Verdict: Six-channel only, but still brilliant

Creative has a habit of rearranging its product lineup on a regular basis, just to make it appear as though it's doing something new. In the UK, the Sound Blaster range is split between the 7.1 Audigy 2 ZS and the 5.1 Audigy 2 LS. Aside from two fewer channels, there are several other differences. The LS offers a slightly worse signal-to-noise ratio, and has no THX approval, DVD-Audio, ASIO support or on-board DTS decoder.

However, what the Audigy 2 LS does have over many cards is 24-bit/96KHz playback. This isn't just a numbers fest either; on a quality set of speakers you really can hear the difference - music, DVDs and games all sound crisper and clearer. Game audio is particularly helped along by EAX 4, which adds more realism to environmental effects. Because these are processed in hardware, EAX 4 doesn't appear to cause a performance hit over EAX 2, so in many ways it's a free upgrade. It's not free however in cash terms, and at over £50, the Audigy 2 LS seems pricey for a six-channel card but you do get your money's worth.

The software bundle is sweetened by the inclusion of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin - not a new game but still very atmospheric and a good choice for showing off your new sound card. However, there's no DVD software player bundled so that'll be an extra expense. The Creative driver installation routine was a real pain in the neck. The CD is slow to load and the multitude of applications take ages to install. Following the reboot we still had to point Windows to the drivers we'd just installed. Can somebody fix this, please? Thank you. And while you're at it, can you stop pretending we must register the product? Listen up kids - just hit cancel.

A key feature is Creative Multi-Speaker Surround (CMSS), which upmixes a stereo recording to fill six channels. There's also SVM volume level, which tames the dynamic range so you don't have to keep changing the volume.

With excellent game performance, the Audigy 2 LS is a quality package. The high price is justified by the high-quality output and EAX 4 support, which makes it a better option for gamers than the slightly cheaper Hercules Digifire 7.1.

• Cases - 21st November 2008
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