Soundblaster Z

RyanF

RyanF

RyanF

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So I have a SoundBlaster Z and I'm using my HD598s with it, the problem I have is that the sound volume is stupendously high - As in, if I go above 20% windows volume I deafen myself with how loud the audio gets. A bit of googling has told me that either:

1) The gain setting is too high - I've looked everywhere and the only "gain setting" I can find for the SBZ is that it is built in to the volume level so it can't be changed down from the default 600ohm it provides

or

2) The PCI slot I've got it connected to is "overvolting" the card causing it to run at a higher volume than expected.

Anyone got any experience in this area that can help me get the volume sorted out? I want to be able to have it at 100% so I can change volume on a per game basis. At the moment I'm running literally every single game at a volume of 0.2 at 20% in Windows, it's unreal
 
The reason is likely to be the amps high gain output, which cannot be altered. I remember setting the gain to the highest setting when I used a Xonar Essence, which resulted in stupidly loud volume at around 20%.

Sometimes I wonder what the heck Creative are doing. No gain setting options on the Z cards, yet a cheap Xonar DG/DGX does. Then there was the silly decision to make people physically remove either headphones or speakers with the Titanium HD, rather than just having an option in the software.
 
What's weird though is that the Z's headphone amp had to be almost maxed out in order to push my 250ohm DT990s to decent volume levels.

I eventually switched it out for an STX and use that on High Gain (64~300) ohm, which powers my DT990's AKG K702's and HD 650's perfectly at less than half volume.

There's another gain setting above that for 300~600 ohms which makes me drop the volumes down to 20~25%

Creative definitely have a screw loose in not providing a gain setting on an amp that can supposedly drive 600ohm headphones (I wouldn't bother trying).
 
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Got the Z myself, cant go any higher than 14% in BF4 otherwise my ears bleed, doesn't bother me much as it sounds soooo good, deffo better for gaming than my Xonar DX, for music though, takes a bit of tweaking.
 
What soundcard should I get instead that actually has a gain setting that is also good for gaming? I'm finding that I can't hear things in games because if I turn it up any louder I deafen myself
 
STX has:

1) less than 64ohms
2) 64 to 300 ohms
3) 300 to 600 ohms

STX II has:

1) less than 32 ohms
2) 32 to 64 ohms
3) 64 to 300 ohms
4) 300 to 600 ohms

Phoebus / Phoebus Solo has:

1) less than 64 ohms
2) 64 to 150 ohms
3) 150 to 600 ohms (though I would take that 600 with a pinch of salt)
 
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With the HD598s being rated at 50 ohms any of those would do, which would you say is best for positional audio in gaming? Thanks for the help by the way
 
If you're using headphones the STX and STX II are the better choice, they have better DACs and headphone amps than the Phoebus.

I've never used a Phoebus but have been using an STX for a couple of years and have always been happy with it's positional accuracy.
If you're playing BF4 then you'll just set the card to HF, which gives the cleanest stereo possible by bypassing the DSP.
With games that don't have their own headphone drivers the STX has a very effective virtual surround sound.
You just set channels to 8 and select the GAME button (not GX) and you're done.
 
Awesome, going to invest in the STX rather than the STX 2 for price reasons and the differences won't really make a huge difference for a user such as myself. Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it
 
Not to defend Creative here, but surely the Z alone is just an entry grade sound card. The ZxR is what compares to Asus offerings. I can tell you now that the ZxR is capable of driving headphones very well, certainly loud enough with that added benefit of better gaming audio.

Essentially that controller bundled with Zx and ZxR models is the gain feature. If I plug it directly, I also get insanely loud audio from low % values in Windows.
 
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Sure it's entry level, it comes in above the Asus DG & DGX. I'd say it's more equivalent to the Asus ROG Phoebus Solo, with the Zx being equivalent to the full fat Phoebus. The ZxR is up there with the STX and the STX II.

The Z & Zx have no gain controls and so are very loud at low volume levels when using sensitive, low impedance headphones. The ZxR has gain control so can be matched to the headphone for proper volume control.
 
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