I know you’ve mentioned this product in a past video, but the Schiit Fulla at around $110 is another awesome option. It doesn’t require any software, has a mic jack, and should easily drive most gaming headphones and a lot of music oriented headphones.
@@delatomvione9943 I don’t have any experience with Topping products. I hear good things. I have a Fulla though as well as several other Schiit products, and can comment on that. If you’re from the US like I am, one key advantage that Schiit enjoys over Topping if this matters to you, and it does me, is that Schiit stuff is designed and built in the US.
In Europe you could get Audient Id4 MkII at $130 (for some reason sold at much more in US -- around 200), which is feature-full audio interface, not just a headphone amp -- so it has a proper mic XLR in with good amplifier, phantom power and all of that. Also a nice instrument-level input for recording guitars and alike. Headphone amp part is not as overbuilt as in Schiit Fulla, but in practice it shouldn't matter much -- you could check Julian Krause reviews on youtube, he has measurements for headphone outputs of both.
yeah I recommend the schiit fulla because it is the best one of everyone of these because for 7.1 surround sound to work you have to get a whole setup for that.
I bought the GC7 for my daughter last year and she loves it for streaming and recording. I'm running my old Creative X-Fi Titanium HD card myself. It's still going strong after 10 years of everyday gaming use.
Hehe, and I use a Soundblaster AE-5 Plus since I just prefer an internal card and get rid of as much as possible from the desk! :D But to be honest... I am still waiting for a good enough wireless gaming headset to replace my Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser headphones so I finally can get rid of any cable!
@@laggmonstret I've done the same thing in the past I went from a dac/amp + gaming headset setup to a wireless headset, but in reality I'm going back to wired mode... it's still much more qualitative whether it's audio level or microphone level, and no headphones that fall out of battery it's sure that it's more cables but hey we still have nothing better in terms of quality than going through wired, then it's only ever 1 cable visible on the desk :)
Holly crap, the complication of the higher end Craetive products made my head hurt. Plug in a good, direct DAC like Shiit Fulla 3, and forget about it. Perfect audio and mic. No drivers. No painful software. No bloatware.
I use the sound blaster play 4 and it has very much enhanced the way I use my head set for gaming and work calls. It’s inexpensive and has a tiny footprint. Sounds way better then my onboard mother board audio card and the voice and mic settings make it a great choice for plug and play device.
my Creative PLAY 4 won't detected by Windows when change to mode 2 (long press till blink white), but it detected when I connect to Phones. Did u have same problem here?
I still use my Sennheiser GSX 1000 (now named EPOS) which was recommended by this channel years back. Best USB soundcard I've ever had. No 3rd party drivers needed, no software needed
Same here, the only negative thing about the GSX1000 is the fact it can only support up to 150 ohms headphones. I would love to see a comparison between the GSX1000 surround engine vs the Soundblaster X4 surround engine.
I bought the Sound blaster x3 last year for $140 and then the x4 replaced it like a week later for the same price. Was kinda salty but after researching it they're basically identical but with the x3 having slightly better specs.
Good overview of Creative's range, but these are just gamery focused DAC/Amp combo's and theres equally good/better fidelity options for the price of these from other brands like Fiio, Schit, ifi ZenDAC, Topping, etc like others have mentioned as well. If you're gonna do a roundup include other brands eh.
I'm rocking the g6 on my desktop. been running it for about 2 years now and I couldn't be happier. Replaced my X-fi HD from over a decade of use which is now on my 2nd computer that my bf uses
Yesterday I was talking with a friend of sound cards and old years when Creative has a dominating the market with features like EAX and Dolby Digital and booom here's Hardware Canucks reading your mind telepatic and showing us that Creative It's Alive.... Excellent Content!!!
I use the Creative G6 on my desktop pc and G3 on my laptop for audio a for a few years now and they provide excellent sound and power to my Beyer Dynamics, IEMs (various) Corsair HS70SEs to name a few. Having the ability to run high impedance headphones/headsets is a must for me and especially the G6, delivers all that you need!
Bought my G6 a year ago, been using it everyday since, best 150$ ever spent. Always keeping it in Direct mode and swapping the headphone for different use cases like gaming, music, meetings. Although I don't like the mic quality on it so much, it sounds better if plugged into the PC.
I use the G6 on my desktop. I wanted a dedicated sound card, the onboard audio would sometimes hiss with my speakers. I walked around Microcenter a few years back and the size and price point were right.
That's because you are not setting your gain properly. Learn the difference between gain controls and volume controls. Then set your gain control(s) as low as you reasonably can. From there, use volume control(S) to adjust loudness. Also, if you have a mix of digital and analog volume controls in your system, set the digital controls to their max settings and use analog volume controls to adjust volume. This mitigates the issues you may have with bit stripping. Always remember, only gain can distort the signal. Volume controls can't.
Got a used FiiO e10k olympus2 for only £20 ($25) to use for my budget superlux hd668b headphones, looked for a specific eq tune for APO and now have great sound for only £40 ($50) total. If you're on a budget I highly recommend looking at used or refurb Schiit dac/amps or FiiO as both will increase sound quality and bass tremendously.
In case you didn't know guys this video might be also sponsored by Soundblast hence why we don't see other brands that are perhaps more budged or efficient friendly being featured which is totally ok tho.
I bought a Cambridge Audio USB DACMagic XS for just $30 last year to power my 80 ohm DT 770's that I foolishly thought my motherboard could handle on its own and I was completely blown away with how good the little thing performed. Barely bigger than a flashdrive but it powered the 770's without issue at a 24 bit/192hz max. I ended up getting a Sounder Blaster AE-5 Plus a few months later just for the hell of it since I've never had a legit soundcard in my PC and while the sample rate is higher than the DACMagic and the software is nice, I could have stuck with the little $30 DAC no problem and been satisfied. I don't regret either purchase in the slightest and I've kept the DACMagic as a backup/portable DAC for future use. Unfortunately even at the time of purchase last year, it seems Cambridge Audio had stopped production of the DAC for a while so it might be hard to find one now. However if you can find one I absolutely recommend picking it up because the thing is a tiny powerhouse.
Don't shoot for higher sample rates. Go bit perfect if you want the best sound quality. With regards to up sampling, you can't get more than what you started out with. For example, if you start out with a CD quality music file (16/44), you can upsample to something like 24/96, but you're not getting better sound quality. Upsampling can't replace or add musical information to the 16/44 file. Its just not there. All upsampling does is take the 16/44 file and add non musical information to it so it looks like a 24/96 file. Essentially, you're tricking you dac into thinking its playing a real 24/96 file.
Soundblaster G3's footstep enhancer mode also works as an 10 band equalizer! The footstep enhancer mode is just the default custom equalizer setting, with the app it can be configured from the phone
A good opportunity to expand upon this idea and introduce the audience to Audio Interfaces like the Minifuse or Scarlett for other functions these don't have.
got an art mixer/usb sound card, small, portable, inexpensive, xlr inputs, works with linux, only 4 channels, 1 hizloz instrument/mic, 1 loz mic, 2 line arranged as stereo. not enough, so i got a bigger one, still, the art is spectacular for portability, especially being port powered.
Ive been using an USB DAC Audioengine D3 pair with a Topping A30 headphone amp for years, and it's amazing the difference in sound quality vs the sound card integrated on the MB
I know this is a gaming-focused channel, but in terms of portability, ease of use and incredible sound quality, the HIDIZS S9 PRO should be on the shopping list. It'll make everything sound better. Not the cheapest dongle dac, but within the budget of what's being proposed here. I love mine.
I'm using an Audient ID14 mkii and Raptgo Hook X iem's. Can't find any fault with this setup. So far, I haven't even had any reason to use EQ for gaming or music. If I want to tailor the sound, I just switch out the ear tips. There are a lot of gimmicks out there and it's nice to have something that delivers for once, without the hype and gamer aesthetic.
I love my GC7. The built in surround is amazing for games and SXFI feels like it’s expertly tuned for movies. Amazing experience and really takes my shp9500 headphones to the next level. Great soundstage. Only point of critique is that I wish the software was more stable. It’s crashed on me quite a few times when I’m messing with settings. When everything is configured and I’m switching between presets it’s fine though.
In the video he didn't say anything about the mic monitor on the GC7. Are you experiencing any delays when enabling it? The older Sound blaster sound-cards are terrible with the delay in the side channel.
I am a desktop PC Gamer that loves High Fidelity gaming audio and music audio. I purchased a focusrite Scarlett 8i6 with two Yamaha hs7 Studio monitors. The sounds that have opened up to my ears are night and day in comparison to my Logitech and motherboard audio. It's not even funny how many background ambient environmental sounds I can hear separately in High Fidelity and clear compared to the muddy muffled audio I was used to. I highly recommend getting an audio interface or USB sound card with Studio monitors if you like good audio while playing games and listening to music.. Well worth the cost and upgrade and sound enjoyment. Good luck out there love to all!
I'm using a Sennheiser GSX-1200 and absolutely love it for gaming. The only thing I would wish for is that you could incrementally change the gain of the mic loop through (sidevoice). The 3 preset gains aren't really great. Medium is too low and high is too high. However the binaural surround upgrade, especially for games like Squad is fantastic and don't want to miss it anymore.
Sound Blaster X3 with Super X-Fi is the best audio upgrade since Sound Blaster X-Fi I got back in the old day, the Super X-Fi 7.1 surround on headphone is a real thing, you need to try it to believe the experience.
I have a G6 connected to my Xbox OneX via the supplied optical cable. In this mode the G6 needs a separate micro-USB power input. I use it with my open-backed Audio-Technica headphones. I normally turn off all SoundBlaster audio processing (inc. the dolby decoding) on the G6 and instead use the Xbox's Dolby Atmos app. I have to make sure the 'audio out' is set to Optical in xbox settings Once it is set up the sound of games and 4k movies is the best i could ever need... with more volume than my ears can handle too!!
what a well timed video, i'm considering getting a usb sound card recently bcos the built in sound chip for my new Z690 motherboard sucks :( there is a lot of noise with the pc out on my mobo, when using with optical out it often makes a peaking noise and will suddenly stop working turning off any sound output until i restart my pc. not sure if that is a software issue but i've no idea how to fix it. i remember a time when onboard sound is so advertised and reliable, i think mobo makers are starting to neglect the sound aspect these days. anyways thanks for the well made video, very informative, it really helps towards my decision making.
I took out my premium sound blaster card. It sounded way too harsh--to my great surprise. It got super-hot in my case as well. USB DAC/amps-awesome solution. I have the Ifi Zen DAC-plugged in to USB (and it has balanced 2.5 outs as well) . It ROCKs my HD600's. Sounds dynamic/punchy, musical, detailed, and smooth mids for hours of non-fatiguing listening. so many great USB options now. :)
Go for audio interfaces marketed towards musicians. You can find them used for cheap. They will have good build quality, superior sound, multiple inputs and outputs with physical controls, and proper pre amps and phantom power for microphones. You can get all this for like 50-150 bucks
"Best USB DAC"? Call this what it actually is, a product presentation paid for by Creative. A proper roundup would include other brands, and I'm pretty sure anyone at head-fi, ASR or any proper audio review site would constructively criticise this "roundup'. Presenting Creative's lineup in a sponsored video is absolutely fine, but don't pass it off as a roundup. There are many other, better, cheaper options out there. Also, you achieve pretty much none of the goals you set out to achieve in the description. No impedance volume testing graphs with high-powered headphones, which is the entire point of DACs on mobile devices; no SNR analysis; etc. No comparison between the different models Creative offers with hard numbers, let alone a comparison with a standard laptop or phone DAC. Without data and proper testing, this just cements what this video is: an advertisement. This isn't about being elitist, it's about being honest. I'm disappointed, Hardware Canucks.
Go buy a Audiophile fap-mag and read all about soundstage, openness, analytics and boom until your undies stick to your belly. You also didn’t mention that it is imperative to replace the volume knob with an audiophile grade one, elevate your cables and ensure you are using cryogenically treated cables that are oxygen free while on the unit that is held up with acoustically treated feet. Oh, and don’t forget to demagnetize your hard drive so that your 128bit/9.6GHz files sound better with cymbal sizzles. Massive eye roll…
@@o0Donuts0o Lol, spotted the guy who’s never listened to a semi-legitimate setup. Sure, a lot of audiophile stuff is snake oil but there _is_ merit to a good amp/DAC with solid converters and a quality set of headphones. As far as “audiophile” stuff goes - my setup isn’t even _that_ high end. (K712 Pros w/external KRK 10s sub and an Apollo Twin MK.2) but I’ve had people CRY listening to music through it. Even unassuming “non audio inclined” people mention that they’ve heard details in their favorite songs that they’ve never heard before. Audiophile stuff _can_ make that difference, believe it or not. The OP is completely right. The video was an uninformed shill fest. An entry level Motu interface would probably smoke any of the DACs in this video.
I am kind of disappointed too. It is clearly an ads. They did audio stuff reviews before but not using the methods you listed, but the methodology is different. The video is an ads, I think they do a good job that saying some draw back of the products, but for people don’t know or don’t want ads, it is so bad they don’t include others brand. Maybe they also know other brands will win, at least in sound quality, creative may win in functionality or usability (software interface), or just creative don’t want they mention other brands. Why disappointing and disappointed? Because we watched ads(TH-cam ads) and watch another ads(in video ads) to watch another ads(main video content). Also they showed us they can make a proper content about audio.
@@Skrenja what’s a “legitimate setup”? Is it Bowers & Wilkins 800D’s with Burmester monoblocks, preamps, cd transport, Hugo DAC, LINN LP 12 and Goldring cartridge… Or… A Creative Labs DAC, MP3 collection and a set of headphones? Sounds like you are just full of audiophile shit, packed tighter than a compressed WAV file.
They have reviewed good audio products before and the sound demos are just recorded direct from the game with some post processing possible. I agree this was one very long ad presentation with some objective feedback for improvements. I get it they need to pay the bills but this is just like their Razer videos.
Everyone and their brother will say that their own audio setup is the best. Technically yes, it's always the best setup until you try something better. In terms of value for money I haven't found anything that beats my current Ifi Zen V2 + HD599 setup. I have the Sound Blaster G3 for my portable work setup, which in terms of audio quality sits somewhere in between onboard audio and the Zen V2.
No, the main selling point of the Creative soundblaster G6 or wahtever its name was, is that you can listen to the pc through usb and the console through optical input AT THE SAME TIME! No messy workaround needed!
Audiotrak Prodigy Cube. Great USB DAC with multiple outputs, mic support and replaceable opamp with 150ohm. Been using it for years, not many hear about them as they are from korea. goes for about $100US
Wait why does this video look so sharper and more "alive" than past videos. Have I been watching at a lower quality...I like how you mention things to look out for, which shows that you have actually used the stuff you review. :D
Onboard solutions have become much better over the years. For me, however, a dedicated sound card is still the best. Up until now, I have always given the onboard sound card a chance. They sound ok, but something is just missing. Everything just sounds very "flat". I have no idea how to describe it. When I then switch back to my "real" sound card, I always have a big "wow moment". At the moment I'm using the Sound Blaster GC7. The software of Onbard solutions is also a topic in itself. In this context, "Nahimic" has caught my eye in a particularly negative way. This stuff has crippled several games for me.
@@hakan7346 yeah that’s the thing. Instead of needing to buy two DACs I just unplug and bring it with me when travelling. It really is a nice little device that makes music ever so joyful, especially acoustic stuff shines on it.
@@tams805 Yeah most people don't need to spend this much. It's just that I needed something for PC and phone when travelling in a very small package and there is nothing that comes close to the DragonFlies + works great on iOS with losslesss music. So it beats buying two separate 150 DACs I guess. But the DragonfFly Red is almost equally good and goes for 200 or less so that is the better overall buy for most people...just don't get the DragonFly Black...it barely makes sense.
Excellent video...I've been curious about these newer SB products. I like the possibility that the USB cards provide, and I love clean audio. This side of the market seem to have been forgotten, its a shame. I used to have an original Audigy 1 unit that blew my mind in 2002, I couldn't believe how good that thing could sound for like 120$ I may pick one of these up, I'm interested in hearing the difference vs onboard on my Legions. Wish there were more reviews on sounds cards these days lol
Had to replace my Asus Xonar STX2 because of incopatibility issues on the am4 platform and went for a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 1 Usb dac and it has been fantastic ever since, good quality audio and very straight forward and no internal system noise whatsoever, which i could still hear on the Xonar, and even more on the onboard.
soundblaster play 4 win for me coz you can use it as a phone amp/dac for wired headphones and it delivers great sound quality on the go which is most important to me
I use both the Audioengine D1 and Fiio K3 but prefer the Fiio most of the time. It uses usb c for data and power and has a 2.5mm balanced output to drive more power hungry headphones (looking at you HD 6XX)
Is SXFI worth it? I mean is the major feature (talking about immersive audio) comparing the X4 and the CG7 against the G6, so I wonder if that is a real game changer for immersion.
I have two different things: - Schiit Modi 3+/Magni 3+ stack for my laptop paired with beyers. - Schiit Fulla E/4 for the PS5 (The Modi/Magni doesn't support UAC 1 I think, or 2 ican't remember... & the PS5 only accepts one of them, but the Fulla supports both & solves that problem) So much better than the regular sound & by far the best purchases I made.
I've been using a Chinese brand DAC called Ikko Zerda for several months now and I can tell you it's 50 bucks and great for the price. It can deliver really good sound at very high bitrates to almost any pair of headphones you might have.
toslink is the only option unless you have access to rca outputs with 5.x| over 30 years of mixing pc audio with stereo and HT setup.. you introduce whitennoise caused through grounded terminals to ungrounded terminals
my experience with Creative Sound cards... cheap but useful and rich features but... buggy software or firmware or driver which make me sold them after i use them for a while , then i haven't use one until now , end up my solution is apple usb c to 3.5mm jack for only 10dollar ? which boost my headphones sound level and detail and at the same time without having issue with mic input / mic sound leak on PC. i really like to use Creative product but with the software bug and mic feedback issue i really cannot recommend this to my fren
I basically use my fiio btr5s as my usb dac/amp when I'm using them on my laptop. But they're so versatile that most of the time I use them as a Bluetooth dac/amp, especially with my phone.
Reminder that if you don't have high impedance headphones and do have a USB-C port on your device, a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle (one with a built in DAC ex Apple/Samsung's) will solve most audio issues though they will have none of the features of what you see here.
what do you recommend for a 4.1 surround sound? I ordered the x4 and really liked it however i had the worst luck with it. I ordered one and it arrived defective after creative ran a diagnostic tool, i requested a replacement and the replacement lasted for 2 weeks until it did the same thing and sent it back. I have a new pc so it was definitely the device. what else do you recommend for 4.1?
I have an old Steel Series USB soundcard which came with the 9H headset, which was better than notebook internals and also has an seperate mic input, so I didnt hat to use an adapter. Now I gave it too my son, as I don't use the notebook for gaming or audio as I'm going wireless (once my Kickstarter Heavy's arrive) Never used it on my desktop though, I had always internal sound cards (Z, AE-5 now AE-9). Had to smile, when you showed Grim Dawn, because it was one of the first games I played with the AE-9 and custom 600 Ohm MMX300 and it was great. Even better was Pillars of Eternity, the soundstage in the open areas had so much detail and was so wide like walking in the woods.
A LOT of desktop computers just have the cheapest possible onboard audio. Having a great USB sound card can be a game changer for those as well, with the added bonus that they can easily be moved between computers as well.
I'm looking to use one Sound Blaster GC7 or X4 for my mobile podcast set using an SPDIF splitter to send the headphone-only audio to two or three Sound Blaster G3, which I use to monitor the SPDIF input for one headphone out for each mic. I use the Movo VXR10 3.5mm video mic and it sounds excellent with Sound Blaster preamps. It's hard to get mobile podcast gear that small.
I don't know anything about audio. But the audio that comes out of my pc. Not only for music, but also for social networks and games its horrible. What AMP do you recommend for this case? I was thinking that Fiio K7 might be a good option. Apart of this. Is there any option where I can connect two different audio inputs and mix them, apart from an extra output? I say this to have headphones or speakers output, and in the other case connect one input console and my cell phone or PC and cell phone in another. I read you guys. Great video!
I specifically picked my current motherboard because of the Sabre 32 bit 192khz dac with 120db signal to noise and it’s a dream to use with high end headphones.
my issue with the "usb sound cards" that you suggest is that they're designed largely for "gamers" or the mid-fi crowd. If you want an epic audio listening experience for music, movies, and games, I would recommend getting an audiophile DAC (which is all these really are, digital to analog converters). the idea is you plug the usb device into the computer and you plug your headphones (usually) or sometimes speakers into it. Many DACs also include a headphone (or sometimes speakers) amplifier as well. My current setup that I really enjoy is a mayflower o2 + odac headphone amplifier and DAC. I use it with a combination of my hifiman sundara headphones as well as my sennheiser hd-6xx headphones. Other fantastic desktop dac/amp combos include the schiit modi/magni stack (about $200 for both the headphone amp and the dac), and topping is also another manufacturer of dacs and headphone amps that sound really good. I have not found a SINGLE headset (headphones+mic) that actually sounds good in terms of either audio listening quality or microphone quality. just get a good set of headphones (the 6xx is actually pretty reasonable and will last forever), and your choice of reasonably priced desktop microphone (I'm actually a fan of the neewer nw-7000, but there are quite a few usb mics with boom arms that you can buy for very reasonable prices (~$30)
Most people says that between Sound Blaster X5 and X4 there is no diferences in qulity listening a good quality sources . is it true or fake ? I'v got Sennheiser HD 560S headphones which Sound Blaster a should choose ?
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I know you’ve mentioned this product in a past video, but the Schiit Fulla at around $110 is another awesome option. It doesn’t require any software, has a mic jack, and should easily drive most gaming headphones and a lot of music oriented headphones.
Topping products are unbeatable.
@@delatomvione9943 I don’t have any experience with Topping products. I hear good things. I have a Fulla though as well as several other Schiit products, and can comment on that. If you’re from the US like I am, one key advantage that Schiit enjoys over Topping if this matters to you, and it does me, is that Schiit stuff is designed and built in the US.
Another vote for Schitt. Have several of their products. Top quality, well priced, easy to use.
In Europe you could get Audient Id4 MkII at $130 (for some reason sold at much more in US -- around 200), which is feature-full audio interface, not just a headphone amp -- so it has a proper mic XLR in with good amplifier, phantom power and all of that. Also a nice instrument-level input for recording guitars and alike.
Headphone amp part is not as overbuilt as in Schiit Fulla, but in practice it shouldn't matter much -- you could check Julian Krause reviews on youtube, he has measurements for headphone outputs of both.
yeah I recommend the schiit fulla because it is the best one of everyone of these because for 7.1 surround sound to work you have to get a whole setup for that.
I bought the GC7 for my daughter last year and she loves it for streaming and recording. I'm running my old Creative X-Fi Titanium HD card myself. It's still going strong after 10 years of everyday gaming use.
Hehe, and I use a Soundblaster AE-5 Plus since I just prefer an internal card and get rid of as much as possible from the desk! :D But to be honest... I am still waiting for a good enough wireless gaming headset to replace my Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser headphones so I finally can get rid of any cable!
@@laggmonstret I've done the same thing in the past
I went from a dac/amp + gaming headset setup to a wireless headset, but in reality I'm going back to wired mode...
it's still much more qualitative whether it's audio level or microphone level, and no headphones that fall out of battery
it's sure that it's more cables but hey we still have nothing better in terms of quality than going through wired, then it's only ever 1 cable visible on the desk :)
i really missed my Audigy 2 ZS Platinum from my old P4 (move upto Core2)....
Holly crap, the complication of the higher end Craetive products made my head hurt. Plug in a good, direct DAC like Shiit Fulla 3, and forget about it. Perfect audio and mic. No drivers. No painful software. No bloatware.
Also no bullSchiit
Did you say fulla Shit ? 🤣Sorry Bro couldn't resist
I use the sound blaster play 4 and it has very much enhanced the way I use my head set for gaming and work calls. It’s inexpensive and has a tiny footprint. Sounds way better then my onboard mother board audio card and the voice and mic settings make it a great choice for plug and play device.
my Creative PLAY 4 won't detected by Windows when change to mode 2 (long press till blink white), but it detected when I connect to Phones. Did u have same problem here?
@@noxiuz1 Ah, the classic Creative Labs driver hell.
I still use my Sennheiser GSX 1000 (now named EPOS) which was recommended by this channel years back. Best USB soundcard I've ever had. No 3rd party drivers needed, no software needed
Same here, the only negative thing about the GSX1000 is the fact it can only support up to 150 ohms headphones. I would love to see a comparison between the GSX1000 surround engine vs the Soundblaster X4 surround engine.
its the price wasn't out of control most the time it would be the best product around still
@@realduox True. Unfortunately it had a hefty price bump after EPOS bought the gaming product segment off Sennheiser
super happy with mine as well
I have the SoundBlaster X4 since the release, I can't even explain in words how it made every audio related experience better.
I bought the Sound blaster x3 last year for $140 and then the x4 replaced it like a week later for the same price. Was kinda salty but after researching it they're basically identical but with the x3 having slightly better specs.
Good overview of Creative's range, but these are just gamery focused DAC/Amp combo's and theres equally good/better fidelity options for the price of these from other brands like Fiio, Schit, ifi ZenDAC, Topping, etc like others have mentioned as well. If you're gonna do a roundup include other brands eh.
Don’t forget Motu.
I mean that's kind of the point of the video thought isn't it
he said its a creative sponsored video
@@Skrenja I am using focusrite solo right now planning to buy Motu M2. M2 have unbeatable value imo
@@clickbaitpro That thing is weak af lol. Only 23mw @ 33ohm.
I love the visuals on your videos, you take very cinematic shots that highlight these products a lot.
I'm rocking the g6 on my desktop. been running it for about 2 years now and I couldn't be happier. Replaced my X-fi HD from over a decade of use which is now on my 2nd computer that my bf uses
why did you change from internal to USB
Yesterday I was talking with a friend of sound cards and old years when Creative has a dominating the market with features like EAX and Dolby Digital and booom here's Hardware Canucks reading your mind telepatic and showing us that Creative It's Alive.... Excellent Content!!!
I use the Creative G6 on my desktop pc and G3 on my laptop for audio a for a few years now and they provide excellent sound and power to my Beyer Dynamics, IEMs (various) Corsair HS70SEs to name a few. Having the ability to run high impedance headphones/headsets is a must for me and especially the G6, delivers all that you need!
I.m thinking buying the g3 is good and still ”good cheapy”, do you reccomend it?? To get better sound ps4 slim??
Does the G6 sound much better than the G3? Wondering if it's worth the price over it or if I should just get the G3.
Bought my G6 a year ago, been using it everyday since, best 150$ ever spent.
Always keeping it in Direct mode and swapping the headphone for different use cases like gaming, music, meetings. Although I don't like the mic quality on it so much, it sounds better if plugged into the PC.
I use the G6 on my desktop. I wanted a dedicated sound card, the onboard audio would sometimes hiss with my speakers. I walked around Microcenter a few years back and the size and price point were right.
That's because you are not setting your gain properly. Learn the difference between gain controls and volume controls. Then set your gain control(s) as low as you reasonably can. From there, use volume control(S) to adjust loudness. Also, if you have a mix of digital and analog volume controls in your system, set the digital controls to their max settings and use analog volume controls to adjust volume. This mitigates the issues you may have with bit stripping.
Always remember, only gain can distort the signal. Volume controls can't.
@@AT-wl9yqcurrently learning thus stuff as I just got my pc38x headset.
Got a used FiiO e10k olympus2 for only £20 ($25) to use for my budget superlux hd668b headphones, looked for a specific eq tune for APO and now have great sound for only £40 ($50) total. If you're on a budget I highly recommend looking at used or refurb Schiit dac/amps or FiiO as both will increase sound quality and bass tremendously.
ignore the scammer
In case you didn't know guys this video might be also sponsored by Soundblast hence why we don't see other brands that are perhaps more budged or efficient friendly being featured which is totally ok tho.
I bought a Cambridge Audio USB DACMagic XS for just $30 last year to power my 80 ohm DT 770's that I foolishly thought my motherboard could handle on its own and I was completely blown away with how good the little thing performed. Barely bigger than a flashdrive but it powered the 770's without issue at a 24 bit/192hz max. I ended up getting a Sounder Blaster AE-5 Plus a few months later just for the hell of it since I've never had a legit soundcard in my PC and while the sample rate is higher than the DACMagic and the software is nice, I could have stuck with the little $30 DAC no problem and been satisfied. I don't regret either purchase in the slightest and I've kept the DACMagic as a backup/portable DAC for future use. Unfortunately even at the time of purchase last year, it seems Cambridge Audio had stopped production of the DAC for a while so it might be hard to find one now. However if you can find one I absolutely recommend picking it up because the thing is a tiny powerhouse.
Don't shoot for higher sample rates. Go bit perfect if you want the best sound quality. With regards to up sampling, you can't get more than what you started out with. For example, if you start out with a CD quality music file (16/44), you can upsample to something like 24/96, but you're not getting better sound quality. Upsampling can't replace or add musical information to the 16/44 file. Its just not there. All upsampling does is take the 16/44 file and add non musical information to it so it looks like a 24/96 file. Essentially, you're tricking you dac into thinking its playing a real 24/96 file.
Soundblaster G3's footstep enhancer mode also works as an 10 band equalizer! The footstep enhancer mode is just the default custom equalizer setting, with the app it can be configured from the phone
A good opportunity to expand upon this idea and introduce the audience to Audio Interfaces like the Minifuse or Scarlett for other functions these don't have.
got an art mixer/usb sound card, small, portable, inexpensive, xlr inputs, works with linux, only 4 channels, 1 hizloz instrument/mic, 1 loz mic, 2 line arranged as stereo. not enough, so i got a bigger one, still, the art is spectacular for portability, especially being port powered.
I've been using the g6 for 2 years and I can say it's brilliant. if anyone has any questions, I can try to answer them. I sincerely recommend 🙂
Is the sidetone (mic monitoring) truly instantaneous? I'm sensitive to sidetone latency.
@@Pib31995 if you cery sensitive obout that then G6 will be good you.
@@kamilchrostowski4378 Thanks for the response!
Ive been using an USB DAC Audioengine D3 pair with a Topping A30 headphone amp for years, and it's amazing the difference in sound quality vs the sound card integrated on the MB
I have Creative Sound Blaster Play 3 that cost 17 USD for my 770 DT Pro 80 Ohm Beyers and it is more than enough for electronic music and gaming.
I know this is a gaming-focused channel, but in terms of portability, ease of use and incredible sound quality, the HIDIZS S9 PRO should be on the shopping list. It'll make everything sound better. Not the cheapest dongle dac, but within the budget of what's being proposed here. I love mine.
*For music , which of these sound cards is the best ?*
For when I use headphones, I’m using a Schiit HEL. Desktop speakers are Vanatoo Transparent Zero.
ignore the scammer
I'm using an Audient ID14 mkii and Raptgo Hook X iem's. Can't find any fault with this setup. So far, I haven't even had any reason to use EQ for gaming or music. If I want to tailor the sound, I just switch out the ear tips. There are a lot of gimmicks out there and it's nice to have something that delivers for once, without the hype and gamer aesthetic.
I love my GC7. The built in surround is amazing for games and SXFI feels like it’s expertly tuned for movies. Amazing experience and really takes my shp9500 headphones to the next level. Great soundstage. Only point of critique is that I wish the software was more stable. It’s crashed on me quite a few times when I’m messing with settings. When everything is configured and I’m switching between presets it’s fine though.
In the video he didn't say anything about the mic monitor on the GC7. Are you experiencing any delays when enabling it? The older Sound blaster sound-cards are terrible with the delay in the side channel.
I am a desktop PC Gamer that loves High Fidelity gaming audio and music audio. I purchased a focusrite Scarlett 8i6 with two Yamaha hs7 Studio monitors. The sounds that have opened up to my ears are night and day in comparison to my Logitech and motherboard audio. It's not even funny how many background ambient environmental sounds I can hear separately in High Fidelity and clear compared to the muddy muffled audio I was used to. I highly recommend getting an audio interface or USB sound card with Studio monitors if you like good audio while playing games and listening to music.. Well worth the cost and upgrade and sound enjoyment. Good luck out there love to all!
I'm using a Sennheiser GSX-1200 and absolutely love it for gaming. The only thing I would wish for is that you could incrementally change the gain of the mic loop through (sidevoice). The 3 preset gains aren't really great. Medium is too low and high is too high. However the binaural surround upgrade, especially for games like Squad is fantastic and don't want to miss it anymore.
Just got the X4 and sound is amazing and super loud make the Epos H6PRO come alive. Easy to use. And playing with the amp make sound sound better!
Sound Blaster X3 with Super X-Fi is the best audio upgrade since Sound Blaster X-Fi I got back in the old day, the Super X-Fi 7.1 surround on headphone is a real thing, you need to try it to believe the experience.
With Super X-Fi, does it support old EAX functionality?
I have a G6 connected to my Xbox OneX via the supplied optical cable. In this mode the G6 needs a separate micro-USB power input. I use it with my open-backed Audio-Technica headphones.
I normally turn off all SoundBlaster audio processing (inc. the dolby decoding) on the G6 and instead use the Xbox's Dolby Atmos app.
I have to make sure the 'audio out' is set to Optical in xbox settings
Once it is set up the sound of games and 4k movies is the best i could ever need... with more volume than my ears can handle too!!
what a well timed video, i'm considering getting a usb sound card recently bcos the built in sound chip for my new Z690 motherboard sucks :(
there is a lot of noise with the pc out on my mobo, when using with optical out it often makes a peaking noise and will suddenly stop working turning off any sound output until i restart my pc. not sure if that is a software issue but i've no idea how to fix it.
i remember a time when onboard sound is so advertised and reliable, i think mobo makers are starting to neglect the sound aspect these days.
anyways thanks for the well made video, very informative, it really helps towards my decision making.
I took out my premium sound blaster card. It sounded way too harsh--to my great surprise. It got super-hot in my case as well. USB DAC/amps-awesome solution. I have the Ifi Zen DAC-plugged in to USB (and it has balanced 2.5 outs as well) . It ROCKs my HD600's. Sounds dynamic/punchy, musical, detailed, and smooth mids for hours of non-fatiguing listening. so many great USB options now. :)
ignore the scammer
I'm using G1 for 2 years now, nothing can beat the sound card from embedded sound from motherboard or laptop
Go for audio interfaces marketed towards musicians. You can find them used for cheap. They will have good build quality, superior sound, multiple inputs and outputs with physical controls, and proper pre amps and phantom power for microphones. You can get all this for like 50-150 bucks
"Best USB DAC"? Call this what it actually is, a product presentation paid for by Creative. A proper roundup would include other brands, and I'm pretty sure anyone at head-fi, ASR or any proper audio review site would constructively criticise this "roundup'. Presenting Creative's lineup in a sponsored video is absolutely fine, but don't pass it off as a roundup. There are many other, better, cheaper options out there.
Also, you achieve pretty much none of the goals you set out to achieve in the description. No impedance volume testing graphs with high-powered headphones, which is the entire point of DACs on mobile devices; no SNR analysis; etc. No comparison between the different models Creative offers with hard numbers, let alone a comparison with a standard laptop or phone DAC. Without data and proper testing, this just cements what this video is: an advertisement. This isn't about being elitist, it's about being honest.
I'm disappointed, Hardware Canucks.
Go buy a Audiophile fap-mag and read all about soundstage, openness, analytics and boom until your undies stick to your belly. You also didn’t mention that it is imperative to replace the volume knob with an audiophile grade one, elevate your cables and ensure you are using cryogenically treated cables that are oxygen free while on the unit that is held up with acoustically treated feet. Oh, and don’t forget to demagnetize your hard drive so that your 128bit/9.6GHz files sound better with cymbal sizzles.
Massive eye roll…
@@o0Donuts0o Lol, spotted the guy who’s never listened to a semi-legitimate setup.
Sure, a lot of audiophile stuff is snake oil but there _is_ merit to a good amp/DAC with solid converters and a quality set of headphones. As far as “audiophile” stuff goes - my setup isn’t even _that_ high end. (K712 Pros w/external KRK 10s sub and an Apollo Twin MK.2) but I’ve had people CRY listening to music through it. Even unassuming “non audio inclined” people mention that they’ve heard details in their favorite songs that they’ve never heard before. Audiophile stuff _can_ make that difference, believe it or not.
The OP is completely right. The video was an uninformed shill fest. An entry level Motu interface would probably smoke any of the DACs in this video.
I am kind of disappointed too. It is clearly an ads. They did audio stuff reviews before but not using the methods you listed, but the methodology is different.
The video is an ads, I think they do a good job that saying some draw back of the products, but for people don’t know or don’t want ads, it is so bad they don’t include others brand. Maybe they also know other brands will win, at least in sound quality, creative may win in functionality or usability (software interface), or just creative don’t want they mention other brands.
Why disappointing and disappointed? Because we watched ads(TH-cam ads) and watch another ads(in video ads) to watch another ads(main video content). Also they showed us they can make a proper content about audio.
@@Skrenja what’s a “legitimate setup”? Is it Bowers & Wilkins 800D’s with Burmester monoblocks, preamps, cd transport, Hugo DAC, LINN LP 12 and Goldring cartridge…
Or…
A Creative Labs DAC, MP3 collection and a set of headphones?
Sounds like you are just full of audiophile shit, packed tighter than a compressed WAV file.
They have reviewed good audio products before and the sound demos are just recorded direct from the game with some post processing possible. I agree this was one very long ad presentation with some objective feedback for improvements. I get it they need to pay the bills but this is just like their Razer videos.
Everyone and their brother will say that their own audio setup is the best. Technically yes, it's always the best setup until you try something better.
In terms of value for money I haven't found anything that beats my current Ifi Zen V2 + HD599 setup. I have the Sound Blaster G3 for my portable work setup, which in terms of audio quality sits somewhere in between onboard audio and the Zen V2.
I still use the Sennheiser GSX. I know they renamed the brand now but this thing is just as good as it was like 4 years ago.
Thank you!!! Gonna pick the smallest one here as I was looking for that kind of sound cards
As mentioned already, either the Fulla by Schiit Audio and the Schiit Hel should have been compared to these.
I connect my laptop to the DAC in my stereo using a USB 2. I did notice that longer USB cables degraded the sound, so keep it as short as possible.
No, the main selling point of the Creative soundblaster G6 or wahtever its name was, is that you can listen to the pc through usb and the console through optical input AT THE SAME TIME! No messy workaround needed!
Audiotrak Prodigy Cube. Great USB DAC with multiple outputs, mic support and replaceable opamp with 150ohm. Been using it for years, not many hear about them as they are from korea. goes for about $100US
Wait why does this video look so sharper and more "alive" than past videos. Have I been watching at a lower quality...I like how you mention things to look out for, which shows that you have actually used the stuff you review. :D
Onboard solutions have become much better over the years. For me, however, a dedicated sound card is still the best. Up until now, I have always given the onboard sound card a chance. They sound ok, but something is just missing. Everything just sounds very "flat". I have no idea how to describe it. When I then switch back to my "real" sound card, I always have a big "wow moment".
At the moment I'm using the Sound Blaster GC7.
The software of Onbard solutions is also a topic in itself. In this context, "Nahimic" has caught my eye in a particularly negative way. This stuff has crippled several games for me.
Can I use it for TV?
Been using a DragonFly Cobalt for 2 years now. Very happy, it primarily makes the most sense in music but even games benefit a bit.
Yeah dragonfly is a great product if you need portability.
@@hakan7346 yeah that’s the thing. Instead of needing to buy two DACs I just unplug and bring it with me when travelling. It really is a nice little device that makes music ever so joyful, especially acoustic stuff shines on it.
Yeah, but damn is that some audiophile level pricing. You need to *really* care about sound quality to be spending that much.
@@tams805 Yeah most people don't need to spend this much. It's just that I needed something for PC and phone when travelling in a very small package and there is nothing that comes close to the DragonFlies + works great on iOS with losslesss music.
So it beats buying two separate 150 DACs I guess. But the DragonfFly Red is almost equally good and goes for 200 or less so that is the better overall buy for most people...just don't get the DragonFly Black...it barely makes sense.
I still love my sennheiser gsx 1000...it was one of the best things that I bought with my last system build.
Yeah this thing is still 100% my choice! No regrets!
Any advantage of using 7.1 Sbx sounds for music ,videos movies ,listening? w. something like Sound BlasterX G6 ? Or x4 ,do they work with iPad too ?
Im literally on the Play4 as I type and I take it with me everywhere. I find it the most useful because of how small and simple it is.
Excellent video...I've been curious about these newer SB products. I like the possibility that the USB cards provide, and I love clean audio. This side of the market seem to have been forgotten, its a shame. I used to have an original Audigy 1 unit that blew my mind in 2002, I couldn't believe how good that thing could sound for like 120$ I may pick one of these up, I'm interested in hearing the difference vs onboard on my Legions. Wish there were more reviews on sounds cards these days lol
I'm getting the GC7 for sure...it's only like $20 dollars more than SBX4 and yet...it is feature packed for the price.
Had to replace my Asus Xonar STX2 because of incopatibility issues on the am4 platform and went for a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 1 Usb dac and it has been fantastic ever since, good quality audio and very straight forward and no internal system noise whatsoever, which i could still hear on the Xonar, and even more on the onboard.
Why would I watch a video that doesn't include comparisons to products that could be better but aren't produced by this single company?
My desktop set up is Topping DX7 Pro as a dedicated DAC connected to THX AAA 789 Amp 😁
soundblaster play 4 win for me coz you can use it as a phone amp/dac for wired headphones and it delivers great sound quality on the go which is most important to me
X4 here. It is good for gaming for sure and it provides cleaner sound than my EVGA Z390 dark motherboard.
I use both the Audioengine D1 and Fiio K3 but prefer the Fiio most of the time. It uses usb c for data and power and has a 2.5mm balanced output to drive more power hungry headphones (looking at you HD 6XX)
If you want to experience 7.1 surround sound with headphone when gaming and watching movie, pick the X3/X4 with Super X-Fi technology.
Can you use this stuff in airplanes when they have the TV in front of you during the travel?
Any Audio Interface from Schiit, Scarlett, Steinberg or even PreSonus will literally delete those "sound cards".
ignore the scammer
iFi ZEN DAC V2 is also a great option, altho it's price went up a bit in recent months
Is SXFI worth it? I mean is the major feature (talking about immersive audio) comparing the X4 and the CG7 against the G6, so I wonder if that is a real game changer for immersion.
I’m looking to buy the absolute best monitor for FPS gaming on PC. What’s your current recommendations?
I have two different things:
- Schiit Modi 3+/Magni 3+ stack for my laptop paired with beyers.
- Schiit Fulla E/4 for the PS5 (The Modi/Magni doesn't support UAC 1 I think, or 2 ican't remember... & the PS5 only accepts one of them, but the Fulla supports both & solves that problem)
So much better than the regular sound & by far the best purchases I made.
I've been using a Chinese brand DAC called Ikko Zerda for several months now and I can tell you it's 50 bucks and great for the price. It can deliver really good sound at very high bitrates to almost any pair of headphones you might have.
toslink is the only option unless you have access to rca outputs with 5.x|
over 30 years of mixing pc audio with stereo and HT setup..
you introduce whitennoise caused through grounded terminals to ungrounded terminals
Do they connect to speakers? Or only headphones?
got the G6 for my PC and loving it.
Do the apps support Linux? Because that's the only OS I use.
my experience with Creative Sound cards...
cheap but useful and rich features but... buggy software or firmware or driver which make me sold them after i use them for a while , then i haven't use one until now ,
end up my solution is apple usb c to 3.5mm jack for only 10dollar ? which boost my headphones sound level and detail and at the same time without having issue with mic input / mic sound leak on PC. i really like to use Creative product but with the software bug and mic feedback issue i really cannot recommend this to my fren
I had two creative cards and both had driver issues. Switched to the gsx 1000
hi there, what headphones are you wearing?
I use the Soundblaster X3 and it's great especially as I game on PS5 and can customise through the mobile app
I basically use my fiio btr5s as my usb dac/amp when I'm using them on my laptop. But they're so versatile that most of the time I use them as a Bluetooth dac/amp, especially with my phone.
ignore the scammer
If I have a good codec in use, is there no need to upgrade a separate USB sound card, if recording is not a consideration.
Does the Creative sound blaster work with the PS5
Reminder that if you don't have high impedance headphones and do have a USB-C port on your device, a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle (one with a built in DAC ex Apple/Samsung's) will solve most audio issues though they will have none of the features of what you see here.
I just use SPDIF from my computer to my preamp'ed speakers .. no ground loop noise/computer noise etc.. clean audio.
what do you recommend for a 4.1 surround sound? I ordered the x4 and really liked it however i had the worst luck with it. I ordered one and it arrived defective after creative ran a diagnostic tool, i requested a replacement and the replacement lasted for 2 weeks until it did the same thing and sent it back. I have a new pc so it was definitely the device. what else do you recommend for 4.1?
I have an old Steel Series USB soundcard which came with the 9H headset, which was better than notebook internals and also has an seperate mic input, so I didnt hat to use an adapter. Now I gave it too my son, as I don't use the notebook for gaming or audio as I'm going wireless (once my Kickstarter Heavy's arrive)
Never used it on my desktop though, I had always internal sound cards (Z, AE-5 now AE-9). Had to smile, when you showed Grim Dawn, because it was one of the first games I played with the AE-9 and custom 600 Ohm MMX300 and it was great. Even better was Pillars of Eternity, the soundstage in the open areas had so much detail and was so wide like walking in the woods.
ignore the scammer
A LOT of desktop computers just have the cheapest possible onboard audio. Having a great USB sound card can be a game changer for those as well, with the added bonus that they can easily be moved between computers as well.
Usb sound card or sound blaster which is better?
@@LawAbidingSociopath69 SUV or Ford - which is better?
@@MrMartinSchou idk 😭😭
I'm looking to use one Sound Blaster GC7 or X4 for my mobile podcast set using an SPDIF splitter to send the headphone-only audio to two or three Sound Blaster G3, which I use to monitor the SPDIF input for one headphone out for each mic. I use the Movo VXR10 3.5mm video mic and it sounds excellent with Sound Blaster preamps. It's hard to get mobile podcast gear that small.
Question: using a pair of Blackshark V2, removing their USB sound card with one of those will improve my sound quality and surround usage?
iFi Zen DAC V2 is the best USB amp/dac for the money
this is the video Ive been waiting for
I don't know anything about audio. But the audio that comes out of my pc. Not only for music, but also for social networks and games its horrible. What AMP do you recommend for this case? I was thinking that Fiio K7 might be a good option. Apart of this. Is there any option where I can connect two different audio inputs and mix them, apart from an extra output? I say this to have headphones or speakers output, and in the other case connect one input console and my cell phone or PC and cell phone in another. I read you guys. Great video!
So im looking to upgrade my audio, would you recommend the G6 or X4 for an audio noob?
I specifically picked my current motherboard because of the Sabre 32 bit 192khz dac with 120db signal to noise and it’s a dream to use with high end headphones.
i have a question, do wireless headphones work with these type of sound cards? if so, how?
my issue with the "usb sound cards" that you suggest is that they're designed largely for "gamers" or the mid-fi crowd. If you want an epic audio listening experience for music, movies, and games, I would recommend getting an audiophile DAC (which is all these really are, digital to analog converters). the idea is you plug the usb device into the computer and you plug your headphones (usually) or sometimes speakers into it. Many DACs also include a headphone (or sometimes speakers) amplifier as well. My current setup that I really enjoy is a mayflower o2 + odac headphone amplifier and DAC. I use it with a combination of my hifiman sundara headphones as well as my sennheiser hd-6xx headphones. Other fantastic desktop dac/amp combos include the schiit modi/magni stack (about $200 for both the headphone amp and the dac), and topping is also another manufacturer of dacs and headphone amps that sound really good. I have not found a SINGLE headset (headphones+mic) that actually sounds good in terms of either audio listening quality or microphone quality. just get a good set of headphones (the 6xx is actually pretty reasonable and will last forever), and your choice of reasonably priced desktop microphone (I'm actually a fan of the neewer nw-7000, but there are quite a few usb mics with boom arms that you can buy for very reasonable prices (~$30)
ignore the scammer
Is there a soundcard with Bluetooth connectivity?
I will save up a little more and get the presonus io24 or the audient id14 mkii which will drive almost all headphones out there.
Still on my Sound Blaster Audigy FX PCIe for 26€ from 2013 👌🏻😄
ignore the scammer
Looks like you were wearing a EPOS Racing Green and Gold headset. How does it compare to the PC38X?
I'm going to use with my 5.1 Pioneer amplifier to get the real 5.1 performance. Otherwise, they are not working. Which one fit for me ? GC7 ?
It would nice to know there the EPOS GSX 1000 2nd Edition compares to these? Any thoughts? Thanks!
Literally on Amazon right now the GC7 and the G6 are the Same Exact Price......... Which One do i Get ?
Most people says that between Sound Blaster X5 and X4 there is no diferences in qulity listening a good quality sources . is it true or fake ?
I'v got Sennheiser HD 560S headphones which Sound Blaster a should choose ?
how good is play 4, compared to alc887 ?