The Sound BlasterX AE-5 Owners' Club

billyboyd · 10 May 2018 at 12:53

Cheers Rroff, I was all set up ok but just needed to hear it from someone else.

Yes with CMSS-3D you just stuck it in game mode and that was it, I loved it and I think that is part of the problem as I am the type of guy who doesn't like change.

Anyway In Sound Blaster Connect 2 I am currently running with surround set at 70 and everything else off so I'll see how I get on with this.

Mick-1965 · 10 May 2018 at 14:38

Yeah the test in SBC2, seems to have no front to rear separation at all. Had me a little confused why when I first got mine.
Download the Amaze 5.1 test file from https://thedigitaltheater.com/index.php/dolby-trailers/ switch to the cinema profile in SBC2 dash and you can certainly here the surround.

berner · 12 May 2018 at 13:05

how are these compared to sound blaster z, is the virtual surround better? improved dac? i have akg q701 with magni uber 2 amp, im not sure whether to buy a decent dac or upgrade from the sbz to this. i personally like the virtual surround in some games so would be missing out on that with a dac.

Random Guy Esq. · 12 May 2018 at 14:42

berner said:
how are these compared to sound blaster z, is the virtual surround better? improved dac? i have akg q701 with magni uber 2 amp, im not sure whether to buy a decent dac or upgrade from the sbz to this. i personally like the virtual surround in some games so would be missing out on that with a dac.

Sorry to hijack your question, but I have the Q701s too. Are you generally happy enough with them being driven by the SBZ? Owning them was the main reason (well, along with the price), that I decided against the Sennheiser GSX - just not able to drive the AKGs. Gaming performance would be my main use.

ToTheMax · 12 May 2018 at 14:44

berner said:
how are these compared to sound blaster z, is the virtual surround better? improved dac? i have akg q701 with magni uber 2 amp, im not sure whether to buy a decent dac or upgrade from the sbz to this. i personally like the virtual surround in some games so would be missing out on that with a dac.

I upgraded from a Soundblaster Z to AE-5 running AKG712's, the headphone amp/dac is definitely better and adds a direct mode giving a pure/unprocessed audio option for more flexibility. The AE-5 sound is a bit more dynamic and has improved clarity comparing the same headphone. I figured you'd be spending at least this amount on a dedicated DAC anyway so the added features to me was worth it. Saying that though if price is a concern then the Z is good enough imo.

Rroff · 12 May 2018 at 14:52

Personally I'd want the AE-5 over the Z - though I've not compared them side by side from what I recall the sound is a bit more refined/controlled on the AE-5. Just wasn't impressed personally listening to the Z back along which was why I stuck with my XtremeMusic but sadly time hasn't been kind to the XtremeMusic and it no longer sounds as good as it used to.

clone · 13 May 2018 at 10:58

My sound keeps going up and down.

Rroff · 13 May 2018 at 11:09

There are a bunch of options connected to the acoustic engine which will do that - smart vol, dialog+, etc.

Rroff · 13 May 2018 at 13:34

This sound card is growing on me a lot - I'm reasonably a fan of the ESS Sabre DAC but not a huge fan of the LM4562 opamps while very high quality they tend to "sound" cold/brittle but with the implementation on this card they've managed to get an expansive "big" sound which really works.

Sider · 17 May 2018 at 20:39

Is there any way to have sound coming out of the headphones and speakers at the same time? I don't want to have to keep switching in the sound blaster connect software.

Mick-1965 · 17 May 2018 at 22:59

From what Ive found only by connecting the speakers by the optical.
To make switching between the two easier, theres a nice little program called ae-5 switcher. It lives in the system tray and when you want speakers just double click it and it does all the switching for you and visa versa to switch back.

sgavan · 18 May 2018 at 06:03

Mick-1965 said:
From what Ive found only by connecting the speakers by the optical.
To make switching between the two easier, theres a nice little program called ae-5 switcher. It lives in the system tray and when you want speakers just double click it and it does all the switching for you and visa versa to switch back.

Thanks for the info about the switcher, i did email Creative saying that a quick switch option would be a great feature

V F · 18 May 2018 at 17:51

So I've decided after spending weeks scouring the net both the Asus STX/II and AE-5, finally decided to just go for the AE-5. I've read too many issues with driver complaints regarding the Asus. Then those not happy with the stock op-amps on the headhi-fi forums. Lots of long drawn out discussions. Plus the drivers hasn't had updates since 2015. I was nearly ready to go for the STX II. Too many issues I've been reading.

Even with the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude card that I've loved since 2007 hasn't had drivers since 2011. As the company ceased in 2014. There is sometimes huge big spikes with Latency Monitor on them.

V F · 20 May 2018 at 12:10

Rroff said:
Game should be setup for 5.1/Cinema sound for best effect - the OS should switch to 5.1 output when you select 7.1 HP mode in the Connect software but you might want to double check that and also maybe fiddle in the Windows speaker settings with the speaker size (range) setting. The surround system used by the AE-5 is different to CMSS-3D with some pros and some cons - I can't quite pick out the distance to a sound source with the AE-5 as well as with my old XtremeMusic but I find the sounds movement more seamless and front/back representation better.

If you are using Windows 10 make sure the new Sonic Surround stuff is disabled as that will conflict with the surround setup the AE-5 uses.

Hmm, I've currently been testing last night with headphones direct-stereo/44.1kHz-16bit with everything else off for gaming. I'm surprised how very little difference there is between the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude/bit-matched and the AE-5. There are subtle differences but not much in the way people have made it out. Midrange is a little clearer which is creating a lovely crack of gunfire in CS:GO. Feels like the same lovely cracks of gunfire from Uncharted 4. It's subtle though.

The long piercing crack of subtle echo for the AWP is beautiful.

I saw default is set to 192kHz 24 bit on Windows 7.

The mid bass felt warmer on the Prelude versus the AE-5. I'm liking the more mellow sound of the bass on the AE-5 but it sounds a little bit more powerful in the very low end... The treble sounds very similar to the Prelude but nothing I could tell a great deal of difference.

The directional sound in stereo is clearer. The distant sounds is clearer to right up in behind the doors. Not that I didn't have a problem before but there are subtle clearer changes. I feel so dirty going back to 3.5mm for the AKG K702.

The biggest change is that the system performance feels so much quicker and smoother since there is no spikes above 1000 with Latency Mon, sometimes hitting 1400 with the Auzentech X-Fi (2011) drivers.

I wish I had the tools to record the frequencies of both cards.

I'm also greatly missing the headphone amp since it had the dial. Now using the sound controls on the keyboard. I'm also shocked how small the driver package has become... 68MB?

Rroff · 20 May 2018 at 12:31

You already have the LM4562 IIRC with the Prelude which might make a difference - my XtremeMusic uses the JRC4556 so probably a bigger difference.

I found it very noticeable as well that my X-Fi was around 10 years old - definitely wasn't sounding as good as it used to.

I find some games don't like 192KHz so I use 96 most of the time.

V F · 21 May 2018 at 16:42

Does anyone else suffer this? http://forums.creative.com/showthread.php?t=742161

First bootup no sound, reboot then you hear the AMP click and you get sound.

I don't have a post delay setting on my board as they've recommended.

Rroff · 21 May 2018 at 22:31

V F said:
Does anyone else suffer this? http://forums.creative.com/showthread.php?t=742161

First bootup no sound, reboot then you hear the AMP click and you get sound.

I don't have a post delay setting on my board as they've recommended.

When it happens (seems to be a relay issue) under setup in the Connect software change the Speaker type to a different output mode then back to your chosen one (don't do it too quickly or you sometimes crash the Windows audio system as it is delayed a little from the software updating). You don't need to reboot.

The card uses relays for swapping between output configurations and to protect connected headphones/speakers from transients when the power is turned on or off but it doesn't seem to quite work perfectly every time especially on machines that boot up quickly.

V F · 21 May 2018 at 23:21

Rroff said:
When it happens (seems to be a relay issue) under setup in the Connect software change the Speaker type to a different output mode then back to your chosen one (don't do it too quickly or you sometimes crash the Windows audio system as it is delayed a little from the software updating). You don't need to reboot.

The card uses relays for swapping between output configurations and to protect connected headphones/speakers from transients when the power is turned on or off but it doesn't seem to quite work perfectly every time especially on machines that boot up quickly.

I'll remember that. Nice tip. Thanks.

Funny though if it boots up too fast for it from a cold boot yet I don't even have fast boot enabled.

RipGroove · 26 May 2018 at 12:35

Anyone else loose Audio from the AE-5 after the latest Windows 10 update (1803)? I have and I can't get it back!!!!!!!!

Anyone know how to fix it? I've had to revert back to onboard sound in order to use my PC

I want my AE-5 working again.

T.Kay · 26 May 2018 at 13:21

Hi guys, do you know if you SQ on the AE-5 is better than on the E10k, I really like the software of the AE-5.