[xH4wK]

E5 virtual surround processing -- true SBX Pro or not??

Crap I've spent more time looking for a sound card than I ever have looking for a new car. Sorry if my question has already been covered. I went through an entire thread for the Sound Blasterx G5 and don't have the energy to go through this one.

I currently have onboard ALC1150 with decent amps (top of the line MSI Z87 motherboard). It actually has pretty good sound but I can't get the included Sound Blaster MB3 surround software to work properly. I can't tell any difference with it on or off. Think the issue is with Win 8.1.

My usage is gaming/music with AKG K267 phones. I pay heed to the law of diminishing returns for audio. I was pretty set on a basic PCIe card with hardware CMSS and EAX. However, all this fuss about DAC/amps has piqued my interest. I can understand because when I spend money on stereo components, I don't skimp on power requirements as I know it's one of the necessary ingredients for full, rich sound.

At first I was really hyped about the G5 but the poor surround implementation experienced by people on another thread makes it a no go. The next best alternative is the E5 updated for 7.1, That is IF the surround processing is true SBX and not the G5 mess. The hardware in the E5 and G5 is very similar so I want to be double sure. Can someone confirm one way or the other? What is your experience with headphone virtual surround on the E5 with PC games?

Based on what I saw, BXAE (BlasterX Acustic Engine) is only on G5 and G1
E5 is using SBX Pro software wise

Actual test of how these two sound I have not seen.

 

[xH4wK]

btw, is E5 still a good buy for ~155 euro in 2017 ?
If I will use it always connected to PC, will the battery die soon ?
Is the unit turning off when I shut down the PC or does it switch to battery ?
I was trying G5 for like week and half and it sounds different, bassier on line out than on front headphone out, is that normal that amp is changing the sound so much ?
Is the output impedance 2.2ohm JUST for the headphone out and different on line out ?

 

[xH4wK]

I just got E5 today and just to let you all know...
The SBX Pro on E5 is just a different name, it does EXACTLY the same as on G5.
So if somebody was wondering whether E5 is a better pick for surround over G5, it is the same.. no difference at all.

So BXAE on G5 = SBX PRO on E5. The same processing, same sound.

I think I am going to try also SB Omni for surround comparison.

 

[nna4888@gmail..com]

Hi all,

I got an E5 a few days ago. Just wondering that can I somehow control the music player (in my phone or my MP3) like play next song with E5 (press button or a combination of buttons)? I tried to figured out but still can not find the way. I think with bluetooth connection to the phone, Creative kind of separating the DAC and phone, however if we can not play the next song using E5, this "separation" is not so meaningful.

Thank you.

 

[RojasTKD]

Hi all,

I got an E5 a few days ago. Just wondering that can I somehow control the music player (in my phone or my MP3) like play next song with E5 (press button or a combination of buttons)? I tried to figured out but still can not find the way. I think with bluetooth connection to the phone, Creative kind of separating the DAC and phone, however if we can not play the next song using E5, this "separation" is not so meaningful.

Thank you.

Unfortunately no, you can not control your playback using the E5. This is one of the shortcoming of their Bluetooth implementation.

I hope in the future the will make a new model that's add this functionality and USB type C.

 

[nna4888@gmail..com]

Unfortunately no, you can not control your playback using the E5. This is one of the shortcoming of their Bluetooth implementation.

I hope in the future the will make a new mobile that's add this functionality and USB type C.

Thanks RojasTKD, I have just found a way to "do it" . With my Z1 phone, I installed Shake app from Google Play, then I set the action when shaking is "Skip to next track". Therefore, whenever I want to go to the next song, I just need to shake my leg a bit (the E5 is in my pocket) . Problem "solved".

 

[chortya]

I am really loving the E5. Using it with Beyerdynamic DT1770Pro in my homeoffice. Additionally I have added ModMic for conference calling and I actively use bluetooth paring with my mobile phone without need to switch headphones. This is a very versatile solution for music and work. Additional use case for me is to pair with ShieldTV in the evening when I want to use my headphones to watch some series on a big screen. I have also tested with asecond pair of the headphones for my wife. Real all-in-one beast.
Let me know if anyone has better DAC suggestion that coveres all of the above scenarios, I am always interested to test even better setups.

 

[aoitenshi6509]

Just wrote on soundblaster forum, hoping that they will add MQA-enabled for this great device.

That little dragonfly already got updated firmware to have MQA audio, so I am hoping that this E5 will also able to play MQA audio

 

[ronwjr]

if i remembered correctly, foobar2000 mobile still couldn't work well with external dac, they down sample everything to 16 bit 44.1khz

What Android phone ( plus compatible hi-rez audio player) would you recommend to play 24 bit 192 files using usb port on my Creative SoundBlaster E5 ?

My Lumina 650 using win10 mobile plus foobar2000 is an epic fail...

 

[RojasTKD]

What Android phone ( plus compatible hi-rez audio player) would you recommend to play 24 bit 192 files using usb port on my Creative SoundBlaster E5 ?

My Lumina 650 using win10 mobile plus foobar2000 is an epic fail...

As far as android phone, pretty much anyone newer model you like. The E5 is handling DAC/AMP duties, so it really shouldn't matter. Personally I'd get an LG V20 and not worry about carrying around any extra gear, I got tired of that. If I use the E5 with my phone I go Bluetooth for the convenience.

 

[ronwjr]

As far as android phone, pretty much anyone newer model you like. The E5 is handling DAC/AMP duties, so it really shouldn't matter. Personally I'd get an LG V20 and not worry about carrying around any extra gear, I got tired of that. If I use the E5 with my phone I go Bluetooth for the convenience.

Thanks will check out LG...I can get a good deal on LG X Power will support my 200 GB MicroSD card ...What Hi-Rez audio player for Android do you recommend ? want to play 24 bit / 192 Hz...and DSD files as well.

I found this software http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/products/usb-audio-player-pro

 

[RojasTKD]

Thanks will check out LG...I can get a good deal on LG X Power will support my 200 GB MicroSD card ...What Hi-Rez audio player for Android do you recommend ? want to play 24 bit / 192 Hz...and DSD files as well.

I found this software http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/products/usb-audio-player-pro

The LG X Power won't have the awesome built in quad DAC of the V20. The V20 will do 24 bit/192 kHz according to it's specs. It's also has outstanding mics that will record in 24 bit/48 kHz.

It's build in audio player should handle most of your audio needs. Not sure if the default app is required to get the benefit from the built in Quad DAC. I don't know about the V20 and DSD (not something I really care about).

Where is some info in the V20:



and
http://www.ubergizmo.com/articles/lg-v20-quad-dac-how-it-works/

 

[amrbadrawy]

As far as android phone, pretty much anyone newer model you like. The E5 is handling DAC/AMP duties, so it really shouldn't matter. Personally I'd get an LG V20 and not worry about carrying around any extra gear, I got tired of that. If I use the E5 with my phone I go Bluetooth for the convenience.

But then you are only tied to use the preinstalled music player and you can't use the V20 DAC for Spotify or Google music? or did they fix this issue?

 

[RojasTKD]

But then you are only tied to use the preinstalled music player and you can't use the V20 DAC for Spotify or Google music? or did they fix this issue?

I don't see why the built in DAC/AMP wouldn't be working with Spotify. I don't own the V20 so can't really say I know a lot about how it works, but here they seems to indicate it is indeed working with Spotify: https://www.reddit.com/r/lgv20/comments/53teb1/does_the_lg_v20s_dac_work_for_spotify_and_other/

Just like any audio you send to the E5 will run through it DAC/AMP I would imagine any audio streaming to the V20 will run throiugh it DAC/AMP.

Again, don't own the V20 so can't speak from experience, but I would imagine the streaming quality your getting from the V20 is superior to the vast majority of device out there.

 

[romanrex]

Measurement Creative Sound Blaster E5
Headphone amplifier http://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/amp/creative-sound-blaster-e5.php
DAC Line Out http://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/dac/creative-sound-blaster-e5.php