Hardware Fusion’s 7.1 feature looks at today’s surround sound technology for the PC home user and receives input from Creative’s European Brand Manager for audio products, Darragh O’Toole. Hardware Fusion also has an in-depth look at Creative’s latest 7.1 audio card, the Audigy 2 ZS, a full interview with Darragh O’Toole and a Audigy 2 ZS Giveaway!

7.1 is the latest surround sound format to hit the home consumer PC market. For years sound experts have inspired to bring the full effect of cinema entertainment into the home. With the release of Creative’s Audigy 2 ZS, Creative’s first 7.1 THX certified sound card, the reality of home cinema entertainment has been taken a step further.

The new 7.1 format introduces two additional channels, which have been given the placement of left and right side speakers. With the incorporation of two extra channels the user will be able to enjoy a 360 degree audio environment, which will further add to the immersive atmosphere that surround sound entertainment has to offer, and will bring home users a step closer to the reality of modern day cinema.

“Darragh O’Toole: Cinema technology has been an obvious leader in defining the channel standards moving from 5.1 to 6 .1 and now 7.1. 7.1 nicely fills the gap in the sound field where you can now hear sounds in pretty accurate 360 degrees without having to wait until they have moved fully to the rear before you realise they have passed you. For Movies, we have added support for Dolby Digital Surround EX and DTS-ES with speaker replication to take full advantage of the 7.1 configuration for 5.1 titles without affecting the original mix.”

For gamers the 7.1 sound format means increased realism when it comes to playing today’s games. Creative’s Audigy 2 ZS incorporates the use of API’s, such as DirectSound3D and OpenAL, which are capable of rendering full bandwidth, 7.1 TRUE surround sound. Creative’s Multi-Environment™ engine moves the reverberation effects away from just being the listener's reverb to being able to tie reverberation effects directly to the sounds themselves, which in practice allows a sound source to carry a reverb with it into the next environment of the game. This technology is highly useful for creating seamless transitions of environmental effects whilst moving from one environment to another, therefore greatly enhancing upon realism. With the addition of Creative’s latest EAX 4.0 and Multi-Environment™ technology the harnessing power of 7.1 audio becomes clearly apparent, for it introduces a more realistic audio experience with smoother panning.

“Darragh O’Toole: If you take Jedi Knight Academy and Colin McRae 4, developers from Creative have worked closely with the audio development team for the games to assist with the implementation and have been to hand every step of the way. Colin McRae, while sounding like an unlikely candidate for EAX 4 is an excellent example of how even we were blown away by how real it made the in-car experience. With distinct regions of the car representing a specific environment you really do get in touch with every nuance of the car’s movement as you’re hurtling around the tracks.”