Editing Sound Blaster (section)

{{short description|Family of sound cards by Creative Technology}}
{{Infobox computer hardware
| name         = Sound Blaster
| logo         = Sound Blaster logo.svg
| logo caption = 
| image        = 
| caption      = 
| manufacturer = [[Creative Technology]]
| introduced   = {{Start date and age|1990|df=yes}}<ref name="NGen11"/>
| type         = Consumer [[sound card]]s
}}

'''Sound Blaster''' is a family of [[sound card]]s and audio peripherals designed by [[Creative Technology|Creative Technology/Creative Labs]] of [[Singapore]]. 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|platform]] until the widespread transition to [[Microsoft]] [[Windows 95]] and the integration of commoditized audio electronics in PCs. Windows 95 standardized the programming interface at the application level and thereby eliminated the importance of [[backward compatibility]] with Sound Blaster cards.

By 1995, Sound Blaster cards had sold over 15 million units worldwide and accounted for seven out of ten sound card sales.<ref name="NGen11">{{cite journal|title=75 Power Players: Back at the Lab...|journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=11|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=November 1995|page=73}}</ref> To date, Sound Blaster has sold over 400 million units,<ref>https://sg.creative.com/corporate/</ref> and their current product lineup includes [[USB]]-powered [[Digital-to-analog converter|DAC]]s as well as other audio adapters.<ref>https://sg.creative.com/soundblaster/</ref>