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Manufacturer | Creative Technology |
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Introduced | 1990[1] |
Type | Consumer sound cards |
Sound Blaster is a family of sound cards and audio peripherals designed by Singaporean technology company Creative Technology (known in the US as Creative Labs). The first Sound Blaster card was introduced in 1989.
Sound Blaster sound cards were the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to Microsoft Windows 95, which standardized the programming interface at application level (eliminating the importance of backward compatibility with Sound Blaster), and the evolution in PC design led to onboard audio electronics, which commoditized PC audio functionality. By 1995, Sound Blaster cards had sold over 15 million units worldwide and accounted for seven out of ten sound card sales.[1]