Creative Sound blaster E5 - Headphone amp + USB DAC with OTG + Toslink + aptX + recording + more.

[Arata]

  why to be 7.1 if SBX pro is 5.1 ?

Better support for games, I'd say. The better the position encoding, the better the end spatialisation result.

 

[paulguru]

ok but is SBX Pro run max to 5.1 mode, means 7.1 will be useless.

 

[AUserName501]

  ok but is SBX Pro run max to 5.1 mode, means 7.1 will be useless.

 
SBX Pro is perfectly capable of 7.1 virtual surround sound and X-Fi MB3 did this. The problem is that all the sound cards were 5.1 and therefore appeared to Windows as a 5.1 speaker system. If they appeared as a 7.1 speaker system then SBX would have done 7.1 virtual surround sound.
 
 

  Better support for games, I'd say. The better the position encoding, the better the end spatialisation result.

 
More speakers = better localisation
 
However, it is dependant upon how the game handles surround sound. Some games just mirrored the rear channels in a 5.1 setup to the side channels in a 7.1 setup which is not good.

 

[paulguru]

   
SBX Pro is perfectly capable of 7.1 virtual surround sound and X-Fi MB3 did this. The problem is that all the sound cards were 5.1 and therefore appeared to Windows as a 5.1 speaker system. If they appeared as a 7.1 speaker system then SBX would have done 7.1 virtual surround sound.
 
 
 
More speakers = better localisation
 
However, it is dependant upon how the game handles surround sound. Some games just mirrored the rear channels in a 5.1 setup to the side channels in a 7.1 setup which is not good.

SBX Pro in 7.1 mode ??
WOW !!!

 

[AUserName501]

@DigitalRonyn
 
So I've just installed the BlasterX Acoustic Engine Light. It appears to be a cut down version of X-Fi MB3 and most notably has the same critical flaw that I complained about here.
 

 If you are going to make a pure software version of SBX Pro Studio then it has to do a few things that X-Fi MB3 did wrong. It needs to appear to Windows as a 7.1 speaker setup. It also needs to be able to output to a stereo USB DAC. That makes sense as virtual surround sound processed audio is stereo and is what Razer Surround currently does.

 
BlasterX Acoustic Engine will still only appear to Windows as Stereo when the output device is only capable of stereo. If I switch the output device to my Xonar U3 which appears to Windows as a 7.1 speaker system then the BlasterX Playback device will also appear as a 7.1 speaker system.
 
This needs to be fixed. The BlasterX playback device must be able to appear as a 7.1 speaker system to Windows even when the output device is a Stereo USB DAC.
 


 
This is on Windows 7 x64.
 
Secondly, I'm not going to buy one of your headsets just to get the full featured BlasterX so I can adjust the settings such as Surround, Crystalizer etc. Please either make these settings adjustable in the free version or include a purchasable version of the software that has these features unlocked. I'm not going to stop using my HD800 to go out and buy a H7.
 
It's seriously disappointing that a critical bug in X-Fi MB3 (which this is clearly a reskinned version of) has not been fixed. However, at least Creative seem to be on the right track.
 
I'm also getting distorted audio when outputting to Xonar U3 or Xonar U3 SPDIF but not when outputting to Fiio E17. I'm not getting distorted audio either when the playback device is X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro.
 
For some reason when I select Xonar U3 in BlasterX Select Playback Device Menu. When I reopen that menu it will have Xonar U3 SPDIF selected instead. It does the exact same thing when I select X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro (USB) and reopen the menu to find X-Fi Surround SPDIF selected.
 

 
The Demo is neat but it needs to be close to the head to hear anything. May need a text tooltip to explain what to do.
 

---

You can download BlasterX Acoustic Engine Light here. Scroll down the page and fill in the form. A disposable email address works. Wait for the activation code to arrive.

 

[jincuteguy]

  @DigitalRonyn
 
So I've just installed the BlasterX Acoustic Engine Light. It appears to be a cut down version of X-Fi MB3 and most notably has the same critical flaw that I complained about here.
 
 
BlasterX Acoustic Engine will still only appear to Windows as Stereo when the output device is only capable of stereo. If I switch the output device to my Xonar U3 which appears to Windows as a 7.1 speaker system then the BlasterX Playback device will also appear as a 7.1 speaker system.
 
This needs to be fixed. The BlasterX playback device must be able to appear as a 7.1 speaker system to Windows even when the output device is a Stereo USB DAC.
 


 
This is on Windows 7 x64.
 
Secondly, I'm not going to buy one of your headsets just to get the full featured BlasterX so I can adjust the settings such as Surround, Crystalizer etc. Please either make these settings adjustable in the free version or include a purchasable version of the software that has these features unlocked. I'm not going to stop using my HD800 to go out and buy a H7.
 
It's seriously disappointing that a critical bug in X-Fi MB3 (which this is clearly a reskinned version of) has not been fixed. However, at least Creative seem to be on the right track.
 
I'm also getting distorted audio when outputting to Xonar U3 or Xonar U3 SPDIF but not when outputting to Fiio E17. I'm not getting distorted audio either when the playback device is X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro.
 
For some reason when I select Xonar U3 in BlasterX Select Playback Device Menu. When I reopen that menu it will have Xonar U3 SPDIF selected instead. It does the exact same thing when I select X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro (USB) and reopen the menu to find X-Fi Surround SPDIF selected.
 

 
The Demo is neat but it needs to be close to the head to hear anything. May need a text tooltip to explain what to do.
 

---

You can download BlasterX Acoustic Engine Light here. Scroll down the page and fill in the form. A disposable email address works. Wait for the activation code to arrive.

 
If you had an HD800, why do'nt you buy the Creative X7 Dac / Amp $400 to use that with? It's a lot better than these cheap solutions?
 
Also , I don't get Creative Sound blaster, why would they make something new and called it Acoustice Engine? When they already have the SBX surround software? Now it just make ppl confuse more what to use.

 

[AUserName501]

Spoiler: Quote: jincuteguy

Originally Posted by jincuteguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 
If you had an HD800, why do'nt you buy the Creative X7 Dac / Amp $400 to use that with? It's a lot better than these cheap solutions?
 
Also , I don't get Creative Sound blaster, why would they make something new and called it Acoustice Engine? When they already have the SBX surround software? Now it just make ppl confuse more what to use.

 
Acoustic Engine is basically rebranded SBX software which is rebranded from the versions before it. Every few years they do an "update" and change the skins.
 
CMSS-3D -> THX TruStudio -> SBX Pro Studio -> BlasterX Acoustic Engine
 
The end game for me is their software is just software and not tied to any hardware so you can use their virtual surround sound with any DAC. This is how Razer Surround works. X-Fi MB3 was like Razer Surround except that X-Fi MB3 is a broken mess with critical bugs that I've described earlier.
 
Hardware acceleration for audio died in Vista. Modern CPUs should easily be fast enough to do the processing that their software does.

 

[jincuteguy]

   
Acoustic Engine is basically rebranded SBX software which is rebranded from the versions before it. Every few years they do an "update" and change the skins.
 
CMSS-3D -> THX TruStudio -> SBX Pro Studio -> BlasterX Acoustic Engine
 
The end game for me is their software is just software and not tied to any hardware so you can use their virtual surround sound with any DAC. This is how Razer Surround works. X-Fi MB3 was like Razer Surround except that X-Fi MB3 is a broken mess with critical bugs that I've described earlier.
 
Hardware acceleration for audio died in Vista. Modern CPUs should easily be fast enough to do the processing that their software does.

Oh I see, thx u for the infos.  So I just installed the Acoustic Engine just to try it out, but I can't get the DEMO to work? Like there's no sound when I click on the Demo?  But other sounds works like music, games.  It's just that the DEmo from the Software has no sound?
Anyone get it to work?

 

[jincuteguy]

Also, using the Acoustic Engine together with my Creative X7 sounds even better? Like if I turned SBX surround from the X7, and use the Acoustic Engine (Adventure mode preset), it sounds better than just using the SBX from the X7? What?

 

[AUserName501]

  Oh I see, thx u for the infos.  So I just installed the Acoustic Engine just to try it out, but I can't get the DEMO to work? Like there's no sound when I click on the Demo?  But other sounds works like music, games.  It's just that the DEmo from the Software has no sound?
Anyone get it to work?

Move the helicopter cursor closer to the head.
 
In BlasterX there is an arrow in the top right. Click that. Then select the playback device option from the drop down. This will open another window. Ensure that your correct output device is selected.
 
 

  Also, using the Acoustic Engine together with my Creative X7 sounds even better? Like if I turned SBX surround from the X7, and use the Acoustic Engine (Adventure mode preset), it sounds better than just using the SBX from the X7? What?

 
Audio may be being processed twice. First by the Blaster X virtual soundcard and then by the X7 audio device which is the output device.

 

[jincuteguy]

 
Move the helicopter cursor closer to the head.
 
In BlasterX there is an arrow in the top right. Click that. Then select the playback device option from the drop down. This will open another window. Ensure that your correct output device is selected.
 
 
 
Audio may be being processed twice. First by the Blaster X virtual soundcard and then by the X7 audio device which is the output device.

 
Sorry I meant if I turned OFF the SBX surround from the X7, and just use the Acoustic Engine Adventure mode preset, it sounds better than if i just used the SBX from the X7 alone.

 

[paulguru]

Excuse me but this Acoustic Engine is a free software like Razer Surround ????
 
If yes, how is your quality compared to SBX Pro ?

 

[paulguru]

  Also, using the Acoustic Engine together with my Creative X7 sounds even better? Like if I turned SBX surround from the X7, and use the Acoustic Engine (Adventure mode preset), it sounds better than just using the SBX from the X7? What?

i join

 

[AUserName501]

  Excuse me but this Acoustic Engine is a free software like Razer Surround ????
 
If yes, how is your quality compared to SBX Pro ?

 
BlasterX Acoustic Engine Light is the free version. The full version seems to require a Sound Blaster H7 headset or the Sound Blaster G5 DAC/Amp.
 
The Light version is fundamentally the same as SBX Pro Studio. You have the following settings:
 

1. Surround
2. Crystalizer
3. Bass
4. Smart Volume
5. Dialog Plus

 
These are the same features in SBX Pro Studio. However, the key difference is that in the Light version you are limited to presets:
 

1. Adventure/Action
2. Driving Simulation
3. First Person Shooter
4. Real Time Strategy
5. Effects Off

 
Each preset has the following features I listed above at different settings and amounts.
 
The problem is that you can't change the settings to make your own custom one. With SBX Pro Studio you could fiddle around with the features. For example, turn Smart Volume off, set Bass to 100, Crystalizer at 10 and Surround at 69. You cannot do this in Acoustic Engine Light. I can only assume this feature will be available in the full version.
 
However, the full version requires a Sound Blaster G5 or Sound Blaster H7 headset. I don't want either of those. I just want the full software and to be able to output to my own USB DACs. I'm happy to pay just for the software but I do not want to be tied to any Creative hardware. I have my own DACs and considering that audiophiles love the idea of using different DACs for different sonic characteristics it makes sense for Creative to allow that. If I want to use BlasterX Acoustic Engine but have it output to a Schiit Yggdrasil DAC then I should be able to do that.
 

---

 
I've installed BlasterX Acoustic Engine Light on a laptop and the demo isn't working. I've confirmed that sound is playing through BlasterX to the USB DAC when playing music.

 

[jincuteguy]

   
BlasterX Acoustic Engine Light is the free version. The full version seems to require a Sound Blaster H7 headset or the Sound Blaster G5 DAC/Amp.
 
The Light version is fundamentally the same as SBX Pro Studio. You have the following settings:
 

1. Surround
2. Crystalizer
3. Bass
4. Smart Volume
5. Dialog Plus

 
These are the same features in SBX Pro Studio. However, the key difference is that in the Light version you are limited to presets:
 

1. Adventure/Action
2. Driving Simulation
3. First Person Shooter
4. Real Time Strategy
5. Effects Off

 
Each preset has the following features I listed above at different settings and amounts.
 
The problem is that you can't change the settings to make your own custom one. With SBX Pro Studio you could fiddle around with the features. For example, turn Smart Volume off, set Bass to 100, Crystalizer at 10 and Surround at 69. You cannot do this in Acoustic Engine Light. I can only assume this feature will be available in the full version.
 
However, the full version requires a Sound Blaster G5 or Sound Blaster H7 headset. I don't want either of those. I just want the full software and to be able to output to my own USB DACs. I'm happy to pay just for the software but I do not want to be tied to any Creative hardware. I have my own DACs and considering that audiophiles love the idea of using different DACs for different sonic characteristics it makes sense for Creative to allow that. If I want to use BlasterX Acoustic Engine but have it output to a Schiit Yggdrasil DAC then I should be able to do that.
 

---

 
I've installed BlasterX Acoustic Engine Light on a laptop and the demo isn't working. I've confirmed that sound is playing through BlasterX to the USB DAC when playing music.

 
Yea same, the DEMO doesn't work, but music playing and gaming works .