The Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! is a 24 Bit External USB audio interface. It' pretty much the simplest kind of audio interface that you can have, really just an external sound card with a few more options. It doesn't have any microphone preamplifiers. As far as connections go, it's got 1/8" mini plug jacks for microphone in and headphone out in the front as well as an optical output. On the top of it it has volume sliders to set the level of your headphones and your microphone. In the back it has a USB port and 1/8" jacks for your speakers (three of them), and a line input. It also has a SPDIF output and a DIN connection.

UTILIZATION

There isn't all that much to know about using the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! audio interface/sound card. This is meant to be a very simple audio interface, so it doesn't have too much features, but on the bright side this makes it very easy to use. Experienced users won't need a manual, but if you're an absolute beginner who is getting their first audio interface, it might be a good idea to have it around just in case.

GETTING STARTED

Setting up the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! interface is really simple. Once you've made your basic connections, you're pretty much good to go. I think that everything is self explanatory, but again if you're new to audio interfaces you might want to have the manual handy.

OVERALL OPINION

While I don't think that I'd recommend the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live!, it's still not a bad external sound card. It does the job fine, but it's limited in what it can do. If something like this is all you need and you don't want to spend much, it's fine to go with, but if you want something to build a home recording rig around, you're going to need something with more features and flexibility.