Creative Sound Blaster Audigy PCIe RX 7.1 Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp

If you buy a PC or a laptop these days, it almost certainly comes with a sound chipset that implements a standard called HD Audio. "HD, high definition, sounds good, right?" Well, no. All that really means is the chipset knows how to talk to a HDMI interface, like your TV. But HD Audio chipsets are actually terrible.Now, if you want to ADD a soundcard into a PC? You want the same thing, right?Well, no, you probably don't. Because why would you add in HD Audio to a PC that already has it?Creative's Audigy brand USED to mean high quality sound cards. But now, many Audigy models (like the Audigy Fx) are just cheap HD audio chipsets no better than what's already in your computer.The Audigy Rx is one of the exceptions. It is NOT a junk HD Audio chipset. It is built around an EMU10K1 digital sound processor, and it is capable of PHENOMENALLY good sound. You'll need good speakers, and possibly even an external amplifier, to let it really strut its stuff, but connect it to sound hardware capable of matching what it can put out and it will SHINE. If you're putting a sound card into a PC running Linux, this is the only one you will need. (You only need to enable one driver in the kernel, snd_emu10k1 along with its snd_emu10k1_synth module.)There's one "Gotcha!" to be aware of. This card has TWO sets of audio connections — a set of six 1/8" audio jacks, and an optical S/PDIF digital output. It DEFAULTS to using the S/PDIF, even if you have nothing connected to it. If you want to use the analog jacks, you will have to set the mixer control 'Audigy Analog/Digital Output Jack' to ON. ON is analog; OFF is digital. If it's set wrong you will have no sound out.Bottom line: A great price for a really good sound card that can do far more than other cards in its price range.

I built a new computer with a Gigabyte motherboard which unfortunately omitted the standard set of jack outputs for audio that all motherboards usually come with. So, to use my 5.1 set of Logitech computer speakers, I needed to add an additional sound card containing the jacks. Because I didn't want to spend a lot I decided on this Audigy RX sound card which seemed to have decent features at a reasonable price.As a standard PCI-E sound card, there's not much to it. Plug it in and go. Windows has the right drivers for it and I was able to add on the Creative control software so I can set it up as I like it. Standard Creative ease of use.Many reviews out there complain about low-quality sound but I don't hear that. It's easily as good as any other sound card or on-board sound any other motherboard has. Using it with my reasonably good Logitech 5.1 speakers and games or Youtube videos, there's nothing noticeable indicating the sound is of poor quality.So if you need an add-on sound card, there's no reason not to consider this Audigy RX card as it sounds fine and is very affordable.

I have been hurting to get my 5.1 surround sound setup back after changing my PC set up(which didnt have the ports to use surround sound on the MB)I tried externals and other products but nothing could suffice. This went on sale and just said "cant hurt to try"I am running this on windows 10(the most recent version at the time of this review)The good: Installation was fairly easy, even on the current cramped set up i had. The software was easy to set up and (at least for me) worked like a charm after a restart.Once i tested it, my speakers worked amazing.with my pci ports being so close i thought there would be electrical hums coming through from the power supply and graphics card; but its nice and shielded.The volume and sound quality was a HUGE improvement compared to the motherboard's onboard sound.I can run the speakers at a good volume without cranking the knob to 100.Even with volume increased; no hiss or hum.The sound quality is nice and clean.even with my older logitech speakers, it actually makes em sound like a premium set of speakers. Even headphones sound amazing through it. I have yet to test the Amp to see how well it works so i may edit this review in the future.And surround sound actually works the way it is supposed to; no "simulated" or poorly eq'd trickery.With video games it is ESPECIALLY noticeable how well it works. And thankfully the software allows some adjustments and even adjustments under window's settings.Now overall a great product but there is one issue.The creative sound labs software is VERY janky. its very outdated looking and navigates kinda poorly. While it works well and I havent had many issues with it crashing, freezing, etc; your mileage may vary.As well it seems to have just very weird issues when running games/apps with 5.1 surround sound support. there is an option for a bypass so this wont happen but even that can cause issues which requires restarting. but that is worst case scenario.All in all, this card is definitely worth it. Isnt too overpriced and works well. And surprisingly never had the issues of crashing or any issues of the card somehow not being recognized.Highly recommend if you need this so you dont have to buy and install a new motherboard and go through that whole song and dance.

If you're in need of upgraded sound on your PC for playback or in my case you also need top quality recording for transferring analog then this is the card to get! You'll be absolutely amazed at how much better this is than onboard integrated audio. The ASIO support is also excellent!