Step 1: Install Windows Vista
Step 2: Install Creative Audigy 2 Value drivers
Step 3: Install Nvidia DUALTV drivers
Step 4: Fight with Vista to get Audigy drivers to function properly again.
Step 5: Fight with Vista to get it to stop BSODing after losing the previous fight.
Step 6: Use System Restore point
Step 7: To your horror, watch Windows repeat step 4 for you.
Step 8: Cry, and run Windows Update in hope something changed.
Step 9: Turn your volume down to its minimum level as your speakers oddly begin to emit a little annoying static from the stupid sound card.
Step 10: Watch Windows Update FAIL to update for no apparent reason.
Step 11: Hit "explain error"
Step 12: Listen to the static suddenly, without reason, build to a VERY high level.
Step 13: Turn off the speakers as even at the lowest volume it has reached a VERY scary high level.
Step 14: Smell smoke
Step 15: Watch smoke slowly flow out of the back of your speaker's control unit.
Step 16: Freak out
Step 17: Yank the cables from the sound card and hit the big fat power switch on the power strip.
Step 18: Sneeze from the smell of the smoke.
Step 19: 15 minutes later, after assuring that there is nothing catching on fire, attempt to get sound out of speakers.
Step 20: Everything turns on, you attach something to the unit to hear sound.
Step 21: Despite your best efforts, the control unit will no longer detect any input, and is now fried. Literally.
Step 22: Cry, then search for RMA.

So yeah, that's my story for the day. Sorry it isn't quite as interesting as Steven, but that's an unfair comparison.

You can RMA blown speakers that you caused?

Too many steps.

Where's step: ???

and step: Profit!

I don't get it.

Well I'm here in Windows Vista too and I don't have any explode-a-speakers.




...yet.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Creative!

Step 1 was guaranteed to cause some kind of hell

Burned. Literally.

I would put the blame more on step 2.

This sounds like it doesn't have anything to do with Windows Vista.


I fail to see how sound hardware could possibly fry a control unit. Modern sound cards aren't even electrically amplified.

Yeah, but if the amp tries to send singnals it can't handle, because the sound card told it too, you might have a problem.

That made me rofl :downs:

I am almost positive it had to do with windows/audigy putting out an incredibly loud signal (As I said it was too loud even on the absolute lowest volume level on the speakers.). It either was too much power for the decoder inside the speaker controller, or it just confused the controller so much that it farted and died.

In any case, I'm RMAing them :p

[QUOTE=Cool Matty]I am almost positive it had to do with windows/audigy putting out an incredibly loud signal[/QUOTE]
16-bit audio only gets you 96 dB of dynamic range, and your sound card cannot possibly output anything high enough to cause a problem.

Were you using a digital output? The only thing I can think of is that the soundcard was giving the speakers' DAC bad data and it somehow fried itself. In any case, I would blame Logitech. There's no way your soundcard should ever be able to fry your speakers.

WAY too many steps, observe:

Step 1 lean towards the speakers
Step 2 purse your lips almost like your about to kiss
Step 3 exhale forcefully

3 simple steps, and that's only because I stretched it to 3.

Digital out was attached, but it wasn't active (and the control console wasn't switched to it), so I don't see how it would do anything.

In any case, I definately agree that Logitech is the problem in the first place, but the sound card certainly attributed to the issue >.>

Actually, wait. It's possible your soundcard might be the problem. It could be physically defective. It's possible it outputted a large amount of DC offset or a very high voltage signal that the amp couldn't handle. The speakers themselves might still work. Do you have an amp, receiver, or another speaker set you can test them with?

The speakers might not have anything to do with it. I would test your soundcard on some cheap speakers or headphones and see if you can get it to kill them. Maybe RMA them both for good measure.

The speakers are shot, because it relies on the control unit to do anything. (They won't turn on without the control unit, and since the control unit won't turn on properly, the speakers never provide power.)

I don't think its the amp, since the amp is inside the subwoofer, not the control unit, and the control unit is the thing that was smoking.

The sound card still "works" fine, I have some cheap speakers hooked up right now that are functioning perfectly. The sound card MIGHT be faulty in that it is capable of outputting far too powerful a signal, but seeing as I have had this card for about a year now without issue, I don't think it's worth RMAing. I'll just need to be more careful, and the next time windows decides to make the soundcard produce a static incredibly loud signal to unplug it quick and kill it.