Creative Sound blaster E5 - Headphone amp + USB DAC with OTG + Toslink + aptX + recording + more.
May 8, 2018 at 9:12 AM Post #2,296 of 2,345
Both USB and optical will work in stereo mode. It cannot decode Dolby / DTS. You must still use the headphone mode in-game.

You do not even need an amp unless you have an impedance mismatch with the Dualshock 4 controller's headphone output. It's good enough for most headphones.

Ok Thanks
 
May 19, 2018 at 4:40 PM Post #2,297 of 2,345
So I've had my E5 for a while now, and I'm pretty sure I was always able to regulate the volume in very fine steps with the wheel on it. But recently it seems to jump between discrete volume values, which is really annoying, because it's often either too loud or too quiet!
(I only use it over BT on my Android phone, I haven't tried it with my PC or anything else.)

I looked through the options in the Sound Blaster Central app and the Android settings, but I can't find anything relating to that. How can I get the old behavior back?
 
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May 19, 2018 at 4:44 PM Post #2,298 of 2,345
So I've had my E5 for a while now, and I'm pretty sure I was always able to regulate the volume in very fine steps with the wheel on it. But recently it seems to jump between discrete volume values, which is really annoying, because it's often either too loud or too quiet!
(I only use it over BT on my Android phone, I haven't tried it with my PC or anything else.)

I looked through the options in the Sound Blaster Central app and the Android settings, but I can't find anything relating to that. How can I get the old behavior back?

The volume knob is digital and it controls the source device's volume. The step size varies based on the source (iOS, macOS, Windows, Android etc.). An OS update could have changed the step size.
 
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May 21, 2018 at 1:51 PM Post #2,299 of 2,345
I muted the internal microphone in the Windows software and Android app, but it always turns on with USB Audio Player Pro. Is there a way to fix this? I know that UAPP is not needed that the E5 works on Android, but I wanted to check if there are quality differences between USB-A to micro and micro to micro OTG.
 
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May 21, 2018 at 1:54 PM Post #2,300 of 2,345
The volume knob is digital and it controls the source device's volume. The step size varies based on the source (iOS, macOS, Windows, Android etc.). An OS update could have changed the step size.

Meeeh. I'm 97% sure it worked almost like an analog volume control until a week or two ago :|
It's silly. Everything above 20% is loud enough to destroy my ears, anyway! So I have maybe 4 steps between "silent" and "pain"! This sucks!
 
May 21, 2018 at 1:59 PM Post #2,301 of 2,345
Meeeh. I'm 97% sure it worked almost like an analog volume control until a week or two ago :|
It's silly. Everything above 20% is loud enough to destroy my ears, anyway! So I have maybe 4 steps between "silent" and "pain"! This sucks!
Bluetooth devices can either set the volume to an absolute number (0-127) or relatively (+/-). Relative step size is up to the source. The source can also set its current volume on the Bluetooth device.

Use the EQ to reduce the gain so the entire volume range is usable.

If you use analog or USB it should work in steps of 1 or 2% as it controls the E5's amp directly.
 
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May 21, 2018 at 2:14 PM Post #2,302 of 2,345
Bluetooth devices can either set the volume to an absolute number (0-127) or relatively (+/-). Relative step size is up to the source. The source can also set its current volume on the Bluetooth device.

Use the EQ to reduce the gain so the entire volume range is usable.

Using the equalizer could work, I guess...

If you use analog or USB it should work in steps of 1 or 2% as it controls the E5's amp directly.

That's how I thought it worked with Bluetooth, too. Until recently xD

*sighs* Oh well, I'll deal somehow.
 
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May 21, 2018 at 2:18 PM Post #2,303 of 2,345
If I use what?

Using the equalizer could work, I guess...
Edited the old post.

Make sure the gain switch is on Low too if you overlooked that.
 
May 21, 2018 at 3:18 PM Post #2,305 of 2,345
Use the EQ to reduce the gain so the entire volume range is usable.

I ended up turning the BT down in the mixer til 2 notches above silence, now it's quite usable. Still weird how it worked differently before.

I remember reading somewhere to always have software volume at 100% (for PCs), which I get, but I'm unsure how this works here. Is the mixer applied after the DAC stage? Or do I now have 8 bit music? xD
Tbh, I don't hear a difference, but I might try to do a blind listening test at some point. I've been meaning to test AptX vs SBC anyway!
 
May 21, 2018 at 3:24 PM Post #2,306 of 2,345
I ended up turning the BT down in the mixer til 2 notches above silence, now it's quite usable. Still weird how it worked differently before.

I remember reading somewhere to always have software volume at 100% (for PCs), which I get, but I'm unsure how this works here. Is the mixer applied after the DAC stage? Or do I now have 8 bit music? xD
Tbh, I don't hear a difference, but I might try to do a blind listening test at some point. I've been meaning to test AptX vs SBC anyway!

It's usually Decompression (SBC / AAC / aptX) > DSP (Mixer / SBX etc.) > DAC > Amp.

In Bluetooth and USB mode, the OS volume controls just control the E5's built-in amp. It's still a digital volme control since the E5 is fixed gain, but the gain structure is optimized since it's applied somewhere in the DSP chain instead of at the source. I know it's not applied at the very end of the DSP chain because reducing the master volume will actually prevent clipping from the EQ, SBX Surround etc.
 
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May 21, 2018 at 3:32 PM Post #2,307 of 2,345
It's usually Decompression (SBC / AAC / aptX) > DSP (Mixer / SBX etc.) > DAC > Amp.
In Bluetooth and USB mode, the OS volume controls just control the E5's built-in amp. It's still a digital volme control since the E5 is fixed gain, but the gain structure is optimized since it's applied somewhere in the DSP chain instead of at the source.

I'm afraid I don't know what that means effectively.
But as long as I like the sound I probably shouldn't worry too much :wink:
 
Jun 7, 2018 at 7:25 PM Post #2,308 of 2,345
Hey guys I recently got a creative blaster Omni surround sound 5.1. Do any of you know if it's worth spending more for the e5 for the 7.1 and extra features? Omni surround was around 75-80 dollars while the e5 is now around 180-185 dollars. Please let me know if I should upgrade to the e5 or some other amp/dac that has an ADC (because I also want to use it while gaming.)
 
Jun 8, 2018 at 5:35 AM Post #2,309 of 2,345
Hey guys I recently got a creative blaster Omni surround sound 5.1. Do any of you know if it's worth spending more for the e5 for the 7.1 and extra features? Omni surround was around 75-80 dollars while the e5 is now around 180-185 dollars. Please let me know if I should upgrade to the e5 or some other amp/dac that has an ADC (because I also want to use it while gaming.)
The Omni Surround and E5 are completely different products. The Omni Surround is a desktop sound card with a high impedance (15 ohm ?) headphone output meant for 150-600 ohm headphones. The E5 is a portable DAC / sound card / Bluetooth receiver with a built-in battery and a 2.2 ohm headphone output that can drive most IEMs. The E5 is a far superior product because it has all the sound card features as well.

The E5's battery life is not as good as other Bluetooth headphone amps because it's a full sound card.
 
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Jun 29, 2018 at 11:42 PM Post #2,310 of 2,345

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