Latest Thread Images

Creative SoundBlasterX AE-9
Mar 1, 2019 at 10:56 AM Post #16 of 154
Thanks can't get better then directly from the horses mouth, wonder what these tweaks are to nail the product... probably to make it comparable or better then the Nu soundcard or fix bugs !

I do prefer the AE9 due to optical input and separate volume on break out box though, so do hope it is better then the Nu soundcard.

There is one guy over on the EVGA forums who made a comparision between Creatives AE5 and his Nu soundcard mentioned here:

https://forums.evga.com/FindPost/2914548

"The EVGA Nu Audio has more control, more detail, and more refinement than the Soundblaster AE-5. If you don't mince hairs and/or don't love audio, get the Sound Blaster. You'll be quite happy. If you close your eyes when you listen to music or listen to music in the dark, you absolutely should give this card a try!!

BTW, IMHO, movies and games are pretty easy to reproduce vs. music. After all, can you really tell what a starship sounds like? Or a dinosaur roaring? But music, that's a whole different matter. If you audio device can do music well (like the EVGA NU audio card), rest assured it can handle dialog and gaming just fine!"

But I would take grit members early thoughts with some salt since another member spotted there and asked did he not enable HP mode on his AE5?, switching off the SBX stuff doesn't do the same and worse the member grit never bothered to come back to confirm if what settings he actually did, insert homer strangling bart gif

AE5 vs AE9 vs Nu soundcard for 2019
 
Mar 1, 2019 at 11:39 AM Post #17 of 154
Jul 10, 2019 at 3:38 PM Post #22 of 154
Maybe we could add the AE-7 to the topic? IMO a separate thread would be too much...

AE-9: https://de.creative.com/p/sound-cards/sound-blaster-ae-9
AE-7: https://de.creative.com/p/sound-cards/sound-blaster-ae-7


The new cards are quite pricy. The AE-7 costs 229€ - almost as much as the ZxR did and seems to be less "high end" in comparison (better components but less elaborate, one C3D vs 2, less connectors etc) and the AE-9 costs 339€ - quite some money for a sound card! Might be a bargain / at least fair for XLR-Users though.
 
Jul 10, 2019 at 4:42 PM Post #23 of 154
Question I have is, "Is it an upgrade?" if I own the Tit HD?
 
Jul 10, 2019 at 5:23 PM Post #24 of 154
Depends on what you do with your soundcard and if the new AE7/9 have any unforeseeable issues. Provided they are okay it it will come down to your user profile:

Singleplayer gaming? Yes. IMHO the ZxR's SBX is already more natural than CMS3D.
Multiplayer gaming? Debateable. Some people say that CMS3D is superior in terms of localization.
Music? Maybe. The DAC and the headphone amp on the AE7/AE9 seem to be very good.
Movies? Maybe.

tl;dr: I think you will have to wait for some reviews.
 
Jul 11, 2019 at 11:16 AM Post #25 of 154
I wonder how it sounds compares to STX II...
 
Jul 14, 2019 at 3:46 PM Post #26 of 154
itchyears said:
Thanks can't get better then directly from the horses mouth, wonder what these tweaks are to nail the product... probably to make it comparable or better then the Nu soundcard or fix bugs !

I do prefer the AE9 due to optical input and separate volume on break out box though, so do hope it is better then the Nu soundcard.

There is one guy over on the EVGA forums who made a comparision between Creatives AE5 and his Nu soundcard mentioned here:

https://forums.evga.com/FindPost/2914548

"The EVGA Nu Audio has more control, more detail, and more refinement than the Soundblaster AE-5. If you don't mince hairs and/or don't love audio, get the Sound Blaster. You'll be quite happy. If you close your eyes when you listen to music or listen to music in the dark, you absolutely should give this card a try!!

BTW, IMHO, movies and games are pretty easy to reproduce vs. music. After all, can you really tell what a starship sounds like? Or a dinosaur roaring? But music, that's a whole different matter. If you audio device can do music well (like the EVGA NU audio card), rest assured it can handle dialog and gaming just fine!"

But I would take grit members early thoughts with some salt since another member spotted there and asked did he not enable HP mode on his AE5?, switching off the SBX stuff doesn't do the same and worse the member grit never bothered to come back to confirm if what settings he actually did, insert homer strangling bart gif

AE5 vs AE9 vs Nu soundcard for 2019
Click to expand...
reference-audio-analyzer.pro has EVGA Nu Audio reports out: https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/title-report.php?id=1950
AE-5 for comparison: https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/title-report.php?id=1192

AE-9 is quite interesting but AE-7 is obviously just AE-5 with slightly better DAC (which may or may not make any difference since the components and layouts are almost the same - judging by the nude pics).

nuaudio.png

ae5.png



Then there's this...
accent.png
 
Last edited:
Jul 15, 2019 at 4:21 AM Post #27 of 154
Glad its finally released, but just like any product it may take a good while for real hands on reviews and comparisons. Its like an AE5 which claims to support 600 ohm headphones, yes it works but it may not have the full real power to really drive them fully like a separate dedicated headphone amp can. I have read reviews were some guys claimed even basic £99-150 headphone amps sounded better then the AE5 for music.

Will need to see some comparisons between the AE9 and budget to mid level headphone amps and most importantly a comparison between the its main competitor the Nu sound card.

Shame that Creative were unclear if the AE9 supports superxfi especially if paying such a premium price tag, from that reddit page quite a few are asking about it but the creative rep as good as he is seemed to leave it as a possible yes answer but is that just to get it too sell also !
 
Jul 15, 2019 at 4:27 AM Post #28 of 154
itchyears said:
Glad its finally released, but just like any product it may take a good while for real hands on reviews and comparisons. Its like an AE5 which claims to support 600 ohm headphones, yes it works but it may not have the full real power to really drive them fully like a separate dedicated headphone amp can. I have read reviews were some guys claimed even basic £99-150 headphone amps sounded better then the AE5 for music.

Will need to see some comparisons between the AE9 and budget to mid level headphone amps and most importantly a comparison between the its main competitor the Nu sound card.

Shame that Creative were unclear if the AE9 supports superxfi especially if paying such a premium price tag, from that reddit page quite a few are asking about it but the creative rep as good as he is seemed to leave it as a possible yes answer but is that just to get it too sell also !
Click to expand...
AE-5 has plenty of power for most headphones and it's well done - all in all great package for ~140 €. Not sure about insensitive 600 ohm headphones but I basically use my O2 as volume controller since the built in headphone amp is too much for my taste even in low gain. So for better volume range I use line out (32%/-17,2 dB) and then O2 (1x gain) around 10 to 11 o'clock.
 
Jul 15, 2019 at 11:00 AM Post #29 of 154
Anarion said:
AE-5 has plenty of power for most headphones and it's well done - all in all great package for ~140 €. Not sure about insensitive 600 ohm headphones but I basically use my O2 as volume controller since the built in headphone amp is too much for my taste even in low gain. So for better volume range I use line out (32%/-17,2 dB) and then O2 (1x gain) around 10 to 11 o'clock.
Click to expand...

Really ? I felt my HD 650s were lacking power or any clarity on my AE5s and there 300ohm, its something a previous AE5 reviewer mentioned when he compared it to one of those popular headphone amps from the Schiit series. Not got any decent gear my side to compare really, as subjective as it is with sound quality itself I could be off on it.

If I get the AE9 I would make it last a life time mind, provided its comparable or better to decent or mid level headphone amps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top