Creative today introduced a limited-edition variant of its Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus discrete internal sound card, the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition (model: SBX-AE5P-WH). This is essentially a white color trim of the AE-5 Plus sound card which debuted in mid-April 2020, which sees silvery matte white make up the main shroud over the card, and much of the backside of the PCB being painted white. There are still some contrasting piano black bits, such as the ARGB insert.

The AE-5 Plus slots between the AE-5 and AE-7, while being almost identical to the former. It's only feature-additions over the AE-5 are Dolby Digital Live and DTS encoding support, which the AE-5 lacks. The hardware of the AE-5 Plus is identical to the AE-5, with 122 dB SNR, 32-bit 384 kHz audio format support, and 0.00032% total harmonic distortion. Available in limited quantities, the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition is priced around USD $170.

Creative rolled out the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus, a discrete internal sound card with PCIe interface. The card is a step up from the Sound BlasterX AE-5, and is positioned below the AE-7 the company debuted in June 2019. The new AE-5 Plus uses the same Sound Core 3D audio processor as the rest of the AE series, but with an ESS Sabre Ultra DAC carried over from the AE-5, which offers 122 dB SNR, sound resolution of 32-bit 384 kHz, and 0.00032% total harmonic distortion. Much like the AE-5, it lacks user-replaceable OPAMPs. What sets the AE-5 Plus apart is support for Dolby Digital Live and DTS encoding, just like the AE-7 and AE-9, which is something the original AE-5 lacks. It also only comes in a black color-scheme, unlike the AE-5. The company didn't reveal pricing, although we expect it to be around 10-15% pricier than the $149 AE-5.

Creative Technology today announced the release of Sound Blaster X3, its latest addition to the illustrious Sound Blaster line-up of sound cards which ignited the PC audio revolution 30 years ago. A high-resolution USB DAC with multi-channel audio playback, it combines Creative's multiple award-winning technological breakthroughs - the famed Sound Blaster digital processing technology and game-changing Super X-Fi headphone holography - for a compelling solution which audio enthusiasts simply cannot ignore.

Creative Technology Ltd continues its legacy of revolutionizing audio with the launch of its most advanced PCI-e sound cards ever - the Sound Blaster AE-9 and Sound Blaster AE-7. Built with only the most premium components, and complemented with the latest technologies from Creative, these sound cards are designed to define a new performance standard in this class for the ultimate PC entertainment experience.

Up till 1989, the only sounds coming out of the PC were mere beeps. The same year, Sound Blaster was born, and PC audio was transformed forever. Since then, over 400 million Sound Blasters have been sold; and the Sound Blaster brand has become synonymous with the term sound card and high-quality PC audio - first for gaming, and then movies and music. With experience and expertise refined over three decades of audio innovation, Sound Blaster has continued to reinvent itself with the development of digital audio processing technologies. Each new innovation served to redefine what the ultimate audio experience really means, such as when it evolved beyond the PC in the form of external sound cards for platforms like gaming and entertainment consoles.

The ASUS Xonar U3 is a portable, pocket-sized audio solution that delivers an upgraded audio experience for notebook users. Slightly larger than a standard USB flash drive, the U3 is designed for users looking to turn their notebooks into a personal high fidelity audio center complete with Dolby and GX2.5 support.

The onboard audio solution for most notebooks in the market offers just the bare minimum in sound quality and controls. The Xonar U3 with built-in headphone amplifier is the best solution for those users who use their notebooks as personal entertainment centers. Weighing only 25g and easily fitting in a pocket, the U3 enhances treble and bass while driving high fidelity headphones with impedance up to 150 ohms. Also built-in is Xonar exclusive hyper-grounding technology, which works like a watershed to separate audio signals from noise to provide clean and clear sound. Installation is easy and with multiple pre-set equalizer settings and modes for gaming, music, movies and headphone use, upgrading notebook sound is quick and simple.

Auzentech, Inc., announced the immediate availability of the Auzen X-Meridian 7.1 2G, the second generation of the Auzen X-Meridian 7.1. The original Auzen X-Meridian 7.1 was a game-changing high-performance audio card which marked the dividing line between audio that sounds great, and audio that sounds perfect. It was the world's first custom-designed audio card based on C-Media CMI 8788 chipset, and received rave reviews for its audio quality. Now, the award winning Auzentech audio development team and chipset manufacturer C-Media have teamed up again.

With the X-Meridian 7.1 2G, Auzentech has taken what many consider the greatest sound card of all time and updated it with the best of today's technology, making the X-Meridian 7.1 2G more than simply the must-have PC Audio solution for audiophiles-it's a feast for the ears. Under the hood, the new X-Meridian 7.1 2G has been upgraded with new Advanced Driver Software Architecture (ADSA) for the C-Media CMI8788 Oxygen HD PCI Audio Processor. Features include Dolby Digital Live Real-Time Content Encoder, DTS CONNECT and Xear3D sound technology.

Shuttle Inc., market leader in the mini-PC segment and manufacturer of Multi-Form-Factor solutions, today unveils a new XPC Barebone from the P2 model series building on Intel's X48 Express chipset. Specially designed for high performance systems, the XPC Barebone SX48P2 Deluxe is ideally suited for Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors with up to four cores.

The XPC Barebone SX48P2 Deluxe is the first mini PC barebone ready to be equipped with DDR3 memory modules. A maximum capacity of eight Gigabytes on four sockets can be installed into this model. "The pioneering DDR3 memory technology promises more performance with less energy consumption and reduces heat development which is ideal for mini PCs," explains Tom Seiffert, Head of Marketing & PR at Shuttle Computer Handels GmbH. Two PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots enable the use of high-end graphics cards with an ATI Radeon HD 4870 being supported as well.

Auzentech announced today the release of Dolby Digital Live support for the X-Fi Prelude Soundcard. A real-time encoding technology, Dolby Digital Live converts any audio signal into a Dolby Digital bitstream for transport and playback through a home theater system. With it, your PC or game console can be hooked up to your Dolby Digital-equipped audio/video receiver or digital speaker system via a single digital connection. All Auzentech X-Fi Prelude owners may now proceed to the free soundcard driver update download link.