POWERFUL features, better sound! Creative Sound Blaster X5 review

No multichannel? Odd, the X4 has 7.1.

Thanks for covering this. But, Is that the new baby Enleum I'm spotting in the background?

Wut!! Did I heard below, even 500mW Ha3 sure just Go 4 gaming n movie sorta thing Cuz I knew sound blaster by PC 20yrs ago..anyway go on bro sorry..Ha 256dsd? Dis r frm caves or somewhere..o pls..go on sory2..Sorry can't do dis..outy Peace!

Great review, Lachlan. I still remember the massive improvement to PC sound when the early Soundblaster internal cards appeared. They were my go to for many years and were always a quality solution, for gaming especially.
I dont game much these days and use a Topping DX3 Pro feeding a tweaked Fosi BT 20A Pro. I dont listen to music a lot at my desktop ( I have a Burson Conductor 3x elsewhere for that ) but for general computer use and light gaming the Topping and Fosi do an admirable job.
I think if I got back into gaming again, this unit would fit the bill nicely.

I use Sound BlasterX G6 with my gaming PC, it is a great little device for games.

Creative Soundblaster? It's 1997 all over again...

Now that’s a name I haven’t seen for over a decade!

About 20 years ago
1. Buy a PC
2. Install Sound Blaster 😁

Go separates. Much better

A good sound test between this, Schiit Hel and a Burson Playmate would be great.

PS. I see those Utopia's

♥

Lachlan, please do me a favor and look up the rogers HS-90a planar headphones. It's a hidden gem and really under the radar for the head-fi community. The HS-90a planar rivals Hifiman HE1000se and Final audio D8000pro at 1/7 the price ! I think it's on sale for like $656 right now.

Hello. Need your help cause i am lost in choice. Got a 600 dollars ( euros ) budget to buy a portable dac/dongle and iems. My librairy ( london grammar charlotte cardin ) is on a smartphone. Many thanks to you.

These days, the device, esp sound processing device, esp for gaming and movies... comes without HDMI input and with only stereo analog outputs... 😑☹️

seems like my Sound Blaster x7 with Sparkos Op amps still beats out these newer devices....Hopefully they make a x7 v2 at some point soon...

X5 is $280 in the US. Geshelli Labs J2S socket with USB cost $310. Does that make the X5 even better value in the US?

👍👍👍👍👍

awesome nice to see some sound blaster around these days!

great review! I have x3 and use it for music listening and especially love eq flexibility as I can fine tune sound for different headphones. Would x5 provide much better sound quality enough to upgrade from x3? thank you

Most high end motherboards just as good or iFi DAC or Cambridge better.

when it comes to gaming hands down to creative sound blaster, currently i have x1 more than enough for me. but thank you

X4 is still the best with analogue 7.1 outputs...
i was planning to get it but luckily i have figured out by watching your video and review that, they removed the discreet & physical 7.1 onboard connections because i always use those analogue outputs directly into my AV Receiver 7.1 Multichannel inputs.

Hey Great review! can i plug in the optic out to my sound blaster katana V2?

I wish the volume knob was in fact motorized, that would have been sweet

The Creative Sound Blaster X5 can be connected via RCA to AV receiver or SPDIF. I believe you are using RCA because it's analog and it will let you utilize the Equalizer and the rest of the settings including Super X-Fi, however when you use SPDIF to your AV receiver it's Direct Mode and the Equalizer blanks out including the rest of the settings. I just wanted to point out, you didn't do a test with SPDIF mode.

Creative X7 is better.

can you stream audio from a USB drive with this? Is it tied down to it's own software? I'm trying to find something that is similar to the Fiio R7 that I can plug directly into my Prima Luna Tube amp that will replace my RPi Volumio setup. Oh and cheaper!

i got a question, can the USB host send audio output to a wireless headphones that have 2.4ghz receiver?

is this a good solution for me for connected this X5 to my new LG ELED 2023 evo,
to use my good wired headphones for sound ??

There is NO jackstick as on my oled TVS now. I like to have wired headphones on long time, watching films, tv and youtybe.
I often like to used my wired headphones on past tvs, and I dont like to use the bluetooth, as it more pressure on the head, and endless charging up again. I got several good wired overear wxpensive headphones, like denon 7200 wired, but often use Bose quiet comfort.
Not interested in gaming, but essencial just want a good sound from my oled and through my wired headphones and abilty to control volume bottom wheel and some ajustment setting in good old style to sit under the tv. I used the earlier version of the portable sound blaster for phone and computer and it was great sound... The oled tv has ofcourse optical arch and all other things except jackstick ! Anyone casn recommend this as good buy for the challange of wired headphones ! cheers !

The even smaller mini dacs is not for me here in fixed place under tv, as I would rather have more option.
Is there a medium good soundbar WITH JACKSTICK that also does this well ?

What the nearest device of other brands to compete with this 5X ? With a old fasioned volume and also abilty remotely
to control level of volume.

I would be happy to be able to add a soundbar or 2 speakers later as well.

I think the X7 Limited Edition is also a good choice.

Hi, I’m a Dj and thinking of using the X5 instead of my MacBook headphone jack ! I like the left/right out on the back. I was using the old SBX soundblaster which was great… Do you think it’s overkill? I just want a great sound. Thanks Phil

This drive the HIFIMAN arya ?

Anyone knows if the ASIO drivers are exclusive, non-exclusive, multi-clients ?

is a vintage design, probably was ok 20 years ago.

Great video! Awesome studio! One of the most in depth reviews I have seen in a long time and presented beautifully! Will the X5 drive my HD800's the way their high impedance ass want to be driven? They can handle a full watt.

Just received SB ZxR..love it

I want a good dac for gaming. And I was initially targeting the Schiit hel plus. But the are out of stock and they don't know when it will come back in stock. I need a good quality dac with a mic input that will drive a good quality pair of IEMs. Looking at creative at the GC7. But I'm not sure if that's a good product. The X5 seems to be overkill though. So I don't think it's right either.

Is it Linux compatible?

if you want it for a external DSP device, I use the Soundblaster gc7 which costs a fraction of the price when on sale. with the same dsp and optical in and optical out. saves the dsp on-board as well, and has a knobs for even more extra control like bass and treble increase/decrease. I use it with in tandem with another dac with balanced outs, does the job.

Is it good for connecting optically to a separate amplifier? Not specifically for headphones? Or is this really only for headphones in any configuration?

The DoP support on this thing alone has me wanting to finally upgrade from my Xfi USB HD. Its blatantly clear with this product that theres people at Creative who understand the demographic. Make a version of this with a nice power amp built in like the x7 and you got a grand slam!

does the fact that it is powered only via the data cable hold it back?

Excellent material!
I personally liked very much from Creative the Audigy 2ZS Video editor model (I still own this model and I made it minimally functional with difficulty on Windows 10) and the software part and the fact that it had remote control but unfortunately there are no drivers from Windows XP upwards only something very basic and the software part is as non-existent.
By the way!
Why don't they make these soundboards with remote control anymore?

I do believe the X5 does have internal BT enabled for connecting to iPhones and MacBooks etc but the dongle is needed for connecting to wireless headphones with specific codecs.

great video, I would like to ask if the bass changes with balanced output on headphones, is the bass stronger, more dynamic, deeper, more pronounced on balanced output or is the bass the same on both outputs, thank you very much for your answer. Slovakia

This DOES have built in Bluetooth...

Great review. I bougt mine for 210 € which is currently around 220 $. Im very happy with it. It replaces my Sound Blaster ZxR and beats in terms of Sound Quality. The X5 was the best option for me to use it with my PC because it may not be perfect, but it is extremely versatile on the PC and offers a lot of tuning potential with the Creative App.

I suppose getting it for $279 makes it great buy, I've always appreciated how creative didn't skimp on the amps power, they can damage headphones......ask me how I know

Hey man nice to see you reviewing this!! btw scoutmode doesnt work for shi...
Bro you need to spend less on audio stuff and more on a new graphics card or pc :D that satisfacotry footage was like 15 fps !

So are tin t3 balanced or single ended outputs? i would use only with IEM's, are all iems balanced or single ended? is this something they specify?? never heard of it sorry!
I asume its not just switching a cable and putting it in the 4mm input..