Creative Labs shows high-end Sound BlasterX AE-9

#5616271 Posted on: 12/11/2018 07:08 PM

---

now days especially premium-mobo have soundcard as good as stand-alone-soundcard
lets just get one example, asus ROG zenith (https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-ZENITH-EXTREME/specifications/)
is using ESS®SABRE9018Q2C DAC/AMP
so similar DAC compared to the new creative AE-9 that using ES9016

http://www.esstech.com/index.php?cID=359 -> ES9016 being said ultra-model that seems better than reference ES9018, so probably creative DAC version is better, but i bet for most people they wont find the difference between 2 dac

edit: after look on page, i found out that ES9018 and SABRE9018Q2C is kinda difference (http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en/products/sabre-digital-analog-converters/sabre-hifi-mobile-dacs/sabre-hifi-stereo-integrated-dacs/sabre9018q2c/)
Its more for headphone rather than speaker-system... but sound-quality wise i believe it should similar

so kinda wonder for people thinking inboard soundcard the quality still like10years back or more, most probably bought low-end mobo, because afaik even mid-level mobo also got good soundcard


for creative like many people saying, their product actually good
but their driver/software is bad... well i can say much for current situation
my last time using creative soundcard is back on windows7, and its driver causing random BSOD, until i install custom/modded driver which stop making BSOD
since then i replace it with asus xonar then latest build i just using onboard

#5616278 Posted on: 12/11/2018 07:25 PM

---

I'd say it is always worth to get a dedicated soundcard or USB DAC, unless you don't own a very high end mobo that usually cost close to 300 €. The difference maybe small and you may notice only slight nuances between a cheap integrated card and a dedicated one, but your ear will accustom to the sound and later you hear the difference better when you listen to the inferior audio source again.

Go for it if you have the extra cash, but not necessarily for this AE-9 because you can get that high end mobo for the price, but don't go for that mobo either!

#5616280 Posted on: 12/11/2018 07:28 PM

---

I feel like Creative Labs only exists because of their diehard fans from the 90s. Their customer support is bad, their prices are bad, they very obviously plan for obsolescence, and they're too "exclusive" in their approach to things. I'm actually a bit surprised they're still around, since they have plenty of competition for their other products too.

in a perfect world, the shortest (length) circuit is always the best.
with D/A and A/D conversion, it's still true but can be improved by removing the signal from a noisy environment (circuit boards are noisy by nature and the power regulation itself can introduce noise on the mobo).
there's a better case to be made for an add-on card than integrated sound. but even so the mobo has come from the point where the sound card was a necessity to a luxury.
but especially because there's a break-out box for this, this product is unnecessarily bulky and expensive, requiring at least a mATX case.
for less money you can honestly get better or as good quality by an outboard DAC/ headphone amp.
If we're talking digital signals, the length of the circuit doesn't really matter all that much. The best sound quality you can get is to have the DAC external in a shielded enclosure using a fiber optic cable, and I'm sure having its own discrete power source wouldn't hurt either.

#5616308 Posted on: 12/11/2018 08:20 PM

---

My Xfi-Titanium is 10 years old and the last Driver update was in Q1.2017 so whats the prob man?
I recently replaced all caps on my Xfi-Ti because of aging failure.

The snap crackle pop problem maybe? Which they never ever addressed but instead blamed everyone and their dog for it. I remember at first they blamed the nforce chipset for it and i actually replaced my MB by a VIA one back then and the problem was still there. Personally Creative is on my do not buy ever again black list. **** happens but Creative should have acknowledged the snap crackle pop problem and instead of blaming everyone should have tried to find a solution and if no software solution was available then they should have replaced all the cards like MS did with the 360.

I still have my X-FI Platinum lying around. It's a nice looking and very expensive drop stop. I should try it with Daniel K drivers one day.

#5616346 Posted on: 12/11/2018 09:33 PM

---

using an ASUS Xonar card on my HERO, with modded files from UNi Xonar