[NoWayJose]

Nope, I can't see any coupon other than the free shipping, nothing automatically gets applied when I add the X7 to my cart. Link?

In my cart, it automatically added this coupon code HOHOHO3. Did you go to the actual cart page because that's where it shows up.

 

[Evshrug]

In my cart, it automatically added this coupon code HOHOHO3. Did you go to the actual cart page because that's where it shows up.

I actually realized just now you weren't talking about $30 off... but $120 off! Woah!

 

[bavinck]

Great deal, but no shipping to Canada.

 

[Elf-1]

Mixamp Pro 2013 vs Mixamp 2011. Which one would you choose and why? 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

If only Creative would give a definitive answer on the X7's output impedance. I dont want guesses. I want an answer.

Tyll posted a pretty good article on output impedance quite recently, and what it does. No matter how you slice it, too high an impedance will negatively affect a headphone's sound.

$280 sounds quite tasty for what the X7 does, but that final road block is a big one for me. If Im gonna spend the money on such a great product, i wanna ensure that it makes my headphones sound as good asbit can be on it, not worse than its inherent prowess.

 

[draven5494]

Ok, I had time to hook up the X7 and briefly test it from my PC and PS4.

First impressions when taking it out of the box - it's a good looking piece of kit. A mix of matte and glossy black is a classy combo in my opinion. So yeah, it looks good sitting on my desk and I'm sure im going to get a few "what is that?" questions when people come over.

On to the packaging and accessories, this thing came with no less than 7 power cables. I'm pretty sure I'm covered for any type of outlet if I feel inclined to travel around the world with it.

After finding the right power cord (I hope) and hooking it up to my PC I installed the X7 software. It's pretty much the standard fare Creative software with a somewhat nicer interface. All of the SBX options are there.

I first tested the X7 with my HD598s. I listened to some music first. After turning off all of the Crystalizers and Surround effects, I can say it sounds good, very good. My previous setup was an ODAC and Burson Soloist and while I haven't had time to do a direct comparison, I'm quite certain the X7 isn't lagging far behind if at all when it comes to music.

Of course this is a video game thread so I then proceeded to hook it up to my PS4 using the optical connection. When I turned my PS4 on I still had my PC playing music through the unit, I could hear the PS4 audio and the PC audio at the same time. So, one could listen to their favorite music from their PC while playing PS4 games if so inclined. It's not really a feature I would use a lot but I thought it was kind of nifty.

My impression of just the PS4 audio is a bit of a mixed bag right now. The good news is that the audio from the PS4 is the clearest I've heard yet. It sounds quite nice and is definitely a leap up from the Sony Gold headset. Now, the not so good part - It seems there is no surround effect when running optical from the PS4 to the X7. Now, i haven't had a lot of time to troubleshoot that part and there may be a way to do it. I just know that when I hook up my DSS to my PS4 I get Dolby Surround. The effect is noticeable. With the X7, I can tell that the Dolby surround effect is nearly non-existent. It just sounds like stereo sound with hard pans from left to right. Like I said though, I may be doing something wrong or need to enable something on the X7 but I haven't been able troubleshoot it.

That's about it for now. I'm going to do some more tinkering with the PS4 and I took some pics that I will post later as well.

 

[conquerator2]

Great deal, but no shipping to Canada.

So is it for the US store only?
Does it not apply to EU and other subsidiaries of the Creative website?

 

[benbenkr]

If only Creative would give a definitive answer on the X7's output impedance. I dont want guesses. I want an answer.

Tyll posted a pretty good article on output impedance quite recently, and what it does. No matter how you slice it, too high an impedance will negatively affect a headphone's sound.

$280 sounds quite tasty for what the X7 does, but that final road block is a big one for me. If Im gonna spend the money on such a great product, i wanna ensure that it makes my headphones sound as good asbit can be on it, not worse than its inherent prowess.

 
10ohms. It's not a guess, it's written there by Creative. Uses the same TI TPA6120A as the ZxR.

 

[Evshrug]

Mad,
What headphones do you even have anymore? Oh right, the "easy to amp" X2. Well, I recommend looking up the impedance change over frequency chart for it. TI recommends for their OpAmp used in the X7 to have a 10 ohm output resistor in place, but it's possible that it has a different rating in the X7.


Draven,
Well, you've beaten a guy who has been waiting since this summer to the punch of first review, but still those are good-to-know impressions. I tip my hat to you.

The soloist is a pretty heavy-duty amp, right? Impressive that the X7 seems basically equal at first impression to your regular setup. I bet your regular setup will reveal some improvements over the X7 in time, but for gaming I suspect you've reached a practical summit with the X7.

I noticed that the Recon3D could play two sources simultaniusly too... Kinda neat sometimes, but I guess even better that you have the option of leaving them plugged in.

Ps4 surround: first question, you turned off SBX Surround on your PC, did you turn it back on for the PS4? Things happen sometimes in excitement! Also make sure the PS4 is still set to bitstream Dolby and all that.

Speaking of X7 settings, did you try the mobile app yet? Should let you adjust things without switching back to the PC, test surround % on the fly. Try it at 100% just to see if it makes a difference, and save the profile settings to lock them in place. The recon3D USB required you to save the profile before disconnecting from a computer to have the THX TruStudio settings take hold for console use.

 

[Evshrug]

10ohms. It's not a guess, it's written there by Creative. Uses the same TI TPA6120A as the ZxR.

Where is it written? IIRC, didn't the ZxR have like 43 ohms output impedance? I wouldn't automatically assume the X7 will have the same implementation as the ZxR, even if they share parts.

 

[draven5494]

Mad,
What headphones do you even have anymore? Oh right, the "easy to amp" X2. Well, I recommend looking up the impedance change over frequency chart for it. TI recommends for their OpAmp used in the X7 to have a 10 ohm output resistor in place, but it's possible that it has a different rating in the X7.


Draven,
Well, you've beaten a guy who has been waiting since this summer to the punch of first review, but still those are good-to-know impressions. I tip my hat to you.

The soloist is a pretty heavy-duty amp, right? Impressive that the X7 seems basically equal at first impression to your regular setup. I bet your regular setup will reveal some improvements over the X7 in time, but for gaming I suspect you've reached a practical summit with the X7.

I noticed that the Recon3D could play two sources simultaniusly too... Kinda neat sometimes, but I guess even better that you have the option of leaving them plugged in.

Ps4 surround: first question, you turned off SBX Surround on your PC, did you turn it back on for the PS4? Things happen sometimes in excitement! Also make sure the PS4 is still set to bitstream Dolby and all that.

Speaking of X7 settings, did you try the mobile app yet? Should let you adjust things without switching back to the PC, test surround % on the fly. Try it at 100% just to see if it makes a difference, and save the profile settings to lock them in place. The recon3D USB required you to save the profile before disconnecting from a computer to have the THX TruStudio settings take hold for console use.

You're probably right about the Burson, the X7 may not quite be up to its level. It is a fantastic amp but was $1000 when I bought it. Even if the X7 comes close it's already worth it my book. It's an all-in-one unit that can replace most of my separate pieces.

As for the SBX, you know, you're probably right. I may have forgotten to turn it back on. So, that's probably the issue. I will test it and report back. Thanks for the heads up on the app as well. That will definitely come in handy.

 

[benbenkr]

Where is it written? IIRC, didn't the ZxR have like 43 ohms output impedance? I wouldn't automatically assume the X7 will have the same implementation as the ZxR, even if they share parts.

 
Wait, no. The Z/Zx is the one that has 43ohms, but that is at its peak. The ZxR is 10ohms.
You're right, implementation might be different on the X7 eventhough they share the same headphone amp. I'm making that assumption because many amps that uses the TPA6120A has come around 8-10ohms most of the time.

 

[Spartoi]

How does the SB X7 handle headphones + mic? I know the X7 has a built in mic but if I wanted to use my Boom Pro with my Fidelio X2 could I do that?

 

[Evshrug]

Wait, no. The Z/Zx is the one that has 43ohms, but that is at its peak. The ZxR is 10ohms.
You're right, implementation might be different on the X7 eventhough they share the same headphone amp. I'm making that assumption because many amps that uses the TPA6120A has come around 8-10ohms most of the time.

Ok thanks! And yes, I've noticed that about some web-specs of Amos using the TPA6120 too, but I think a large part of that is because TI recommends it (to prevent DC current or something?). I'm not a big fan of the Guy, but He-WhoMust-Not-Be-Named mentioned in his E9 review that there could be ways to not need a 10 ohm output resistance.

How does the SB X7 handle headphones + mic? I know the X7 has a built in mic but if I wanted to use my Boom Pro with my Fidelio X2 could I do that?

Well, I think my Recon3D and Omni came with an adapter to combine the mic and headphone jacks into one TRRS plug like you would need for the BoomPro. Creative's usually pretty thorough about useful cables/accessories (lol@ Draven's power cables!), but even if it wasn't included the adapter is cheap and widely available. In fact, did the BoomPro come wi any accessories?

 

[benbenkr]

Ok thanks! And yes, I've noticed that about some web-specs of Amos using the TPA6120 too, but I think a large part of that is because TI recommends it (to prevent DC current or something?). I'm not a big fan of the Guy, but He-WhoMust-Not-Be-Named mentioned in his E9 review that there could be ways to not need a 10 ohm output resistance.
 

 
Do you think Creative would bother tweaking the TPA6120 to be anything less than 10ohms though? Because knowing them, everytime they use something off the shelf they just stick everything together and call it a day (I'm exaggerating, but you get what I mean).
 
I've been using Creative's products since 2004, so that's 10 years of history with them and I do know their ways of creating new products each time (laziness, because consumers don't know better sort of attitude). There were a few exceptions of course.
 
I'd obviously be very happy if they had actually done anything different this time though.