[s1atan]

Yeah it was quite hard but its already working nicely so thats the important thing.
 
I agree with you that 7.1 sound is great and Im using it for gaming, movies and sometimes even for music. But usually I switch to stereo if I want to just listen to music.
 
The DAC itself sounds nicely and I think for the money (I get it for 150 dollars) it delivers good sound.
 
For me it has other nice things which is front mic jack which works wonders with my Modmic v4 and I can also put my speakers to back line out.
 
Only thing I would like is switch (at least SW) to change output from front headphones and back lineout. I have to manually plug out the headphones if I want to listen to my speakers. Its not minus, but I would love that feature and for me personally it would be stellar
 
Thank you for your help with drivers and tips for setup.

 

[audiophizile]

Yeah it was quite hard but its already working nicely so thats the important thing.

I agree with you that 7.1 sound is great and Im using it for gaming, movies and sometimes even for music. But usually I switch to stereo if I want to just listen to music.

The DAC itself sounds nicely and I think for the money (I get it for 150 dollars) it delivers good sound.

For me it has other nice things which is front mic jack which works wonders with my Modmic v4 and I can also put my speakers to back line out.

Only thing I would like is switch (at least SW) to change output from front headphones and back lineout. I have to manually plug out the headphones if I want to listen to my speakers. Its not minus, but I would love that feature and for me personally it would be stellar

Thank you for your help with drivers and tips for setup.

I use a modmic as well. Definitely handy. I have powered monitors that have been sitting unused for almost 2 years when I built a new computer. May have to use the lineout and get them hooked up again. Does pressing the volume knob do anything? Mine seems to feel like a button. That may switch between headphone and lineout? At least would be nice if it did.

 

[canthearyou]

I use a modmic as well. Definitely handy. I have powered monitors that have been sitting unused for almost 2 years when I built a new computer. May have to use the lineout and get them hooked up again. Does pressing the volume knob do anything? Mine seems to feel like a button. That may switch between headphone and lineout? At least would be nice if it did.

Pressing the volume button is mute.

 

[imac2much]

Hey everyone, I have an odd question. I currently use an Oppo HA-1 for my desktop DAC and amp, with a ZMF Omni as headphone and an Ether C coming up. I'm pleased with this setup but I'd like some virtual surround for gaming. I had a Soundblaster Omni before and was quite happy with its SBX surround but I gave it to a friend when I bought my HA-1 thinking I could just use Razer surround instead. Well as most people know, Razer surround is horrible to the point that I prefer regular stereo gaming instead.

So now I am wondering if I should purchase a new Omni. But in my research I learned that the Omni just uses software VSS DSP as opposed to the E5, G5 and X7 which use hardware accelerated VSS DSP with the multi-core Axx1 chip. Is there much of a difference between software SBX and hardware SBX? I wish I could just get the SBX software as standalone since I have no need of the DAC or amp of the Omni or G5 (I'll just pass the VSS DSP via optical out).

Seems like the G5 would work but it's a high price to pay just for hardware accelerated SBX. All advice is welcome!

 

[Yethal]

Hey everyone, I have an odd question. I currently use an Oppo HA-1 for my desktop DAC and amp, with a ZMF Omni as headphone and an Ether C coming up. I'm pleased with this setup but I'd like some virtual surround for gaming. I had a Soundblaster Omni before and was quite happy with its SBX surround but I gave it to a friend when I bought my HA-1 thinking I could just use Razer surround instead. Well as most people know, Razer surround is horrible to the point that I prefer regular stereo gaming instead.

So now I am wondering if I should purchase a new Omni. But in my research I learned that the Omni just uses software VSS DSP as opposed to the E5, G5 and X7 which use hardware accelerated VSS DSP with the multi-core Axx1 chip. Is there much of a difference between software SBX and hardware SBX? I wish I could just get the SBX software as standalone since I have no need of the DAC or amp of the Omni or G5 (I'll just pass the VSS DSP via optical out).

Seems like the G5 would work but it's a high price to pay just for hardware accelerated SBX. All advice is welcome!

Try Xonar U3, it has a mini Toslink out to pass the VSS encoded stereo to an external dac.

 

[Strife]

I wish I could just get the SBX software as standalone since I have no need of the DAC or amp of the Omni or G5 (I'll just pass the VSS DSP via optical out).

 
Actually, there is such a software solution from Creative, and a comparison video against the G5 can be seen here. Things might have changed since the latest G5 driver update, though (enhanced SBX).

 

[imac2much]

Thanks but from everything I've read, X-fi MB3 won't virtualize 5.1 or 7.1 for a stereo USB DAC like the Oppo HA-1.

 

[thuNDa]

Hey guys, first post on this forum:
 
So one month ago i got a SoundBlaster-Z, and am quite impressed with the SBX-Surround i bought it for, coming from over a decade of tinny and narrow CMSS-3D with my Audigy 2 / X-Fi xtreme gamer(for positional accuracy it was awesome tho).
Well, i got greedy and wanted to have 7.1 SBX-Surround, so today came my SBx G5.

 
I installed the latest drivers for win10 x64 BTW
 
But it's no SBX-Surround anymore, and not called SBX-Surround in the control panel either.
I would call it BXAE-Surround(BlasterX Acoustic Engine Surround).

 
And... I don't know what to think about it yet...
 
Going to make some comparision vids:
 
"The Division" (apparently 7.1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2w0pATkaHU&feature=youtu.be
 
more to come.

 

[Fegefeuer]

make sure to have the latest drivers and use the windows speaker panel to make sure that you don't have the SBX bug where the soundstage collapses and everything sounds like in a bathroom. easy to notice when the FR and LR sound right next to your ear instead of well...frontal. Basically FR and LR sound similar to RS and LS and left Back and RB and LB sound dispositioned. If you have this it's basically all about reseting to defaults and then back to 67-100 SBX (it's actually still called SBX profile), EQ off (defaul it's on with a profile), Smart Volume off bla bla bla....basically just have SBX on. 
 
 
Cant' check our your video yet as I'm on the move but will compare with my SBX experience and Division these days, maybe Sunday. 
 
welcome to the forums

 

[thuNDa]

@Fegefeuer
Yes, I installed the latest drivers(31 March 16), and no extra reverb, but the rears are played almost in my head with the lynne 5.1 testfile, like in the comparision video from "elaoin".
 
Added BF4, and i absolutly don't like what i hear from the rear there.

 
"Battlefield 4" (apparently 5.1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s0m1D6gZrs
 
Thin sounding and stuffed together rear-channels, without much directional distinction between left and right...
 
Tested CG:GO too, and it's absolutly horrible compared to my SB-Z, which does good there.
 
 
I hope Creative will fix this, because this device sounds nice SQ-wise.
 
EDIT:
"Crysis 2" (apparently 7.1)
https://youtu.be/3jiJW7lOyeQ
 
Sounds a bit like Dolby Headphone, heavily EQ'ed and the rear cues are missing completly.

 

[Evshrug]

G5 review is up:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/646786/evshrugs-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now-discussion-journal/375#post_12549465

thunDA,
I would specifically recommend updating the G5 FIRMWARE, which is different than the drivers. Also, the Soundblaster Z can address as many channels or as much positional data as you feed it, and use that for headphone surround processing. However, for speakers, it only has enough outputs for a 5.1 speaker setup. So, unless you want the Mac compatibility and more powerful amp, the Sound Blaster Z (or Omni) would be enough.

 

[canthearyou]

G5 review is up:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/646786/evshrugs-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now-discussion-journal/375#post_12549465

thunDA,
I would specifically recommend updating the G5 FIRMWARE, which is different than the drivers. Also, the Soundblaster Z can address as many channels or as much positional data as you feed it, and use that for headphone surround processing. However, for speakers, it only has enough outputs for a 5.1 speaker setup. So, unless you want the Mac compatibility and more powerful amp, the Sound Blaster Z (or Omni) would be enough.

Where is a G5 firmware update?

 

[thuNDa]

@Evshrug
 
FW is up to date, but after testing more, i'm coming to the conclusion that they indeed changed the whole Surround algorithm, based on the rear-channels already mixed closer to the center in the windows mixer itself(what you can hear in the comparision video from "Elaoin" with surround off).
 
So this thing works very different from SBX, and needs other Surround numbers in the control panel to be comparable.
I always used ~30% with SBX, because it was the cleanest, with the best positional accuracy for me personally, and was also the setting in their own "FPS-profile".
 
Now the FPS-profile in the "BXAE" has Surround at 60%...

 
Needs more testing...
 
And yes, SBX can process as many channels as it wants, but the SB-Z can only feed it with 5.1(with modern games), whereas the G5 can feed "it" with 7.1(if the game puts that out, which alot do actually).
 
@canthearyou
 
In the control panel, click on the triangle up at the right side, then a menu will appear.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Test this with SBX@100, everything else off
 
if you click on the surround back channels in the windows speaker audio panel, how do you hear them? Do you hear them distinct from left to right and bit farther away or (in comparison) attached to the back of your skull next to each other leaving little space? 
 
For clarification:
 
I had this bug where the 2 back surround channels stick to each other like glue and when you have NPCs behind you in The Division (easy to test at the HQ) and they talk it feels as if they are 1mm close to the back of your head and speak to you which is kinda creepy even though they are 2-3-4m away. With rolling to default, and disabling everything except SBX the bug disappears and they are placed correctly in the space. 

 

[thuNDa]

you mean in the "lynne 5.1" -test?
 
Yes, the rears sound as far away from my head with BXAE-Surround(yes, really) at 100%, as it would do with SBX-Surround at 100%.
 
edit: sry lol, you meant in the windows speaker audio panel.
There it does sound far from the head too, but indepent of the Surround setting in that regard.