At long last! A sound card to compete with the MIGHTY D2X??

Andrew Moore

Andrew Moore

Andrew Moore

Soldato
Joined
20 Jul 2009
Posts
4,916
Location
Midlands
...

Who knows! BUT reviews are coming ;)

Take a look below at the new Sound Blaster Z by Creative. Using similar technology to the Recon3D but with better caps and other key components the Sound Blaster Z is on paper perfect! However, only your ears can be the true judge and from what short tests have shown this new sound card is very special and perfect for those looking for an alternative to the exquisite yet ageing Xonar D2X.

Take a look below....


Creative Sound Blaster Z High Performance Gaming Sound Card - Retail (70SB150000001) @ £79.99 inc VAT

SC-087-CL_400.jpg


If you’re not communicating you’re not winning!

Part of the ultra high-performance Z-Series of Sound Blaster® PCI-Express sound cards, the Sound Blaster Z is an ideal all-around gaming and entertainment solution that incorporates all the hardware and software features of the Sound Blaster Zx card and comes with an external high-quality beam-forming dual-microphone array.

When used with CrystalVoice™ the bundled Sound Blaster beam forming microphone creates an acoustic zone and suppresses noise outside it, enabling you to be heard by your teammates with amazing clarity even in noisy environments.


- Output Level (Full Scale): Front Channel Out : 2Vrms, Headphone (33 ohms): 1.3Vrms, Headphone (600 ohms): 2Vrms;
- Maximum DAC Resolution: Front Channel Out : 24-bit, 192kHz, Headphone (33 ohms): 24-bit, 96kHz, Headphone (600 ohms): 24-bit,
96kHz;
- SNR (20kHz Low-pass filter, A-Wgt), @ 24-bit, 96kHz: Front Channel Out : 116dB, Headphone (33 ohms): >105dB, Headphone (600
ohms): >105dB;
- Frequency Response @ 96kHz: Front Channel Out : 10Hz to 45kHz, Rear Channel Out : 15Hz to 45kHz, Center Out : 10Hz to 45kHz,
Headphone (33 ohms): 10Hz to 45kHz;
- Frequency Response @ 192kHz(Stereo only): Front Channel Out : 10Hz to 88kHz;
- Supported Output: Stereo/2.1 Speakers, 5.1 Speakers, Headphones;
- Headphone: 1 x Amplified 1/8" mini jack;
- Speaker Out: 3 x 1/8" mini jacks;
- Optical Out: TOSLINK;
- Optical In: TOSLINK;
- Line In / Microphone In: Shared 1/8" mini jack;
- Warranty: 2 Years Manufacturers Warranty;

Only £79.99 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW
 
Glad to see OCuk stocking these. I have one and can vouch for the sound quality. It's really good. Imagine the positional audio of the recon 3d combined with the sound quality of the Titanium HD and you get a rough idea of how good this card is :-)
 
I do like the amplified headphone jack.

Not keen on the Creative gimmicks. Would rather have the card without the naff cover, surely it doesn't actually do anything? Also it's red so would look really out of place in my system.

What's the drivers like? I abandoned Creative support for my Audigy2ZS.
 
The Naff cover as you call it is the emi shielding. It's actually fullfilling a purpose. It works too.

lol can't do anything about how it would look in your system.

The drivers are perfect. Have worked flawlessly for me.
 
My card doesn't have EMI shielding and I do not suffer from any EMI. XD

Glad to hear the drivers work well, might be an upgrade for me as I'd like to use optical out. :D Thanks.
 
You are lucky so :-) my last two sound cards both suffered from it. Asus DG and the Creative Xifi fatality. If there was no audio playing and it was quiet you could hear a faint whine in the headphones when you moved the mouse. Not sure if it is a PC or soundcard issue, all I know is that it doesn't happen anymore :-)

If you only want to use optical out, why spend so much? just use your motherboard optical out? Or get a cheap card like the asus dg?
 
EMI shields can help, but they are not the last word in stopping EMI from affecting the card. They can only do so much. If there is too much EMI within the PC, they are not going to help much. Anyone with such a problem, would have to look at external DACs, preferably ones with optical. At least the sound cards features can still be used.
 
Might look into getting one of these if they have similar ASIO support to the X-Fi I'm currently using, so far from looking I haven't seen any mention of it in the press release or anywhere else, time will tell I guess.
 
Eames said:
Would one of these z cards sound better than my titanium hd?
Click to expand...
I'm no soundcard expert, but the equivelant to the Titanium HD will be the Sound Blaster ZxR due in December - £199RRP, so probally around £180 when it's on the shelf at OCUK.

The Titanium HD has a 330 ohm headphone amplifier, also you are limited to either headphones or speakers, the new Z series enables software switching, and have a 600 ohm headphone amplifier, good if you have really expensive hard to drive headphones like the Seinheisser 650's.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom