Creative unveiled in Japan the new Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 external sound card delivering true 5.1-channel surround sound via a single USB connection. The model, SB-SR51-XFI, will feature Creative's X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS-3D Surround technology as well as Dolby Digital/DTS decoding with pass-through 24-bit/96kHz outputs. There will also be Directsound, EAX and Open AL API support.

It will be available during the second week of May for a price expected to be less than $90.