3D GameForce heeft een review online gezet waarin de Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ en Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer vergeleken worden. Qua hardware zijn weinig verschillen tussen deze twee versies, beide hebben SB Live! kaarten met een S/PDIF out. De verschillen moeten gezocht worden in de software bundel: de MP3+ heeft wat audio programma's en de X-Gamer 3 games. Gelukkig hoeven de meeste tweakers niet na te denken welke versie ze willen hebben, ze zijn beide namelijk niet in Nederland verkrijgbaar:
The boys at Creative Labs have created two cards that run for about $100 each and both share some similar features. The two cards are called Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ and the Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer. These two packages are targeted for different users, one is targeted for the musician, and includes the standard Live! software bundle with programs such as; the Digital Audio Center, Mixman Studio, Cakewalk Express Gold 8.0 and Sound Forge XP 4.0. The other package is for the gamer and it also has the standard Live! Software bundle, full version games of Interplay's Descent 3, Electronic Arts' Need for Speed 4: High Stakes, Eidos' Thief: the Dark Project, and a few other demos. Let's take a look and see how it all adds up.
[...] Those looking for a professional sound card will most likely want to check out the Platinum edition from Creative Labs which has many more great features then the MP3+ and X-Gamer. For those like myself that are looking for a card that has some great quality and is relatively cheap, I would have to recommend the MP3+ and X-Gamer. The major differences between the cards is the software bundles. The MP3+ version includes Cakewalk, Sound Forge, and the Digital Audio Center, while the X-Gamer comes with full version games, like Descent 3, Need for Speed 4, and Thief. Those that already have these games, or are music fanatics, can pick up the MP3+ version. Those that are not interested in MP3s and don't have the games from X-Gamer can get that version. Overall the Live! MP3+ and X-Gamer give you great sound quality and gives you a lot for your money.