Ok here is that review on the AE5 soundcard from kitguru:
https://www.kitguru.net/components/soundcard/dominic-moass/creative-sound-blasterx-ae-5-review/3/
Guy reviewing it has AE5 soundcard, Sen HD650s and also Fiio E10K, Schiit Stack comprising the Magni 3 as test comparisons, here is his main bit about the comparisons of the AE5 headphone amp vs the rest of the equipment;
His thoughts
"So, with that out of the way, let’s begin to fully dissect the audio quality. I will start by saying the overall quality is very good for a £130 PCIe sound card. Compared to my Schiit Stack, I would say the overall audio presentation is slightly smoother and less forward – so the bass is slightly more prominent while the high-end has been tamed a little bit. I don’t think the overall differences in sound are huge, but if you are a keen music junkie then you should be able to spot the difference between the AE-5 and what you normally use.
Compared to the Fiio E10K, however, the differences are much more subtle. I already think the E10K is warmer than the Schiit Stack (which is ever-so-slightly bright in its presentation), so to my mind the AE-5’s sound is quite similar to the Fiio. With the HD 650s I was testing with, that means the overall sound is very fun and enjoyable, definitely not analytical or overly harsh.
I do like a bit more detail in the high-end, though, but the benefit of a PCIe sound card (with software) is that you can tune the sound to your liking using EQ. As such, I was able to just add in a slightly more forward sound to the AE-5, which just helped break through the HD 650s veil"
So he feels the AE5 is similar to the E10K (many around the net suggest SMS m3/X6 is similar to E10K) but he does say he prefers the bit more detail, I assume that's from his Schiit stack with Magni 3.
Am still tempted to grab an 2nd hand Soundblaster AE5 for 84 quid of rainforest but decisions....
(other than stupidly high end stuff).
