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Creative SoundBlasterX AE-5 5.1 (7.1 Virtual Surround w/ 600ohm Headphone Amp) PCI-E Soundcard $190 Shipped @ PLE Computers eBay

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Creative SoundBlasterX AE-5 5.1 (7.1 Virtual Surround w/ 600ohm Headphone Amp) PCI-E Soundcard $190 Shipped @ PLE Computers eBay
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Diji1 on 11/12/2017 - 14:19 ebay.com.au (306 clicks)
Last edited 12/12/2017 - 00:43 by 1 other user
P5OZZIE

Currently the cheapest I could find on this internal sound card after checking Amazon US/GB/FR/IT/CA, Staticice & Newegg though I'm waiting for potential 10% - 20% sales from eBay this and next month - it might go lower.

I want a 7.1 device on my pooter for PUBG and other possibly non-existent benefits to other multi-channel surround games ( see: convert multi-channel surround to binaural audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb6dMYkc6r8&feature=youtu.be ) and require a headphone amp - this is currently the best buy for me.

The Sound BlasterX AE-5 is a SABRE32 Ultra Class Hi-Resolution PCIe Gaming Sound Card and DAC with Xamp, a brand new discrete headphone amp utilizing bi-amplification technology. It delivers astonishingly pristine audio, and also shows off the Aurora Reactive Lighting System with 16.8 million customizable colors.

It has audiophiles, RGB, shark lasers etc:
https://us.creative.com/p/sound-cards/sound-blasterx-ae-5

Review:
https://hothardware.com/reviews/sound-blasterx-ae-5-review-a…

Original P5OZZIE 5% off Sitewide at eBay Deal Post

Computing Computer Component Creative DAC Amplifier Headphone Amplifier Sound Card

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closed Comments

  • andy2 on 11/12/2017 - 14:33

    how does this compares to the Asus sound card?

    • hollykryten on 11/12/2017 - 14:35

      Which one?. Asus made several sound cards.

    • Flyingmoo on 11/12/2017 - 14:42

      Depends on your use case. The Essense STX II is an amazing card. But very expensive.
      Still loses out to a stand alone Dac and Amp for music/movies

      • combatant on 11/12/2017 - 19:39

        That's debatable. I've got the original STX and to get comparable quality I'd have to spend a crap load on a dac/amp. Mind you audio is somewhat subjective, bit like you might like one headphone while I might think it's terrible.

    • Diji1 on 11/12/2017 - 15:01

      I could be wrong but I don't believe their current lineup has an internal 7.1 virtual surround headphone amp option.

      • combatant on 11/12/2017 - 19:43

        Pretty sure they still do, but I could be wrong.

  • scrimshaw on 11/12/2017 - 14:37
    +1

    LinusTechtips reviewed this one

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NMlWg-7Crg

    • payton on 11/12/2017 - 14:43
      +3

      I used to watch his vids but he seemed to like most things aka a shill/paid reviewer.

    • Diji1 on 11/12/2017 - 14:46

      Thanks for the review. Although he appears to be reviewing the Scout 2.0 software immediately after claiming he never turns on virtual surround lel … not that I'd recommend using it if it works.

    • JohnSullivan on 11/12/2017 - 16:00

      Nice. Thanks for th link.

  • chingy213 on 11/12/2017 - 14:52
    +1

    Whats a good USB DAC that supports DTS HD to PC and has coax and optical ports?

    • Creepy Woody on 11/12/2017 - 14:54
      +1

      I want to know this too. People keep recommending DAC's over PCI sound cards everywhere and not mentioning a good one to pick up!

      • Diji1 on 11/12/2017 - 16:10

        People keep recommending DAC's over PCI sound cards everywhere

        IMO the only advantage of this is keeping your DAC/amp between upgrade cards/USB interfaces or computers. Other than that internal soundcards offer the same thing at a cheaper price albeit that you may (not) like how an amp colours the sounds (op-amps are an option on some soundcards).

        • lostn on 11/12/2017 - 16:16

          External is not subject to interference from inside the case.

          Internal cards color the sound too.

          I have SB Z, and using headphones it is unlistenable. The treble is harsh to the point of sibilance. This doesn't happen when I plug it using my speaker volume control passthrough, but there is crackling due to interference if I use that.

          Using external DAC it sounds best.

        • Diji1 on 11/12/2017 - 17:27

          @lostn: >External is not subject to interference from inside the case.

          Neither is high end internal such as this …

          I use a ZxR, it sounds like you have a mismatched configuration such as SBX on or wrong speaker configuration.

        • lostn on 11/12/2017 - 19:42

          @Diji1:

          It's from the same brand and was Creative's flagship card, so if that is not considered high end, I'm not going to consider SBX to be high end either.

          No noise on external. Speaker configuration is fine. It's a 2 speaker system. There's no way to screw it up. There's a slider for speaker or headphone, that is it.

          There's definite sound coloring no matter what settings I have it on. The same headphones plugged into something else doesn't sound like that. If I have to tweak the EQ in order to make it sound uncolored, then that's obvious coloring.

    • Nom on 11/12/2017 - 15:04
      +2

      You can't fit DTS HD down a coax or optical SPDIF port - you need HDMI to carry multichannel HD audio.

      • g12345567 on 11/12/2017 - 15:49

        Due to bandwidth of the SPDIF port, the max it can handle is LPCM 2.0 / & lossy 5.1/7.1 Dolby Digital EX, DTS & DTS ES.
        Multi-channel LPCM, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X, and Auro 3D Audio formats require HDMI.

      • chingy213 on 11/12/2017 - 15:49

        I plan to. I want DTS via optical and DTS HD via HDMI. Any suggestions?

        • Nom on 11/12/2017 - 16:09
          +1

          Most on-board sound will already output SPDIF - you may need a $5 convertor to change it from Coax to Optical though.
          And if you've got a modern Graphics Card it can pass digital audio through it's HDMI port already.
          So you probably don't need to buy anything…

    • Flyingmoo on 11/12/2017 - 15:22

      If you are buying a DAC, you are likely getting headphones. You don't need DTS-HD and Dolby Atmos and all that stuff with headphones.

  • lostn on 11/12/2017 - 16:18

    Is this the successor to SB Z?

    • Diji1 on 11/12/2017 - 17:31

      Yes.

  • Hornpub on 11/12/2017 - 16:43
    +1

    i have SBZ, great hardware, trash software and even worse customer service…

    just go to an official forum…look at the date…none problem is solved…

    for me, when i switch between headphone and my speaker (Logitech), my youtube stops, I had to restart chrome.

    i know it has something to do with chrome as well..

    also the noise floor, after all, it is internal, there will be some hiss picked up. (not only EMI, but also share ground, and the PC world doesn't care how clean the power is)

    but when you go external, it is dead silent, as if nothing is turned on.

    external solutions is also future upgrade friendly. as well as gumtree friendly. it took half year to sell my SBZ lol

    hardware control >> software..

    even better off buying fiio E10K for better value.

    Def buy with a return in mind. try it out, if it works, then it is perfect. (after all the hardware worth the price)

    • lostn on 11/12/2017 - 19:47

      Yeah their software is bad.

      I had to rollback the driver to an old driver when W10 Creator's Update (not Fall Creator) released because sound wasn't working on the latest driver. They didn't even release an updated driver for it.

      even better off buying fiio E10K for better value.

      If you can get a FiiO cheap, it's worth it. I think I got mine E17k for about $60 on ebay with a promo. It sounds way better with headphones than plugging into my SBZ which is not listenable for me. I only use it with speakers. With a 600 ohm built in amp on the SBZ I thought it would be perfect for high impedance headphones, but the treble including female vocals just sounds scratchy. It's like nails on a chalkboard.

  • scuderiarmani on 11/12/2017 - 19:04

    Used a Xifi Elite Pro with an external box for years. Now use a Teac dac/amp and its significantly nicer. Both similar pricing.

    Driver support for Creative was always bad though.

  • combatant on 11/12/2017 - 19:19

    Been using an Asus Essence STX for a while now and been completely satisfied, no interference/noise and sound quality through headphones (AD900X) is fantastic.

    I recently looked at getting an external dac/amp and had mixed advice, but based on advice I got over at headphones.com.au, I was basically told that to get equivalent performance to the STX I'd need to spend upwards of $600 on a dac/amp.

    I get the impression that the trend these days is to go with an external dac/amp and people are writing off internal soundcards completely. This definitely shouldn't be the case since they are still relevant and provide excellent price/performance. Obviously there is some crap out there so you need to do your research.

    If people are interested in virtual surround like Dolby Headphone or CMSS 3D, they will want a sound card as a DAC does not provide these functions.

  • kahn on 11/12/2017 - 20:35
    +1

    Does this include Talking Parrot or Dr Sbaitso?

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