[Sedare38]

Your question is very broad and not specific. May I know what is your intended application with X7?
All that I can explain about X7 is on the first page. Please take some time to read it, probably you will find the answer to your question.

I read this entire thread. I'm just full of questions. My intended application is to really get the most out of music/movie/gaming that I can with this thing as connected to my PC.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Start with the X7 alone. You're diving too far from what i see, so i suggest you get used to the X7 first. It is a very capable single device.

 

[LucasCL]

   
Thanks for the reply @LucasCL, anything you do will be greatly appreciated. I live in the UK, I don't know if that will affect what you can/can't do.

 
@Fegefeuer  @esde84

Hey guys, I have managed to get the code extended for the European region.
 
Use code "CANJAM20" to get 20% off the Sound Blaster E1, E3, E5, X7 and X7 Limited Edition.
 
The promo code can only be used at the Creative Online Store (http://creative.com/g/p/sound-blaster) and is valid for a week!
 
Hope this helps!
 
Lucas

 

[earfonia]

  I read this entire thread. I'm just full of questions. My intended application is to really get the most out of music/movie/gaming that I can with this thing as connected to my PC.

 

Start with the X7 alone. You're diving too far from what i see, so i suggest you get used to the X7 first. It is a very capable single device.

 
Agree with @Mad Lust Envy. Just use X7 alone. The headphone output is pretty good. If it sounds a little too bright with your headphone, just replace the Op-Amps. Adding external headphone not necessary will improve the sound. Probably you need to spend on headphone amp costing $300 or more to get better sound than the X7 headphone output.
 
If you use passive speaker, get the 144 watts power adapter.

 

[Fegefeuer]

   
@Fegefeuer  @esde84

Hey guys, I have managed to get the code extended for the European region.
 
Use code "CANJAM20" to get 20% off the Sound Blaster E1, E3, E5, X7 and X7 Limited Edition.
 
The promo code can only be used at the Creative Online Store (http://creative.com/g/p/sound-blaster) and is valid for a week!
 
Hope this helps!
 
Lucas

 
Thanks Lucas, this made me order the X7 LE. 

 
a) Lucas, do you know why you guys didn't include DTS support for the X7 and "just" AC3? DTS license can't be that expensive nowdays, or is it?
 
b) Can you ask the driver team to improve upon OpenAL support on the Z/X series and just give us a mini-tool to flag/unflag Macro-FX/Elevation to ON/ON, AUTO/AUTO, OFF/OFF? On the X-Fi cards we had the option in the driver panel, now it's not gone. Sure, the panel is much cleaner now but the driver defaults to ON/ON and messes up a lot of popular games. 

 

[esde84]

   
@Fegefeuer  @esde84

Hey guys, I have managed to get the code extended for the European region.
 
Use code "CANJAM20" to get 20% off the Sound Blaster E1, E3, E5, X7 and X7 Limited Edition.
 
The promo code can only be used at the Creative Online Store (http://creative.com/g/p/sound-blaster) and is valid for a week!
 
Hope this helps!
 
Lucas

Thanks @LucasCL

 

[deanorthk]

My X7 is on the way too. I'll use it as a dac for my woo audio 6SE for the time beeing, plus with my HD650 powered by the X7 itself for gaming on pc and PS4. I truly can't wait!

 

[Sedare38]

   
 
Agree with @Mad Lust Envy. Just use X7 alone. The headphone output is pretty good. If it sounds a little too bright with your headphone, just replace the Op-Amps. Adding external headphone not necessary will improve the sound. Probably you need to spend on headphone amp costing $300 or more to get better sound than the X7 headphone output.
 
If you use passive speaker, get the 144 watts power adapter.

Yep, that's the version I got is the Limited Edition with the Higher Power Adapter. In the interim until I get new speakers, can I still hook up my Altec Lansing 2.1 set to the x7? the 2 satellites plug into the subwoofer and then that plugs directly into my MOBO's speaker port. I assume I'd just use the x7's line out port for that then?
 
I'm looking forward to getting the E-MU XM7s and a Subwoofer. From reading the thread, it was said that you have to enter into 3.1 mode to get the 2.1 sound. Does this mean It will be 2.1 or will the x7 be trying to output to a center channel as well and I should really be looking for a 3.1 set up? That bit confused me some.

 

[earfonia]

  Yep, that's the version I got is the Limited Edition with the Higher Power Adapter. In the interim until I get new speakers, can I still hook up my Altec Lansing 2.1 set to the x7? the 2 satellites plug into the subwoofer and then that plugs directly into my MOBO's speaker port. I assume I'd just use the x7's line out port for that then?
 
I'm looking forward to getting the E-MU XM7s and a Subwoofer. From reading the thread, it was said that you have to enter into 3.1 mode to get the 2.1 sound. Does this mean It will be 2.1 or will the x7 be trying to output to a center channel as well and I should really be looking for a 3.1 set up? That bit confused me some.

 
Yes, you can just plug your 2.1 active speaker to the X7 line output, just like the way you plug it to motherboard line out. You'll probably will get cleaner sound from X7.
 
As with passive speaker E-MU XM7, you can connect it to the speaker output of X7, and the additional active subwoofer to the line output of the X7. Still using the same 2.0/2.1 setting.

 

[mark_roch]

   
@Fegefeuer  @esde84

Hey guys, I have managed to get the code extended for the European region.
 
Use code "CANJAM20" to get 20% off the Sound Blaster E1, E3, E5, X7 and X7 Limited Edition.
 
The promo code can only be used at the Creative Online Store (http://creative.com/g/p/sound-blaster) and is valid for a week!
 
Hope this helps!
 
Lucas

Damn, I ordered mine on Monday from you store, typical. 
 
Mine arrived yesterday, only had time to plug it all in and load the drivers so far. Any tips for gaming? Thanks.
 

 

[Papajoe]

Damn, I ordered mine on Monday from you store, typical. 

Mine arrived yesterday, only had time to plug it all in and load the drivers so far. Any tips for gaming? Thanks.

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[/quote]


For gaming.. i went 5.1 with the logitech z906s..turn on sbx n all hell break lose...cant really hear the differences between x7 n my previous sb zxr but it does play louder then the zxr....

 

[jruser]

So, do we know how the volume knob works? Does it affect volume at the DSP (before the DAC)? Resistor ladder (after the DAC)?


I don't know if the reviewer is around but it would be easy to confirm. Drop the volume down to half and re-do the RMAA test. If the SNR is way lower, then we know it is digital volume control before the DAC.

Honestly I am a little confused. Does the windows master volume affect the volume? If so, is the knob a separate volume control? If the knob controls the windows volume, how does it work in stand alone mode?

Would be nice of Creative could chime in.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, I'd like to know if it's lowering bit resolution when lowering the volume.

As of now, since the volume knob seems to work the same as using the windows volume, I hardly use the knob and use my keyboard's volume buttons. Normally, I would never do this.

The volume knob is fairly insensitive, and sometimes takes forever to lower volume. I don't have that problem with the volume controls on my keyboard.

 

[earfonia]

So, do we know how the volume knob works? Does it affect volume at the DSP (before the DAC)? Resistor ladder (after the DAC)?


I don't know if the reviewer is around but it would be easy to confirm. Drop the volume down to half and re-do the RMAA test. If the SNR is way lower, then we know it is digital volume control before the DAC.

Honestly I am a little confused. Does the windows master volume affect the volume? If so, is the knob a separate volume control? If the knob controls the windows volume, how does it work in stand alone mode?

Would be nice of Creative could chime in.

 
I mentioned here in the review:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/756102/creative-sound-blaster-x7-detailed-review-impressions#post_11347706
 
It's digital volume control, not resistor ladder / programmable analog stepped attenuator like in my Mytek. If the use resistor ladder, they won't sell it at this price 

But as for the position of the digital volume control, before or after DSP, I have no idea.

 

[jruser]

I'm not saying that it is a resistor network, etc... But do we have more evidence?  Creative is more of a mass-market company so I'm sure they could do it cheaper than some smaller companies. Emotiva had it in products priced similar to the X7.
 
Just looking for more details, but there aren't any. Anybody remember when the X-FI came out? They gave a ton of technical details. Now, not so much.