Do you currently own a PCIe sound card or an external DAC? 🤗 If yes, which one? 😅 If no, have you ever owned a sound card or DAC in the past? 😋

@Purjo92

3 жыл бұрын

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.

@Rainbow__cookie

3 жыл бұрын

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

@martinxyz

3 жыл бұрын

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

@degeneratepervert6255

3 жыл бұрын

Yep. I have a Sound Blaster Zx. I wanted a better sound solution than my onboard, and didn't want to take up a USB slot.

@vikpar

3 жыл бұрын

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

I really miss the EAX technology. That was a badass sound quality

@Krystalmyth

Жыл бұрын

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.

@DanzoSrife

8 ай бұрын

@@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

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.

@TheChrisDecember

Жыл бұрын

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.

@Shendue

Жыл бұрын

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.

i have a soundblaster z and i love the crystalizer. makes quite a big difference to my ears. im also using studio monitors

Soundblaster Z here, wouldn't game without it.

@Angel_Espinal

2 жыл бұрын

what headphones do you have?

@tivikemajom

2 жыл бұрын

@@Angel_Espinal Razer Kraken v2.0

@Angel_Espinal

2 жыл бұрын

@@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.

@drunkhusband6257

2 жыл бұрын

The soundblaster z sounds worse than new mobo sound not to mention interference sounds. The sound blaster Z is like...10 years old

@tivikemajom

2 жыл бұрын

@@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.

I recently added a sound blaster z to my build and it’s night and day. I love it

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.

Need this in order to connect my Z-5500 speakers to my windows 11 pc, thank you for your informative and well made video!

I own a Sound Blaster ZxR. An amazing sound card.

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.

Thank you for this in depth overview 👌🏻

@Nicolas11x12English

3 жыл бұрын

Thank YOU for watching and commenting! :)

I Have a SoundBlaster ZxR and love it!

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?

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 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 this one with the microphone. Good for getting compressed 5.1 Dolby Digital sound through Digital Optical for my Philips DVD Home Theater.

Creative Sound Blaster is LEGENDARY!!!

Thank. This is THE video i was waiting for to understand well audio technica of soundcard. Hello from France.

been awhile since I see this brand in action long live creative sound blaster

This was a great review. Have the non SE version of this card and needed info if I should continue using this or not for my next build.

@nelsonpiedade61

2 жыл бұрын

you dont need to change this beauty. just instal the new driver and enjoy.(the sound blaster comand)and enjoy.

Definitely need one if you want the best sound output. Onboard and sound cards are like day and night

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

I own a soundblaster z and love it may buy a 2nd one for my media server.

SB 5 AE-Plus. Just awesome. Well made vid btw.

@Nicolas11x12English

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! :)

I always fit sound cards i have the ae5 plus white edition i have never been a 100% happy with on board sound .

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.

I was just pondering on this question

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 !

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.

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.

I use Onkyo D-N7BX bookshelf speakers and can spot differences in comparsion videos.

They used to include microphone in a package few years ago.

Can TGE in Essen repair soundcards with broken amplification? He does a good job on Marantz quadradial receivers.

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

Does that card also have a blinding Red light like the previous one >?

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?

What is your microphone? Your recording quality is very good. Thanks for the review btw.

I have a gigabyte x470 that has a completely useless realtek audio system onboard. I stuck in a small sound blaster audio FX and it works perfectly.

I used sound cards for years. But the sound I'm getting from of my MSI X570 Unify is as good as my ears can handle.

@Nicolas11x12English

3 жыл бұрын

:D

@Shendue

Жыл бұрын

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 already own an ASUS Xonar sound card so I simply came to thumbs up Nicholas11x12 video. 🏆

@Nicolas11x12English

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, I really appreciate that.

@auntiepha8343

3 жыл бұрын

@@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.

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 😂

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.

Do you think I can get any advantage if I use this sound card with my headphones Sony WH1000XM4? My motherboard is TUF Z370 Plus gaming

I have always had issues with onboard sound not outputting 5.1 via SPDIF/Optical. Does this sound card resolve that issue?

I love my Sound Blaster!!

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?

What I wonder is how do I use all the channels. What audio system do I use?

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

does it have a recording input plug? i would like to use it for my audio video recording

how do you compare this with fiio k5? witch is better? thank you

9:32 that is for gaming mos tlikely real time dolby and dts encoding for optical output

Hi , what's the use of this creative sound blaster z se? Why u need this ? Can't we connect to speaker or headphone to pc without this sound card ?

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.

i have server motherboard i want to use it for music production... i have and option for USB 2.0 or PCI only... can you recommend something?

Is an Audigy FX (1st gen) better than modern onboard audio?

Looking to use this for dt990s instead of a dac and amp

super great review

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

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, people that say nowadays onboard got much better and it's the same are clearly just reading marketing and didn't test the thing themselves.

@yorkmanngaming5888

Жыл бұрын

@@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.

hi there, can i plug my old logitech 7 serie (3x 3,5 jacks) on this card and also how do you use a usb headset with it ? thx

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.

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 !

I use an external DAC/AMP because of the high impedance headphones i have.

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.

@Giedrius_Savickas

2 жыл бұрын

Does your receiver have digital input?

If you have to use a 3.5mm to 1/4" converter cable will that cause any audio degradation?

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?

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.

@nelsonpiedade61

2 жыл бұрын

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.

@LawAbidingSociopath69

Жыл бұрын

@@nelsonpiedade61 any update is this soundcard worth buying?

@Shendue

Жыл бұрын

Did you try changing the speakers? Or the motherboard? Sounds like a hardware problem, maybe? Did you try upgrading to the latest drivers?

@aregularguy44

Жыл бұрын

@@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.

Does thi sound cartd effect an usb wireless headphone? or it just worj with directly connected headphones via minijack?

Used to have a creative soundblaster Titanium HD but creative stopt deliver newer drivers for that card in 2019 so im using the mobos sound and i think thats enough . But maybe i should buy this one? :)

@Shendue

Жыл бұрын

I have a ZXR and it's leaps and bounds better than Titanium and X-Fi.

Would this be worth it I have a msi x-570 godlike.

when your GPU is dumping so much EMI into your case it's sending noise through your whole system and your motherboard doesn't have optical out... sound card.

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.

@user-yv2cz8oj1k

Жыл бұрын

QLED TV setup, using audio outputs would be a step backwards.

@CrashCarson14

Жыл бұрын

Yeah if they had hdmi that would make it pretty cool, and in input so you could decode too

I got that third party virtual device for XPOWER Titanium mainboard running. I leave it working, but it is merely crap effects.

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?

Can we use PCI sound card or external sound card (usb) (Sound Blaster G6x) on gaming PC on dual PC setup ? Is it possible?

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.

@user-yv2cz8oj1k

Жыл бұрын

Well they have to put the chips where they can be shielded and won't interfere with a GPU or other cards. But they could have screen printed the PCB.

@Pat14922

9 ай бұрын

The "look" is to make you buy it. Once you've bought it....

@adrianchioto

5 ай бұрын

i vertically mounted mine, looks cool

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

@Shendue

Жыл бұрын

What issues? I have a ZXR and zero issues.

@BomphuzzGaming

Жыл бұрын

@@Shendue molex power connector is fragile

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?

@crobbin86

2 жыл бұрын

it would be a massive difference

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.

@DOSStorm

Жыл бұрын

Depends. A Sound Blaster Live from 1998 still sounds better and cleaner than most modern onboard realtek chipsets in my experience.

@user-yv2cz8oj1k

Жыл бұрын

My audio goes from the motherboard over HDMI to the signal box and QLED screen and speakers, so a soundcard is pretty irrelevant now.

@frankfarago2825

8 ай бұрын

@user-yv2cz8oj1k You get your audio -- from HDMI? Ha-ha-ha-ha. You're all set then, huh?

@frankfarago2825

8 ай бұрын

@@DOSStorm I have a SB external card from the year 2002. I would not trade it for anything being made today.

@ronch550

8 ай бұрын

@@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.

can it be suitable for active speakers edifier from pc? 😏

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?

The Windows sound architecture is all done in software. What is this going to buy you?

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.

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.

@Reveers

Жыл бұрын

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.

@sonnybowman

Жыл бұрын

I agree with you. My Yamaha sound system is fantastic.

@matthewrobbins663

Жыл бұрын

@@Reveers Very confused. Optical supports several older 5.1 streams, not just 2 channel.

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

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).

Active monitors with a subwoofer on a dateq mixer from the soundcart with a second bord. the highest creative sold

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 wonder if this would pair nice with the ModMic 5? My ModMic needs quite a boost (+20.00db at 95%) and a lot of noise cancellation to function properly on my onboard sound. I also tried a USB-DAC but it didn't really do anything.

do sound cards matter even though i use a usb type c wireless headset ?

to you does a bump when you turn on or restart your pc?

Nothing is like proprietary EAX and Creative stuff. There is a huge difference compared to Realtek on board chip.

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 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 !

I don't care how it sounds ide add it to my gaming rig just because it looks cool.

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).

I have this sound card some how it's does not work . Is it works in any slot ?

I have the soundblaster ae5 +. It's incredible.

Is the Front panel header for headphones amplified like the back Jack?

@Zombie_Burger

Жыл бұрын

As far as I remember No. Only the back main is amp'ed

I wonder if this SOUND BLASTER , i get a nice experience sound with my headset hyperX stinger core?

@filds1

Жыл бұрын

Same. B450 tomahawk max. Sound quality is really noticible compare to my phone samsung s8.