[Yethal]

God, I almost forgot how cringy Asus website is. Unless You need multiple inputs and/or speaker amplifier You'll be fine.

 

[Casserole]

  God, I almost forgot how cringy Asus website is. Unless You need multiple inputs and/or speaker amplifier You'll be fine.

I like it, it makes me realise I'm a gamer nerd 

 

[Evshrug]

I like it, it makes me realise I'm a gamer nerd 

You think you're a gamer nerd?

 

[Casserole]

You think you're a gamer nerd?

Considering I spent my lunch walking around trying to find pokemon I'd say so lol 

 

[Enginigmatic]

Anyone having the issue of a loose micro USB port? I hate that devices use these tiny ports; they're fragile and they come loose. (I have two $$$ keyboards on the fritz for the same reason.) Now I have to have the cable in "just right" to get a clean connection. How should I address this?

 

[Yethal]

  Anyone having the issue of a loose micro USB port? I hate that devices use these tiny ports; they're fragile and they come loose. (I have two $$$ keyboards on the fritz for the same reason.) Now I have to have the cable in "just right" to get a clean connection. How should I address this?

Either contact Creative or solder a new connector.

 

[Enginigmatic]

 
Either contact Creative or solder a new connector.

I cannot locate instructions on disassembly. I thought there might be screws under the rubber feet, but I didn't see any.
 
I have to imagine Creative is going to charge me for repairs as well as shipping the item to them, as I purchased this almost two years ago and the warranty is expired.
 
I just shipped off my mechanical keyboards for USB port repair+reinforcement, maybe the same fellow can reinforce this port, but first I would have to know how to crack it open. Perhaps this isn't the proper thread to discuss this, I'm not sure.

 

[Click]

X7 is $280 with 30% off code THIRTYOFF

 

[shuto77]

I'm about to pick this up again. 
 
I'll be rolling op-amps again. Shoot me your suggestions, preferably something with great clarity and speed.
 
Thanks!

 

[Yethal]

I'm about to pick this up again. 

I'll be rolling op-amps again. Shoot me your suggestions, preferably something with great clarity and speed.

Thanks!

Sparkos Labs SS3601 and SS3602.

 

[DarioKreutzer]

Hello everybody, I'm new around here. I recently bought a Sound Blaster X7 and a pair of Sennheiser HD 598 (SE), I think it is a good combo for a beginner like me, who's moving the first steps in this fascinating and complex world. For now I'm having a blast with games and movies (I have yet to try music more thoroughly) and I'm pretty satisfied with my purchase.
 
I would love to understand a bit more about the audio world and particularly how EQing works, so that I can toy around with audio settings for movies and games (for music I'd go with direct mode). Can you recommend me a source where I can find this infos?
Also, as a sidenote, I'm considering to buy a pair of speakers for my Sound Blaster and I have to choose between 2-3 sets, can I ask you for a suggestion?

 

[Evshrug]

^ I agree, good beginner combo!

The X7's EQ is a really good EQ implementation. Push a bar up to make particular frequencies/pitch notes be louder, or lower than the mid-point to make that freq quieter. Some people try to compensate for the sound of a headphone to make it more "flat" and balanced across the spectrum (a little more bass & sub bass might be nice with your HD598), while others just use it for adding flavor. In any case, the X7's EQ is a safe playground because it prevents something from playing too loud and clipping, so you can experiment to your heart's content!

I think easier to drive speakers function better... I wish I had the upgraded power supply for my Chane speakers because they seem to need more "oomph," but I would recommend the Polk monitor speakers even with the standard power supply or E-MU monitors as good mates with the X7, maybe the Audioengine monitor speakers just based on reviews (haven't heard the Audioengine myself).

 

[Enginigmatic]

Creative won't offer me any repairs since my X7 is out of warranty. I thought I might be able to pay them for repairs. They told me to take it to an electronics shop if I wanted it fixed. I don't know that it makes sense to trust someone with no knowledge of the device to fix it...? Probably the first and last Creative product that I buy.

 

[Fegefeuer]

they only need to have basic electronic knowledge and soldering skills. It's no magic. They are not reprogramming the Axx1 or something. 

 

[Enginigmatic]

  they only need to have basic electronic knowledge and soldering skills. It's no magic. They are not reprogramming the Axx1 or something. 

Sorry, I didn't mention that I've been having other issues with it.
 
One of the issues is that if the input device doesn't output any audio for a while, the devices goes to sleep in some kind of way, such that even when I resume playing audio, the X7 doesn't produce any. I have to power cycle the device multiple times to fix this. Also, when I first power on the X7, it does not recognize any inputs on the first try. I have to power cycle the X7 literally about five times for it to recognize inputs and produce audio to the headphones. This happens irrespective of input, SPDIF, Bluetooth, USB, etc.
 
I was having intermittent issues like this from day one. But at first it would only take a couple of tries to get it working, and most of the time it would work fine on the first try. I thought firmware updates would make it better, but the performance of my X7 honestly hasn't gotten any better and in some ways has degraded; I don't know if the firmware has anything to do with that or not.
 
In addition to those problems, I get a weird static issue when using Bluetooth. It's odd, if I play something at low volume, the amount of background static can overwhelm everything else. Then if I turn the volume way up, and then back down, the static goes away for a bit. This could be my fault in some kind of way, some kind of interference? But it's also an issue that I don't recall being present when I originally got the X7.
 
It's gotten to the point where between those issues and the USB port, I am ready to just count it as a loss and try something else. What I wanted was one device that would work for everything: watching movies/tv, playing consoles, playing PC games, listening to music. I've had it for two years and when I can get the thing to work it's great at that but the power-on issues and sleep issues make it a chore to use. I don't use it for music anymore because it's easier to just plug my headphones into my computer than it is to fight with my X7.
 
The fact that no one is really mentioning these kinds of issues makes me think my X7 is defective. I'll never really know for certain especially since I can't even pay Creative to look at it. (I mentioned all of these issues in my support request.) I hope everyone else has a better experience with it than I have.
 
I'm not even sure how to sell it. Describing an eBay listing with "has a loose USB port and issues with powering on" sounds like it'll get me about $25.