[ChristianM]

I have tried following media players:
 
iTunes (my fav and currently using it)
Foobar
JRiver
AIMP
JetAudio
Cheery Player
MusicBee
MediaMonkey
 
few more player which have good ratings at Download.com and softpedia but none worked well in Windows 10 (any build)

 

[flomofo]

Its probably just the friction introduced by a simple design? Like turning the plugs while connected to your cans etc.
 
So it might not affect SQ after it is set, although any extra connection you add...
 
Mine does the same thing but it is useful and its not a pricey high end setup I run so I doubt it does much to change the sound.

 

[itsDanny]

I posted something here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/753523/sound-card-audio-too-loud-can-it-also-influence-sound-quality
and I was just wondering what volume (%) do you guys have set in the Sound Blaster Control Panel?
 
Cheers

 

[razorpakk]

Do I have to download something to use Jriver in Asio mode with the ZXR?
Right now it doesn't work, it keeps buffering. No issues with Asio4All and Wasapi.

 

[transcendent12]

recently put the Zx in...sounds great and all but i'm experiencing one bug quite frequently where it keeps switching AUTOMATICALLY and randomly between headphone/speaker output! Has anyone else experienced this or anyway to stop it/RMA? Running windows 7

 

[no00wa]

Just bought myself an ZxR after some consideration (after not having a sound card at all and now wanting to go for the best) for mostly a new headset and my Logitech z-5500 speakers. Coming from a Sennheiser 363D + USB soundcard, which i absolutely LOVED, i wanted to try if i could get some even better sound with the ZxR and a Sennheiser g4me Zero.
 
Now trying this headset out for a day or two, connected directly to the sound card without ACM, and i'm not as impressed as i immediately was with the 363d's so far. The 363d's sounded simply amazing when i put the headset on for the first time, now using a ZxR and the g4me zero the sound is defintely pretty good but i'm hoping it can be quite a bit better.
 
Does anyone happen to know what settings in the control panel (equalizer and the sorts) would best match the sound settings of a 363d with the USB card? Im not sure at the moment if the ZxR + headset just need some time to get loose or if the g4me one really would sound that much different, being the "succesor"of the 363ds without sound card.
 
I would really like to keep these as i hope there is almost no difference between the one's and the zero when being driven properly.

 

[germanium]

  Just bought myself an ZxR after some consideration (after not having a sound card at all and now wanting to go for the best) for mostly a new headset and my Logitech z-5500 speakers. Coming from a Sennheiser 363D + USB soundcard, which i absolutely LOVED, i wanted to try if i could get some even better sound with the ZxR and a Sennheiser g4me Zero.
 
Now trying this headset out for a day or two, connected directly to the sound card without ACM, and i'm not as impressed as i immediately was with the 363d's so far. The 363d's sounded simply amazing when i put the headset on for the first time, now using a ZxR and the g4me zero the sound is defintely pretty good but i'm hoping it can be quite a bit better.
 
Does anyone happen to know what settings in the control panel (equalizer and the sorts) would best match the sound settings of a 363d with the USB card? Im not sure at the moment if the ZxR + headset just need some time to get loose or if the g4me one really would sound that much different, being the "succesor"of the 363ds without sound card.
 
I would really like to keep these as i hope there is almost no difference between the one's and the zero when being driven properly.

 While the ZXR is definitely a step up in quality compared to on board audio you need to upgrade your speaker to really be able to appreciate what this card is capable of.
 
The headphone amp though not the best sounding out of the box can be drastically improved with the mods that I have done. Excess sharpness reduced & detail radically improved.
 
Here is my mod thread http://www.head-fi.org/t/705284/germaniums-sound-blaster-zxr-mod-thread

 

[xxToranachxx]

Hello everyone, i own an AKG K712 with a soundblaster Z and I'm quite disappointed about the sound quality that I can get with it. The good point is the sound that I can get with my Logitech Z5500 with 3.5 jack connection but I'm definitely thinking about investing in a more expensive sound card. Do you think that the Asus Essence STX II 7.1 would be a good choice for both my headphone and the Z5500 or should I keep my Soundblaster Z? 
 
Thanks in avance for your help!
 
I have also noticed that the sound from the Soundblaster Z headphone jack is rather Anemic... I have the Z going out to a Denon 1705 receiver via Toslink. When I plug my cans directly into the Soundblaster it sounds like crap compared to just plugging them into the Denon.  I know the SNR is way better directly from the card but to my ears all of my headphones(sennhieser Momentums, Bose QC2, Sennheiser Cx-300, Beats in ear- free btw, wouldnt pay for beats) sound way way better through the receiver.  A friend of mine also got the ZX and hated the sound from the jack and the little module that comes with it.  Seems to be common.  

 

[xxToranachxx]

Oops, forgot to put the top part of my last post in a quote. My bad everyone.

 

[xxToranachxx]

  Just bought myself an ZxR after some consideration (after not having a sound card at all and now wanting to go for the best) for mostly a new headset and my Logitech z-5500 speakers. Coming from a Sennheiser 363D + USB soundcard, which i absolutely LOVED, i wanted to try if i could get some even better sound with the ZxR and a Sennheiser g4me Zero.
 
Now trying this headset out for a day or two, connected directly to the sound card without ACM, and i'm not as impressed as i immediately was with the 363d's so far. The 363d's sounded simply amazing when i put the headset on for the first time, now using a ZxR and the g4me zero the sound is defintely pretty good but i'm hoping it can be quite a bit better.
 
Does anyone happen to know what settings in the control panel (equalizer and the sorts) would best match the sound settings of a 363d with the USB card? Im not sure at the moment if the ZxR + headset just need some time to get loose or if the g4me one really would sound that much different, being the "succesor"of the 363ds without sound card.
 
I would really like to keep these as i hope there is almost no difference between the one's and the zero when being driven properly.

No00wa, a good friend of mine has the G4me Zero and had a one.  A warning with both of them.  There is very little bass with these.  He also has a Schiit Magni 2 with this setup and still no bass.  I think he is going to try and sell them.  Anyway, I though this might help. Good luck!

 

[yoster]

Hi all - first post here!
 
I'll cut right to the chase.  I have an MSI Gaming motherboard with the built in soundblaster audo w/integrated 600ohm headphone amp.  While it was better than some other integrated units I've used, it lacked two major things: 1) an integrated EQ and 2) the headphone amp, despite being rated for 600ohm, just didn't cut the cheese (and I'm only pushing Sennheiser Momemtum's over-hear.)  The integrated amp just couldn't drive them hard enough - when turned up and listening to highly dynamic tracks (Dream Theater tracks for instance) it sounded like someone was sitting there turning the volume knob up and down, up and down.  I attributed this to either a week internal amp or the on-board caps were just being pushed too hard - not enough power on-tap.  In the short-term, I ran the stereo-out to RCA-in in my home receiver, and used my receiver as a headphone amp.  Took care of that strange sensation, but the EQ was still all off.
 
Through reading various forum posts, I settled on the ZxR.  First impressions, the default 'flat' curve lacked the low-end bigtime.  Thankfully, the EQ fixed that.  
 
Cranking up the music however (headphones in 32/300 mode in the software and plugged directly into the ZxR) - I got the somewhat similar, but also different sensation as the onboard audio.  Hard to describe but my headphones just couldn't keep up with the fast high-low transitions.  It's like when the hard notes hit (such as a hard bass drum) the card just runs out of steam.  It doesn't carry the OOMPH through the entire note.  Testing with my DT-770's revealed the same issues.
 
Going from ZxR RCA-out to RCA-in on my receiver (with headphones plugged into receiver) converted the sound into pure awesome.  Just oozes good sound.  The notes hit hard and hold, just like I expect.  Now, if I don't feel like using my receiver, the 600ohm mode definitely helps the situation, but still doesn't solve it completely.
 
I'd ultimately like to not rely on using my receiver.  So my question, and maybe germanium can answer this - will I be better served with a headphone amp upgrade, or a cap upgrade?  I read through your upgrade post but you upgraded the entire card/all channels - I am only interested in upgrading the headphone output side (my actual room speakers run through the receiver which has adequate caps within it - I keep the output volume on the ZxR low to not overdrive the built-in caps, and let the receiver boost from there.) 
 
Appreciate any tips!
 
[EDIT] - Ok rather than running through that ZxR rotary volume knob, I tried going straight in.  Ya.. sound is improved by quite a bit - the 'punch' is back.  Going to listen for a bit to see if completely resolved.
 
[EDIT2] -- Ohh yeah baby, this is what I'm talking about.  That POT-style dial is going bye-bye.  I read online that the ZxR version was supposed to be better than the one that came with the Zx - Based on this I'd have to disagree - they both stink haha.  That in-line dial is robbing me of SQ.  Back in the box that piece goes!!  I don't even need to use 600ohm mode anymore - normal mode is slammin'

 

[norsende]

Does anyone else have a super slow Control Panel? Like a minute or more to start it up from Minimize, then 10+ seconds for opening each tab the first time. After opening everything once it gets quicker for X amount of time. Sorry if this has been asked but I didn't find anything with Google other than to reinstall, which didn't fix it.

 

[yoster]

I have zero delay within the software.

 

[necropimp]

I use WASPI because I couldn't get the ASIO drivers working right, but it's the same idea.  Any time I play music from my music player, it bypasses all DSP from the sound card, including volume control.  That way, I can keep surround on all the time and don't really have to worry about remembering to turn it on or off.

weird foobar using wasapi does not bypass the DSP at all here...

 

[Stillhart]

weird foobar using wasapi does not bypass the DSP at all here...

Have to use exclusive mode.