And any other sound forums. The problem of choosing a high-quality sound source can only compete with the task of finding suitable acoustic systems. And if the comparison "Crystal Sound" is carried out on a regular basis on the speakers, then on the sound cards we are just starting our work.

So what could be easier than asking for advice in the forum? But even as the owner of one of the sound cards, it is difficult to give advice on whether to buy it. After all, ease of use and personal preferences are not the main thing here. The main thing in sound devices is sound quality. And it hardly lends itself to objective description and weighing by instruments, especially when the characteristics of the devices have reached the limits of the measuring equipment. What is the way out? The answer can be found, for example, in international guidelines for the examination of high-quality audio devices, recognized by all experts in the world, including us. It is imperative to compare the card with competing products and with the benchmark. Moreover, this should be done according to the correct technique, which would completely exclude the expert's bias. The task is unbearable not only for the forum, but also practically impossible for ordinary mass media. This is a laborious, costly and ungrateful business - why do this if there are easier ways to create materials? A correct and objective examination of sound devices is possible only for leading publications employing recognized specialists in the field of sound with a specialized education, dealing with sound on a professional basis.

Thus, we have combined all our 15 years of expertise in this area. But we do not frighten readers with tons of numbers and graphs in order to try to hide behind them, but give only useful information from real life. Briefly and to the point.

The Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card is already familiar to our readers from the article by Roman Kuznetsov.

Our editorial video in HD-resolution tells about the new Creative Sound Blaster ZxR product (do not forget to click the "Original Size" and "Full Screen" buttons while watching):

The main technical characteristics of sound cards that you need to know about:

	Creative Sound Blaster ZxR	Asus Xonar Essence STX
Signal / noise(according to passport), dB:	124	124
Distortion(according to passport),%	there is no data	> 0.0003% (−110 dB)
DAC line out	TI PCM1794	TI PCM1792A
Signal-to-noise DAC(according to passport), dB	127	127
DAC of multichannel outputs	TI PCM1798	absent
ADC	TI PCM4220	Cirrus Logic CS5381
OU	NJM2114, LM49710	NJM2114, LM4562
HP Amp	TI TPA6120A2	TI TPA6120A2
Capacitors	Nichicon Fine Gold	Nichicon Fine Gold
DSP	4-core Creative SoundCore 3D	Asus AV100 (C-Media Oxygen)
Outputs
Linear	RCA	RCA
Configuration	5.1 (additional minijack outputs)	stereo
Headphone	large jack (1/4 ″ TRS)	large jack (1/4 ″ TRS)
Inputs
Linear	RCA	large jack (1/4 ″ TRS)
Internal AUX	No	there is
Microphone	large jack (1/4 ″ TRS)	No
Headset (microphone / earphone)	large jack (1/4 ″ TRS) + mini-jacks (1/8 ″ TRS) on an external wired remote control	Internal HD-Audio connector
Digital interfaces
output	optic	electrical / optical
	optic	No
Sound processing
Output	Surround, Crystalizer, Bass, Smart Volume, Dialog Plus	Dolby Digital Live / Dolby Headphone / Dolby Virtual Speaker / Dolby Pro-Logic II
entrance	CrystalVoice, Noise Reduction, Smart Volume Acoustic Echo Cancellation FX Focus	Karaoke, FlexBass, VocalFX
Game support	EAX 5 HD (128 votes)	GX 2.5 Game Audio Engine (EAX2.0)
Description link:	ru.creative.com
Retail price in Moscow:	RUB 8,000	RUB 5600

The Creative Sound Blaster ZxR card is more expensive, but it is better equipped: there are 5.1 outputs, not stereo, there is an external switching unit with a built-in stereo microphone.

The Asus Xonar Essence STX card appeared much earlier than the Creative ZxR. However, audiophile sound cards of this format have always existed. Among the Creative cards, you can recall Audigy 2 Platinum Pro, X-Fi Elite Pro, X-Fi Titanium HD.

The Sound Blaster ZxR is very similar to the X-Fi Titanium HD. For example, it completely took over from this card the DAC, op-amp and circuitry. However, now Creative is not inferior to Asus in terms of audiophile attributes: Nichicon Fine Gold, copper ground bus, metal shield, TRS-output for Hi-End headphones. The technical efficiency of these measures is close to zero. Here, the manufacturer rather followed the buyer's expectations. Leadership in these attributes, however, belongs not to Asus, but to Onkyo cards from many years ago.

Creative Sound Blaster ZxR

This map was presented with a press sample. In the final product, slight changes in appearance and functionality are not excluded. The model will be on sale in May 2013.

Set: main card, daughter card, wired control and switching unit, wires.

The card represents the older model of the new Z line. This is the best product from Creative to date.

All modern cards, at the suggestion of one of the manufacturers, have a metal shield, declared as protection against electromagnetic interference. You need to understand that this is purely a publicity stunt: for tens of years there have been professional boards without a screen, whose characteristics were much higher than those of gaming cards with screens, and the sound was much clearer by ear. Moreover, a shield grounded at several points can play the bad role of non-zero mass and become a refuge for stray currents. Not to mention that the deterioration of ventilation leads to an increase in thermal noise in semiconductors.

The best protection against interference is the absence of errors in the PCB layout and the correct organization of the power supply. The screen, meanwhile, makes it much easier to install the card into the case. The risk of mechanical damage to board parts or static electricity is excluded. Capturing a screen in a ZxR card is quite possible and not difficult. Unlike the Asus STX, the Creative card's screen does not include threaded connections for the mounting bar bolts.

The external unit has parallelized “big jack” and “minijack” connectors, which makes it easy to connect expensive headphones for music and computer headsets for Skype and other telephony. The Asus ROG Xonar Phoebus card has a similar external block, but the card is significantly inferior to the Asus STX in terms of stuffing and characteristics, being more in line with the price and stuffing of the Creative Sound Blaster ZX.

On the board, attention is drawn to electromechanical relays for changing the speaker-headphone modes and for switching the amplifier operating modes. This solution is preferable to electronic keys, since the influence on the signal is minimized.

The powerful TI TPA6120A2 headphone amplifier deserves special mention. He is in both the cards in question. Its use is fully justified and can only be welcomed. Proven most powerful amplifier with record low distortion. The implementation of an amplifier based on discrete elements will cost much more in terms of the price of components and will certainly increase the development cost. The TI TPA6120A2 has multiple operating modes including overvoltage output for high impedance headphones.

The new Creative card settings panel is made clear, it has a choice of Russian and English interface. When choosing English, a better and more beautiful corporate font will be used in the interface. Don't forget the important setting regarding the headphone output. The 600 ohm mode can also be set for headphones with an impedance of 250-300 ohms, if they have low sensitivity.

Complaints about the card were caused by the 192 kHz mode, which is again screwed on from the side. The card has something called Direct Mode, and the chip switches to this mode for a few seconds, with an obvious DSP reconfiguration. Hardware effects are not possible in this mode. The measurements are strange and show digital processing. According to information from the manufacturer, since the cards have just appeared on the market, the situation will improve with new drivers.

To be fair, 192 kHz is not the actual frequency for most users. There are practically no sources of records in this format. The real mode of operation of DAC chips for all modes, be it 44, 48, 96, 192 kHz, is always the same, only the oversampling coefficient changes. In other words, the recalculation always exists inside the digital filter of the DAC chip. Devices where the situation is different can be counted on one hand, and they cost completely different money. And since a higher frequency does not give any advantage, like all games with digital recalculations and filtering, this still remains the lot of experimenters, in most cases acting at the level of self-hypnosis. At the same time, the banal, lying on the surface, replacing the speaker system with a model of a higher class gives incomparably greater returns, and immediately and without subtle matters.

Asus Xonar Essence STX

The Asus Xonar Essence STX card has a slightly more attractive price, but the package bundle and functions of the card are much poorer. The card is stereo only, not 5.1. Does not have an external unit with microphones. The card processor is essentially a stream switcher with a Dolby Digital software license package. There is no hardware processing. Moreover, the AV100 version of the processor is the very first C-Media Oxygen, with a curved internal architecture and a fixed 48 kHz frequency. Thus, the filling of the card raises numerous questions. A good idea for Asus would be not to sell a product with a relabeled questionable C-Media chip for many years in a row, but to rework it and release a normal new version. In the newer Asus cards, many of the problems have been overcome by upgrading to a new processor model. Why this model cannot be altered, refreshed, remains unclear to us.

This card has only two advantages: excellent DAC and low price.

The Asus card control panel design sends us greetings from the last century. The most interesting setting option is the HP Advance Setting tab, additional headphone output settings. There are 3 modes of operation, depending on the impedance of the headphones. In more modern Asus cards, there is no longer such a jumble of small elements. It is not clear what prevents the driver from being rewritten.

Measurements in RMAA

Measurements in RMAA are not able to show the passport characteristics of the cards, since in order to obtain a signal-to-noise ratio of 124 dB, a precision complex of measuring equipment is required. In addition to this, it does not hurt to have the most simple motherboard and a low-power passive PSU. However, where RMAA measurements are strong is in the instant identification of gaps and design flaws.

We measured sound cards in RMAA on two computers. In the most powerful PC, packed with various peripherals, including USB 3.0 and FireWire controllers on the board, with great overclocking capabilities, with a very powerful modern video card, both cards showed a signal-to-noise ratio of 110 dB maximum. In another PC, the numbers improved to 116 dB. Although the signal-to-noise ratio of the sound source is greater than 100 dB, it does not matter, there is a definite relationship between the level of engineering performance of the device and the sound quality. The fact is that the signal / noise parameter and especially the signal / (noise + distortion) parameter of the DAC microcircuit includes everything, including distortions modulated with a signal, which grow strongly with increasing energy saturation of the phonogram and become very audible. Different models of DAC microcircuits are very well ranked in terms of quality by technical data.

So, Asus STX "distinguished itself" by a noticeable increased noise in the 44 kHz mode. By itself, this noise does not pose a threat to the listener, since it lies much lower than the TPDF dithering of a 16-bit signal, but it speaks of the legacy of the C-Media Oxigen chip, where there is a problem with 44 kHz support, which is solved by a high-quality recalculation of the sampling frequency. For this reason, Asus only lists its card data in 48 kHz mode. Alas, this mode is the least interesting for users. Changing the data sent to the DAC in order to simplify the life of the manufacturer is such an uncomplicated trick, which is a crime in a Hi-End product.

Creative ZxR, in its turn, has no problems with frequency recalculation in measurements, but has increased harmonic distortion of 0.0018% versus 0.0004% in Asus STX. Moreover, the nature of the distortions cannot be explained by either the op-amp or the DAC - their passport parameters are two orders of magnitude better. Also, measurements show that on both cards the ASIO driver is made rather clumsy. It seems that ASIO is screwed in a hurry, for show in the technical specifications. Judging by the measurements, DirectSound is a good option for both cards under Windows 7 and 8. Of course, with the 44.1 kHz frequency set in the properties of the Windows sound device.

You can download the free version yourself and take your own measurements to determine the best way to play with your sound card and specific OS.

Expert audition

Wiretapping was carried out with the installation of both cards in one computer with instant switching between cards with a passive switch. As acoustics, we included Adam S2.5A studio monitors. The preparation and testing process was carried out with great care and took several days. All wires and connectors were rechecked, card outputs were measured, all available drivers and various APIs (MME, DirectSound, ASIO) were enumerated in order to obtain the best measurable results.

There were some concerns that we might not hear the difference between sound cards, since the class of converters of modern sound cards is very high. For control we used professional sound cards based on CS4398 - E-MU1616M and LynxStudio Aurora 8. Fortunately, a serious approach gave a good result, and our fears were in vain - the difference between all cards is clearly audible on any musical compositions. Moreover, a number of sound features have emerged that make the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR and Asus Xonar Essence STX very close.

The sound of both gaming cards is at a very high level and close to professional devices of the highest category. The E-MU1616M and LynxStudio Aurora 8 provide a similar, tighter and richer audio spectrum. Creative Sound Blaster ZxR and Asus Xonar Essence STX sound with a slightly larger stereo panorama and a little empty, but there are no timbre distortions or color in the sound. It is worth noting the listener's captivating attack and detail of the sound, especially at HF.

Are there any differences between Creative Sound Blaster ZxR and Asus Xonar Essence STX? The differences between the cards are small. The Asus Xonar Essence STX has the edge in sound, giving a little more detail. The difference is quite apparent in double-blind testing, when an expert in a series of experiments points out the preferred device. We went further and tried to identify the relationship between the sound quality and the selected sound API. The results completely agree with the RMAA data: the standard MME interface sounds the least advantageous. And the most terrible metamorphosis with sound is performed by the mode when the file frequency of 44 kHz differs from the frequency of the Windows device, for example, 48 kHz. This setting is on the tab Advanced / Format default.

For the headphone test, we took a Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm and a Sennheiser HD600. We did not hear any difference in quality. Both sound cards - the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR and the Asus Xonar Essence STX - sound great: they give out very good, full-fledged sound with a large headroom. In most situations, the volume knob position is sufficient by 40-50%. And if the Sennheiser HD600 is more versatile headphones with good sensitivity, which means less capricious to the sound source, then the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro sound rather inexpressive and quiet with a regular headphone output, and when you try to raise the gain, the sound still does not become full. Beyerdynamic requires increased stress, and this is done specifically to pull out the most undistorted sound from the structure, that is, from this membrane and the entire moving system. Hi-End 600 ohm headphones are twice as demanding in terms of voltage swing and headphone output power as 300 ohm models. Headphone output requirements for high impedance and low impedance models are in conflict. That is why manufacturers have to either make different amplifier models, or put two separate outputs, or provide an impedance switch. The latter option is implemented in the tested Creative Sound Blaster ZxR and Asus Xonar Essence STX cards.

conclusions

Both the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR and Asus Xonar Essence STX sound cards leave the impression of the first steps of manufacturers in an unusual category of Hi-End devices. These steps are clearly not completed. Something has succeeded, something has not yet succeeded.

As Asus and other manufacturers squeeze out, Creative begins to lose market. After the failure with Recon3D, it is no longer a joke. Creative stops listening exclusively to its marketing "specialists", seriously studies competitors' products, collects user opinions and goes for broke. X-Fi was completely discontinued a year ago, the page is turned. In the new, full-fledged Sound Blaster series, starting with the lowest Z card, the sound immediately comes out. The Sound Blaster ZxR is the quintessence of all Creative's capabilities, an attempt to combine the best: hardware effects, the needs of the average user, and an uncompromising Hi-End ideology. Moreover, in a product that will still be affordable and claim to be on the mass market. According to the reviews of the first mass owners of new cards, sometimes people who are not even audiophile, most of the buyers quite feel a significant increase in the sound quality in headphones and speakers. This is what explains the success of the Asus Xonar Essence STX. Users forgive this card for all the flaws and clumsy things just for the sake of high-quality sound in speakers and headphones. Although the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR has not yet succeeded in completely throwing the Asus Xonar Essence STX off its haunted throne, Asus's position at the current historical moment has become very weak. In practice, the choice in favor of Asus can be made only because of the slightly older model of the TI PCM1792A DAC chip, in order to have the psychological confidence that the sound on the speakers of the highest category will be slightly better. As for the rest, the Creative card claims to be the leader, as it surpasses the competitor in everything, including due to the novelty of the model. Although Asus also has new card models, they are not interesting in this testing due to the obviously worse sound.

Both cards - the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR and the Asus Xonar Essence STX - have design flaws that prevent any of the contenders from being awarded the Class Leader award. We advise manufacturers to stop building up external attributes in an attempt to outperform each other in length specifications, and to tinker with existing features.

We are used to the fact that a sound card is a board that requires space on the motherboard. But if the situation with the built-in chips is even better with the desktop PC, then the owners of laptops are often forced to be content with what they have. The solution was to use portable solutions. Today we are the first to present an overview of the market novelty, a sound card Creative Sound Blaster Play! 2.

Laptop manufacturers rarely pay attention to the quality of the built-in sound card, in my memory, based on numerous tests, the sound quality, despite the price category, was about the same. This is partly not surprising, since the built-in speakers are not capable of producing a rich sound, is it worth increasing the production cost for this, but what should the owners of headsets or when using external acoustics do? This is where the whole lamentability of the current situation emerges.

Availability

At the time of testing, the official mass sales of Creative Sound Blaster Play! 2 have not started yet, according to the Yandex.Market service, there is only one offer for 1,590 rubles. Most likely, in the future the cost will be around 1000 rubles, this assumption is based on the cost of the first generation of this card.

Equipment

Creative Sound Blaster Play! 2 comes in a compact package with a corporate color. On the edges of the box there is a photograph of the device and data on technical characteristics.

The set includes an adapter from a paired connector to a dual audio connector (splitter). And also a warranty card and a CD with software.

Appearance

In general, the principles laid down in the first Blaster Play! Remained the same. The case is similar in size and shape to a regular USB flash drive. But in Creative Sound Blaster Play! 2 connector is routed not directly to the body, but through an external wire. I consider this approach to be successful, if the connectors are located close on the laptop case, the adjacent connectors will not overlap.

The main body material is glossy plastic, fingerprints remain, but they are quickly erased.

There is only one connector here, this is a traditional 3.5 mm audio jack. It is to him that you need to connect headphones or acoustics.

Technologies

SBX Pro Studio - Enhances the surround sound effect, allowing you to enjoy theatrical sound quality in your home. Improve the sound effects of all headsets or headphones. It feels like the sound quality changes noticeably even on cheap headsets.

Scout Mode is a technology focused on gamers, allowing you to hear enemies from afar, thereby giving a tactical advantage in battle.

USB Audio Recording - A USB connection allows you to record live broadcasts and video conferences without interference.

Software

Control Creative Sound Blaster Play! 2 is carried out using a proprietary utility. As in previous models, the concept of a single control panel is applied here. Instead of a few fragmented utilities, a stylish panel is offered that includes all the functionality. The only thing I would like to wish to the developers is the ability to combine several utilities from different Creative products into a single control center.

The program window is divided into two main zones, most of it is allocated for the settings window and the left part for tabs.

The SBX Pro Studio tab allows you to adjust the basic sound parameters, as well as activate proprietary surround technologies. The remaining tabs are responsible for adjusting the equalizer, checking speaker placement, and activating the Scout Mode function.

In general, the set of options will be familiar to those who have used Creative products before.

Video review of Creative Sound Blaster Play! 2

Summary of Creative Sound Blaster Play! 2

Creative Sound Blaster Play! 2, despite its compact body, demonstrated excellent sound. For quite adequate cost, this external sound card allows you to significantly transform the sound of a laptop or ultrabook. The compact size allows you to carry this solution with you without any difficulty. There have been significant changes from the first generation Sound Blaster Play! While maintaining the core principles of the series. There were no serious drawbacks in the course of work, the sound card coped with its task perfectly well.
Creative Sound Blaster Play! 2 receives the Gold ..

Comments and opinions on Creative Sound Blaster Play

Vivo is preparing to release a more powerful version of the NEX 3 5G smartphone with the new Snapdragon 855 Plus, battery ...

Honor is preparing to launch a new smartphone from the V30 series with a 5000 mAh battery called Honor V30 Lite ...

Apple is developing a new version of the Smart Keyboard accessory for iPad that uses fur ...

The segment of classic, once very popular, sound cards today is on the brink of survival, and there are several reasons for this. First, the sound quality built into motherboards is getting better every year. Secondly, a card with a price of about $ 100 is still a kind of compromise - the sound and capabilities are better than the built-in ones, but there is no need to talk about the professional level. This is indirectly confirmed by the dynamics of the production of such products, since something new appears almost once a year ...

However, so far this market niche is not completely closed, and there are some interesting gizmos. From the new one can recall the cards of the Creative Z series, presented in 2013. And today we will test the youngest of them - SoundBlaster Z, which differs from the more expensive Zx and ZxR only in the absence of an external adjustment module. In general, the solution is quite similar to the familiar ASUS Xonar D1 and, but there are still some additional features.

Contents of delivery

The card is sold in a very presentable packaging.

But the delivery set turns out to be as modest as possible: Creative SoundBlaster Z, CDs with software and a special custom microphone.

It is obvious that the final price was reduced literally at the expense of every little thing, since often the company equips even much lower quality products with a complete set of cables. There is not a single cord here: neither optics nor analogue.

Design

The appearance of the map is a separate topic. To give the effect of status, the board is covered with a screen of their aluminum with a round window, and above the central microcircuit there is a decorative overlay with illumination.

All this is devoid of at least some technical meaning, and is done solely for marketing purposes. It is much more pleasant for the user to give his money for something supposedly massive and powerful than for a set of typical chips.

However, if you remove the screen and unscrew the plastic, you will find a tiny Creative CA0132 microcircuit under it, which does not need additional cooling, screen and backlight ... This is the DSP processor. By the way, it can be found even in top-end motherboards. the architecture is very flexible.

A high-quality CS4398 DAC is used for the front outputs, so the card here strongly resembles ASUS products. Thus, if we consider Creative SoundBlaster Z as an option for getting high-quality sound, then you should focus on stereo speakers.

There is a separate headphone output, theoretically supporting any model up to 600 ohms. This can be considered a significant advantage of the card, especially since the output is powered by the same CS4398 only through other operational amplifiers. To what extent such a solution can compete with an external device, we will tell you a little below.

Analog connectors are traditionally very close together, so it can be difficult to use high-quality thick plugs. In this case, the microphone input is combined with the line input in one connector. But, unlike many competitors, Creative SoundBlaster Z has full-fledged optics (SPDIF receiver CS8416).

A more complete understanding of the Sound Blaster Z sound card will allow you to compile its video review:

Software and effects

The design of the card turns out to be quite classic, but the software carries several innovations that are aimed at gamers and active users of network technologies. The main one is connected with a complete microphone.

The microphone allows you to adjust the width of the captured beam to cut out unwanted sounds. This function works quite well, so you can chat on Skype even when the music is on in the room. The noise cancellation system works less efficiently, sometimes even incorrectly, so we recommend using it according to the situation. Voice change is carried out quite well.

As for the rest, the software shell is a typical interface with a set of necessary functions. You can set the type of system used and adjust the highlights. For example, the function of setting the cutoff frequency for the subwoofer seems very useful, which is useful for owners of prefabricated systems.

Naturally there is a mixer for all inputs / outputs, an equalizer, etc. User profiles can be saved or vice versa take ready-made game options.

Testing and subjective opinion

To test the audio card, we used common software, having performed all the preliminary settings according to the manufacturer's method.

When testing, we used the simplest Front-out connection mode - Line-in, which is why we did not receive the numbers declared by the manufacturer. the input parameters are noticeably lower than the characteristics of the front channels DAC. Nevertheless, we can state a low noise level, which even so reaches the level of -100 dB.

Subjective listening was carried out versus ESI [email protected], and subjectively we didn't hear any difference when using mid-range monitors. This indirectly confirms the excellent quality of the front channels, suitable for organizing a stereo system.

I liked the headphone output to a lesser extent. It shakes the volume quite well, but the sound loses in detail, so the quality is comparable only to the simplest amplifiers. In general, if we are talking about headphones for $ 50-100, then this option can be used, but if a higher price range is involved, then it would be more correct to connect a third-party amplifier to the front output.

Conclusion

In general, the Creative SoundBlaster Z card will be a good choice for people who want to combine good sound quality and advanced communication functions in games and the Web. The model is clearly not aimed at audiophiles, because high quality DACs are installed only on the front outputs, there is no possibility to change operational amplifiers, etc.

For its money, the new product provides a fairly confident sound level, has a good built-in headphone amplifier and optical inputs. A separate article is a tunable microphone with a variable beam width. It works quite adequately and gives a good start for games or skype.

Creative Sound Blaster Z pricing

You can buy Creative SoundBlaster Z for 3,100 rubles, and the closest competitor is the ASUS Xonar DX, which is slightly cheaper.

The solution architectures are very similar, as well as the playback quality. And the ASUS pluses include a low-profile design, suitable for small cases. Creative wins over with a more advanced set of effects and a complete microphone.

Pros:

• affordable price;
• high class converters (front);
• customizable microphone included.

Minuses:

• poor delivery set.

The following were used as "reference" devices:

• In-ear headphones like "buds" (with replaceable silicone eartips) Sharp HP-MD33-S (nominal impedance 16 Ohm, non-critical roll-off at high frequencies).
• Monitor Hi-Fi headphones Denon 500 AH G-500 (28 Ohm, sensitivity is not high, adequate amplification is required).
• Sennheiser 265 Linear studio headphones (150 ohms).

Speakers used:

• Active stereo pairs JetBalance JB-382 (Shine! Oh, still HF margin ...) and unforgettable Solo-1.
• Event studio monitors.
• Yamaha HTR-5640 RDS receiver (European-silver version of the famous 440th model) with 5.1 AVE-700 speaker set.

Alternative sound sources:

• The sports MP3-player Creative MuVo C100 is one of the best in terms of sound and ease of use.
• PCI soundcard Audigy2 Platinum
• Household DVD player Pioneer 565

The X-Fi XtremeMusic we tested failed to outplay the sound of the Pioneer 565, but it took studio monitors (plus pro headphones) and well trained ears to figure it out. The sound of XtremeMusic is very close to the Audigy 2 Platinum.

The headphone output of the X-Fi XtremeMusic is combined with the output to the front acoustics and does not reach the level of the specialized output on the external modules of its counterparts. However, even here, not everyone will hear the difference even on "hi-fi" headphones.

The vaunted CMSS-3D mode both in headphones and on multichannel acoustics did not impress (obviously, the algorithms themselves are rather weak).

Listening has confirmed: in the case of uncompressed recordings, the "crystallizer" pleasantly thickens and embellishes the sound when played on average speaker systems.

Connecting the receiver with a decoder to the digital output of the card with a coaxial cable (wave impedance 50 Ohm, plus an adapter from RCA to mono audio jack 3.5 mm) went without problems. By the way, the cable was more than 20 meters long (taken from the old Ethernet network), so you can transfer the audio signal digitally from another room, and not drag the computer.

Playing "Battlefield 2" (EAX sound) on the two above stereo pairs of speakers went off with a bang. The location of the sources of shots and explosions, without hesitation, was blindly guessed. It was even possible to determine exactly where the shot cartridges were flying. To be honest, the sound of a boat motor when moving along the river was simply surprised by its realism. Things were a little worse with the roar of tank engines (you see, the creators of the game saved money).

Everything would be fine, but it was not possible to achieve that advanced digital processing effects (compressor, reverb, distortion, etc.) sound in real time when a signal comes from an analog input. In the recording, please, the results of the effects will already be present. When playing back previously recorded clean material, all effects function. While "on the fly" to digitize, process and voice something stubbornly did not fit. It is a pity, since it is extremely difficult to assess the "drive" from the applied effect, because there are a lot of settings, and each must be carefully set, empirically choosing by ear. So guitarists can still rely on Guitar Rig (fortunately, ASIO allows you to work without a noticeable delay) and wait until we, together with Creative, figure out what the hitch is.

Conclusion

By releasing the most powerful audio processor, Creative not only wants to indicate its leadership, but also seeks to globally improve the quality of digital sound processing.

To unambiguously conclude how successful the processor has turned out and what its reserve is in the future, you will need to thoroughly test different cards from the X-Fi line. Now one thing is absolutely clear: adding and updating software or a plug-in is not a problem, the main thing here is hardware.

In the youngest model of the new line from Creative - Sound Blaster XtremeMusic - only recording is modestly implemented, everything else is to the envy of those who dream of X-Fi. Among other things, the jokes of the Audigy2 ZS have been eliminated, in particular a sine of several volts per hundred-odd kHz in the automute mode. We were pleased with the X-Fi drivers, in the factory version they got up without a hitch. The tested X-Fi XtremeMusic card is highly recommended not only for super-equipped gamers, but also for avid music lovers.

Well, whether the flagship model X-Fi Elite Pro can appeal to sound professionals and audiophiles, a separate test will show.

Introduction

We are already used to the fact that sound cards are built into motherboards. Their quality and functions are enough for most users, but manufacturers also produce discrete sound cards for the demanding enthusiast. One of these cards came to our laboratory: Creative Sound Blaster Z. Including it is positioned for gamers. In our review, we will consider how the card is better than integrated solutions, what benefits you will get.

Creative Sound Blaster Z specifications
Products webpage	Creative Sound Blaster Z Official Page
Price	About 3.3 thousand rubles
Supported audio output modes	Stereo / 2.1 speakers Columns 5.1 Headphones
Audio characteristics
Output Level (Full Scale)	Front channels: 2Vrms Headphone (33 Ohm): 1.3Vrms Headphones (600 ohms): 2Vrms
Max. DAC resolution	Front channels: 24 bit, 192 kHz Headphones (33 ohms): 24 bit, 96 kHz Headphones (600 ohms): 24 bit, 96 kHz
Signal to Noise Ratio SNR (20kHz Low-pass filter, A-Wgt), @ 24 bit, 96 kHz	Front channels: 116 dB Headphones (33 ohms):> 105dB Headphones (600 ohms):> 105dB
Frequency Response @ 96 kHz	Front channels: 10 Hz to 45 kHz Rear channels: 15 Hz to 45 kHz Center channel: 10 Hz to 45 kHz Headphones (33 ohms): 10 Hz to 45 kHz
Frequency Response @ 192 kHz (stereo only)	Front channels: 10 Hz to 88 kHz
Interfaces
Rear panel connectors	Headphones 1 x 1/8 "mini-jack with amplification 3 x 1/8 "speaker mini-jacks (up to 5.1) 1x TOSLINK - optical output 1x TOSLINK - optical input 1x 1/8 "mini-jack (combo) - line in / microphone in
Bus interface in PC	PCI Express x1
Front panel audio connector	One 2 × 5-pin Intel HD Audio header

The Sound Blaster Z card is the youngest in the "Z" line. It has worse characteristics than the ZxR, but still beats the quality of the usual sound chips built into motherboards. The SoundBlaster Z card is no different from the SoundBlaster Zx, but the second one also comes with an external module for adjusting the sound with a built-in microphone (the SoundBlaster Z model has only a separate microphone. Both are microphones with beam focusing).

Appearance

Creative Sound Blaster Z printed circuit board made of black PCB is covered with a red metal plate. The plate itself is quite thick and protects the sensitive elements from external electromagnetic radiation. It features the Sound Blaster and SBX Pro Studio logos. The plate has a transparent insert through which the Sound Core 3D chip is visible.

Creative Sound Blaster Z is connected to the PCI Express x1 bus, no additional power is required. Creative Sound Blaster Z's analog interfaces are gold-colored. There are five of them: one line-in combined with a microphone, a headphone output and three two-channel outputs for a 5.1 system. There is an optical output and a TOSLINK input, as well as a connector (on the opposite side under a metal plate) for connecting audio ports on the front panel of the case.

Analog connectors are standard for a computer - 3.5 mm mini-jacks, not RCA tulips. Still, the Creative Sound Blaster Z sound card is aimed at gamers, not professional audio users.

Overall, the Creative Sound Blaster Z looks pretty attractive. There are no backlashes, everything is done with high quality, the metal plate creates a feeling of security and reliability. The red LED is constantly on during operation and illuminates the card from the inside. This solution should appeal to users with a transparent body.

Contents of delivery

In addition to the Sound Blaster Z itself, the package includes:

1. Sound Blaster Beam Focusing Microphone
2. Quick Start Guide
3. Installation CD including Windows drivers, Creative Software suite, User's Guide

It is worth dwelling separately on the microphone. Perhaps many people think that it is unnecessary and only increases the cost of Sound Blaster Z, so it shouldn't be included in the package. But the microphone supplied with the Creative card is not quite ordinary: it has two membranes on the right and left, thanks to special software it is able to focus the "recording beam" and effectively get rid of extraneous sounds.

We will find out how well it works in our tests, but for now, we can only say that the microphone is comfortable - thanks to its shape, it can be fixed both on the monitor and under it - the microphone will be directed towards your mouth.

Installing the software

Windows automatically installs the Sound Blaster Z drivers, but for all the possibilities, we recommend installing specialized software from Creative: install from the included disk (updates will be installed automatically) or download the latest driver from the Creative support site.

There you can also download additional applications such as Creative Smart Recorder and Creative WaveStudio, and download the Getting Started User Guide.

Pro Studio

Sound Blaster Z Control Panel lets you customize sound for movies, games, and conversations. Let's see how flexible these settings are.

In the tab SBX PRO STUDIO you can turn on various "enhancers" of the sound. Their action can be checked in real time on a test video right in the same window.

Surround- inclusion of surround sound and control of the "immersion level".

Crystalizer- the function provides a clearer sound, the sound really becomes more pleasant to the ear. It is a pity that this is obtained simply by changing the equalizer settings, namely by highlighting high and low frequencies, the "dirty" mids are muffled.

Bass- highlighting low frequencies. If you connect a system with a separate subwoofer, you can set the crossover frequency for the front speakers, thereby avoiding the delivery of low frequencies to the front speakers.

Smart Volume- avoids sudden changes in volume. For example, if a relatively loud explosion occurs after dialogue in a movie. You can choose to keep the volume at a normal, loud or quiet level.

Dialog Plus- determines the frequencies of the voice and improves their quality in the reproduced sound. Improves the intelligibility of dialogues.

Tab settings Crystal voice responsible for the quality of the sound recorded from the microphone.

• Fx- giving the voice different shades and accents. The most plausible effects look like "Demon", "Elderly" and "Toad".
• Smart Volume- keeps the volume at the selected level, provides clear sound without the need to shout or whisper
• Noise Reduction- removal of noise in the recording.
• Acoustic Echo Cancellation- removal of echo in the recording.
• Focus- selection of the angle of capture of sound

Scout Mode- technology for gamers, which should more clearly distinguish the sounds of footsteps and other rustles of the enemy, thus providing your advantage.

Tab SPEAKERS / HEADPHONES speaks for itself and allows you to select the playback device. In the latest version of the driver, it became possible to separately adjust the volume for headphones and speakers. Unfortunately, you cannot output sound to both the headphones and the speakers at the same time, not to mention the fact that the sound output to them is different. For example, music through speakers, and Skype conversation on headphones. It would be very convenient, for example, at a party.

In the tab CINEMATOGRAPHIC EFFECT you can select the encoder for the sound: Dolby Digital or DTS Connect. There is a note that you can read in the picture below.

This mode will be useful if you have an external DTS / DD decoder with multichannel speakers connected to your computer. In this case, the sound card can encode the sound (for example, in a game) and transmit it to an external decoder in an encoded form.

MIXER allows you to adjust the volume separately for different speakers and the volume of sound recording (separately for the right and left channels). It will help those whose speakers are asymmetrical.

In point EQUALIZER you can adjust the sound either manually separately by frequencies, or select one of the preset settings.

In the tab ADVANCED SETTINGS you can only enable or disable the stereo sound mode on the digital output.

On the menu PROFILE choose one of the offered profiles, load, save or export your profile.

From PRO STUDIO You can go to the Sound Blaster website or the Sound Blaster Facebook page by clicking on the respective icon.

In general, the control panel turned out to be quite convenient and understandable. It will be enough for a beginner to just deal with it. When you hover the cursor over a function or slider, a hint is displayed about what changes when that function is turned on or the slider is moved.

Sound Blaster Z in action

Sound Blaster Z works stably, so does the driver. No crashes or freezes were found during use.

Most of the announced features work well, but there are some that we expected more from.

For example, the Surround function. It works, of course, but there is not much difference compared to the integrated sound card. The built-in sound card delivers sound that is no worse than the surround effect - in this respect, progress has been noticeable over the past few years. Nevertheless, the simulation of surround sound has ceased to be a "feature" of discrete sound cards; today any audio controllers can handle it.

Boosting bass using the Bass function works as expected, as does the crossover function.

Scout Mode really does highlight the steps and rustles in the game, but their direction is weak.

The rest of the work of all functions corresponds to the declared.

Most of all we were pleased with the elimination of noise. They disappear completely, not just drowned out.

By the way, the declared gain for high impedance headphones really helps. Any headphones connected to this sound card sound louder.

We do not use specialized equipment to measure sound quality, so all our tests are limited to subjective assessments, which are given above. You can listen to test recordings from the microphone yourself and evaluate the quality yourself.

We ran microphone recording tests by turning functions off and on while recording

• General check (enable all Crystal Voice features) - listen
• FX check - listen
• Smart Volume check - listen
• Checking Noise Reduction - listen
• Acoustic Echo Cancellation test - listen
• Checking the Focus function - listen

All functions serve their purpose, the difference is noticeable by ear, without the use of special tools: Noise Reduction eliminates noise, Acoustic Echo Cancellation - echo, and Focus really attenuates sounds outside the "recording wedge".

Perhaps we did not understand the true purpose of Smart Volume, but the difference when the function is turned on is not noticeable. A quiet voice is not perceptibly amplified, and a loud voice is not weakened.

It is worth noting the feature of the Focus function. This feature is aimed at working with the voice, so it does not always completely "cut out" the music that sounds from the outside.

Conclusion

Of course, the Creative Sound Blaster Z has much better performance than the conventional sound chips built into motherboards. There are also many functions aimed at optimizing the sound. But due to the progress of integrated audio solutions, the sound quality does not differ as much as we would like. It is unlikely that ordinary users will notice the difference.

However, this sound card is aimed more at demanding users and gamers. And for them everything is done well here: Crystal Voice for comfortable communication in sound chats, Scout Mode for gaining an advantage in the game, special sound settings for shooters, races and strategies. There is support for Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect, allowing you to play surround sound of the game on your home theater. Together with the SBX Pro Studio settings, you can get good sound when watching movies.

Don't forget about the design, which in this case is just great. If your case is equipped with a window, you will surely like both the style of the card itself and the backlight. The build quality is also not satisfactory.

A quality microphone with directional sound recording included in the package can be called an additional bonus; it will be appreciated by those users who want to record their voice as cleanly as possible in ambient noise conditions, for example, in games.

All this, of course, is good. But the price of Creative Sound Blaster Z is 3.3 thousand rubles. Audiophiles will probably pay more and buy a professional sound card, while those who are sorry for the money will be content with the capabilities of the built-in sound cards. Therefore, Creative should probably cut the price a little to expand the target audience of Sound Blaster Z users.

Benefits of Creative Sound Blaster Z:

• User-friendly Sound Blaster Z Control Panel
• Variety of functions (SBX Pro Studio, Crystal Voice, Scout Mode)
• Flexible settings
• Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect support
• Amplification of high impedance headphones
• Additional software such as Alchemy (hardware effects in older games) and Creative Wave Studio (software for recording and slicing audio)
• The latest driver has support for ASIO, a low latency data transfer protocol
• Excellent microphone sound quality

Disadvantages of Creative Sound Blaster Z:

• High price
• The average user will not notice the difference in sound compared to the integrated solution
• There is no way to connect a 7.1 system