Yesterday, September 27th, marked the official launch of Creative Labs’ latest line of audio products, the Sound BlasterAxx, held at the Sapphire Ballroom A of the Crowne Plaza hotel in Ortigas Center. More than just speakers, the Sound BlasterAxx is touted as the world’s first all-in-one Sound Blaster it packs a high-end microphone, SB-Axx1
sound and voice processor into a sleek, monolithic design.
Paul Seow, worldwide sales manager for Creative Technology Ltd., was present to showcase the Sound BlasterAxx and give demonstrations of the line’s features. These features include bluetooth connectivity with devices such as smartphones and tablets and the ability to quickly switch between multiple SBX units within the devices’ bluetooth range. This can be done through the use of the downloadable Creative Central app.
The highlight of the event, however, was the presentation of the Sound BlasterAxx’s key functions, namely, Smart Volume, Voice Focus, Noise Reduction , and Voice Effects. Smart Volume frees users from the hassle of having to stay within the microphone’s pickup range to be heard properly, as it amplifies the user’s voice as he or she moves around the room, it’s also ideal for conferences with multiple participants. Voice Focus, on the other hand, makes the Sound BlasterAxx emit a focused acoustic beam, zeroing in on a specific area in front of the device and cutting off all other sounds outside the beam’s range. Finally, Voice Effects, as the name implies, allows one to switch his or her voice between various preset voice types, ranging from gender swapping to a low, demonic baritone.
Pretty cool, huh?
Finally, the Sound BlasterAxx comes in three flavors: the top-of-the-line, “premium” SBX-20, “best in line” SBX-10, and the affordable SBX-8, which also happens to be the most portable of the three. The last one on the list also has less features than its two bigger brothers, but retains the same audio fidelity Creative’s products are known for.
We’ve been asked if we’re ready for the next generation of Sound Blasters. Well, we surely are.