News: December 27, 1999 - January 2, 2000

Sunday, January 02, 2000

Vortex SQ2500 Review - Mark @ 20:21 EST

BoomGames Interactive has posted a review of Aureal's SQ2500. Just my obligatory couple of comments ;). The minor one is this is the first time I have ever seen a complaint about not having the ability to specifiy individual speaker location in the driver setup! On a more serious note, the review makes the following odd statement - "The other thing I see missing here is the lack of EQ control that the Live! software offers. This does have an EQ, but it doesn't seem as rich as CL's" - I call it odd as the Live! does not have an equalizer offering just a bass and treble control where as all Vortex 2 cards have what I believe is the only hardware based multiband equalizer on consumer level soundcards. Its possible they missed it but its accessible from the driver control panel on any Vortex 2 card and in the case of the SQ2500 also from within Aureal's new Vortex Player.

Driver Review - Mark @ 12:12 EST

Gamearena.net has posted a review of the DS3D with EAX supporting Driver. No mention of 3D sound or EAX but you can learn about the rest of the game. DS3D and EAX support is also in the demo so if you want to try it for yourself you can grab the 14.4 MB demo from 3Dfiles.

Acer DVP 1040A review - Mark @ 12:02 EST

CTNews 3D posted a review of Acer's 10X DVD-ROM drive, DVP 1040A, a few days ago. Not sure if this is the same drive as the 1040 Pro drive sold under the AOpen name (part of Acer) but according to this review it comes bundled with the PowerDVD 2.0 instead of WinDVD that AGN Hardware said was bundled with the AOpen 1040 Pro drive.
News Source: Anandtech

Saturday, January 01, 2000

Skins, Skins and more Skins! - Mark @ 16:28 EST

Not sound related but a bunch of these games have 3d sound and its a slow news day so...Synchroplay, the custom game add-on synchronization service, has released their updated FULL VERSION add-on packs for the month of January. They include 9 Unreal Tournament Skins, 197 Starsiege Tribes Armor Skins, 344 Kingpin Skins, over 1500 Roller Coaster Tycoon Rides, and 25 Nascar Racing 3 Paint Schemes! If you've got a custom add-on you'd like to have "synchronized", be sure to get over there and check them out!

Battlezone 2 in Stores! - Mark @ 16:02 EST

Thats right, the A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX supporting Battlezone II is in stores now! Battlezone 2 delivers an in-your-face war experience, featuring an improved, easy-to-use intergace, instant action, more multiplayer options and stunning graphics. Battlezone I IMO was one of the best games no body knew about (it was a very poor seller) so if they have improved on the original this really should be a great game. You can grab an early (August 99) demo of the Battlezone II from 3Dfiles (only 15.6 MB) or order Battlezone 2 from Gamestop.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape - Mark @ 15:53 EST

Gamespy has posted a review of Rayman 2: The Great Escape which is on Aureal's list for A3D 1.x support. No mention of 3D sound in the review but if you are looking for a change of pace they give the game a postive review describing it as a vast world filled with an intriguing storyline, charming characters, and most importantly, hours of pleasurable gameplay. If it sounds like your kind of game you can order Rayman 2: Great Escape from Gamestop for only $29.99!
News Source: Blue's News

Labtec LCS-150 Review - Mark @ 15:43 EST

Glide Underground has posted a review of Labtech's LCS-150 speakers and while I don't doubt their conclusion one bit, the review is written from a perspective that I have beefed about in the past. That is, why review $20 speakers and write a review like you expected them to be something more than $20 speakers?
News Source: Aureal A3D Central

Friday, December 31, 1999

Happy New Year - Mark @ 18:17 EST

I am sure this is my last post for the year so I will take this opportunity on behalf of the entire team at 3DsoundSurge to thank you, our readers, for making this such a successful year for us. We plan to bring you many new features in Y2K and always welcome your input into what direction you want to see us go. I also want to thank all of the hardware and software companies for working with us in 1999 and for all they brought to the market for everyone to enjoy. Winding down, I would like to thank 3Dhosting for their excellent service in 1999. I also want to make a point of thanking David Gasior, now of Vortex of Sound for all the time he puts into helping people in our forum. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank all of the webmasters who supported us in 1999. I am not going to try list you all as I would be sure to exclude someone and you all know who you are anyway. We really appreciate everyones support and look forward to a great Y2K!

MP3 Babe - Mark @ 18:07 EST

Something different just in time for the new year! I am not even going to try and paraphrase this so here is the description they sent me:

Groove with Mp3 Cyber Babe while she plays Mp3, Creates Mp3 Cds or when using the Studio Mix with 24 Band Equalizer. You can also use the Playlist Creator and the ID3 Tag Editor. Mp3 Cyber Babe also support Skins and much more. Push Mp3 Cyber Babe's buttons, she won't mind. (You have to download her to experience it.)

You can go to the Mp3 Cyber Babe site or download the 1.46 MB zip file directly.

Dreamcast vs PC: Round One - Mark @ 11:32 EST

Firing Squad has posted a head to head article comparing the Dreamcast to the PC in a number of categories. This two-part feature just wants to answer a simple question: If I consider myself a hardcore gamer and I already have a high-end PC, should I even consider a Dreamcast?. I must say that from what I understand about Dreamcast audio if I was writing the article I would have made a stronger statement that the Dreamcast audio is far behind PC audio. On top of the fact that it does not support A3D 2.0 (which they mention) or EAX or features that even resemble the advanced features of those APIs it also does not support 4 speaker surround all of which makes PC audio the easy winner.

Half-Life Counter Strike Beta 5 - Mark @ 11:01 EST

More mod stuff, this time for the A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX supporting Half-Life in the form of the Counter Strike Beta 5 release. Counter Strike is a community built and free downloadable modification for Half-Life that adds a terrorist/counter terrorist spin onto teamplay. Two teams are pitted against each other in realistic environments ranging from sprawling city streets to abandoned warehouses with underground water ways. The first team to wipe out all members of the opposing team is considered the winner and gains money which can be used to buy weapon upgrades and ammo.

If that sounds interesting you can visit the official Couter Strike site or download all you need from 3Dfiles Half-Life downloads page. For even more 3D Palette has an interview with lead modeler/skinner, Gooseman, on the Counter Strike mod team for Half-Life. The interview sheds light on the new released Beta 5 and some weapon modeling tips& tricks.

Thief 2 A3D Game of the day - Mikael @ 07:01 EST

A3D.com has just announced that the last A3D Game of the day is Thief 2 that will support only A3D 1.X when it's released mid 2000. Considering Aureal will have EAX drivers out then the A3D 1.X support for Thief 2 is really pointless for all Vortex2 users IMO, assuming Thief 2 just like Thief will support EAX.

DigiTheatre and DVD Player review - Mikael @ 07:01 EST

Tech Junkie just let us know they a few days ago (slow e-mails from Australia :-) posted one review of VideoLogic's DigiTheatre and one review of the VideoLogic's DVD Player. The DVD player uses the same chip as the Hollywood Plus and Creative's Dxr3 card and should have the same functionality as the Sigma Design Hollywood Plus card but compared to the Creative card it lacks the 4-speaker down-mixing using the Live.

They found both to be great products. For a second opinion you could check out our review of the DigiTheatre and you could also read our review of the Encore6X kit.

Thief 2 Article At A3D.com - Frank @ 05:38 EST

Over at Aureal's A3D site, they have posted an article based around Thief 2: The metal age in their First Reflections Section. This is a nice unbiased piece on the aural advancements Looking Glass Studios has bestowed upon us and worth a read even if you are not a fan of Aureal or A3D.

If you submit an article based on 3d audio Aureal will give you your choice of a new soundcard (I assume SQ2500) or crisp $100 if they use it. For more details go to Aureal's How to Write for First Reflections Page or drop them a line.

Thursday, December 30, 1999

Booming DVD sales - Mikael @ 22:59 EST

Cnet today also have a report about booming DVD sales.
In the article they mention that 3.4 million DVD players had been sold end of November with 450 000 sold in November. They also mention that several movies stores now have almost as much shelf space for DVD as they have for VHS and blockbuster titles like Private Ryan the DVD version outsold the VHS version. Kid's movies still sells better in the VHS version though.

When it comes to DVD-ROM the report is also more positive than some others we have seen with expectations of DVD-ROM drives outseling CD-ROM drives 2001. This year CD-ROM sold 94.9 million while DVD-ROM drives had sales of only 13.4 millions. You can find more details in the article. For another prediction of future sales you check out the press release released earlier this month from Cahners In-Stat Group.

Movie industry loses in court - Mikael @ 22:41 EST

Cnet reports that the judge yesterday rejected the industry's request for a temporary restraining order against the 72 named and anonymous individuals who stand accused of trade secrets violations for helping distribute a program known as DeCSS on the Web.

The defendants say DeCSS was developed to provide interoperability with Linux, a format that the movie industry ignored and not to make illegal copies of movies or doing any harm to the movie industry.

According to several experts Cnet talked to the movie industry will find it difficult to win this case. You can find out a lot more if you read Cnet's article.

A3D Game of the day: Jagged Alliance 2 - Mikael @ 22:21 EST

Today's and I guess the last A3D Game of the day is Jagged Alliance 2 that's already available in stores and early next year the expansion pack Jagged Alliance 2 : Unfinished Business will be available. Both will support A3D 1.0 and since the game uses Miles Sound System it probably support DS3D as well. You can grab a demo from the official site or for just $29 you can grab Jagged Alliance 2 from Gamestop.

More ADA885 Info - Mark @ 21:09 EST

A big thank you goes out to Matt Arnett (ZenGhost) for passing on a PDF file on Altec Lansing's new ADA885 THX certified, Dolby Digital, quad speaker system. The key stuff from the PDF is as follows:

Total power output is 120 Watts RMS. 10 Watts RMS power each driver in the satellites. The front satellites are 2 way for a total of 40 watts RMS to the front and 20 Watts RMS to the rear;

All four satellites have a 3 inch full range driver and the front two each have a 1 inch tweeter;

The subwoofer is an 8" dual voice coil driven by 60 Watts RMS;

It won't be the loudest system on the market but its still should be more than loud enough for most people with a SPL of 103dB SPL @ listen position (they don't define listening position);

Frequency response is 27Hz to 20kHz and it has a headphone jack, analog input for 4 speaker gaming and a SPDIF input for Dolby Digital and PCM audio;

Its available in both 120 and 240/250 volt configurations.

AOpen 1040 Pro DVD-ROM Drive - Mark @ 11:07 EST

Our good friend Jose over at AGNHardware has done a review of the AOpen 1040 Pro DVD-ROM Drive which he calls a pretty affordable screamer for both DVD movies and regular CD-ROM usage. The one thing I am not sure about from reading the review is if the bundled copy of WinDVD supports 4 speaker downmixing. Its unlikely, but I will check with Jose and update later.

Half-Life Chronicles - Mark @ 10:33 EST

Voodoo Extreme is hosting the launch of RadioActive Software's highly anticipated unofficial expansion pack for Half-Life that is called Chronicles. Chronicles which is a relatively small 9.06 MB download, requires you to have the full version of Half-Life installed. You can grab Chronicles (and some info and details) from VE's Chronicles page. Of course, Half-Life supports A3D 2.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX. Here is what you will get from Chronicles:

Essentially, Chronicles is a mini-series of single player missions, downloadable over the Internet. These mini-series consist of Episodes, which each contain anywhere from 3-15 .bsp files. Each Episode is a stand alone set, that draws on "what if?" scenarios in the Half-Life universe.

Each episode begins with a pivotal scene from the original Half-Life (the opening train sequence, the first Osprey attack in "We've got Hostiles", the encounter with G-Man, etc) and then alters the flow of the story from the original. An example would be this: You're in the opening train sequence, and are heading towards the Anomalous Materials labs. Suddenly, a series of explosions rocks the complex, and your tram falls off of it's rail...it would seem that your colleagues got tired of waiting for you, and conducted the experiment without you...leading to some unforeseen consequences. You would have to arm yourself and suit up, and then get the hell out of the area!

More info on 2nd THX Certified Multimedia Speakers. - Mark @ 10:24 EST

Thanks to Patrick for digging out some more info from Dell's website on Altec Lansing's new . This in addtion to the scan of the magizine add that Tamborine already posted in the forum. Specifically its a link to Dell's specs and features page for Altec Lansing's ADA-885. This system, when offered by Dell will be Dell's answer to Compaq offering an upgrade to Klipsch's own THX certified ProMedia v.2-400 which Compaq bundles with the Mediamatics (4 speaker downmixing supporting) software MPEG decoder in some of its systems.

You can find the info by following this link the from that page clicking on 'Learn More About THX and Dell ADA885 Speakers'. One thing to note is it looks like an error on the first part of the specs page where they talk about 2 lower powered satellites and a lower powered subwoofer than what you will find further down the page and in the ad posted in our forum. FYI the system is rated at 15 Watts RMS per channel and 60 Watts RMS for the subwoofer.

Wednesday, December 29, 1999

DSD Audio DAC for Super Audio CD - Mikael @ 21:24 EST

Burr-Brown today announced the DSD1700, a unique audio digital-to-analog converter (DAC) designed for Sony's Direct Stream Digital (DSD) technology which is used in Super Audio CD (SACD) players, professional DSD processors, and DSD mixing consoles.

The DSD1700 was designed using Burr-Brown's high performance audio DAC technology under technical consultation by Sony Corporation for DSD technology. The device directly converts 1-bit, 2.8224MHz digitally sampled data (the basic technology of Super Audio CD) to an analog signal. This simplified format for recording and playback results in superior audio performance when compared to current CD-quality sound.

Check out the press release for more details. You can also check out the press release from August when Burr-Brown announced the development of this DAC.

For more about Super Audio you should read Sony's pr from August when they announced their second Super Audio CD Player.

i2Go.com Delivers Firmware Upgrades Via the Internet - Mikael @ 21:20 EST

i2Go.com announced today the availability of Flash Firmware upgrades for the eGo(TM) interactive digital audio player at http://www.i2Go.com. i2Go is the first Internet media company to deliver Flash Firmware upgrades to an MP3 player via the Internet.

The eGo interactive digital audio player, which debuted in October 1999, transforms the car stereo into a new generation Internet appliance; bringing rich media content such as news, sports, weather, information and entertainment from the Internet to the car. The eGo's current capabilities already reach far beyond the ability to manage and listen to music play lists. Unique interactive features such as MP3Mail(TM), MP3Chat(TM) and e-mail2Go(TM) allow users to convert e-mails into audio and record responses or notes as MP3 files. In the future, the eGo will support other interactive features such as full interactive digital audio.

Check out the rest of the press release for this firmware upgrade.

Altec Lansing ADA880R Speakers Review - Mark @ 20:34 EST

The new Altec Lansing ADA880R Speaker system promises to deliver Dolby Digital AC-3 surround support to your PC, for a price that you can afford. Put this together with a high powered subwoofer with a massive 8" voice coil and 4 satellite speakers and you have a great combination for movies and gaming if and I say IF it support 4 speaker analog inputs which I know the origianl ADA880 did not. You can watch the full 8 minutes 39 seconds video review for a closer look at what AGNhardware is calling great sounding speakers and then decide for yourself if they are what you are looking for. Head to AGN to pick the version you want to watch.

Revenant 1.11 Patch - Mark @ 20:11 EST

A 1.1 patch for the A3D 1.x and DS3D with EAX supporting action/RPG, Revenant has been released with a ton of fixes. If you have the game you will want to grab this 2.3 MB patch from 3Dfiles where you will also see the complete list of fixes. The fixes that are listed at 3Dfiles so not include anything with audio but it does include the all encompassing "much more". Something else worth noting if you are having problems with the Live in this game is make sure you are running the very latest drivers for the Live. If you want to check out the game, grab the demo from 3Dfiles and if you like it you can order Revenant from Gamestop!

CABO MP3 PLAYER - Mikael @ 20:07 EST

Got Apex? (yes it's a site) has posted a review of $240 MP3 player from BestData, named Cabo MP3 Player. It has 64 MB memory, a smart Media slot, uses the parallel port, voice recording and according to the review offers excellent sound quality.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Thief II: The Metal Age Demo - Mark @ 20:02 EST

This is an alpha demo of Thief II: The Metal Age. It's version Alpha 1.01. According to 3Dfiles, it works great but movement is a bit hairy. You may have heard the term "First Person Shooter" to describe other action games with a first-person point of view. Thief 2 is not one of those games. Instead, think of Thief 2 as a "First Person Sneaker." Sure, you can use your sword and bow to kill your enemies, but the general rule of engagement in Thief 2 is: "The enemy should never know you were there." If its anything like Thief: The Dark Project it will make fantatic use of audio. This is a huge download at 136Mb so given its alpaha you may want to hold off but if not grab it from 3Dfiles.

Fortissimo Review - Mark @ 19:56 EST

Speedy3D has posted a review of Guillemot's Maxi Sound Fortissimo. They seem to have some configuration or other problems with the card that is resulting in a mirroring of the front channels to rear. This has resulted in several misleading or incorrect statements about poor quality 4 speaker 3d audio in the review. When working as it is in my system it delivers very good 4 speaker audio based on Sensaura's MultiDrive technology. Next up - the card does not currently accelerate direct music. Acceleration of DirectMusic in hardware requires WDM drivers and will only work in Windows 2000 since Microsoft for some reason skipped that feature in Windows 98SE so if it comes at all it will be with the Win2K drivers. Next complaint is the following statement - "Also absent from the FORTISSIMO was on-chip Dolby Digital decoding". Thats true but its written in a way to make it sound like a short coming of the Fortissemo compared to some other cards currently on the market and the fact is that no card on the market has on chip Dolby Digital decoding. The closest we came to that in 1999 was Yamaha's now cancelled XG-Movie. There are several new cards including a card from the designers of the XG-Movie, the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz and Aureal's SQ3500 that will do this in a DSP but that won't be until next year. With a DVD player that supports the YMF744 such as PowerDVD 2.5 the Fortissemo will perform as good as any other card on the market for 4 speaker downmixing of Dolby Digital. Based on my testing the 3d positioning on the Fortissemo is a good as anything on the market. Were it lags is with lower quality EAX and of course no A3D 2.0 which you will only get from a Vortex 2 board but when used with the as yet unsupported by Guillemot 2013 reference drivers you will get 32 3D streams, EAX 2.0 and I3DL2 support and an improved reverb engine in addtion to the DS3D, EAX 1.x and A3D 1.x to DS3D translation offered by the shipping drivers. We will have lots more details on this card and Hoontech's 744 based Soundtrack XG-Digital very early in the new year when we publish our reviews.
News Source: Anandtech

Sirocco Spirit review - Mikael @ 19:52 EST

AGN Hardware has slapped up the first review (that I've seen anyway) of this 2-piece speaker system from VideoLogic. As you expect the sound quality is excellent and just like other Sirocco system it supports several sources and have a headphone connection. Without a subwoofer it's not really a gaming speaker system though but as an option you can connect a powered subwoofer unit to the system.

Wheel of Time review - Mark @ 14:01 EST

3DSpotlight has posted a review of The Wheel of Time. Not much on sound other than calling it average and I am also not sure if 3D sound is now working in the game. I know that Pascal from Ear on Games reported that 3D sound was broken in the full game (as it is in the demo)

Aureal Vortex2 SQ2500 - Mark @ 13:38 EST

Our friends over at Extreme Hardware have posted a very well done review of Aureal's Vortex2 SQ2500. Just one minor comment - near the start of the review they state that "the other main feature that separates the SQ2500 from its competition is that, since it is Aureal's own board, users can immediately update their drivers once a new reference driver is released". Thats not unique to the SQ2500 as Vortex 2 offerings from Absolute Multimedia, Terratec, Videologic and Xitel are stock reference boards identical to Aureal's own SuperQuad board and even the MX300 and Turtle Beach's 2 speaker version works well with Aureal's reference drivers. There are a couple other minor quibbles that I won't bother with as I don't want to detract from what is an excellent review. If you are looking for the scoop on the SQ2500 read their review and read ours and you should have all you need to know about the SQ2500.

Picasso to Support A3D and DS3D with EAX - Mark @ 13:03 EST

Extreme3D has posted an interview with Russell Ritchie, the Managing Director of Picassio where they talk about their upcoming project...Picassio. In Picasso you're a thief. You're nothing more than a common thief. Well...you're a lot more than a common thief if you're stealing some of the most value artworks in the world. This is the principle idea behind Picassio. Here is a snip from the interview.

Vinny: What type of API's will Picassio support?
Russell: Picassio supports DirectX7, Open GL, EAX and Aureal sound

Heretic Fortress 4.0 - Mark @ 12:55 EST

Version 4.0 of Heretic Fortress, a mod of for the A3D 2.0 with wavetracing supporting Heretic II has been released. Heretic Fortress is a team play mod with different medival character classes. Here's whats new:

The new version now fully support custom player models for every class (for a grand total of 17 models) and also includes some new player models (warrior with a broadsword, cleric with an hammer, rogue with a hood, etc). More custom player models are also available for download on the website (some imported from Quake 2 like the famous "Winter Faerie" by Brian "Evil Bastard" Collin").

EverQuest: Ruins of Kunark - A3D Game of the Day - Mark @ 12:46 EST

Aureal's A3D game of the day is EverQuest: Ruins of Kunark from Verant Interactive and its down for A3D 1.x support. This comes as no surprise since its essentially an add-on to the massively multiplayer game EverQuest which also supports DS3D with EAX so I would expect the same for the expansion pack.

UT OpenSource - Mark @ 12:35 EST

Epic's Brandon Reinhart updated his .plan with some news on the Linux port of Unreal Tournament. Here is just a snip:

I'm back from visting relatives and I've been rolling on the Linux open source stuff. I've got my project approved with Source Forge. Once I get everything set up, I'll announce the URL but I'm sure the sneaky will be able to find the page.

I've chosen the Artistic License. I feel that it allows mod developers a lot of freedom with the open code, while not putting Epic into any weird positions with the undisclosed part of the engine.

I plan on open sourcing the following libraries:
XDrv
XMesaGLDrv
GlideDrv
Audio
XLaunch

In addition, the release archive and rcs will include the public headers for the other engine libraries (core, engine, etc). Some of the above libraries compile both under Linux and Win32. I'll write up some specific guidelines for contributing authors. For example code that is contributed to the GlideDrv library must compile under both Win32 and Linux.

Tuesday, December 28, 1999

DVD industry group sues over copying program - Mikael @ 21:12 EST

As you may know some Norwegian programmers in November discovered a way to remove the anti-copying features through a program called DeCSS.

A coalition of motion picture and high-tech heavyweights today sued 71 individuals and Web sites for allegedly circulating a program online that lets people crack the security on the discs to make unauthorized copies of movies.

For more about this story head over to Cnet, Reuters or ZDNet

ADA885 picture - Mikael @ 20:32 EST

If you want to see a picture of the ADA885 you can check out a post in our forum from tamborine. Can't draw that much conclusion from the ad other than it seems likely it will work as a 4-speaker gaming system considering it says Home Theater Entertainment and 3D Audio Sound Effects. Maybe that's already the case with the ADA880R but according to reviews it wasn't with the ADA880.

Boston Acoustics Media Theater Review - Mikael @ 20:31 EST

Fast-Mhz has posted a review of Boston Acoustics Media Theater which he found to be a great speaker system. It's a 3-piece speaker system but can be upgraded with a surround speaker. The reviewer says this can be used with a 4-speaker soundcard but according to the review Mark did earlier this year it's only used for the Dolby Prologic decoder that this system includes. Without the surround speaker the system supports virtual surround, something this review doesn't mention. Check out Mark's review for more about this speaker system.
News Source: AGN

Maxi Sound Fortissimo - Mikael @ 20:31 EST

Beyond3D has posted yet another review of this inexpensive 4-speaker soundcard. A few comments/clarifications. EAX 2.0 will be supported with future drivers. Sensaura isn't a new API or really an extenstion to DS3D other than ZoomFX which no game uses and I doubt the drivers support it yet if ever considering Yamaha's decision to exit the PC audio market. DirectMusic can only be supported in hardware under Windows 2000 and doubtful Yamaha have done any Windows 2000 drivers that support this feature. There is of course no internal amplifier on this card and the same applies to every other reasonably modern PCI card with the exception of the DMX where it's optional.

The latest reference drivers from Yamaha which Hoontech's latest drivers are based on supports 32 3D streams, I3DL2 and EAX 2.0.

Half-Life 2 music update - Mikael @ 19:55 EST

Just saw at VE that Steve Silva from Halflife.net, has confirmed with Valve Software's Jenni Gant, that Nikki Sixx and his band will NOT be doing the music for Half-Life 2. The interview wasn't completely wrong, just out of date since it had been discussed but Sierra had turned down the interview. That's why you shouldn't read off-line press :-)
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

D'Music MP3 Player - Mikael @ 19:55 EST

Damage Gaming have finished their review of Pine's 64MB D'Music MP3 Player. In addition to the basic features it has voice recording, an equalizer and can upload other and store any type of files not just MP3. According to the review it also has "amazing sound quality" so could be a good deal but for some reason the reviewer doesn't seem to think mentioning the price is important.
News Source: AGN Hardware

A3D Game of the day: Carmageddon TDR 2000 - Mikael @ 19:54 EST

Carmageddon TDR 2000 will support A3D 2.0 when it's out early 2000. It's not on Creative's EAX list and the official site is one of these horrible flash sites and took for ever to load so skipped checking for any additional info.

Online Music Falls Flat - Mikael @ 14:24 EST

Well that's what ZDnet claims happened during Christmas where sales of online music was far below expectations. They never mention actual sales of on-line music or what numbers that was expected but do mention 750 000 MP3 portaable players was sold, less than the expected 1 million. ZDNet also have a online music report where they mention that Jupiter Communications predicts only 3% of consumers will purchase downloaded digital music by 2003. Head over to ZDNet for more details.

Sonix System S-2000 review - Mikael @ 14:23 EST

Glide Underground has posted a review of this flatpanel+subwoofer speaker system where they found the sats to be ok but complained about an "extremely under powered " subwoofer. They than draw the opposite conclusion than I would, that is it's good for gaming and DVD movies but not music. I guess it depends on what type of music you play but the subwoofer is used much more in games and DVD movies than the music I play.

Week in Review - Mikael @ 00:14 EST

We have posted our latest edition of the 3D Audio Week in Review covering December 20-26. This weekly newsletter covers new driver releases, games, patches and demos that support 3D sound including information on any new bugs, bug fixes and other tips. The newsletter now also includes links to all sound related hardware reviews on the web as well as updates on what we did and what we plan to do in the coming week. The 3D Audio Week in Review is a great way for busy people to be right on top of all latest in the PC audio world.

Monday, December 27, 1999

Marantz Selects Spatializer N-2-2 for its DVD Players - Mikael @ 23:43 EST

Spatializer Audio Laboratories announced today that Marantz has incorporated Spatializer N-2-2(TM) into its new line of DVD players. Three models, DV-4000, DV-7000 and DV-18 will begin shipping worldwide in the first quarter 2000. This design win represents both the first license of Spatializer technology by Marantz and is yet another major global DVD brand to adopt Spatializer's N-2-2 technology which is fast becoming the de facto virtual surround sound standard in the DVD market.

ADA 885 price - Mikael @ 18:51 EST

In the previous post today I didn't mention any price. According to Josh the upgrade from the HK-195 to the ADA 885 is $220 and the HK-195 costs $29. It's anyone's guess how much the ADA885 will cost when bought separately but seems like it won't be much if any more than the $257.95 they now charge for the 880R.

DS3D bug in Ultima IX: Ascension - Mikael @ 18:48 EST

Origin Sound Programmer, David Aldridge, made a post in the official Ultima IX: Ascension forums about a DS3D bug, check it out

The "I'm missing 3D sounds" bug appears to be a DirectX initialization problem in Windows95, which Microsoft and I are currently looking into. The only current, sure-fire ways to get your 3D SFX playing are:
1) Use Glide (stops D3D from initializing, which is apparently what is causing DS3D to not work)
-or-
2) Install Windows98 (this issue doesn't occur with Win98)

Music for Half-Life 2 - Mikael @ 18:25 EST

If you wonder who will do the music for Half-Life 2 the following post that I ripped from VE (that ripped it from Planet Half-Life should be interesting

In the Dec '99 issue of Incite they did a short Q&A with Nikki Six (from Motley Crue) which revealed that his band 1958 is doing music for halflife 2. Here's the Q&A:

Why did you decide to do the music for Half-Life II?
When they heard some of the 1958 loop-based music, we all felt it was a marriage made in hell.

What did you think of the game?
Its whacked.

Why did you decide to do this with your side-project, 1958, instead of with Motley Crue?
The [loop-based] music is more fitting.

Did you write original music for the game, or are these songs that will appear on 1958's album?
Both. Some of the more warped 1958 tunes will appear in the game, and we'll also do some just for the game.

If your two bands played Half-Life against each other, who would win?
Crue woud kill 1958.

Dirt Track Racing sound effects - Mikael @ 18:25 EST

Blackhole Motorsports has posted some new sounds for the Late Model Cars found on Ratbag's Dirt Track Racing.
News Source: AGN

Swedish Touring Car Championship A3D Game of the Day - Mikael @ 17:25 EST

Aureal's A3D game of the day is Swedish Touring Car Championship that will support A3D 2.0. Not really news since we already mentioned that when the demo was released which you can grab from the 3dfiles. According to Vortex of Sound the game also supports DS3D with EAX.

Aureal says the game will be available early 2000 but since a patch for the game already has been released I guess the early 2000 date is just US.

New THX speaker system from Altec Lansing - Mikael @ 16:35 EST

Some of you may have seen the post in our forum from Tamborine about a new THX speaker system from Altec Lansing, ADA-885, that are mentioned in some ads from Dell. There is no info on Dell's or Altec's site about this system that I can find. I have not got any answer from Altec yet either but I just got the following e-mail from Josh Maizel

Dell now offers ADA885 speakers on their systems. New features from 880(the newest Dell mail-ad has pictures):

1. changed the shape slightly
   
2. Now 120 watts instead of 80 watts
   
3. New LCD readout on right speaker with what looks like a dial or switch(I don't know what for)
   
4. Some sort of port(output for headphones or extra speakers maybe?) on the left speaker
   
5. Dolby Digital and THX(certified)

These better be better than the 880 or THX doesn't mean much.

Josh also mentioned that Dell's Giga Buys website now sells the ProMedia for the standard $249 price that Compaq and Klipsch also charges. Giga Buys sells several other speaker systems including the ADA880 so maybe they will start to sell the ADA-885 soon.

Sirocco Crossfire review - Mikael @ 15:56 EST

If you want a second opionon on the Sirocco Crossfire speaker system you can check out 3Dhardware.net that just completed their review on Videologic's Sirocco Crossfire 4-point speaker system. Here's a snip

Videlogic have definitely done a great job. They created an excellent speaker system with the original Siroccos and have further pushed the limit of PC audio quality. There is a saying that you should not ruin a good thing by tweaking it a bit and selling it under a different name but in the case of the Sirocco line Videologic did the right thing. They took the original Sirocco speakers and turned them into a 4-point system named Crossfire. They are by far the best surround system I have heard up to date.

New Hollywood Plus drivers - Mikael @ 15:56 EST

Sigma Designs released new Windows 95/98 drivers, v1.8.1, just before Christmas for their Hollywood Plus MPEG2 card. Here's what changed since the 1.8 release

1. A fix for a bug while accessing the MPEG data on some movies that leads to the error message MMSYSTEM275. This bug was introduced in release 1.8.
   
2. Some region 4 movies published by a certain company are exhibiting audio noise during playback. This is due to some CRC errors in the AC-3 stream and can be fixed by ignoring these errors using the registry entry IgnoreAc3Crc=1 in the folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Sigma Designs\REALmagic\13
   It is recommended to have it equal to the default value zero to allow the driver to handle these errors by not decoding these blocks (or passing them to the external AC-3 decoder, if available).

Monsoon MM-700 Flat Panel Speakers - Mikael @ 02:29 EST

Anandtech has posted a review of this flat panel speaker system. Here's a snip that should give you an idea what to expect

Think of the Monsoon MM-700's as a slightly less powerful, but otherwise much improved version of the MM-1000's. Sound quality is almost the same, but the price is much lower. In fact at the time of this review, the MM-700's were going for $109 after a $40 rebate directly from Monsoon. Compare that to the MM-1000's at $199, and choosing the MM-700's over the MM-1000's is a no brainer. To make things even sweeter, its fairly easy to find the MM-700's for about $110 before the rebate with a bit of searching on the internet.

News from December 20 - 26, 1999

Search 3DsoundSurge News

Looking for a particular story or issue?   Why not search our news archives. 

All content, design and work is © 2001 - 3D Sound Surge Please respect the copyrights of the articles and writers herein. All copyrights are enforced by 3DSS.  
View the 3DsoundSurge Privacy Statement