The Sound BlasterX AE-5 Owners' Club

I've tested the AE-5 - it's better than the Z, but only just. What's really let it down for me is the lack of surround support - it's just not as good as my X-Fi.

On my current X-Fi I can choose CMSS 3D in Console Launcher, enable Stereo Surround and adjust to around 50%. But I couldn't find anything comparable with the AE-5 settings - the surround doesn't achieve the same thing.

I am going to try the PCI-E Audigy Rx soon. I'm worried I will encounter the same issue with the software, but my last PCI Audigy was pretty good.
 
brakeinup said:
Some people like it and can't do without it. To me it sounds muddy or too much of some sounds and not others, etc. With my current setup the audio is clear, I can pinpoint sound direction, height and distance very accuratley.

Also agree on the mic not having great support on mid to high end cards. Creative mic support is pretty poor (I tried the ZS and the AE, even tried the Omni - all seem to fail in the mic department). USB mic for the win.
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What I found interesting was, CMSS3D/virtual settings sounded fine on gaming headphones but with true stereo open back headphones... No, no, no!

Everything sounds wrong. It's why I prefer stereo setting with all processing gunk off.
 
darael said:
I've tested the AE-5 - it's better than the Z, but only just. What's really let it down for me is the lack of surround support - it's just not as good as my X-Fi.
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CMSS-3D takes some beating to be fair when properly setup but I'm pretty happy with what the AE-5 can do with a little tweaking.

R3X said:
Yup am starting to feel the same Direct HP for movies, music sounds brilliant and clean as ever, massive improvement over Z soundcard.
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The direct modes on the AE-5 definitely are slightly clearer and have more punch but come at some functionality expense especially if you are gaming in fullscreen it tends to only process sound from the active window cutting out things like voice comms unless you use one of the non-direct modes. It is a bit of an annoying compromise but not a big deal.
 
Conversely I much prefer 5.1 / atmos sound tracks with 3D sound processing when watching movies, makes it appear like you are sat inside an iMAX cinema and for me much more immersive. Sound is a very personal thing.
 
Yeah that is true sound preferences is unique, I will still test surround features out I did prefer the wider sound stage given with music and movies from my Z in the past so will give it a good testing.

One thing I did immediately notice was with Direct HP with my music is the instruments are better separated and cleaner, I also do hear flaws within certain tracks also these details I could not spot with the Z sound card.
 
None that are currently on sale a far as I know. I think everything including the two X-Fi labelled USB sound cards use SBX prostudio now; except for the new Super X-Fi dongle of course.

Will have to be an older card for CMSS- 3D.
 
Was hoping the x-fi hd ish would do cmss-3d, wanting to avoid pcie if I can help it.

Does the ae5 output it's surround processing through optical to external dac?

Looking at an external dac that doesn't have analogue pass through and trying to come up with a solution.
 
Just out of interest, is anyone using surround speakers with their AE-5? I’m toying with the idea of adding a centre channel to my existing stereo setup with movie dialogue in mind. Not too fussed about surround speakers - it should be possible to set 5.1 and leave them disabled?
 
That's exactly how I have it, I have my 3 fronts from my Z-5500 setup on my desk without the backs hooked up (cables ugh) and it runs perfectly fine. Voice is seperated into the centre channel
 
Doug2507 said:
Does the ae5 output it's surround processing through optical to external dac?
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Surround sound processing for headphones; yes. I think all sound cards can output DSP effects via optical.

If you want to avoid PCIe, then why not consider the new SoundblasterX G6? Essentially an external USB version of the AE-5.
 
Bluntwrapped said:
Just out of interest, is anyone using surround speakers with their AE-5? I’m toying with the idea of adding a centre channel to my existing stereo setup with movie dialogue in mind. Not too fussed about surround speakers - it should be possible to set 5.1 and leave them disabled?
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The problem with doing this is that the connections on the sound card use shared channels; front left/right, centre/subwoofer, rear left/right. When the sound card outputs to stereo speakers, the speakers receive all the audio frequencies. When you select 5.1, the bass is sent to the subwoofer connection, but as you'll have no subwoofer, the bass would effectively be lost. 3.1 can only really work if you have a subwoofer.

Although DrCheese has his system setup as 3.1; he has a 5.1 system with a subwoofer. He can remove the rear speakers and effectively have 3.1. Without a subwoofer, it's just 3; nowhere for the bass to go.
 
Marsman said:
The problem with doing this is that the connections on the sound card use shared channels; front left/right, centre/subwoofer, rear left/right. When the sound card outputs to stereo speakers, the speakers receive all the audio frequencies. When you select 5.1, the bass is sent to the subwoofer connection, but as you'll have no subwoofer, the bass would effectively be lost. 3.1 can only really work if you have a subwoofer.

Although DrCheese has his system setup as 3.1; he has a 5.1 system with a subwoofer. He can remove the rear speakers and effectively have 3.1. Without a subwoofer, it's just 3; nowhere for the bass to go.
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Thanks for the reply man. I was thinking I could add a second set of Ruark MR1’s as the centre channel and use the sub out from there to feed a mini sub. Could be a good way to get around it?
 
I'm not sure how well that would work. I think any subwoofer would need to be connected to the sound cards subwoofer output connection, not connected to the speakers.

Connecting a subwfoofer to the MR1's is fine, if the sound card is outputting stereo. Connecting a pair of MR1's to the centre/sub out on the sound card, and then a subwoofer to those, I can't help feel that the sound would end up a mess.
 
Admit I'm a bit lost with how PC speakers work nowadays - I want to upgrade my Z-5500s but I've got used to having a centre speaker (I've tried running the Z-5500 without it and it just sounds.. odd)
So like Bluntwrapped if I got the MR1's ideally would be able to add a centre and a sub later on - But then as far as I understand it at that point you may as well just get a reciever and proper speakers? (Which then makes the AE5 useless as you bypass it)
 
This is a bit off topic but still part of the AE5 club. I just got the AE5 (upgraded from sbz) and I love the card so far. Question though that I can never seem to figure out with any soundcard. Is it recommended to use "Exclusive Mode" in windows 10 for recording/playback or not? With all these different apps using voice and sound nowadays, I get confused. I have a gaming PC so I use Steam, Ubisoft, Blizzard, Discord (my main app for voice over anything else) and other game apps. I don't seem to be noticing a problem yet with it enabled except for one thing that happened the other day. It seems if I start Discord before another app then my voice sounds "off" to my friends. I have found by starting DC last, it sounds good again. So I am thinking it is the exclusive mode thing. Also and what really is bugging me.. is does exclusive mode then just ignore all my settings in the Soundblaster Connect2 software? My playback seems to work no matter what.. but its the voice thing Im curious about.
Long explanation, but I am curious to what others think/know about this?
 
skeeb23 said:
This is a bit off topic but still part of the AE5 club. I just got the AE5 (upgraded from sbz) and I love the card so far. Question though that I can never seem to figure out with any soundcard. Is it recommended to use "Exclusive Mode" in windows 10 for recording/playback or not? With all these different apps using voice and sound nowadays, I get confused. I have a gaming PC so I use Steam, Ubisoft, Blizzard, Discord (my main app for voice over anything else) and other game apps. I don't seem to be noticing a problem yet with it enabled except for one thing that happened the other day. It seems if I start Discord before another app then my voice sounds "off" to my friends. I have found by starting DC last, it sounds good again. So I am thinking it is the exclusive mode thing. Also and what really is bugging me.. is does exclusive mode then just ignore all my settings in the Soundblaster Connect2 software? My playback seems to work no matter what.. but its the voice thing Im curious about.
Long explanation, but I am curious to what others think/know about this?
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Unless you are doing audio mastery stuff disable exclusive mode - also with the AE-5 don't use the direct modes (in the connect software) if you are using mixed gaming and voice comms, etc. as that can cause problems with programs that aren't the main audio focus - if you are purely listening to music though direct modes give a little bit of a boost to the quality.
 
Have had so many issues with my Soundblaster Z. Have ordered the AE-5. Hopefully I get the same impressive sound, but with none of the crackling issues and lack of driver support!
 
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