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Audigy Class Action Settlement
Per an email that was sent to me a few hours ago… here's the PDF:
This notice is to inform you about a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit entitled Holt v. Creative Labs, Inc., San Francisco Superior Court, Case No. CGC-03-418809 (the “Litigation”), the Court's certification of a settlement class in the Litigation, and of a hearing to consider the settlement. The Litigation concerns the first Audigy and Extigy lines of sound cards manufactured by Creative Labs, Inc. (”Creative”) which plaintiff claims were falsely advertised in that they did not process sound at 24 bit/96kHz for all functions: Audigy ES, Audigy Platinum, Audigy Platinum EX, Audigy Gamer, Audigy MP3+, and Extigy sound cards (all of these are called “Sound Card(s)”). Creative denies the claims made in this Litigation, and denies that anyone has been harmed or deserves compensation in relation to the claims. The Court has not made a decision on the merits.
If, on or after March 28, 1999, you owned a Sound Card for your own use (and not for resale), you are a member of the Settlement Class the Court has certified. Under the terms of the settlement, Settlement Class Members who file valid claims and attest to dissatisfaction with the audio processing capabilities of their Sound Card will receive a certificate good for twenty-five percent (25%) off the purchase price of any one Creative product, not to exceed sixty-two dollars and fifty cents ($62.50) off the purchase price. The certificate must be redeemed in connection with a purchase from Creative's website, www.us.creative.com, within one year from the date of issuance. Please see the complete Notice and Claim Form at www.audiocardsettlement.com for details regarding the settlement, the requirements for submission of claims, and how to submit a claim. If you wish to submit a claim, you must do so by September 22, 2005.
I own a few Audigy products. As a matter of fact, we just picked up a couple of new Audigy 2s for the studio the other day.
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8 Comments
SocioBiblog
January 1st, 1970
at 12:00am
Anonymous
March 23rd, 2005
at 2:47am
Don't you just LOVE these kinds of settlements?
“Hey, we screwed you…we got caught…and to make amends, we're giving you some money…sort of. You see, IF YOU BUY SOMETHING ELSE FROM US, we'll give you a discount. But, you have to buy something else…from us…at our web site…at FULL PRICE…then we'll say we're sorry for screwing you.”
Of course, the lawyers representing YOU in this class action didn't get paid in discounts on Creative Labs products. No sirree, Bob. They got cold, hard cash. And no doubt, lots of it.
It amazes me that judges still let such crap happen. Many are waking up and not allowing plaintiffs to get screwed again by the settlement. But, as this shows, many still have their heads up their 4th point of contact.
Anonymous
March 23rd, 2005
at 5:56am
Good points. It's full retail price at Creative vs. buy.com or amazon.com. From a quick look at the audigy 4 for comparison at $300 at the Creative web site, and buy.com at $252 (free shipping and no state tax usually). You might save about $25 bucks with the 25% off. If you have to pay state tax at Creative plus shipping charge, you'll lose that much more. Savings may not be much at all. I get the feeling that even when Creative lost, they really won.
richard
March 27th, 2005
at 9:30am
A coupon as part of the settlement? Sounds like it's a sales pitch from Creative, not a class action suit.
Anonymous
April 25th, 2005
at 7:34am
I totally agree with “Anonymous at 02:47AM”. In fact I think all involved should write the court and say “NO” (address is on the papers) this aggrement isnt ok. We want cash like the attorneys (they get $470,000.00) and not some lame coupon to buy more from Creative. I just got two Audigy 2 ZS's, and had I know about this before hand I wouldnt have got any more Creative product's. What good would a coupon for more do me?
DriverHeaven.net - audigy different versions and sound quality question
July 8th, 2006
at 8:06am
[...] The AC’97 specification of even the latest version (2.1 sept 2000) doesn’t allow making audio codecs with an AC-link data transfer format higher than 20 bits. That is why the card uses converters based on the I2S bus (EMU10K1-based cards used it actively, just take the DAC of the rear channel – UDA1330A and UDA1334A on the Live! and on the Live!5.1). The Audigy also uses the Philips converters. The card has the following chips supporting a data format up to 24bit 96kHz: 6-channel DAC Philips UDA1328T on 6 linear-outs and ADC Philips UDA1361T for signal sampling from a linear-in. The stereo AC’97-codec Creative CT1297 is used for mixing of all analog signals from card’s internal connectors. Since the sound card is primarily used for PC applications the most interesting object to study is a 6-channel 24bit/96kHz DAC Philips UDA1328T: Isn’t the SB0230 ~same w/ SB0090 (least the PCI part)? But, as you perhaps remember the Audigy Class Action Settlement … and read the review on Digi-Life (and Digi-Life’s other reviews for newer models; Audigy 2 , Audigy 2 Zs), you’ll perhaps get the impression, 24-bit is maybe not supported, as it should be by the Creative. jiitee Last edited by jiiteepee : Jul 4, 2006 at 12:07 PM. [...]
Paul
August 29th, 2006
at 3:04pm
I just bought a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Value in the retail box and it has “24bit” and “96kHz” all over it. Now I read about this false advertising and class action suit…I’m really upset about the deception by Creative.
This may be the last time I buy a soundcard from them. I was hoping to enjoy DVD-Audio on my PC, but I guess all I’ll be hearing is 16bit downsampled audio.
XS
March 13th, 2008
at 12:47pm
Anyone up for another class action against creative. They are really screwing customers who purchase their refurbed products. No returns or refunds period. They give you 90 days parts and labor for products you return at your own expense. This little bit of information of course does not appear on the purchase page. You have to follow a link “Learn More” to find out you are screwed by purchasing a refurbed product from Creative. Let’s go lawyers. Free money.