Creative Labs Soundblaster Live! Player 5.1

Creative aren't my favourite company really - I feel their products are overpriced compared to the competition, and they have a habit of bringing out many versions of the same product which can be completely incompatible. When my SBLive finally packed up last month, I decided to shop around a bit because I really wanted to break the Creative habit.

However, all the cards I got were absolutely useless. Crackling, popping audio, cheap contruction, intrusive drivers and so on. Returning computer components can be a hassle at best, and often a complete nightmare.

Reluctantly, I went back to the SBLive. My last one had suffered from dodgy outputs and inputs (probably a lot of pulling leads in and out), so I really wanted a Platinum version (the version with the 'drive' that allows easy access to all the sockets) - but I guess Creative don't make them any more. So I got a bare SBLive and bought extension cables to save wear on the card and bring my ports onto the desktop. It works just as well, and worked out £20 cheaper than a Platinum would have been. The only downside is that my old digital daughterboard, which was not faulty, is not compatible with my new SBLive.

I don't care about 3D sound, digital ports or any fancy features which you can't hear through a normal set of speakers. I need good quality output for my job, and the SBLive is crisp and clear, so it works fine for my purposes. Second to that, I just wanted something that would WORK without any conflicts, unlike the cheap cards. The SBLive fulfills both those criteria, so it's good enough for me.