I own a PCIe sound card which has internal DAC and headphone amp. When my card eventually dies or driver support ends, I will get external DAC (with amp), since they don't have similar electrical interference internal cards do - not that I can really notice that, but still.
I have a pcie soundcard i rather have a pcie soundcard than usb gets more cleaner and not as much cables My soundcard is a asus dgx pcie somehow my on board audio died so I got a pcie soundcard It was just 2 years old my b350
I own SoundBlaster Z. In the past i had SoundBlaster Audigy 2, SB 5.1, SoundBlaster 32 ( i guess ) and even the one with 16bit in the beginning of the 90s
I have an asus strix 7.1 Raid Pro paired with a razer tiamat elite 7.1 analog headphones, it sounds really good in movies and games, much better than motherboard sound
EAX was something else for gaming. We're honestly missing out. You used to be able to pick up sounds coming from the floor above or below you. It was insane.
@@Krystalmyth Even on my high end mobo, Realtek positional audio is still subpar and few games have good directional audio, very few fps are actually up to par. Also, 5.1 surround was done extremely well in games
There is a way to enable EAX with some Creative software (I forget the name of it atm, but there's one for specific Sound Blaster [X-Fi?] cards, and one Universal version of the program that allows EAX to be enabled in games for any sound device. Whether it outputs audio comparable to actual EAX enabled hardware, I cannot say. As I've never experimented with actual EAX or Aureal3D hardware. There's also OpenAL and OpenALsoft which I think does the same thing? I was able to switch EAX on in-game with them and noticed some difference in audio fidelity. What I'm most curious about is the integrated SC-55 capabilities with some Realtek on-board drivers. Still haven't figured out how to actually utilize it though.
Great information. A solid soundcard is immensely underrated. I had originally skipped using my 5-year old Soundblaster Z in my recent Ryzen 9 build, but when I heard how quiet the onboard audio was I was so disappointed. Going back to my SBZ gave me better and more importantly LOUDER audio. I was blown away at the difference, and quite frankly was shocked more people weren't talking about this.
Hi, I'd like your opinion. I have a Ryzen 9 5900X. I'm not looking for louder, but more wider, open soundstage. I run Dolby Access, Sennheiser HD58X w/ Schiit Fulla 4, & Kanto Yu6+Sub8. Will this card help me achieve that? Only drawback is single toslink. I need 2 minimum.
A lot of younger people never even thought about using a dedicated audio card because they have no means of comparison, therefore they can't tell the difference.
So back in 2021 i built a new PC, with an Asus Rog motherboard thinking the onboard audio was going to be amazing... but it had all kinds of interference noises. So i've been using an Audigy FX i had lying around, perfect clean audio, no issues, even if the latest drivers are from like 2015 for Windows 10, everything still works.
@@tivikemajom do you have em connected to the sound card still right? im planning on getting the Beyerdynamic DT 880 ones, switching from the logitech g pro because it won't take them as they are USB generic audio type of headphones.
@@Angel_Espinal with 3.5 mm, actually I have a Senheiser as well, but the Kraken pro is somehow better to my ears, suprising but I like it a lot. Soundblaster is also a good choice.
Good for you. For me the ZXR compared to onboard audio is a night and day difference. It's like watching a movie on TV or in theaters with Dolby Surround.
I recently just switched my audio sources to run from HDMI. It's a better solution with more bandwidth for more channels, and less prone to EMI, and just about every computer has a video card these days. Granted, not everyone uses a home theatre receiver at their desktop, but there are better solutions, and I don't think sound cards are nearly as important as they used to be.
I have a Creative Soundblaster Z SE card that I bought several years ago for a new Windows 7 PC. I have a 5.1 sound system. It worked so well and I loved it. It even worked well when I upgraded the OS to Windows 10. Then I bought a new PC with Windows 10 already installed, installed the Z SE and have had nothing but terrible sound problems ever since. There's distortion, crackling and random moving of sound from speaker to speaker. It's to the point where I'd almost not have any sound rather than put up with what I do get. I've traded information and emails with Creative support for almost a year without any good results - all the problems remain. Any suggestions would be appreciated, especially if you have had similar problems.
men do an uninstal of every piece of sound software on your pc and instal the last driver and sound blaster comand. then try it again.i also have the same sound card and also have that kind of problem but since the last comand center and driver i never had any problem at all.
@@Shendue I've checked all of that with the exception of the motherboard (build a new computer around the sound card?). If you read the reviews on Amazon you'll see that I'm not alone, that it is a common problem with Windows 10. But try to deal with Microsoft, Creative or HP and it's like using one of those bot apps they love so well.
I wish PC gaming would move beyond 5.1 and on to the newer 3d soround formats like Dolby Atmos, I'm probably one of 20 people in the world who PC games on his home theater set up, but once you hear real soround sound like that it's hard to go back, no set of headphones is going to shake your whole body when a bomb goes off in battlefield.
Can't beat the real thing...I have okay headphones (JBL) I use for video editing (LOL)...but my 5.1 gig kills any experience you could have with headphones...the first time the PC got connected to a big screen meant having big sound too...there is no substitute for a 10" sub
I recently bought a new system and decided at the advice of a friend to not get a sound card... Now I still have my old PC with a 7 year old Sound Blaster Z in and I can confirm the audio is MUCH better quality on my old sound card than the the onboard from an ASUS ROG STRIX motherboard. Internal sound cards are absolutely worth getting, especially considering how cheap they are relative to other hardware.
@@Shendue Absolutely mate. I bought a new sound card for my recent build and it's night and day. I think people who've never experienced the difference think it's not worth it, but I could never go back to onboard again.
Almost all onboard sound cards don't have a stand alone amplifier like sound cards do. The only on board sound cards that have a decent amplifier are the high end Gaming motherboards and even then most of them don't have it. However both are limited no matter how high end you go because tosslink can only handle 2 channels, it lacks the bandwidth to support true surround. Another reason why GPU manufacturers put HD audio in the video cards via HDMI.
The main issue I have with PCIE sound cards is USB DACs. If I have a nice pair of headphones (which I do), I am limited to reaching around BEHIND the PC to connect to the sound card, (And if anyone suggests I jack into the front panel... lolzzzz, riiiight)... OR you can plug your headphones into an external USB DAC that can be used on ANY computer with a USB plug, offering a wider range of audio options, with far greater convenience. If, like me, you already have a gaming 5.1 setup, I can see how these may be useful. Especially if you have a static tower PC. But to be honest, the onboard sound is adequate for my 5.1 system, as they are rather old at this point, and if I was going to replace them, I would certainly go a different route this time around. Again, this would involve an external DAC yet again.
Thanks for the video I still have mine, I'm a old school and for there is a difference regarding positional audio I find it better, I play Quake Live and Quake Champions.
I've had my SB Z in my rig for years now... I can hear the difference w/out it.. VERY easily. I think I"ll keep it. Just gotta store the drivers somewhere safe cos they can be a bish to find.
I have X-Fi Titanium. It's still very good sound card. And as I can see in this video or in other similar content on web, the difference between SB Z (SE) or SB Recon 3D, is still small.
Won't forget my 1st Creative Sound Card in 1998. Bought Creative and Asus sound cards till I started using dac/amps in 2017. Graphics cards taking up space and heat lead me to dac/amps
A good sound card will definitely offer a noticeably better audio experience if you have proper speakers to go with it. Still, I appreciate onboard audio too. It's practically free but sounds pretty ok. It's pretty much comparable to Sound Blaster cards in the early 2000s, I think.
@@frankfarago2825 I don't see why you gotta laugh at him. I've actually done that too, plugging a 42" TV to my PC though HDMI, although the HDMI port is found on my Nvidia card. Nvidia and AMD graphics cards contain some audio functionality to provide audio over HDMI, although I'm not sure if they even use the Realtek audio codec on the motherboard (probably not). It's probably still processed by the CPU though. And yes, if you output to your TV via HDMI to watch movies and play games on your TV (which is actually pretty cool), I don't see why you need a sound card.
i used to do a sound blaster audigy because for 20 years i've had a 5.1 speaker system...but my last built (i built in 2019 before the covid crash so i was lucky) i bought sound blaster AE-9...i bought this because i used to dj and back in those days you'd have to buy studio monitors and a usb audio controller to get you DJ mixers....i did this before i built my PC mind you...But still with the AE-9 sound blaster i don't need the studio monitors and usb controller from a dj manufacturer....i can listen and here everything through my speakers...from my games...my dj software...my DAW all through on set of speakers rather than two....only reason i still use a PCI-E sound blaster card
I have had this card for about a year now. I have had no trouble with it. Overall, it's a good card. Creative has sent out a number of updates for the SoundBlaster Command software and it works as intended in Windows 11. The only problem I have with the card is that if (like me) you put it in a normal standing PC tower you can't see the cool shroud or the chip inside. Its upside down. So, you only see the bottom of the card which looks like any other card. I can't believe they didn't think of this when they designed the card as the majority of gaming pcs out there are standing towers.
The AE-5 Plus I ordered did not work. PC detected it, but just would not run. Since 1995 I have had huge problems with Creative (Detection and drivers), but once I made them work, it was a blast (literally). This time I could not be bothered, after 4-5 hours and a shit load of negative comments about the AE-5 Plus, I replaced it (at no loss) with an X3 external. Here all worked just perfectly. Only downside is that headset and mic only plug in the front of it... I also miss the remote controls from back in the day !
well, actually, i have this sound card, but the point is, why this sound card came in a flipping face ? how I make it in the right face with red-light at the top instead the down, I can't did it anyway. thanks
I use that exact creative sound blaster card with my hd558 and it’s night a d day to me. Specially being able to keep the volume at 10 rather than 99 with in board audio. Is it needed no but it makes a difference worth it for me
I still use my Creative X-Fi titanium sound card from 2009, even then i bought it used. Its been more than 12 years now and it still works great. But my question is it worth to upgrade to this card? Or even get the new model of this card Sound Blaster Z SE ? Its probably the same but it would be nice to upgrade a card hehe. Awesome review !
HEADS UP!! Nov 2022. The regular Z version is on sale at Creatives website for $49.99. Worth the buy just because. I am getting it to run old EAX sound format PC games mostly natively without a zillion hacks.
COD united offensive supports EAX but I can't run EAX. Why aren't creative cards standard in most PC's. The best buy IBUYPOWER PC's being an example of them NOT being installed.
Creative Labs was the pinnacle of gaming audio before gaming was a marketing term. Their cards were always in my builds going back decades. Unfortunately, I’ve gone almost completely wireless in most of my daily driver builds and don’t like headphone wires (or any wires) anywhere near my desk. I wish there was a way to get the amazing signal from one of these cards into a non-biased high end analog set of headphones. The Steelseries Nova Pro headset seems to be the only real candidate for this scenario but I wish there were other more “pure” options out there.
Creative that was specialized in cheap audio card (and was clone of adlib at the beginning.... not to mention multichanel pc speaker as their first project) always stood for quality? Meaybe you meant Roland or Gravis (from that era, because now you can have 10 000 dollars dac - no problem)
If I had a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system I might've gone with a good sound card but I'm on a 2.1 set up so I don't see the need as my motherboard does a good enough job, that said my surround headphones are completely broken in games like those in the Borderlands series so maybe a dedicated sound card could fix that? I still have an ancient 5.1 sound card in the cupboard so I might dust it off & play around with that to see if it helps & if it does look at getting a newer sound card. In Borderlands the problem's with the megaphones. I can stand near one & hear it loud & clear but a 90 or 180 degree turn can completely turn it off as does walking away where it will switch off instantly rather than gradually grow quieter as it does on the speakers.
im in it for the 7.1 surround sound, for some reason the audio from my motherboard only supports 2 channels. ive tried drivers and even the optical port, nothing. just stereo.
Thank you for the excellent job you did. I wasn't looking for the tech-oriented explanation. However, it comes in handy if someone is really trying to go the prosumer route. You covered many things and the things I was listening for were very basic but specific and you nailed my list of questions. Excellent job!! I will consider getting this for my line of work and that's thanks to your video. Creative Labs should reward you somehow and if they already did, then they did the right thing.
When you spend all your money on the look but on the part no one has a clear view, been the back-plate... Both CPU/GPU face toward the back-plate and in some scenarios even the PSU, so I would say it doesn't have much of a shielding other than physical distance. The chip do seem to have some proper shielding, been on top of the PCB surrounded by metal. If I had to buy it today I would prefer an external DAC for future compatibility, as long as it comes with a good surround option and a simple equalizer you should be fine.
@@Nicolas11x12English You are welcome. Your videos are amazing. I now favor Enermax PSU's largely due to your Enermax Revolution DF video. The last three PSU's I have bought have been Enermax Revolution Df and MarbleBron units. Thank you.
Guys one of 1st card was "Sound Blaster Live 5.1" was a Demon in Sound...............I was loving so much in 2001 :) Big C sukers in corp MIcrosoft shout that card down and from windows xp to windows 7 instantly stop working. I have huge respect for Those Cards. they are amazing.............. well I will buy those new version for sure
I have a set of those Headphones. That said, I've 2 0f these cards and even sold one for dirt Cheap to get my SB-X AE-5. Can do giant 32bit 384 bit recordings and playback. I'm tickey enough to Build my Own speakers. Denon, Pioneer, Old School JVC, and Harmon Kardon receivers litter my Home with 4 to 5 systems in different Rooms. Motherboard sound set ups is like comparing a plain Hamburger to a T-Bone. Now I know folks who love burgers but it is not one of the top cuts of Beef. IMHO Hamburger do NOT Suck but Have one of the Prime cuts and if you think they are the same then more power to ya'. I caught the Sound Baster X AE-5 that was about 59 dollars plus free shipping as part of a clearance as the other AE-5s went on sale. I never connected the extra lights but let the light on the card run. They keep my wife's cats calm while they are under my desk.
I'm conflicted: while I'm using onboard audio, I have it going through a Sony STR-K7100 5.1 receiver. I have no issues with my audio, it sounds great to me. I'm wondering if my setup is an exception or if I would actually legitimately benefit from an upgraded card.
The only problem with Optical is that it only handles 2 audio channels, even if you are pushing a PCM signal. EMI isn't an issue when it comes to optical so soundcard vs motherboard makes no difference, imo. You can use the analog multichannel but WILL be susceptible to line interference. These days, running an HDMI cable to your receiver from your video card for audio will be your biggest upgrade. You can have true multichannel PCM up to bit-rates you'll never use.
Great video! A score of 10/10. I learnt a lot about sound cards and gaming headset. I have been used a good sound card, Soundblaster Audigy 5RX for about 4 years, and still working very well. If I decide for an upgrade on 2023 or 2024 about a new sound card, do you reccomend me the Blaster Z SE or other?
Hey guys my onboard audio died. And idk which one to pick Audigy rx Xfi tiranium Or the z All seem to go for 30-50$ here I only use them for occasional gaming and listening to music on headphones and stereo speakers.
Am using a sound blaster z. Made night and day differences to the sound. Had to slot it into full-length pcie slot after my GPU took out the space of the pciex1 slot 😂
Funny that I had a very old HP, which wasn't "technically advanced" with it's Intel Pentium at 550 MHz 😳 Yeah, Megahertz. BUT it sounded much better than my later "advanced tech" workstations which, in comparison, sounded plasticky and harsh.
I had problems with the Z, the 5.1 audio sometimes would be playing fine, and then for no apparent reason the audio would just be playing through the front right channel. I tried updates and re-installs, which did not fix the problem. I can only assume it was something to do with the 3rd party dts live mixing. I changed to motherboard audio (5.1 analog out) and never had any problems. Recently I have been wooed by the AE5 plus, enough to order one, I hope this card doesn't give me the same problems or I will return to motherboard audio for good xD
I just installed this bad boy in my PC and it powers my HyperX alphas very very nicely. The headphones have never sounded better. I also have a Klipshe 5.1 surround sound connected to a Sony reciever that i use to watch movies. Currently I use a HDMI out from my graphics card to the input of the sony reciever. Would i be better off running an Optical out from this card to the Sony reciever? Or am i getting the best sound with my HDMI cable. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Just a clueless lady here who had one of these given to her & im just trying to figure out if there’s any value in the product if I do not have a sound card, just the part with the headphone jacks and knob.
I have a question, I have a pair of Logitech z625 speakers which are a 2.1 system and a pair of hyperx cloud stinger headphones. My PC currently has a high-end z490-e gaming motherboard with a SupremeFX chip for better audio quality. Knowing my audio setup, would I still be able to hear the difference in audio quality with my 2.1 speakers. The Soundblaster Z SE doesn't mention anything about 2.1 setups. What would you recommend?
a video comparing the sound blaster z to onboard sound sponsored by creative. i think my "conflict of interest"-senses are tingling. in any case, had to switch to onboard audio, because i had some audio leaking into my mic input with the sound blaster z. i miss some of the features of the SBZ, but that's not worth it in my use case (playing online games and games with VoiceAttack).
Brother Even though these newer Boards are better in other aspects the MAG Msi Z690 TomaHawk wifi DDR4 has no good Audio Qluity, Least my OL Asus Prime Z390-A came with DTX HeadHead X which make all the difference in Qulity sound, so want to ask anyone who bought one of these Sound card will it Bring Better Sound Quality, rather then this MSI Z690 ???
Great video! I have my PC connected to my home theater receiver with a 5.1 setup all sound and video going through the GPU HDMI. Will I hear the difference if I buy one of these sound cards or is my receiver doing all the heavy lifting anyways? Will I need to run the sound by a different wire or can I continue to use my HDMI? Thanks in advance.
No HDMI support on any sound cards produced today so it's a none starter for me. I have the JBL bar 9.1 on my PC and you cannot get more than two channels using ANY of the ports on the back of the sound cards!!! Plug that HDMI in any video card and viola, true multichannel and atmos support to boot. Sound card manufacturers need to adapt and evolve because their making themselves irrelevant!!
Sound cards for video editing. I have the MSI PRO Z790-P with it's own sound card built in, but I am thinking not to load there video portion down. So I am going to try a Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus board. It has Xamp Discrete Headphone Bi-amp, Up to 122dB SNR . I ill only be driving a stereo amp with it. What do you think?
Fantastic video! I don't know if you have tested the creative sound blaster g6 yet, be if you did how would you compare these two modles together and overall an internal PCI sound card vs external sound blaster?
Anyone know if this soundcard has a "Volume Leveling" toggle for boosting low volume sources, my previous Asus Prime Z370-A had it by clicking a DTS icon and selecting it there (Realtek S1220A onboard).
I have a VIA VT1708S , THD is 0.003 %. I buy this on an ASUS card many years ago because Realtek 887 was too crap. Before my last sound card was a Creative Labs SBLive! 5.1 Digital (PCI). My first was a Gravis Ultra Sound MAX (ISA) :-))) I use SPDIF output or analog output and I can't hear any différence. It's why i think the VT1708S is not so bad than realtek 887 / 892 ... Help me if you have tested it and if i'm wrong... Thanks !
Does anyone know why a 2.1 speaker system sounds way better connected to the headphone jack vs the L/R plug which its supposed to go in? I also have headphones so i have to always switch the plugs out.
The card partially blocks my GPU air intake and I can't use the lower PCI-E slot due to some interference with a cable on the MOBO. What do you think of removing the red shroud or should I better return it?
I have a creative sound blaster Ae-5 and i love it, i love the software and it has external power wich means it doesnt really share the issues with PCIe powered sound cards it seems
So if my setup is HDMI audio from GPU to a hifi receiver, I would have no use for this, because the receiver functions the same as a sound card, correct?
Can the author compare this card to other? The fact that the optical out is even mentioned makes me think that the author has no clue about audio quality and DACs (every device that turns "bits" into analog signal). the optical is a bypass of the card (turns it into a "wire"). This is an entry card, worse than various onboards from premium mainboards. The majority does not need a sound card. The onboard is just fine. The rest can go external DAC
Built a new pc with one of the latest codecs. I use the logitech z5500 surround system using the optical out. There are no options for 5.1, so is the logitech converting the optical audio signal into dolby digital pro logic II? Would this soundblaster card allow me to output a better 5.1 experience using a more current surround format? Thanks
creative told me i can have different settings for speakers and for optical out (for settings i mean equalizer, crystalizer and those base things). Is it true?
