Creative Audigy 2 ZS, User Manual

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Page 2: ...topic or a web site click the underlined blue text or the hand symbol whenever it appears To show a short description tooltip of an object move your mouse cursor over it A tooltip appears after a few seconds You can choose to print portions of this document 1 On the Contents tabbed page to your left click a topic heading On the menu click the Print button In the dialog boxthat appears click the op...

Page 3: ...arn more about your product refer to the corresponding section Your Audigy 2 ZS audio card Your Joystick MIDI Bracket Your PlatinumDrive included with Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Your Remote Control included with Audigy 2 ZS Platinum ...

Page 4: ...rs or an external amplifier Also supports headphones 5 Microphone In jack MIC_IN Connects to an external microphone for voice input 6 Line In jack LIN_IN Connects to analog devices like music synthesizers and other line level sources 7 Digital Out jack Connects to external digital devices or digital speaker systems 6 channel or compressed AC 3 SPDIF output 8 Telephone Answering Device connector TA...

Page 5: ...MIDI connector JOYSTICK Connects to the Joystick MIDI bracket for gaming or MIDI devices optional 14 AD_EXT connector AD_EXT Connects to the AD_EXT connector on the Platinum Drive included with Audigy 2 ZS Platinum ...

Page 6: ...Y our Joystick MIDI Bracket The Joystick MIDI bracket is used to attach a joystick or MIDI device Jack or Connector Description 1 Joystick MIDI connector Connects to a joystick or a MIDI device ...

Page 7: ...Y our Platinum Drive included with Audigy 2 ZS Platinum The PlatinumDrive provides additional connectivity for a number of other devices ...

Page 8: ...rder digital still camera printer or scanner 6 Headphones jack Connects to headphones Speaker output will be muted if selected in software Creative Audio HQ or Creative Audio Control 7 Headphones volume knob Controls the volume of your headphones Turn clockwise to increase the volume and counterclockwise to decrease the volume 8 Mini MIDI In Out connectors MIDI IN OUT Connects to MIDI devices usin...

Page 9: ...nnect the supplied shunt to Jumper JP1 if you want to use a dynamic microphone 2 Power connector Connects to the supplied power splitter cable 3 AD_EXT connector AD_EXT Connects to the AD_EXT connector on the Audigy 2 ZS audio card 4 Internal FireWire IEEE 1394 connector SB1394 Connects to the internal FireWire IEEE 1394 connector on the Audigy 2 ZS audio card ...

Page 10: ...ed with Audigy 2 ZS Platinum The PlatinumDrive has an infrared receiver for your Creative remote control Your remote control lets you operate your computer from the comfort of your sofa or bed at a distance of four meters 13 feet ...

Page 11: ...e control s battery 1 Release the battery compartment by depressing the small tab on the left and then slide out the battery compartment Place the battery with its positive polarity indicator facing up and slide the battery compartment back in ...

Page 12: ... albums tracks genres or playlists are displayed on the OSD you can search them by name using the number pad Each key on the number pad is assigned different letters 2abc to 9wxyz or symbols 1 and 0_ and you can use these to enter a name Press once for the first character twice for the second character three times for the third character and so on If you make a mistake you can delete characters to...

Page 13: ... button 15 Select OK Executes a selected option in the OSD 16 Fast Forward Right Fast forwards a track during playback Scrolls right in the OSD menus 17 Down Scrolls down in the OSD menus 18 Cancel Closes the OSD or any application that you are controlling with your Creative remote control 19 Display Displays where applicable the current play mode and track information and OSD time and date 20 Opt...

Page 14: ...alog CD audio cable is available separately If you are installing the PlatinumDrive available with Audigy 2 ZS Platinum you will also need these following items Warning Use the AD_EXT cable ONLYwith the PlatinumDrive Do not attempt to use a conventional IDE cable or any other cable with the PlatinumDrive as it may cause electrical shorts and permanent damage to your Audigy 2 ZS audio card Platinum...

Page 15: ...Component 1 Metal brackets 2 PCI slot 3 ISA slot may not be present on your computer Caution Turn off the main power supply and disconnect your computer s power cord Systems using an ATX power supply unit with soft power off may still be powering the PCI slot This can damage your audio card when it is inserted into the slot Note Remove any existing audio card or disable the onboard audio chipset F...

Page 16: ...Component 1 5 1 4 inch drive bay cover ...

Page 17: ...ic microphones and condenser microphones By default your PlatinumDrive is set for use with a condenser microphone To use a dynamic microphone you must place the provided shunt onto Jumper JP1 of your PlatinumDrive Component 1 Shunt 2 Jumper JP1 To use a condenser microphone remove the shunt fromJumper JP1 Component 1 Shunt 2 Jumper JP1 Note The Jumper JP1 may not be available on certain models of ...

Page 18: ...use a conventional IDE cable or any other cable with the PlatinumDrive as it may cause electrical shorts and permanent damage to your Audigy 2 ZS audio card PlatinumDrive and computer It will also void the warranty for this product To prevent permanent damage use only the AD_EXT cable with the AD_EXT connector and the Audigy 2 ZS audio card with the PlatinumDrive Do not force any cable into a conn...

Page 19: ...um 1 Carefully pass the cables attached to the PlatinumDrive through the vacant drive bay of your computer Make sure these cables do not block the airflow of the fans and heatsinks in your computer Slide the PlatinumDrive fully into the vacant drive bay Secure the sides of the PlatinumDrive to the casing with the screws provided ...

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Page 21: ...EXT cable 4 Red colored wired 5 Joystick MIDI cable Warning Use the AD_EXT cable ONLYwith the PlatinumDrive Do not attempt to use a conventional IDE cable or any other cable with the PlatinumDrive as it may cause electrical shorts and permanent damage to your Audigy 2 ZS audio card PlatinumDrive and computer It will also void the warranty for this product Align the red colored wire to Pin 1 of the...

Page 22: ...epending on your computer s configuration you may need a screw to secure your Audigy 2 ZS audio card to the computer Warning Do not force the audio card into the slot Be sure that the gold connectors of the card s PCI connector is aligned with the PCI bus connector on the motherboard before you insert the card into the slot If it does not fit properly gently remove it and try again ...

Page 23: ...nect the Joystick MIDI cable to the Joystick MIDI connector on the Audigy 2 ZS audio card as shown above Tip You may also connect the Joystick MIDI cable to the Audigy 2 ZS audio card before securing the Joystick MIDI bracket in place Warning Do not force any cable into a connector This can cause permanent damage to your hardware If it does not fit properly gently remove it and try again Make sure...

Page 24: ...io cable available separately 3 Digital CD audio cable Note If you connect both an analog and digital audio cable at the same time do not select both the CD Audio or CD Digital option in Surround Mixer Using Digital CD Audio Extraction audio can be sent to your computer through your CD or DVD drive s IDE cable instead of via an analog or digital SPDIF cable See Digital CD Audio Extraction if you w...

Page 25: ...000 SP3 Me 1 Click Start Settings Control Panel Double click the System icon The System Properties dialog boxappears Click the Device Manager tab Double click the CD ROM or DVD ROM icon Double click the name of your drive Click the Properties tab and then click the Enable Digital CD audio for this CD ROM device check boxto select it Note On a fresh installation of Windows Me you may not hear audio...

Page 26: ...e AC wall outlet and turn on the computer To connect your Audigy 2 ZS audio card and PlatinumDrive included with Audigy 2 ZS Platinum to other devices see Connecting Related Peripherals To install software see Installing Drivers and Applications To connect speakers see Connecting Speakers ...

Page 27: ...cally If not you need to enable your CD DVD ROM drive s auto insert notification feature For more details see Problems Installing Software Alternatively fromyour Windows desktop click Start Run and type d ctrun ctrun exe replace d with the drive letter of your CD DVD ROM drive Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation When prompted restart your computer Note During the ins...

Page 28: ... listening experience See Audigy 2 ZS Feature Showcase Demonstration 1 Insert the Audigy 2 ZS Feature Showcase Demonstration CD into your CD DVD ROM drive If the drive supports Windows AutoPlay mode the CD starts running automatically If not you need to enable your CD DVD ROM drive s auto insert notification feature For more details see Problems Installing Software Follow the instructions on the s...

Page 29: ...ou will be able to select froma list of only the most relevant software and driver updates The files will then be dynamically retrieved and installed on your systemfor you To find out more about Creative Software AutoUpdate go to www soundblaster com support Points to note First time users of Creative Software AutoUpdate may be prompted to authorize the download of a browser component required for...

Page 30: ...ovides better support for AC 3 SPDIF output non PCM through waveOut for software DVD viewing Download the Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 to enjoy this support and to fixother issues in the Windows 2000 operating system Download this update fromwww microsoft com ...

Page 31: ...Updating DirectX To download the latest the latest update for DirectX go to www microsoft com ...

Page 32: ... card s applications and device drivers to correct problems change configurations or upgrade outdated drivers or applications The following instructions tell you how to do so in all Windows operating systems Before you begin close all audio card applications Applications that are still running during the uninstallation will not be removed ...

Page 33: ...S entry and then click the Add Remove or Change Remove button In the InstallShieldWizarddialog box select the Repair option If prompted insert the Audigy 2 ZS Installation and Applications CD into your CD DVD ROM and click the OKbutton Click the Y es button Restart your computer when prompted You can now check the computer to see if the reinstalled software works properly If not proceed to Trouble...

Page 34: ...r Remove Programs button Select the Audigy 2 ZS entry and then click the Add Remove or Change Remove button In the InstallShieldWizarddialog box select the Remove option Click the Y es button Restart your computer when prompted You may now install existing or updated Audigy 2 ZS device drivers or applications For more information see Installing Drivers and Applications ...

Page 35: ...ick the Next button If prompted insert the Audigy 2 ZS Installation and Applications CD into your CD DVD ROM and click the OKbutton Restart your computer when prompted To uninstall a selectedcomponent in Creative MediaSource do the following 1 Click Start Settings Control Panel Double click the Add Remove Programs icon Click the Install Uninstall tab or Change or Remove Programs button Select the ...

Page 36: ...2 ZS Platinumwill give you endless hours of listening pleasure To connect related peripherals refer to the corresponding section The cables shown here are available separately Playing Games Watching DVDs Playing Recording Music Creating Music Transferring Data ...

Page 37: ...Playing Games Connector Description 1 Joystick MIDI connector Connects to the Joystick MIDI bracket for gaming or MIDI devices optional ...

Page 38: ...or or Cable Description 1 Optical cable available separately Connects to the Optical SPDIF Out connector on the Platinum Drive and the SPDIF In connector on your AV Amplifier 2 Optical SPDIF Out connector Connects to devices with SPDIF connectors For coaxial connections Jack Connector or Cable Description 1 Coaxial cable available separately Connects to the Coaxial SPDIF Out connector on the Plati...

Page 39: ...ZS If you have an external Dolby Digital DTS DVD player you can use your PlatinumDrive included with Audigy 2 ZS Platinum to decode the Dolby Digital or DTS signal For optical connections Jack Connector or Cable Description 1 Optical cable available separately Connects to the Optical SPDIF In connector on the Platinum Drive and the SPDIF Out connector on your external DVD player 2 Optical SPDIF In...

Page 40: ...udio card s Line Out 1 Line Out 2 and Line Out 3 jacks as shown below For more information on multichannel AVAmplifier speaker connections consult the User s Guide of your AV Amplifier Jack Connector or Cable Description 1 Front Left connector Connects to the Line Out 1 jack on the Audigy 2 ZS audio card 2 Front Right connector Connects to the Line Out 1 jack on the Audigy 2 ZS audio card 3 3 50 m...

Page 41: ...rately Connects the Audigy 2 ZS audio card and AV Amplifier 5 Line Out 2 jack Connects to the Rear Left Rear Right and Side Right connectors on an AV Amplifier Jack Connector or Cable Description 1 Side Left connector Connects to the Line Out 3 jack on the Audigy 2 ZS audio card 2 Center connector Connects to the Line Out 3 jack on the Audigy 2 ZS audio card 3 Subwoofer connector Connects to the L...

Page 42: ...separately 5 Line Out 3 jack Connects to the Side Left Center and Subwoofer connectors on an AV Amplifier ...

Page 43: ... a 3 50 mm 1 8 inch jack Use a convertor if your headphones come with a larger connector 3 FireWire IEEE 1394 cable available separately Connects to the FireWire IEEE 1394 connector on the Audigy 2 ZS audio card and your playback recording device If you installed the PlatinumDrive included with Audigy 2 ZS Platinum you can also connect headphones and FireWire IEEE 1394 compliant devices to the Pla...

Page 44: ...ects to the FireWire IEEE 1394 connector on the Platinum Drive and your playback recording device 4 FireWire IEEE 1394 connector Connects to Firewire IEEE 1394 compliant devices 5 Headphones jack Connects to stereo headphones with a 6 35 mm 1 4 inch jack 6 Coaxial SPDIF In Out connectors Connect to recording playback devices 7 Coaxial cables available separately Connect to the Coaxial SPDIF In Out...

Page 45: ...n jack LIN_IN Connects to line sources for example electric guitars 2 Microphone In jack MIC_IN Connects to a microphone 3 MIDI cable 15 pin to 5 pin available separately Connects to the MIDI connector on the Joystick MIDI bracket and the MIDI In Out connectors on your MIDI keyboard 4 MIDI cable 15 pin available separately Connects Creative BlasterKey to the Joystick MIDI bracket If you have insta...

Page 46: ...rding devices with optical connectors 3 Line In 2 Mic In 2 jack Connects to an external microphone or electric guitar 4 Mini MIDI to standard MIDI adapter cables Connect to the MIDI In Out connectors on the Platinum Drive and two standard MIDI cables available separately 5 Standard MIDI cables available separately Connect to the MIDI In Out connectors on your MIDI keyboard and the two mini MIDI to...

Page 47: ...Jack Connector or Cable Description 1 FireWire IEEE 1394 connector Connects to FireWire IEEE 1394 compliant devices 2 FireWire IEEE 1394 cable available separately Connects to the FireWire IEEE 1394 connector on the Audigy 2 ZS audio card and DV camcorder or external hard disk drive Jack Connector or Cable Description 1 FireWire IEEE 1394 connector Connects to FireWire IEEE 1394 compliant devices ...

Page 48: ...ty visit the Knowledgebase at www creative com Positioning your speakers Good speaker placement can enhance your listening experience while careless placement can make good audio systems sound bad Below are our recommendations for 5 1 6 1 and 7 1 channel speakers For detailed speaker placement tips refer to the User s Guide of your speaker system For 5 1 channel speakers Speaker component 1 Subwoo...

Page 49: ...Speaker component 1 Subwoofer 2 Front Left 3 Front Center 4 Front Right 5 Rear Left 6 Rear Center 7 Rear Right For 7 1 channel speakers Speaker component 1 Subwoofer 2 Front Left ...

Page 50: ...1 channel or 7 1 channel speaker system you can upmixyour stereo sources for example CD Audio MP3 WMA MIDI and Wave to the respective channels by using Creative Multi Speaker Surround CMSS technology To upmix you need to enable the CMSS feature in Creative EAX Console Refer to the Creative EAX Console online Help ...

Page 51: ...ng the Digital Output Only selection in Creative Speaker Settings will disable analog speaker output It is not necessary to enable Digital Output Only to use the Digital Out connector Note As with dedicated DVD Audio player devices output fromDVD Audio playback is limited to analog output The digital output is disabled and cannot be used during DVD Audio playback ...

Page 52: ...2 1 channel digital speakers Device Cable 1 Digital Out jack 2 2 channel audio cable available separately 3 Digital In jack ...

Page 53: ...5 1 channel digital speakers Device Cable 1 Digital Out jack 2 Miniplug to DIN cable available separately 3 Digital DIN cable available separately 4 Digital DIN connector ...

Page 54: ...Connecting Analog Speaker Systems You can connect analog speakers systems of up to 7 1 channels ...

Page 55: ...2 1 channel analog speakers Jack Connector or Cable 1 Line Out 1 jack 2 2 channel audio cable available separately 3 Audio Input jack ...

Page 56: ...4 1 channel analog speakers Jack Connector or Cable 1 Line Out 1 jack 2 Line Out 2 jack 3 4 channel audio cable available separately 4 Front Audio Input jack 5 Rear Audio Input jack ...

Page 57: ... speakers Jack Connector or Cable 1 Rear Audio Input jack 2 Front Audio Input jack 3 5 1 channel audio cable available separately 4 Line Out 1 jack 5 Line Out 2 jack 6 Line Out 3 jack 7 Center Subwoofer Audio Input jack ...

Page 58: ...ers Jack Connector or Cable 1 Line Out 1 jack 2 Line Out 2 jack 3 Line out 3 jack 4 6 1 channel audio cable available separately 5 Front Audio Input jack 6 Rear Audio Input jack 7 Center Subwoofer Rear Center Audio Input jack ...

Page 59: ...Subwoofer Audio Input jack 8 Side Audio Input jack Note When you are using 7 1 channel analog speakers with your audio card make sure you select the 7 1 Speakers option in Creative Speaker Settings to experience 7 1 channel audio If you want 6 1 channel audio with 7 1 channel analog speakers select the 6 1 Speakers option in Creative Speaker Settings and move your Side Left speaker to the Rear Cen...

Page 60: ... Audio Processing Supports Sony Philips Digital Interface SPDIF format of up to 24 bit 96 kHz quality SPDIF output at selectable sampling rate of 48 or 96 kHz SPDIF output not available during playback of protected digital audio contents authored with DRM Digital Rights Management technology Selectable 6 channel SPDIF output to matching digital speaker systems Software switching of SPDIF Input to ...

Page 61: ...age as they are more attuned to the game scenario Environment ReflectionsTM offers localization of early reflections and echoes Environment FilteringTM accurately simulates the propagation of sound in both open and closed environments Environment MorphingTM allows for seamless transition fromone environment to the next EAX ADV ANCED HD Music Technologies also assure sonic superiority rich environm...

Page 62: ...n header for connection to the Joystick MIDI bracket optional Joystick MIDI bracket 15 pin Joystick MIDI connector on rear bracket Platinum Drive Inputs and outputs on front panel Two RCA jacks for coaxial SPDIF input and output Headphone output and volume control with auto detection via 6 35 mm 1 4 inch stereo jack Shared line level analog Line Microphone input Line In 2 Mic In 2 via 6 35 mm 1 4 ...

Page 63: ...audio card a message box recommending that you completely uninstall and remove the older audio device will appear Click the Y es button and follow the instructions on the screen to complete the removal of the old audio device Remove the old audio card fromyour computer If your computer detects any other installed audio card a message boxrecommending that you completely uninstall and remove the old...

Page 64: ...e My Computer window right click the CD DVD ROM drive icon On the shortcut menu click AutoPlay and follow the instructions on the screen To enable AutoPlay through Auto Insert Notification 1 Click Start Settings Control Panel In the Control Panel window double click the System icon In the System Properties dialog box click the Device Manager tab and select your CD DVD ROM drive Click the Propertie...

Page 65: ...about this new high resolution music format and experience the difference when a DVD Audio clip is being played EAX ADV ANCED HD technologies Experience complexmulti environment audio effects as you navigate through a fascinating virtual 3D world Run this demonstration and experience EAX ADV ANCED HD technologies such as Environment Panning Environment Reflection and Environment Morphing Compare t...

Page 66: ...are Problems with Sound Problems with Sound and CD ROMs Problems with File Transfers on Some VIA Chipset Motherboards Insufficient SoundFont Cache Problems with the Joystick Problems with Multiple Audio Devices Problems with Sound Blaster Live Series or Sound Blaster PCI512 card Resolving I O Conflicts Problems in Windows XP Problems with Digital Audio Devices ...

Page 67: ...e Source panel mute the analog sources that you do not want to record by clicking the Speaker button to change it to a button with a redcross sign on it No soundfrom the speakers Check the following You have connected your speakers to your card s output You have selected the correct source in the Source panel Creative Surround Mixer If both the above conditions have been met and you still do not g...

Page 68: ...To solve this problem Open that other mixer and center the balances for all the audio input sources This ensures that your analog sources will not turn silent when you pan themin Creative Surround Mixer ...

Page 69: ... System Properties dialog box click the Device Manager tab Double click the DVD CD ROMdrives icon Your computer drives will appear Right click the disk drive icon A menu will appear Click Properties In the Digital CD Playback boxof the next dialog box click the Enable digital CD audio for this CD ROMdevice check boxto select it Click the OKbutton For Windows 2000 andWindows XP i Click Start Settin...

Page 70: ...ick the Systems devices icon In the list that appears see if the items highlighted in the diagramappear If the items appear remove your computer cover and locate the VIA chipset on your motherboard Take note of the safety precautions in Step 1 Prepare your computer The VT82C686B chipset has its model number inscribed on the chip If you have the VT82C686B chipset Creative recommends that you first ...

Page 71: ... Bank drop down button and select a bank index Highlight the bank and click the Remove button Click the OKbutton to finish configuring your banks Load smaller SoundFont banks instead or add more RAM to your system Do one of the following In the Configure Bank dialog boxof Creative SoundFont Bank Manager select a smaller SoundFont bank if available fromthe Select Bank box Increase the systemRAM on ...

Page 72: ...x If you see an Original Configuration Current option clear the check box If you see a Disable In This Hardware Profile option select the check box Click OKto restart Windows and for the change to take effect When the Gameport Joystick interface is disabled the entry in Device Manager shows a red cross The joystick is not working properly with some programs The programmay use the systemprocessor t...

Page 73: ...12 card 1 Click Start Settings Control Panel In the Control Panel window double click the System icon In the System Properties dialog box click the Device Manager tab Double click Sound Video AndGame Controllers and then select Creative SoundBlaster Live Series or Creative SoundBlaster PCI512 Click the Properties button In the Properties dialog box If you see an Original Configuration Current opti...

Page 74: ...er indicates that a conflict has occurred To resolve hardware conflicts in Windows 98 SE Me 1 Click Start Settings Control Panel In the Control Panel window double click the System icon In the System Properties dialog box click the Device Manager tab Under the Sound Video And Game Controllers entry select the conflicting audio card driver indicated by an exclamation mark and click the Properties b...

Page 75: ...submitted or does not qualify for Microsoft certification a warning message similar to the one below appears You may see the message when you install hardware drivers fromcompanies other than Creative If you do you may choose to click the Continue Anyway button Device drivers not signed by Microsoft may be used in Windows XP and need not impair or destabilize your computer Should you need more XP ...

Page 76: ...lick the Device Manager tab Double click the Disk drives icon Your computer drives will appear Double click the hard disk drive icon In the boxthat appears click the Settings tab Click the DMA direct memory access check boxto select it An alert message boxappears Click the OKbutton Click the OKbutton in the next box Click the Close button on the System Properties dialog box When prompted to restar...