Creative Sound BlasterX G6 External Sound card

Before I bought this my headphones just weren’t loud enough. Let’s get one thing out of the way – I am NOT an audiophile. However, I am a person who owns and uses a variety of headphones and ear buds. I am also a person who is a bit hard of hearing. Before I purchased the Sound Blaster X G6 external sound card, most of the headphones I used just weren’t loud enough.I had a pair of wired earbuds that I’ve had for several years that were loud enough for me to truly enjoy music, video games, movies, and other media on any of my devices. Unfortunately, last month, the cord developed a short in it, which pretty much rendered the earbuds useless. That prompted me to replace the earbuds. Initially, I was going to purchase the exact same pair (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it). Well, wouldn’t you know, the company is no longer in business.This sad fact eventually lead me to investing in a pair of wired Inner Ear Monitors or IEMs which are an upgrade from your standard earbuds but not as expensive as the top of the line, noise cancelling, name brand earbuds endorsed by rappers and rock stars. I did my research and bought two pair of IEMs that had impressive reviews, but did not break my budget. While one pair of the IEMs was just loud enough to be useful for me, the other set just didn’t cut the mustard when it came to the volume level. I broke down and purchased a different brand of IEMs and the new pair had great sound, but also not enough volume.I really didn’t want to spend money on another pair of IEMs, regardless of their inexpensive cost (it was starting to add up). I was researching an app that could increase the volume of the content that I play on my phone, when I found a post that talked about the Sound Blaster X G6 External soundcard, and how it was able to really enhance the user’s experience playing video games. I changed the topic of my search to the Sound Blaster X G6 and I found a ton of articles and videos about how people were blown away by how different their experience was by using this portable little plug and play device.Needless to say, I had to hear it for myself. I purchased my device and was pleased with the compact size of the unit. The portability allows me to use this device in more ways than I anticipated. I can connect it to my android phone by using a USB C to 3.5 mm adapter that can be purchased for less than $20.00. That allows me to use it anytime I consume media on my cell phone. I can also use it with my laptop computer by connecting it directly using the included microUSB cord included with the package. I can also use it when I play video games or watch movies on my PS5.There is one caveat. Since this product was released before USB C became the standard type of port to power / charge devices, the Sound Blaster X G6 still uses a microUSB port to supply power to the unit. You can plug the microUSB cord into the same plug in wall charger that you use for your cell phone. You can also supply power through an open USB port on your computer or video game console. A third option which I hadn’t initially considered was that it’s possible to use a portable charging bank to supply power to the Sound Blaster X, at least until the portable charging bank has used up all of it’s stored power.I suggest investing in either a usb extension cord with an A Male to A Female connection or an extra long microUSB cord for maximum portability. That way, you can plug the microUSB up to the wall or other power source when you are laying in bed or away from a laptop or other device with a powered USB connection.I’ve had the device for several weeks and I can honestly say that it works wonders for me, especially for my hearing condition. I have trouble hearing high frequencies and also some of the low end bass frequencies. With the Sound BlasterX G6, I can purchase any pair of IEMs and feel confident that I can have more than enough audible space to increase the volume to my liking. You can also connect the device to your computer to adjust the internal settings and EQ to fine tune the sound to your liking., The unit saves your adjustments and settings, even when you are not connected to that same computer.Overall, this product seems like it was made for me. It has made several pairs of IEMs and over the ear headphones that I own sound vibrant and alive. I would recommend this product to anyone who would like to enhance their audio listening experience.

I have read the reviews of this and saw the negative reviews of this. I had a Creative X-fi XtremeGamer and wanted a little better sound from my PC since I listen to music and do sound editing and edit voice recordings and wanted better sound quality to do that. I don’t really play modern games, so can’t tell you how it works for those.

In the box was warranty, manuals, RGB lighting strip with sticky back for attaching it inside your PC case, and the sound card itself.. Now the sound card doesn’t come with a screw to attach it to your PC case when you plug it into the PCIe slot on your motherboard. It should have come with one and had to get a screw.

I plugged in the card into a spare PCIe slot on my PC, connected my speakers and booted up Windows 10. I didn’t use the RGB lighting strip as there was no room inside my PC case to attach it, and couldn’t see it anyway with the case having no clear side panels, but it wasn’t why I bought the card. Who the heck buys a sound card to get RGB lighting?

The first thing you have to do is download the software (Sound Blaster Connect 2) and drivers from Creatives website, the link is supplied in the manual in the box. I did this, but even before I did this, I was getting sound through my Logitech z506 5.1 surround sound speakers. Good start. I downloaded the software and drivers and restarted the computer. I was still getting sound.

I went onto the Sound Blaster Connect 2 software. Coming from using a Creative X-fi, the Connect 2 software is quite a bit different than the Creative Audio Control Panel you get with that, so it took me a few minutes to figure everything out.

By default, the BlasterX Acoustic engine is switched on (Surround, Crystallizer, Bass, Smart Vol and Dialog+ settings) and there are other settings for voice (presumably for when you connect a microphone) and a Scout mode and other settings for equaliser, adjusting voices with microphones and the RGB lighting. Some of the gaming features like scout mode, I can’t test. because as I mentioned I don’t really play modern games that would make use of that.

Next I went onto the sound settings in Windows control panel and found the sound card in Playback. What I found here is that the max quality I could set the card to was 32-bit 96000 hz, which I found odd as my X-fi card I found was able to go to 32-bit 192000 hz, as it was supposed to and as the AE-5 was supposed to be 32-bit 384Khz, I knew something had to be wrong. I went onto the card properties and tried the update driver button to see if that would fix this. It updated the driver, but didn’t change the sound quality.

It took me a while to figure out that to get the maximum quality sound, you have to go to the Connect 2 software, go to the setup menu and click the direct icon for direct access to the card via speakers to get the best quality, or direct HP when headphones are attached, otherwise you will be limited to 32-bit 96khz. After doing that, I could see the 384Khz quality and set the card to that.

To hear the sound quality the way I wanted it (as natural as I could get it), I turned off all the settings in the Connect 2 software. My first reaction was that the sound was better than what I was getting with the X-fi card I had. which was a good start, however, I found when using 32-bit 384 000 hz mode, not all software/games I had would play sound unless I set the quality to 32-bit 192 000hz. Spotify wouldn’t play anything (I found it did when you start playing a song at 32-bit 192 000hz then switch to 32-bit 384 000hz in Windows control panel sound, while its playing, but if you close Spotify and open it, it will not play anything again until you change the setting to 32-bit 192 000hz or lower, and some older games I have like Motocross Madness 2, wouldn’t play any sound at all, so you can’t use the maximum sound quality for everything.

I also tested the headphone output. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 PRO II Closed Back Headphones, which I bought for monitoring the sound recordings I am editing. To use headphones, you plug them into the headphone input on the card and in the Connect 2 software, when you select headphones, you have to choose the correct Ohms the headphones are, either Low (16 – 31 ohm), Normal (32 – 149 ohm) or High (150 – 600 ohm). Setting the wrong setting might damage the headphones if too much power is sent to them.

When you switch to the headphone setting, it mutes the speakers, if you have any connected. However, it doesn’t change the sound volume, so you have to make sure you set the correct volume each time you go between speakers and headphones to avoid the sound either being too low or too high with headphones and hurting your ears. With the Creative Audio Control Panel with my X-fi, you could just select between headphones and another speaker setting and it would save the sound volume you had set for each, and would have preferred that.

I found the sound was great through the headphones and had no complaints at all, except maybe the sound volume not changing when switching from speakers to headphones and back as I could forget and have the volume high for the speakers and switch to headphones, forget to change it and end up hurting my ears with loud sound. I had the volume on my speakers set to 100 in windows (max level) but had to set it to 21-22 for my headphones to stop them being too loud.

Overall I am quite happy with the sound card and it is an improvement over my X-fi XtremeGamer card, have had no issues that others were experiencing other than just figuring out everything worked. I would say that to my ears (I have perfect hearing), either though my Logitech speakers or Sennheiser headphones, I didn’t hear a huge difference between 32-bit 192Khz and 32-bit 384Khz. There is a bit of a difference, but not much. My thinking is that, unless you have audio that was recorded in 32-bit 384Khz you might not hear the difference and you probably won’t hear that much of benefit of such a high quality setting over 192Khz otherwise.

I purchased this card a few weeks ago to replace my Soundblaster Z (now in my old rig), and I couldn’t be happier.

Setup (Win10 64-bit):
Installation was easy and very simple, I made sure all the previous audio drivers were uninstalled, on board audio was disabled etc.
Once the card was setup, I installed the latest Sound Blaster Connect 2 software direct from Creatives site…After this the card was up and running.

Sound Blaster Connect 2 (version: 3.1.22.0):
So far I have not run into any issues with the software, very straight forward. The Sound Blaster Connect is very similar to the Soundblaster Z software I had installed before, it has the same settings/options (with some new additions) but has a different layout. I used “David M’s” Amazon review (12 October 2017) to help me ease into the software settings. I also made sure Windows was using the correct sample rate and bit depth set via windows playback devices (which it wasn’t). After adjusting a few settings, which took about 5-10min, I was good to go.
The Sound Blaster Connect 2 comes with 14 presets which have all been tailored for different scenarios (music, movies, games), one of which is “Personal” (bottom of the list) which allows the customization all of the settings to your own liking, this includes custom EQ setting. However, unlike the Z Pro Studio software you cannot have multiple Personal saved settings, this also goes for EQ settings…so if you use different EQ setting for various activity you will have to manually change it each time…But if you use the “Direct” configuration then all of the EQ & BlasterX setting are bypassed/disabled anyway (true direct sound, no filters).

One major thing that needs to be mention is that when you change over from Speaker to Headset, the volume does not alter!!!…meaning if you swap to Headset from Speaker (speakers 95% volume example) and forget to lower the volume levels (especialy with 250 ohms headphones) you could potentially damage your hearing. Make sure to remeber that you alter the volume after selecting headset (I have mine around 25%), then put your headphones on. You have to do this each time you swap modes.

SOUND:
I use a pair of Beyerdynamic DT1990 pros which worked perfectly fine with the Soundblaste Z. So I was interested to see (or hear) if there was going to be any difference when it came to sound quality. There are two Headphone configurations to choose from via the Connect software. First: “Headphone 7.1” (16>32bit, 16000>96000 Hz) and the second: “Direct HP” (16>32bit, 16000>384000 Hz). Once I set the speaker configuration via the Connect 2 software to “Direct HP” while using my DT1990’s…wow, the difference was noticeable straight from the get go, listening to music with this combo is a real delight. The AE-5’s built in DAC and discrete dual-amp does a fantastic job of powering my headphones…more so than the Z.
I tested out various games using the Sound Blaster Connect 2’s “BlasterX Acoustic Engine” setting (basically the Z’s Pro Studio settings), I found the surround sound to be clear and accurate and the Scout 2.0 setting helped isolate footsteps from all directions. There are additional things you can tweak to your liking while using the presets/custom profile such as the Bass, Crystalizer, Smart Vol, and Dialog+. However, when using the “Direct HP” mode it makes certain games like Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (which has incredible sound to begin with) sound ridiculously good, I actually turned around on a few occasions thinking someone was behind me.
Its just a shame that others aren’t having much luck when it comes to the stability of the software. Base on my own experience with the latest version of the driver/software, I would defiantly recommend this Soundcard. NOTE: I don’t recommend using any of the BlasterX features for general audio use and definitely not for listening to music, use Direct HP if you have some decent cans.

EDIT 1 / Update – 09th Feb 2018:
There has been an update to the Sound Blaster Connect 2 software (Now Version: 3.2.22.0)…The software now allows you to save multiple presets along with multiple EQ settings just like the soundblaster z software. This card is now perfect for my setup (which i recent upgraded + did a fresh install of win 10), and I have still not had any issues with the card (owned for 4 months now).

EDIT 3 / Update – 28th May 2018:
Since the most recent Windows feature update rolled out, Windows has decided to not recognize the Blaster Connect 2 software as official software. As a result, every time Windows boots up I get stopped and asked to allow the software to run, twice in fact (1st for the software, 2nd for the update access). Because of this, the Sound Blaster Connect 2 software doesn’t apply any of its setting on boot, even after you allow Windows to run software. Once allowed, I need to open Sound Blaster Connect which will show the EQ running (it’s not) select a random profile on the dashboard then re-select my custom profile. Doing this correctly applies my custom profile with all my settings. NOTE: I tried temporarily disabling UAC as a test and it fixed this issue, all setting worked on boot without any problems.

EDIT 4 / Update – 10th Oct 2019:
The card is still going strong, not issues what so ever…I thought it was worth mentioning that Creative has recently released the Sound Blaster AE-9. Another amazing soundcard, but its the new software I wanted to highlight called “Sound Blaster Command” which got an update to work with the AE-5. Using Sound Blaster Command, windows has no issues asking for permission to run (Win 10 UAC issue) like Sound Blaster Connect 2. Command also has cleaner UI with the ability to change the audio quality straight from the software and more custom profiles can be saved. So if you are going to buy this card (or already have it) I would recommend skipping the “Sound Blaster Connect 2” and go download the new “Sound Blaster Command” directly from Creative’s AE-5 Driver page (Creative Worldwide Support site).

In the IT industry we have a saying… “garbage in, garbage out” meaning if you give a computer system bad data you will get bad data. this holds true with any type of electronics including speakers. if the source is outputting bad audio, the speakers will reproduce that. good speakers are only half the equation, this is the other half. for the most part you will not find a sound card like this integrated on a budget to mid line motherboard… there is a reason this cost more than the average motherboard just for a sound card.
first of all, if you don’t have Studio monitors or headphones you can skip over this. you won’t hear a difference because your speakers or headphone cannot reproduce the output. I have a set of Klipsch pro media THX certified speakers and a set of AKG studio headphones which are budget for sure but still studio quality and I’m in love with the sound this card provides. the sound stage is very detailed and instruments you didn’t know where used in the music come through. it’s a whole new level of detail. My previous sound card was a Sound Blaster Audigy FX V2 with DBPRO daughter board… that card was nice, but this is next level. the only thing I don’t like is the lack of an internal front panel audio header. the included external volume controller is a bit odd… it doesn’t actually control the volume on the computer just the volume of the actual output so it’s just another separate volume control adding complexity… if it accidentally gets turned down you can adjust the computer volume till your blue in the face, it won’t fix the issue. also, it only adjusts the headphone volume. I think for the price they could have put a bit more thought into that accessory even if it had to take up a USB port to control the volume on the computer. that’s a minor complaint. I will just eliminate the volume control if it becomes an issue. I do also kind of wish the LEDs on the card were RGB and addressable but that’s not a problem. this is getting out of gaming sound cards and into professional studio equipment… That croud doesn’t really care about RGB effects. the non-adjustable white and amber lights on the card are a classy look. the Sound Blaster logo on the top glows white and the AE-7 on the back on the card glows amber. if you want decent sound and RGB go with the AE-5. The AE-5 isn’t going to give you the sound that this card does however.

After great deliberation, mainly due to the price, I waited till the “Great Indian Festival” and sure enough, got it at a discounted price.I know the brand Creative as I had been using their Audigy sound card for many years. Performance has always been up to the mark though their software is sketchy.This Creative SoundblasterX G6 is simply awesome. Just plug it in and play! Do not worry about drivers, firmware, etc.The sound quality is very good. If you want to experience good sound quality, you need to have very good headphones. I hardly needed to boost to hi-gain as the normal sound itself is enough. I hardly ever use the XFI button on the side. Very good amplification in case you press the Hi-gain.Watching movies with the normal sound is good and if you turn on the Hi-gain, get ready to feel the pain when the thud and the sudden boom hits your ears. You will jump if you watch a scary movie with a good set of headphones.Just enjoy this little AMP and do not worry too much about details.

Absolutely Amazing Sound for PC Gaming. Let me First talk about what I came from before moving to this. I have a Asus Maximus Code X motherboard and it has supposed 32-bit on board Audio (Realtek Chipset). I used to think it had good audio….(now I just shake my head in shame)This little thing the size of a desk of cards, plugs in with a USB cable. and absolutely blows my on Board Audio out of the Water. Not only that, but my Head phones all three Pairs of them Sound AMAZING now, and My speakers, its like they are brand new, and so powerful.It Improved Steel Series Arctis 7’s, Turtle Beach Elite Atlas’s (using 3.5mm) by a really surprising amount. I used to have to turn my headphones to about volume 50-60 on most games and Music, now I cant turn it past 22-24, IT IS way to loud now. The headphones can handle it, but my ears can’t take more volume than this. It is Amazing.I now get crystal Clear 32-bit 96khz Spoken Dialog, Amazing 7.1 Surround (yes 32-bit 96khz even in Surround) and Perfect Stereo 2 channel in 32-bit 384khz Audio for Even more Crystal Clear perfect audio (of course this depends on your source… but honestly this DAC makes everything sound better than it did before.It also made my Klipsch 2.1 BT Desktop Speakers Thump hard as hell. I had to turn my bass down on my speakers as they now are much louder than ever before.Listening to music with this is a whole new experience, and seriously if you thought your headphones were nice before you have a whole new world of music to listen to again.The EQ Settings are excellent, and varied, From Dance to RnB to Classical and Acoustic and they have many presets for so many games. ( I honestly thought geeze there are too many almost). If you don’t want to use their presets, no problem create your own.You can tailor your Sound to Direct, 2 channel, 5.1, 7.1 Virtual , and even change the type of speakers you are using which affects the frequency response allowances in the Equalizers. You can choose Headphones, Desktop, Bookshelf, Towers, you name it, all of which change your sound, or go full custom with the EQ.One thing I love about this is that your Keyboard volume and mute controls still work like you’d expect, even though you have controls right on the DAC itself for volume and Surround etc. I have the Logitech G910 Keyboard, and it works flawlessly with this DAC for Adjusting volume ever so slightly, Muting completely. The reason I bring this up is because I had a Pair of 2018 Arctis Pro’s + Game DAC and it took all controls away from Windows. and it sucked having to reach over and adjust the Knob constantly, also the Arctic pros Software Sucks too, no where near as many features. and no discernible sound difference from the Arctis 7’s I already own (which are a really good Headset too).The installation of this DAC is literally a breeze, Download the Software, The Driver, AND the latest 2018 Firmware update for Windows 10.. and you are Golden.. Trust me.. this is very easy to setup and configure.One Extremely Important thing to note about this DAC, it has no Battery, it is not Portable in the sense that you can use it to amplify headphones on the go etc, (this is a Good thing because Batteries die) It must always be plugged into a USB port or a USB to wall outlet Adapter to provide power.The build quality appears to be Excellent and I almost wonder if Creative Labs didn’t shoot themselves in the foot by releasing this over top of their X7 External Unit, which is only 24bit/192khz. I totally understand the different use scenarios of the two, but for the Sound quality and the compact size of this thing, at less than half the price of the X7 many PC Audiophiles will not make the jump to the bulky big block, even if they want to Hook up Larger Speakers, or Headphones. This Begs the question… When will Creative release the X8 or X9.. with 32-bit 384khz High Fidelity Certified Audio? Count me in.Closing Pros:-Extremely Compact-Extremely Excellent Sound Quality 32-bit 384 Khz in 2 channel and 32-bit 96khz in 7.1-Amazingly Easy Setup-Excellent Windows 10 Drivers that just work ( Yes Really) (REMEMBER THE FIRMWARE UPDATE)-Connections allow for Headphone and MIC Connections in the Front, and your Desktop Speakers in Back. ( yes at the same time.)-Excellent Presets and Equalizer customization, for a ton of games..(You’ll see)-Excellent Software-Really Good Virtual Surround-ON DAC controls for Volume, Surround, Gain, and Scout Mode-Worth every penny of the 150.00 price tag, (I would’ve paid more honestly)-RGB!!! Mine is set to RED… just Solid Red.. the way things outta be.-Minimal desk Space consumption ( if that’s a thing for you.. it could be a thing.. just saying)-Flawless for both Games and Music-Makes Your Headphones Scream and your Speakers Thump.. All for 150.00Hope you guys Love this thing as much as I do!!