe rent ch an nel speaker systems, c on su l t th e f ol l owing section s: l 2 .1 chan n el analog s p eake rs l 5 .1 chan n el analog s p eake rs 2 .1 chan n el a n a log s peak er[...]

5 .1 chan n el a n a log s peak ers fro nt rear center/ subwoofer aud io inp uts center speaker front speakers rear speakers front rear center / subwoofer aud io inp uts 2 3 1 4 7 5 6 J ack, Con n ect or or C able 1 . Lin e O u t 1 jac k ( Front L / R) 2 . Lin e O u t 2 jac k (R ea r L / R ) 3 . Lin e O u t 3 jac k (C ent er/ S u b woof er) 4 . 5 .[...]

C onne cting D i gital S pe a k er S yst e ms You r Sou n d Blas ter Z-Seri es comes w ith an O pt i cal S/PDIF Ou t j ack which al l ows you to con n ect your digital speaker system. Most d igital s p eake rs s ystems con n ect th e au d io car d t o t he su b woofer or an external u n i t. F or more infor mation on you r digital speaker con n ect[...]

C onne cting H om e The ater S yst e m s You r Sou n d Blas ter Z-Seri es comes w ith an O pt i cal S/PDIF j ack w h i ch al l ows you to conn ect your h ome th eat r e system. Most home th eater sy stems con n ect th e au dio car d to an A/V rec ei ver . F or mor e i n f ormation on your A/V r ecei v er ' s speaker c on n ections, con su l t [...]

C on n ec t ing your A /V R ec e iv er using L in e Lev e l in pu ts I f y ou r A/V rec ei ver sup p orts multi-chan n el l i n e-l eve l i np u ts, you can con n ect th em dir ec tly to your au dio c ard' s Line O ut jacks i nst ead of th e O pt i cal S/PDIF Ou t jack as s h own b el ow. C on n ec t t o Lin e O ut 1 (F ron t L/R ) 2 1 3 4 J a[...]

C on n ec t Lin e Ou t 2 (Rear L/R ) 1 2 3 4 J ack, Con n ect or or C able Descrip t io n 1 . Lin e O u t 2 jack ( R ea r L / R) C onn ects to t h e R ear Left an d Rea r Ri g ht jac ks on your A/ V rece ive r, u si n g a 3 .5m m ( 1 / 8 - inch ) stere o- to- R C A cab l e (a vai la b le se p ara t el y 2 . 3 . 5 m m ( 1/8-i nch ) stereo - to- R CA[...]

C on n ec t Lin e Ou t 3 (C e n t er/S u bw oof er) 1 2 3 4 J ack, Con n ect or or C able Descrip t io n 1 . Lin e Out 3 ja ck ( Ce n t er/ S u b woof er) C onn ects t o t h e C en ter and Su b woof er jac ks on your A/ V rece ive r, u si n g a 3 .5m m ( 1 / 8 - inch ) stere o- to- R C A cab l e (a vai la b le se p ara t el y 2 . 3 . 5 m m ( 1/8-i [...]

C onne cting Hea d phone s a n d H e a dse t s Do no t l i ste n to a u d i o on you r h ea d ph o n es or headsets at h i gh vol u mes f or prol on g ed peri ods of ti me as h ear i ng loss may r esult. C on n ec t ing your h eadph on es a nd h eadse t s t o t heS ou n d Blas t er Z-S e ries F or h ea dp h on e s: 1 J ack, Con n ect or or C abl[...]

C onne cting A ud io C ont rol Mo dul e Th e ACM ac ces sor y i s bu n d l ed wi th So u n d Bl as ter Zx on ly . C on n ec t ing your A CM to t he Sou n d Blast e r Z-S eries 1 2 J ack, Con n ect or or C able Descrip t io n 1 . Lin e In / Mic ro p h one In ja ck Co nn ect s to th e 3 .5 mm (1/8 -in ch) mi cr op h on e plug o f you r AC M. 2 . Hea [...]

C on n ec t ing your h eadph on es a nd h eadse t s t o t he ACM OR 1 2 J ack, Con n ect or or C able Descrip t io n 1 . 3 . 5 m m He ad p h one jac k C onn ects t o stereo head p hon es o r h ead s ets with a 3 .5m m ( 1 / 8 - inch ) p lug . 2 . 3 . 5 m m Mi c rop hone In jac k Co nn ect s to li ne-lev el sou r ces (for example, MP3 p l ayer s)[...]

Ins talli ng and U ni nstal ling S o ftw are To take full advan tag e of your Sou n d Blas ter Z-Seri es aud io car d, you n eed to inst al l devi ce dri ve rs and app li cations. At times, you may al so need to u n i n stall some or al l of th e device dri v er s an d app l ic ation s to cor r ect p roblems , chan g e con fi gu rati on s, or up gr[...]

To rem ov e DTS Conn ec t : No te Carry ou t t h e fol l owi ng st eps O NL Y I F th er e are no o th er Cre ative app l ic ation s on you r system th at re qu ir es th e DTS  C on n ect e n coder. For Wi nd ows 7 : 1 . Ret u r n to th e S tart >  C on trol P an el > U n i n stal l a P rogra m wi n do w. 2 . Sele ct th e DTS ?[...]

In st a ll i n g D ri ve rs a n d A ppl i ca t ions En sur e that y ou r a u dio c ard is inst alle d befor e pr oce e din g . F or in s t r uct ion s on in s ta llin g y our au dio ca rd , c on sult y our Q u ick S t art le a flet . After you have i nst al l ed y ou r au dio card, t u r n on you r compu t er . Win dows au t omatical l y d etects y[...]

U si ng Your So und B las ter Z - Series You r Sou n d Blas ter Z-Seri es wor ks se aml essl y wi th man y exter n al device s to perf or m d i f fe re n t tasks. To l ear n mor e abo u t t h ese tasks and h ow t o con n ect ad ditional d evi c es, consu lt t he foll owi ng sections: l Play i n g Games l Wat chin g DVD s l Play i n g / Recor din g [...]

DTS Conn ec t DT S C on n ect is a re al -t i me encod ing tech n ology fr om DT S, I n c. f or i n teractiv e media and is only avai l able on th e PC p l atform . I t converts an y aud io si gn al on th e comp ut er i nt o 5.1 ch ann el DT S for mat an d transp orts i t v i a a si ng le di g i tal cable. With Do l by D i g i tal Live or [...]

P l a yi ng / R e cordi ng Musi c You c an play music f r om, an d/o r r ecord mu si c to ex ternal d evi ce s (for exam p l e, Digi tal Au d i o Tap e player /r ecor der) by con nect i n g th em to y ou r Sou n d Bl aster Z-Seri es. C on n ec t ing your ext e rn al dev ic e t o t h e S ou n d Blas t er Z-Ser ie s 2 1 3 J ack, Con n ect or or C abl[...]

C re a t in g Musi c You can set u p a home music s tu d io using you r Sou n d Bl aster Z-Seri es . Pu t tog eth er y ou r own produ ction s con si sting of multiple music trac ks f r om a MI DI synt hesizer or an el ectri c gu itar. Alter n ative l y, conn ect your el ectri c gu itar using a p r e-amp box t o t he L ine In /Micr oph on e I n j ac[...]

U si ng the Creative Sof tw are Suite Th e fol l owi n g sof tware i s desi g ned for you to access th e b asi c as wel l as th e ad vanced f eatu res of you r au dio car d . We r ecommend ed th at you f ami l i ari ze y ou rse lf w ith th eir f un ct i on s in or der to mak e f u l l use of th e r i ch f eatu re s o f your au d io card. To l ear n[...]

Sou nd Bl a st er Z-Se r i es C o n t rol P a ne l Managin g You r P ro files Cli ck th e bu t to n to displ ay th e Pr of i le s pan e. Activate a prof i l e by cl i cki ng t h e an d sel ecti n g i t f rom th e l i st. Cli ck to save al l s ett i n gs t o th e curre n t p r ofi l e or cr eate a new profi l e. Cl ic k to d el ete t he act i ve pro[...]

A dju st ing You r Mas t e r Volu me Set ting s Drag t h e master vol ume sli der to ad just th e vol u me l evel . You can mu te/u n mu te t h e vol u me by cl ic ki n g t h e speaker i con. C on fig u rin g You r S oftware Set t in gs Cli ck each f eatu r e to access i ts setting s p age. Mo r e i n f ormati on on each fe atu re can be foun d in [...]

SB X P ro St ud io Se t t in gs 1 . SBX  Pro Stu d i o en han cemen ts Sele ct to tu r n on or tu rn of f each enh an cement . You can h over y ou r mouse c u r sor over eac h en han cemen t to d i splay a bri ef expl an ation . 2 . E n han cemen t L eve l sl i ders Ad j u st th e am ou n t of enh an cement t o app l y. 3 . Au d i o Test cont ro[...]

C rys t al V oice Se tt in gs 1 . F ir st s el ect th e re cording d evi ce . 2 . Next, tu rn on Crystal Voice and sel ect to tu rn on or tu rn of f each of th e av ai labl e en h ancemen ts. Hav in g F un w ith C ry s ta lVoice After con f i g uration , cl ic k an d s p eak i n to your micr oph on e to h ear h ow you r voice sou n ds wi th C ry st[...]

Scout Mode Scou t mode tr an sf orms your h eari n g and en ables you to hear you r op p on ent s fr om furth er away, givi ng you a distinct tact i cal advan t age i n combat. 1 . Scou t mod e Sele ct to tu r n on or of f Scout mod e. Cli ck to con fi gu r e hot key s f or tu rning o n an d tu rnin g of f Scou t mode. Us in g the Cr ea tive S of t[...]

Spe a ker s/H ea dph one s S ett in gs 1 . Switch bet wee n Sp eaker s or Headp h on es mode. 2 . Sp eaker s / Headph on es C on f i g uration Sele ct you r curr en t ph ysi cal s p eake r or head p h on e confi g uration . No tes: St er eo Dir ect is an opt i on for dir ect p l ayback to ster eo speaker chan n el sampled at 1 9 2 kHz. Th e fol l o[...]

C in e matic Se tt i ngs 1 . E n coder sett ing s Sele ct "No E n cod er " if you w is h to tu rn of f encod ing or sel ect "Dolby D igital Live" or " DT S C on n ect" to tu rn on th e res pect i ve encod ers . S et t ing u p D TSCon n e c t Und er DTS Con n ect, sel ect or un sele ct th e op tion "DT S?[...]

Mix e r Se t t in gs 1 . Volume sli ders Ad j u st th e playback an d r ecor din g vol u me f or y ou r v ari ous i n pu t s an d ou tp u ts. 2 . I n pu t D evi ce Sele ct t h e i n pu t d evi ce s ou rc e fr om th e fol l owi n g an alog sources: F r on t Mic roph on e, Rear Micr o- ph on e o r Rear Lin e-i n . On ly on e source can be active at a[...]

S ele c t in g t h e In pu t Dev ic e Sou r c e You r aud io car d su pp orts aud io i np u t fr om th e f oll owi ng an alog sou rc es: l F ront M i cr op h on e (I n tel HD Fr on t Pan el ) l Rear Micr oph on e ( Lin e I n/ Micr oph on e In j ac k) l Rear L i n e-i n (L i n e I n/ Micr oph on e In j ac k) O n l y on e of th e abo ve i np u [...]

Equa l iz e r Se t t in gs 1 . E Q presets Sele ct an eq uali zer preset to ap p l y to you r au dio. 2 . E Q sl i ders Ad j u st th e e qu ali zer sett i n gs. C u s tom iz ing You r EQ S et t in gs Sele ct th e E Q checkbo x to e n able th is f eatu r e, th en cl i ck th e E Q drop -down arr ow an d s el ect a pres et fr om th e li s t. Sele c[...]

A dva n ced F e atur es S e t t in gs 1 . Play stereo m ix to d igital ou tp u t Sele ct t he ch eckbox to d own mi x th e aud io wi th i ts eff ects to a stereo PCM st r eam to be ch an n el ed to d igital ou tp u t. No te You mu st f ir st sel ect "Sp eaker " as th e play back d evi ce to u se th is f eatu re . Us in g the Cr ea tive S [...]

Usi n g Y o ur A ud io De vice Pla y ing Gam e s You r au dio devi ce i s equ i pp ed wi th cu tt i ng edg e aud i o tech nologies and softwar e to en h ance t he au dio i n you r games. SBX Pr o Stu dio wi l l el ev ate you r gaming experi ence to t h e next lev el , al l owi ng you t o hear sou n d d etai l s in g ame s you h ave never heard b[...]

C om m u nicat ing w it h Voice ov er In t ern et P rotoc ol (VoIP) Use a head set wi th you r au dio device to en j oy ou tst an ding acou sti c perf ormance in pop u l ar VoIP app l i cations l i ke Vent r i l o® an d TeamSp e ak®. Hear and b e heard c le arl y by teammates du r i n g multi- player games to get th e tact i cal edg e. You c an e[...]

C re atin g Y our A udi o 'Sw ee t Spot ' wi t h t he S BS pea k er Se t up Gen er al l y, for a 5 . 1 speaker con fi gu r ation , t h er e is an ideal speaker placeme n t th at al l ows you to po si tion you r sel f i n t he au dio swee t sp ot, g i vi ng you th e best su r r ou nd an d au dio pleasure possibl e. Ple ase ref er to Pos[...]

Pola rity S e lec t ion I f y ou h av e an au dio/vi deo (A/V) r ece iv er , your speakers m u st be wi re d app r opri ately (in-p h ased) i n order to reprodu c e sou nd f ie lds corr ec tly. Th e Pol ari ty Sel ection tab h el ps y ou corr ectly con nect all n egat i ve and p osi tive ou tp u t t er mi n al s on th e A/V recei v er to t h e i n [...]

S peak er Lev e l Th i s set of con f i gu r ation s enab l es y ou t o ach i eve a balanced l evel f or e ach speaker . Sp eake r l ev el i s aff ec ted mainly by th e distan ce between th e speaker an d t he li sten er . Cli ck th e Level Test bu tto n and ad j u st t he sp eak er l evel f or e ach speaker ac cordi n gl y. Us in g the Cr ea tive [...]

G eneral Spe cif icati o ns Th i s secti on d etail s th e specif i cations of your Sou nd Blaster Z-Ser ie s au dio car d . PC IBu s Ma s te rin g l PC I Exp re ss Sp eci f i cation Ver si on 1 .1 compli ant l Bu s mas teri n g r edu ces l aten cy and sp eeds up system per for mance S ou n d Blas t er Sou n d C ore3 DA u dio Proce s s or l A[...]

C on nec t iv it y Th i s secti on d etail s th e con n ecti vi ty of your Sou nd Blaster Z-Ser i es au dio car d . S ou n d Blas t er Z-Ser ie s Au dio C a rd A u dio In pu ts l O ne 3 . 5 mm (1 /8 -i nch ) Lin e I n j ack f or An al og Line I n or Micr oph one I n l O ne O pt i cal S/PD I F  j ack f or Digital I n A u dio Ou tpu ts l O ne 3 .5[...]

T rou b les ho o ting Th i s secti on p r ovi des s olut i on s to p r ob l ems you may e n cou n ter du r i ng inst al l ation or no r mal u se. This i n cl u des: l Problem s wi th D i gital Aud i o Devi ces l Problem s wi th D ol by D i gital Live or DT S Con nect l Problem s wi th M u l tiple Au dio Device s l Problem s wi th S ou nd I f y o[...]

No te I f Dolby Di gital Live or DTS  Con nect is enab l ed, on l y PCM au dio and certai n compressed aud i o (f or example, MP3 ) can be p l ayed, wh i ch wi l l be en coded by Do l by D i gital Live or DT S Con nect th r ou gh you r sel ected ou tp ut d evi ce . P r oble ms wi t h M ul t ipl e Au dio D e vi ces If there ar e ot h er au dio[...]

Safety Info rmati o n Refer to t h e f ol l owi n g inform ation to u se your produ ct saf el y, an d t o r edu ce th e chan ce of el ectr ic s h ock, sh or t- ci r cuiting , damag e, f i re , h ear i n g i mpair ment or oth er h azar ds. Imp r op er han dli n g may v oi d th e war r a n ty f or y ou r pr od uct. For more i n f or mati on , r ea d [...]

Li cens e and Co p y right In fo rm atio n in t h is do cu m ent is subje ct to ch ange w ith out n otice an d d oe s n ot rep res en t a co m m itmen t on th e p art of C reativ e Te chn olo gy Lt d . No p art of th is man u al may b e rep rod u ced or tran smitted i n any form or b y an y m eans, el ectro n ic o r mech anic al , includ ing photoc[...]