Creative announces the Sound BlasterX G6

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 08/27/2018 03:06 PM | source: creative | 28 comment(s)

Creative today announced the Sound BlasterX G6, the latest flagship addition to the Sound BlasterX G-series of Gaming Amps and USB Sound Cards.

The Sound BlasterX G6 builds on the success of its predecessor the Sound Blaster G5--with significant specification enhancements added that makes it unrivalled in its class.

The Sound BlasterX G6 is a high-resolution gaming DAC amp and USB sound card capable of 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DoP playback. Built with precision audiophile components, the Sound BlasterX G6 provides an outstanding audio upgrade from default audio for PS4, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, bringing new life to games and entertainment. The award-winning custom-designed Xamp discrete headphone amp utilizes bi-amplification technology to power each channel separately, delivering a whole new level of audio fidelity with superior clarity and accuracy in an unaltered lossless model.

The ultra-low 1 Ohm output impedance perfectly drives performance-grade sensitive 16 Ohm in-ear monitors all the way to professional gaming headsets and studio-grade 600 Ohm headphones. It features Dolby Digital decoding, 7.1 virtual surround sound, sidetone-speaker volume control, and Sound Blaster's legacy of impressive sound enhancement technologies.

"It's time to breathe new life into your games with the Sound BlasterX G6 Gaming DAC Amp and USB Sound Card. The Sound BlasterX G6 takes experiencing today's audio-rich gaming content on consoles and PCs to whole new levels of breathtaking playback. With its custom-tuned award-winning Xamp headphone amp and ability to support 7.1 surround, together with its audiophile-grade components and specs, the Sound BlasterX G6 personifies the absolute best performance when it comes to external gaming DACs and USB Sound Cards," said Low Long Chye, General Manager of Creative.

"We noticed a lot of our fans actually purchased the earlier G5 for PlayStation 4 and other consoles—which was a departure from its traditional usage with PCs. As more and more people discover the value of great audio outside of the world of the PC, we wanted to offer another option with even better performance and components."

Sound BlasterX G6 includes the following components and features:

Works with Everything
Designed to work with for PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PC. Designed to work cross-platform, the Sound BlasterX G6 utilizes an optical connection for PS4 and Xbox, USB connection for PC and a line-in for Nintendo Switch.
130dB DNR, 32-bit 384kHz DAC
Ultra-high dynamic range of 130dB. The advanced 32-bit oversampled multi-bit modulator with mismatch shaping technology eliminates distortion, ensuring audio is streamed with the highest level of detail and fidelity.
Support for Hi-Res Audio Formats
High-resolution 32-bit 384kHz PCM and DoP audio formats ensure that music is delivered with true authenticity and accuracy.
Award-winning Xamp Discrete Headphone Amplification
The custom-designed Xamp headphone amplifier features discrete components through all stages of amplification in a bi-amp design. Each audio channel is individually amplified to deliver a whole new level of pristine audio fidelity in an authentic, unaltered lossless model. The ultra-low 1 Ohm output impedance perfectly drives performance-grade sensitive 16 Ohm in-ear monitors all the way to professional gaming headsets and studio-grade 600 Ohm headphones.
Game-Centric Design
The Sound BlasterX G6 is designed with PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Xbox gamers in mind. With gaming-specific features such as Dolby Digital decoding and Sidetone volume control, the Sound BlasterX G6 provides an incredible improvement over default motherboard audio. Adjust headphone/speaker playback volume and sidetone volume to optimize chat and game audio with a touch of a button.
Industry-Leading Audio Processing Technology
Enjoy full audio customization and enhanced audio realism with immersive 7.1 surround virtualization, accurate cues, bass boost, and in-game voice communication enhancements with the Sound Blaster Connect audio suite.

Pricing and Availability
The Sound BlasterX G6 will be available online on Creative.com at SGD219. Price are TBA

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cryohellinc
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#5578301 Posted on: 08/27/2018 03:24 PM

I wonder will it work with PS3?

caldas
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#5578327 Posted on: 08/27/2018 03:53 PM

" Works with Everything"
Well... maybe PS3 dont have support in Firmware level.

Raider0001
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#5578328 Posted on: 08/27/2018 03:55 PM

Price are TBA

Can We make it up ?.... its 100$ there you go

Anarion
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#5578363 Posted on: 08/27/2018 04:50 PM

Can We make it up ?.... its 100$ there you go

It goes for ~16000 yen in Japan (inc. tax) so roughly 125 €. I guess the EU price will range between 125 and 175 €.

oxidized
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#5578389 Posted on: 08/27/2018 05:28 PM

There's already a couple of videos on youtube of it

cryohellinc
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#5578394 Posted on: 08/27/2018 05:36 PM

Need to find out if it will work with PS3, as it's a great buy then.

tunejunky
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#5578396 Posted on: 08/27/2018 05:38 PM

funny how this market became so crowded and so good.
but Creative sat on their hands as SFF builds took over the marketplace. maybe this can help them regain share.

superpoeper
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#5578572 Posted on: 08/28/2018 01:14 AM

i don't think it can be used to chat through a microphone with ps3.....

for hearing the ps3 audio on your headphone it should work with any ps3 as far as i can tell, just use the optical out of your ps3...
ps3 can output audio through the optical output on the rear (i used mine with my old 5.1 receiver/speaker setup)
and
optical output has no 'firmware' limitations or restrictions, just different settings in the ps3 audio settings menu...
if your optical out works on you ps3 then you should be able to use it...

i myself connect a astro mixamp pro (that is comparable to the Sound BlasterX G6 in the way it uses an optical wire from the source to the 'device' that produces audio for the headphone) and a edifier 5.1 set through optical wire and both work with the same settings because there is no possible firmware problem...

my setup: My ps4 Pro (or any other device with optical out) => optical splitter (with one input, two or more outputs) => cable to astro miwamp (mine only works with ps4 for mike support) AND cable to edifier 5.1 speakerset.

from the article (specifically the part i underlined):

Works with Everything
Designed to work with for PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PC. Designed to work cross-platform, the Sound BlasterX G6 utilizes an optical connection for PS4 and Xbox, USB connection for PC and a line-in for Nintendo Switch.

=> indication: it works with playstation devices through optical wire....
you just need to test the different ps3 audio settings once connected...

MY PERSONAL RECOMENDATION:
(if you have a working windows pc, for the settings program)
look into a astro mixamp pro tr (i use mine with a sony MDR-1A headphone and they work great together)
the black one works with both ps4 and ps3 (tested and confirmed by me)

the reason why i recomend looking into the astro mixamp pro tr is simple.
you can use 4 different 5.1 settings profiles (that can be completely programmed to your liking on pc, suited for your preference and game style/movie watching and ear preference)
once you have set up the 4 profiles to your liking you can switch between them with the dedicated button on the device.
so once set up and then connected to your ps3 you have 4 different sound profiles VS 2 on the creative labs box (stock audio and whatever scout mode might be?)

my settings for 'nioh' on ps4 are totally different from 'destiny' as an example...
also watching movies is very different from gaming, audio wise...
FPS games ask different audio settings vs RTS or RPG games...

the program is rather overwhelming to use at first BUT once familiar with the interface it is a VERY usefull tool,
much better than most software that comes with audio cards (and better than all of the creative labs virtual surround emulation crap i tested through the years and it has been a lot of years already...)
also there are a lot of profiles to be found online for specific games and game styles (fps/3rd person/top down...)

now i also have to say i'm a creative labs fan since i have used creative labs soundcards from way back in the windows 3.11 and windows 95 era and i still use the same brand these days just not for my console gaming...

tsunami231
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#5578575 Posted on: 08/28/2018 01:34 AM

are these actual cards? or usb sound cards? cause that is all hear about these days usb sound cards

sykozis
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#5578592 Posted on: 08/28/2018 03:15 AM

"USB sound card" is wrong....lol It's not a card at all.

are these actual cards? or usb sound cards? cause that is all hear about these days usb sound cards

It's an external USB dac/amp. It's not a card at all. It's also likely to be overpriced like everything Creative has been releasing the last couple years.

cryohellinc
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#5578631 Posted on: 08/28/2018 07:17 AM

@superpoeper
Thank you for your comment, seems like a great idea. I will take a look at which is cheaper in my place and get one.

As I recently purchased PS3 and I love it, as you can use it to play PS1/2/3 games. The only issue in my case is bad low quality and low volume sound. This should fully fix it.

Just one Question - MixAmp™ Pro TR, can it be used with any Headset or only Astro?
Nevermind, didn't read you well, I see you use it with a different headset. Well, seems like an instant buy for me.

Thalyn
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#5578632 Posted on: 08/28/2018 07:21 AM

So this one has Dolby decoding on it, but what about Dolby encoding? Seems to be seriously lacking from their newer small units, which also similarly lack discrete outputs for anything over 2 channels, reducing its usefulness on a more dedicated setup.

I mean, I get it. Kinda. These kinds of things aren't really meant to be a source for a discrete channel surround setup - they're for headphones. But there's no option other than the outdated Omni (which has less impressive headphone capabilities) and excessively-priced-and-annoyingly-requires-external-power X7 (I already have an amp - don't need an extra stereo amp I'll never use) if you want an external Creative device (I like their HRTF results). There's nothing in the middle, which seems to be where the BlasterX G-series devices are priced to fit; plus their Axx1 processor can clearly handle it (the X7 uses it, after all, as did the previous Core3D and even X-Fi chips the Axx1 is based on).

Just feels like an annoying oversight to me. I want to ditch my SBZ (tired of the Ryzen issues) and go external, but they just don't have an option.

superpoeper
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#5578647 Posted on: 08/28/2018 08:13 AM

cryohellinc
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#5578670 Posted on: 08/28/2018 09:05 AM

It works with any headset with an impedance lower or equal to 60 ohm. I have more than 25 headphones and they all work but my 250 and 100 ohm headsets sound horrible because the amp is in the mixamp pro tr is not strong enough. Any good quality headphone that is comfortable is usable it just needs a 3.5mm jack anb be 60 ohm or lower. The sony mdr-1a that i have sounds best for me and a modified phillips shp-2000 also sounds great for its price (if you need some help picking a good headset look up reviews of ones you like to use on headfi.org, key points being good open soundstage, and the impedance...)
I paid 120€ for mixamp without headphone and 100€ for sony mdr-1a
Hope i'm helping...
I have several headsets at home, so that's not a problem. It should work just fine with my Audio-Technica as well. Thank you for clarifying.

And yes this is very handy, as the sound was the only problem for me with PS3. Just ordered Astro Mixamp Pro TR, planning to use it with PS3 and down the road, in future, I plan to buy PS4 when it goes out of production. It should work perfectly with it as well.
Thanks again!

Neo Cyrus
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#5578693 Posted on: 08/28/2018 09:55 AM

"USB sound card" is wrong....lol It's not a card at all.

It's an external USB dac/amp. It's not a card at all. It's also likely to be overpriced like everything Creative has been releasing the last couple years.
Yeah the prices suck but they're not unusual for Creative. I heard it'll be around 150 USD? Which is around $190 CAD so I suspect it'll be $200 here. That's cheaper than their sound cards ever were. My ZxR was $250 on release, which I think was around the time I bought it. It never got a price reduction. I never even saw it on sale either. If my memory isn't completely screwed, around that time the USD and CAD were around the same. That's a $100 USD price reduction from their past bullshit, at least for prices here.

I'd actually consider buying this thing to escape from the garbage drivers of the ZxR and have something external to use... it'd also be nice freeing up that space in my case that otherwise cockblocks a bunch of ports. The sound card has to be used in the furthest port or the 16x slot functions at 8x. The drivers are so buggy with this motherboard (and apparently MSI, and newer Gigabyte boards) that literally half the time or more it's detected as a Recon 3D card, or something else entirely, and won't function. As a bonus Windows constantly tries to force update it to the wrong drivers (Recon 3D), breaking all functionality, and will not let me see other updates without installing that first. No method I've found actually tells Windows to fuck off and leave my drivers alone.

But I think I'll skip this unless I find it on sale or go more insane or something, I want to cut out Creative's drivers from the equation entirely.

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