Review - Creative Sound Blaster X7

Only once so far, I do like the Creative sound features over the Xonar STX. Came over nice in BF4, I did try the settings on Head-Fi for surround sound & positional was there. The only issue I ran into was on TS the other users said I was cutting in & out if I spoken loudly (usually raging), maybe due to something with the settings like the sensitivity to high ? Don't know...

I've been using it more for music through the speakers, nice to be able to use my Kef Q15's again. Not great speakers but the novelty of being able to use external speakers is great thanks to the one unit...
 
Andi-C said:
Only once so far, I do like the Creative sound features over the Xonar STX. Came over nice in BF4, I did try the settings on Head-Fi for surround sound & positional was there. The only issue I ran into was on TS the other users said I was cutting in & out if I spoken loudly (usually raging), maybe due to something with the settings like the sensitivity to high ? Don't know...
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They seem to have copied and pasted BF2's sound sub-system with 4 (even has several of the same old bugs) :S which had special handling for Creative soundcards especially the X-Fi - I get vastly different sound compatibility and positional detail with the X-Fi in that game compared to a range of other devices I have to hand.

Scougar said:
Really like the look of this, but shocked at the cost :-(

Would people say it's worth the money?
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It seems like a really nice product to be fair certainly worth a good bit of the money at any rate. The PCM1794 is a pretty decent specc'd DAC paired with a couple of OPA627s you'd get pretty high end sound quality.
 
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Scougar said:
Really like the look of this, but shocked at the cost :-(

Would people say it's worth the money?
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I guess if you were to buy a good DAC/Amp, passive speaker support then its about the same price as some other brands but this has extra's like a Mic socket within the unit, Blu-tooth & USB for iPod/players.

Its early doors for the unit here as its only been out for 2 weeks & some retials arent getting the stock on time so the Price will fall.

I'm happy with the price I paid (£260) for the X7, my old gear was ASUS STX (£130) & Ifi Ican micro (£225) so its in line plus its got more & in one unit.
 
Rroff said:
They seem to have copied and pasted BF2's sound sub-system with 4 (even has several of the same old bugs) :S which had special handling for Creative soundcards especially the X-Fi - I get vastly different sound compatibility and positional detail with the X-Fi in that game compared to a range of other devices I have to hand.
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Sorry missed this, Yes your right ! Maybe Creative put more time into gaming sounds ? As I said before, I did miss the Creative SFX tweeks when I had the STX.


To update, I've found an issue with Direct mode being ticked & then pairing with your moblie & using the App it as a remote. It will disable Direct sound every time you use the moblie app to do anything, even change the volume ! I guess this is due to the Hz change when streaming from your moblie but affects the usage of the app.

Also have anything ticked within the Crystal Voice tab (IE echo reduction) it still enables it even though its grayed out & turned off !

There is a new Firmware out for it ! A few changes not listed within the notes - One being the standby, before it "turned off" after an hour or two if nothing being use. Now it goes into a standby & will turn on auto when the PC app has kicked in.
 
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Andi-C said:
I guess if you were to buy a good DAC/Amp, passive speaker support then its about the same price as some other brands but this has extra's like a Mic socket within the unit, Blu-tooth & USB for iPod/players.

Its early doors for the unit here as its only been out for 2 weeks & some retials arent getting the stock on time so the Price will fall.

I'm happy with the price I paid (£260) for the X7, my old gear was ASUS STX (£130) & Ifi Ican micro (£225) so its in line plus its got more & in one unit.
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I'm not sure we can discuss prices here on UK stuff? But 260 seems very cheap? (Did you pay 260 because you sold other stuff?)

Those are all really good points. I think the bluetooth is a massive bonus on this unit and I love how compact it is. (The US retail cost is $400 with no discounts).
 
Scougar said:
I'm not sure we can discuss prices here on UK stuff? But 260 seems very cheap? (Did you pay 260 because you sold other stuff?)

Those are all really good points. I think the bluetooth is a massive bonus on this unit and I love how compact it is. (The US retail cost is $400 with no discounts).
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If you look back through the tread you'll see a link to Head-Fi, there you'll see that a Creative Rep came to the thread & offered a Promo code to use within thier store (out of date now), thats how I got it cheaper :)

Scougar said:
BTW.. did you guys know there is a limited edition version that is more powerful?


http://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x7-limited-edition
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Yeah, If you use the Link again the review does both units.

The LM has a 1ohm Headphone out put for IEM (over 2.2ohm of the X7), comes with bigger power supply unit & is limited in White. These are the only changes from the black X7 & they both use the same software.

You can buy the uprated PSU from Creative for £99 to use with the standerd X7 for more powerful speakers but thats all it does.
 
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Andi-C said:
There is a new Firmware out for it ! A few changes not listed within the notes - One being the standby, before it "turned off" after an hour or two if nothing being use. Now it goes into a standby & will turn on auto when the PC app has kicked in.
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Do you get this via the creative updater thingy?
 
Arcane said:
Do you get this via the creative updater thingy?
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No, via the suport web.

http://support.creative.com/Product...SET=prodfaq:PRODFAQ_22189,VARSET=CategoryID:1

Easy updating system ! Its done changes to the unit hardware rather than its software...

There is a new software out yesterday, not done this yet !

Did have a issue last night whilst playing GTA V, I started on speakers & then plugged my AKG K712's in only to have a "Hiss" on the left channel ? I cleared it by clicking Direct mode & it went away. I must say as much as I like it & its great all the PCI-E sound cards I've owned have been floorless, this being my 1st USB device can be picky sometimes ? I can only think its down to software as the hardware side is mint.
 
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Arcane said:
What settings are you using for GTA5? Surround or headphone mode?
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I just used "Stero speakers" & used the SFX of the X7, worked a treat ! I did try "Headphones" but there wasnt any change in sound if I'm honist. Played 4 hours & 2 hours of that was driving around the island LOL. I was still seeing places I've not seen before, the Sound in the game is very good !

If you come across any issues with the X7, post them in the Head-Fi post, the Creative Rep is picking them up & passing it off to the Support staff for testing & fixes later.
 
Just got an email from massdrop, included the Creative Sound Blaster E3 USB DAC/AMP Combo, which I wasn't aware of.

It seems the ideal option, for someone looking for a cheaper solution than the X7.

Oh, I should add it also includes bluetooth!

Twst my friend, maybe you should look at getting some in? ;)
 
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