Creative Labs 272791 So 70sb181500000 Sound Blaster X4 Retail

Had to find a decent USB 7.1 sound solution after upgrading my computer as the MB couldn't free up a PCIe lane due to NVME drives.I knew replacing my Asus Xonar board was going to be a challenge as 7.1 usb sound cards I've tried in the past were, for the lack of another word, horrible.This system is in a custom-built flight simulator, so sound quality is very important to me.Figured $150, what the heck, I can always use it on the garage AV system if it didn't meet standards for the simulator.The Creative app gives you every tool you'll need to properly configure and manage this device, the SXFI app suggested by the insert offers nothing except overhead for a pc with speakers and puts you on a mailing list.It took all of 10 minutes to install, configure and fine tune through the Creative app.The sound quality rivals the Asus Xonar.Absolutely zero hiss, clicks or buzz from the speakers, hiss has been a problem with other usb sound cards as I use separate power feeds and grounds for the computer and the sound system.Build quality is uncompromised as expected from Sound Blaster.The rotary encoder instead of a potentiometer for volume gain was a brilliant touch by the engineering team.One of the better purchases I'm made in a while.

Built a new PC using ASUS Crosshair X870E Hero and with most higher end boards don't have 5.1 sound audio jacks. I figured I would just use optical S/PDIF out port and use the setting stereo x2, which in short front and rear channels would be combined as one so I would have 2 left and 2 right speakers playing stereo sound and loose center channel. Sound was not bad and still sounded great for gaming. After a couple days I missed having 5.1 sound since it sounded so much better having sound played through all the channels. An internal soundcard was not an option since I would lose PCIE lanes from GPU. So looked at external DAC amp and Creative Sound Blaster X4 saved the day. I have Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 5.1 speaker system that are over 25 years old. The X4 brought life back into 5.1 sound just like I had. I did not even use the app and with Windows 11 setup for sound setup was easy and sound was great. To avoid clutter on the desk having two sound controls decks I put the X4 in a desk drawer using the desk hole meant for running cables. After about a week I eventually did download the app to use the features offered but just stayed with 6 channel direct since it all I ever used and sounds the best. The X4 added another 5 years to my old 5.1 sound. Eventually I will need to figure something out for 5.1 sound. Most likely will need a receiver and 5.1 speakers setup for PC in the future. Hopefully Creative Sound continues to offer product like the X4 or newer models since it is just a great option for audio for PC.

Creative's SB products have tended to be decent hardware-wise but overpriced and have a multitude of driver and software issues over the years.This seems to break that trend! Sort've. Yeah its going to cost more than those Chinese DAC's but vs anything from a reputable company its actually not priced badly while fairly well made. Sound quality is a noticeable step up from motherboard audio, even vs good motherboard based audio (I have a Aorus X670E Master that has a decent built in audio set up), right off the bat.Driver stability was always a huge issue for SB stuff (years ago, WinXP era I think, Microsoft actually tracked back most of their BSOD's to sound card drivers!!) and that seems to no longer be a issue now. I've had 0 crashes and all my old games now have their EAX capabilities working properly again and sound quite good!Where they fumble the ball is with their new SuperFi software features. Its supposed to be able to simulate HRTF when working properly. And who knows maybe it does! But I don't know if it does since I didn't bother with their irritating set up, log in, and EULA nonsense associated with it. I have no idea why they made it all so complicated and difficult to use!I've been building PC's and troubleshooting them for years so if I'm having trouble making their process work then you know others are having the same issues.The "scout mode" will work without signing up for anything but isn't worth using IMO (distorts lots of background sound to make footsteps louder) and feels cheaty so I don't use it.One issue I did have with this DAC is that I had to switch around several USB ports to get it to work. I don't know why this is a issue exactly but supposedly some ports on the mobo just won't deliver enough power to make the DAC work and you have to randomly plug the unit in to them until you find one that works. Once it does get working you're fine though and I haven't had to mess with it since the initial set up.I have a pretty modern mobo (Aorus Master X670E) with lots of higher power USB A and C ports so if my mobo had this issue I'm sure its a fairly common one.Anyways if you're looking for a fairly good USB DAC/soundcard combo that didn't cost too much, was well made, and still supported older games sound features properly this thing is pretty good.