These compressed file formats allow more music and movies to be packed into our media players, and their smaller file sizes make the download faster. So everything seems great, in terms of space (to store more files), size (of media player), speed (of download) and cost (of transfer).
But the downside is that MP3 or MP4 files have been compressed by a lossy method, meaning that bits of information – deemed too hard to be perceived by humans – from the original audio track file have been discarded by the compression software.
As seen below, an audio spectralgram analysis of an uncompressed audio file has frequencies reaching onwards on 22kHz, which is over the human hearing limit. In comparison, a substanital portion of the audio spectrum taken from a 128kbits MP3 audio file, have frequencies 15kHz onwards to 22kHz spectrum removed.
Once those bits are discarded, it isn't possible to restore them. Also, the more compression is applied to those files, the more artifacts – such as hissing, ringing and warbling – a listener expriences.
SBX Pro Studio is one solution which allows you to experience the less-than-perfect audio with drastically better output quality.
SBX Pro Studio is a suite of audio technologies focused on giving you better audio playback. It allows you to make simple adjustments so that the audio quality of your compressed audio is drastically improved, enhancing your movie, music and game experience.
Space and cost limitations are usually the main reasons preventing someone from having a full 5.1 channel surround setup. The magic of SBX Surround gives realistic surround sound virtualisation capabilities from as little a pair of speakers or headphones! So you'll be able to feel as if you're in the midst of the action, be it movies, games or DVD-audio. You may even be able to discrete musical instruments at different locations around you!
SBX Crystalizer intelligently restores the highs and lows of your music, giving you enhanced detail and clarity. This is especially great for when you're listening to badly compressed audio files. You'll be amazed at the difference!
SBX Bass extends the low-end frequencies of an audio input to give you the perception of deeper bass. You'll feel the extra impact (such as explosions in a movie, or bass-heavy music tracks) for a dramatically improved sound experience. Best of all, you can adjust just how much bass you want.
Use Smart Volume to automatically adjust the final audio output so that quieter sounds are made louder and vice versa, relative to the pre-determined volume level that you've set. This is useful for late-night movie watching, or when you have a playlist of tracks, each with vastly different volumes.
Badly mastered movies or music often have huge differences in volumes of vocals compared to sounds such as explosions or sirens. Dialog Plus focuses on increasing the volume of vocals in movies or audio track so that you do not need to constantly change the master volume.
Check out our Sound Blaster Youtube channel to learn more about SBX Pro Studio technology.
While other companies bicker among themselves over who produces the best audio quality, we work hard to give you clever audio - we utilize the latest technology in clever ways so you get audio products that punch well above their weight.
