Had my eye on this for quite some time in lead up to a gaming build over the holidays. Thankfully Amazon has dropped the price just in time :)
Cheapest price on staticice is $219 not including postage.
MSY - $242, CPL - $235.
CamelCamelCamel.
You don't keep a picture of your internals in your wallet? Come on man!
I'm getting the same thing. Think I'll treat myself to an early Christmas present. :)
"Scout Mode allows you to hear your enemies before they hear you, from further away, giving you a distinct advantage"
How does that work?
From memory when I initially tried it, it basically increases the volume on any background noise. So distant footsteps etc are louder than normal etc.
The model below Z is $101.20 AUD i think there are a few software differences and no gimmicky external connector pod thing which decrease audio quality anyway… might be the better option?
Specs-wise the same thing. Upgrading from a Fatal1ty with the external IO connector bay myself - which I have to say is pretty handy.
I saw on amazon a lot of people complaining about the sound quality using the external bay. 95% of my use is via Optical pass thru to Yamaha HT amp and full size speaker system, but have started playing games again recently which is a pain using the onboard real-tek card/software with headphones so this should be a lot better… heck, i have not used a standalone sound card for about for almost 10 years…. hmm should i pull the trigger??
If you're a gamer with a decent set-up, it's too tempting not to :)
I switch between headphones and an optical amp/speaker set-up quite often, so it's convenient in that respect.
Sound quality is great as I said before in my experience with a Fatality card. This is pretty much the same.
Do modern motherboards with audio isolation and built-in headaphone amp need this?
The SoundCore3D cards from Creative are good for gaming, but yeah, modern motherboards have pretty decent sound quality these days.
Top of the line motherboards won't compare to a dedicated quality Soundcard.
No doubt they are ok, but if you are putting anything on other than Apple buds or Logitech speakers, I'd be going the Soundcard everytime.
Which model specifically?
How does this work?
Ah, quick question in regards to a new build: How do the case mic/headphone jacks work with a separate sound card? Do I still plug the case into the MOBO connectors? Would I be able to select which device (the sound card, or the MOBO) sends the audio to the case mic/speaker jacks?
I don't wanna have to get the audio controller thing if I don't have to. I have volume control on my keyboard anyway.
If you are referring to the headphone and mic connector at the front of the pc case, you should connect the connectors to the sound card itself. IF you buy this sound card, remember to connect the connector first as it's easier that way.
Where do you plugin the headphone and mic connector on the card? I'm not seeing any ports/points on the card from the pics.
EDIT: Do you plug it in to the protruding points on the board: http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2013/02/creative-s… ?
Yes that's the one mate. It's under the casing hence it's easier to plug the connectors in prior to installation.
Save your cash and don't buy it. The built-in you have is way more than sufficient. CL try to market their cards using SNR figures and features that exceed what human ears can distinguish.
This is coming from someone who worked for CL many years ago.
If someone is serious about audio, get decent amp powered headphones along with an external amp.
But you're too enticed with this card, the cheaper Z is the best bang for buck.
I have the built in Realtek ALC1150 audio through the TI NE5532 headphone amplifier and the Asrock Purity Sound 2 EMI Shielding. It's a huge difference over the ALC 887 that i used to have.
Onboard audio is still terrible, posters who claim that onboard is just as good as a soundcard:
Have they compared to the new Realtek ALC1150?. It's very good for onboard audio as in my Asrock 990FX Extreme6 motherboard has it with 115dB SNR DAC and with a 600 Ohms headphone amp. Try getting that with other onboard sound. Previous onboard sound is lame compared to that.
So modern high end onboard sound is not terrible it's actually quite good.
Yes I've read that exact chipset compared to sound cards, you're comparing a tiny chip with a bunch of dedicated components so it's not a fair fight.
I'm just saying onboard sound is not terrible any more as the Realtek ALC1150 exists which is heads and tails over the previous onboard sound generation.
Sure a dedicated sound card would be good if the onboard sound you have is old and lame. But the modern Realtek ALC1150 is far from lame.
This is all about the Purity Sound + Realtek ALC1150 solution used on the slightly higher end Asrock motherboards. That is the first generation Purity Sound and the Purity Sound 2 is out. You can't say that is lame.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2013/05/03/asrock-puri…
It's not just a tiny chip anymore. Have you seen audio implementations on modern mid to high end boards? There are just as much dedicated components(high grade caps, opamps etc.) as there are on this thing. Most of the PCB under that shield is empty.
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I bought the Soundblaster ZxR from MSY only last week this is a great deal if you were thinking of getting a new soundcard
I always notice a big difference in sound quality now never bother with on board audio the only real way is to find someone with a decent soundcard
listen to music & games using good HEADPHONES and compare with on board audio & the soundcard …… you should notice a big difference ;)
Personally i can't find any difference between the Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD that i used to have and the Realtek ALC1150 onboard sound that my newish motherboard has but of course the ALC1150 has a 115dB SNR DAC with a 600 Ohms headphone amp.
In any case older generation onboard sound is lame but there's been a rather big leap with the Realtek ALC1150 currently used on slightly higher end motherboards. Now onboard sound has a dedicated DAC with capacitor circuitry and full separated EMI shielding.
What is the main difference with the one OP has posted and this one http://www.amazon.com/dp/dp/B009ISU33E
To me they seem the same only that one comes with the mic and the other has that external connector. So the sound quality should be the same?
I currently have a http://au.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x-fi-xt… so this card will smash it yeah?
The one which the OP posted comes with the desktop audio control mode. The one you posted to does not come with that.
Yes, I know that and posted it above ;)
I just wanted to know spec wise they are the same card only the external control module is not included in cheaper one?
Correct. Same processing power specs.
Thanks for confirming.
With the more expensive model are you not worried about the comments that headphone quality drops when using the external module?
Card itself is the same spec.
@GerrardLFC: No, I rarely use the headphones for gaming specifically - unless the wife's trying to sleep! So quality in that sense doesn't bother me.
It's more about the convenience of having access to the ports and volume control like I currently do with the IO bay, so I don't mind paying a bit extra.
Personal preference really.
Typo. Module, not mode.
I think you will notice the biggest difference with/without a headphone amp and a decent pair of headphones. Makes a huge difference.
I've had the Zx for a year now. If you're currently using onboard audio from any of the $2 Realtek ALC8xx series chipsets, you will notice a definite improvement unless you're horribly tone-deaf or something. Strangely enough I found the sound quality to better-sounding to my ears when connected via 3.5mm Front/Rear/Sub connectors to my Z906s versus Optical. Using Optical via on-the-fly pass-through decoding for Dolby or DTS also disables a lot of the sound quality/improvement settings.
One thing to remember wit the Zx; as most of the front-page Amazon reviews advise, do not use the Audio Control Module (the wired, remote hub with the volume knob & 3.5mm jacks).
It significantly increases resistance/noise via the cheap cable/circuity inside and the sound through any headphones plugged into it comes out far worse compared to plugging it straight into the back of the Zx's headphone jack.
Would this be a better deal?
If I plugged my headphones into the volume control dial on my speakers (also made by Creative) instead of the back of the sound card, would it sound the same as plugging it into the sound card directly? That thing is supposed to act as a pass through. Will it still be amplified? Same question applies to the headphone jack on the front of my case, which is also a passthrough to the sound card?
I don't find it very convenient to plug headphones into the back of my case. How about if I use a 3.5mm extension cable? Will that degrade the audio quality?
Yeah go for that one. I only bought the Zx because back in 2014 none of the reviews I saw mentioned that the ACM was a piece of sh*t.
The Z comes with a cheap, crappy microphone which is equally as bad as the Zx's added gimmick, so don't expect to get much use out of it either.
Either way, the sound card is physically identical in both "models" (erroneous to use that word, as they are the same exact piece of hardware), just one is marked up by 45% because of a flashy-looking gimmick.
If I plugged my headphones into the volume control dial on my speakers (also made by Creative) instead of the back of the sound card, would it sound the same as plugging it into the sound card directly?
That I don't know, but I can tell you the difference between plugging my headphones into my remote console unit for my Z906s versus plugging them straight into the sound card is like night and day; directly into the sound card sounds much better.
That thing is supposed to act as a pass through. Will it still be amplified?
Yeah you'll find that's not often the case; there's always some loss and impedance going on.
I've had that with many speaker systems before that featured some kind of remote console hub and have it with my Z906s now.
I don't find it very convenient to plug headphones into the back of my case. How about if I use a 3.5mm extension cable? Will that degrade the audio quality?
That's what I'm doing.
I have two audio cables, a 3.5m long one and this German 1.5m In-Aukustik very low impedance cable (0.2ohm) for when I need less length. Just go with something with a very low impedance rating to ensure there's no impact to sound quality.
Yeah it's a bit annoying but I'm used to it by now, I just thread the cable through some cable-routing grommets under my desk.
Don't forget as mentioned here, you can plug your PC case's front I/O panel connector from your motherboard into the soundcard itself, that way the headphone jack on your PC case will pass-through to the sound card.
Haven't done it myself as I still prefer just a direct connection into the card itself to eliminate any degradation whatsoever, but it should be just as good.
Order placed ^_^
The Z without Audio Control Module is $64.99 USD.
Is this better value? I already have headphone/mic input on my speaker control knob.
Well if you don't need that extra input then it's definitely better value I reckon. I would get the z as I don't fancy the extra input
If I use the headphone jack on my speaker volume dial, will I lose some audio quality because it's passing through something else?
I got the $64.99 one as I will not use the module
Just received my card today, thanks OP :D
WOW the difference in games just blows my mind compared to my old sound card :O :O :D
I did not think there would be such a difference.
Awesome @GerrardLFC! Can't wait to get mine now - arriving tomorrow I believe!
Cheers :)
Seriously, my games sound so different. There are so many sounds I did not hear before which I do now!
I am going to replay some of them now as I have had my old soundcard for like 6 years and feel I missed out >_<
@GerrardLFC: I bet it would! At the end of the day, I still believe nothing beats a dedicated audio card + all the EAX extras that come with it.
Glad to hear the purchase was worthwhile and exceeded expectations. Now I'm jealous I don't have mine yet! :P
Damn this is tempting. I'm getting a lot of electic interference with my onboard sound (particularily when rendering something). I'll need to check if I have space to fit it though.