Introduction

For as long as I can remember Creative Labs have been producing PC based audio products to a very high standard.

In fact, my very first soundcard was a Sound Blaster. And not just any old one, it was the Live. Well, the 'Live Value' to be precise. In truth, I could not muster the ingots at the time to spring for the full product.

But I had just a big enough lick of the ice-cream to ignite my interest in 'surround sound and EAX or environmental audio'. The latter being what attracted all the excitement around the Sound Blaster Live and what has allowed its continuing excellent form right up until now.

Which leads me not so elegantly into the X-Fi Zen style media player I'm looking at today. It's the 8GB model and boasts many features for its delicate stature.