First Generation
The Audigy could process up to 4 EAX environments simultaneously with its on-chip DSP and native EAX 3.0 ADVANCED HD support, and supported from stereo up to 5.1-channel output. The audio processor could mix up to 64 DirectSound3D sound channels in hardware, up from Live!'s 32 channels.
The Audigy was advertised as a 24-bit sound card. However with some controversy, the Audigy's audio transport (DMA engine) was fixed to 16-bit sample precision at 48 kHz (like Live!), and all audio had to be resampled to 48 kHz in order to be rendered through its DSP, or recorded from its DSP. As a result, the card did not support playback of individual audio streams at 24-bit / 96 kHz precision through its 24-bit / 96 kHz DACs, a fact that was not immediately obvious to those examining the spec sheets.
Creative later gave customers in the US who purchased an Audigy card 35% off a Creative product up to a maximum of $65 in a class-action settlement.
Despite being a high end card, the passthrough of Dolby Digital and DTS streams to the SPDIF digital out has issues that Creative does not appear to want to address since the product has been End of Life'd.
First generation break out box
First generation break out box
Some versions of Audigy also featured an external break out box with connectors for SPDIF, MIDI, SB1394, analog and optical signals. The significance of the break out box was that it was the first physical sign that the "home studio" was for the first time becoming a mainstream market.
Note that Audigy card supports the professional ASIO 1 driver interface natively, making it possible to obtain low latencies from Virtual Studio Technology (VST) instruments.
[edit] Sound Blaster Audigy ES
This variant uses the full EMU10K2 chip and is, as a result, quite similar in feature set. It is only missing its FireWire port.[1]
[edit] Sound Blaster Audigy SE & Audigy Value
The Audigy SE and Audigy Value is a stripped down version of the Audigy, with software-based EAX 3.0 (upgraded to software-based EAX 4.0 with a driver update), no advanced resolution DVD-Audio Playback, and no Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital EX 6.1 playback.
It lacks the EMU10k1/10k2 processor, instead using a CA-0106 Family chip. As opposed to the rest of the Audigy series, the SE is a low-profile PCI card.
[edit] Sound Blaster Audigy LS
Similar to the Audigy SE in that it supports neither hardware acceleration nor FireWire. [2]