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Creative releases Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Gaming Sound Card
Creative adds the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus, with special affinity for for Dolby Digital Live / DTS Connect. An encoder that supports Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect has been newly added, if you connect it to an AV amplifier or other device with a digital cable, you can enjoy PC entertainment in your home theater system.
Backed up with Sound Blaster’s audio processing technology such as the Xamp discrete headphone bi-amplifier, and powered by a 122 dB 32-bit / 384 kHz ESS SABRE32 Ultra-class DAC, the Sound BlasterX AE-5 was the also world’s first sound card with an integrated RGB controller. In Xamp discrete headphone bi-amp, each audio channel is individually amplified. The card also features an ultra-low 1Ω headphone output impedance that can drive studio-grade headphones of up to 600Ω, including high-end planar-magnetic headphones. The Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus delivers 122 dB DNR audio stream at up to 32-bit / 384 kHz playback with ultra-low distortion and jitter. Together with the existing AE-5, it has also been updated with the latest Sound Blaster Command software, which features a user-friendly interface.
Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus is priced at USD149.99.
Specifications
- Interface/Powerl: PCI-e bus power, +5V for Aurora lighting (requires 4-pin molex peripheral connector from PC power supply)
- Audio Technology: Sound Core3D
- Dynamic Range (DNR): 122 dB
- Connectivity Options (Main): 1x TOSLINK Optical Out, 1 x 1/8" (3.5mm) Mic In / Line In, 1 x 1/8" (3.5mm) Headphone / Headset Out, 1 x 1/8" Front Out, 1 x 1/8" Rear Out, 1 x 1/8" Center / Sub Out, 1 x Front Panel Header
- Headphone Amp
- Supported Headphone Impedance:16—600Ω
- Output Impedance: 1Ω
- Low Gain: 16—149 Ω (+0 dB)
- Audio Technologies: CrystalVoice, Scout Mode, DTS Connect Encoding, Dolby Digital Live Encoding
- Supported Operating Systems: Windows® 10
- Dimensions: 145 x 20 x 128 mm
- ASIO: Playback & Recording
- Platform: PCI-e
- DAC
- Dynamic Range: 122 dB, THD+N (DAC): 0.00032[%]
- Warranty: 2-year Limited Hardware Warranty (EU Countries), 1-year Limited Hardware Warranty (Non-EU Countries)
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sverek
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Posts: 6074
Joined: 2011-01-02
Senior Member
Posts: 6074
Joined: 2011-01-02
#5779659 Posted on: 04/16/2020 12:18 PM
How are these still viable? For that price. You get an external USB DAC that probably outperforms it by at least a bit.. I'm rocking a Topping D50s (or you can get a Khadas Toneboard for even way less) from an external power supply avoiding the messy power delivery from inside the PC and not wasting a PCI-E slot which are sparse on some boards to begin with.
I have no idea why Creative refuses to evolve.. If they would put their knowledge and research capacity into USB DACs instead of chasing the dead PCIE format they could still be a viable company... Change my mind.
They have Sound Blaster G5 / G6 USB DAC/AMP, which are pretty good deal.
Soundcard is more of a professional tool these days, with different inputs and outputs for mixing and other features. AE5 is being soldvery well, so they thought, why not go full retard and advertise soundcard for gamers ( the least smart audio consumers ).
How are these still viable? For that price. You get an external USB DAC that probably outperforms it by at least a bit.. I'm rocking a Topping D50s (or you can get a Khadas Toneboard for even way less) from an external power supply avoiding the messy power delivery from inside the PC and not wasting a PCI-E slot which are sparse on some boards to begin with.
I have no idea why Creative refuses to evolve.. If they would put their knowledge and research capacity into USB DACs instead of chasing the dead PCIE format they could still be a viable company... Change my mind.
They have Sound Blaster G5 / G6 USB DAC/AMP, which are pretty good deal.
Soundcard is more of a professional tool these days, with different inputs and outputs for mixing and other features. AE5 is being soldvery well, so they thought, why not go full retard and advertise soundcard for gamers ( the least smart audio consumers ).
Kaarme
Senior Member
Posts: 2270
Joined: 2013-03-10
Senior Member
Posts: 2270
Joined: 2013-03-10
#5779663 Posted on: 04/16/2020 12:35 PM
I have a DAC headphone amplifier, needed for decent headphones. I connected it via optical, though, not usb, because I wanted to avoid the ground loop with the PC. Probably not an issue at all, but it eases my mind. In that sense the sound goes through the mobo audio circuits. But at the end of the day, the PC needs to decode the audio anyway, unless it's straight PCM. It's just computation, so it makes zero difference, unless there's a bug or other source of errors, since nothing of it is analog before the final output from the DAC-Amp. When you go all the way to analog, you should keep it out of the PC case.
I have a DAC headphone amplifier, needed for decent headphones. I connected it via optical, though, not usb, because I wanted to avoid the ground loop with the PC. Probably not an issue at all, but it eases my mind. In that sense the sound goes through the mobo audio circuits. But at the end of the day, the PC needs to decode the audio anyway, unless it's straight PCM. It's just computation, so it makes zero difference, unless there's a bug or other source of errors, since nothing of it is analog before the final output from the DAC-Amp. When you go all the way to analog, you should keep it out of the PC case.
Mufflore
Senior Member
Posts: 12519
Joined: 2010-05-22
Senior Member
Posts: 12519
Joined: 2010-05-22
#5779667 Posted on: 04/16/2020 12:43 PM
How are these still viable? For that price. You get an external USB DAC that probably outperforms it by at least a bit.. I'm rocking a Topping D50s (or you can get a Khadas Toneboard for even way less) from an external power supply avoiding the messy power delivery from inside the PC and not wasting a PCI-E slot which are sparse on some boards to begin with.
I have no idea why Creative refuses to evolve.. If they would put their knowledge and research capacity into USB DACs instead of chasing the dead PCIE format they could still be a viable company... Change my mind.
Its 5.1 surround and has surround encoding for headphones.
As pointed out, they do external and break out soundcards.
How are these still viable? For that price. You get an external USB DAC that probably outperforms it by at least a bit.. I'm rocking a Topping D50s (or you can get a Khadas Toneboard for even way less) from an external power supply avoiding the messy power delivery from inside the PC and not wasting a PCI-E slot which are sparse on some boards to begin with.
I have no idea why Creative refuses to evolve.. If they would put their knowledge and research capacity into USB DACs instead of chasing the dead PCIE format they could still be a viable company... Change my mind.
Its 5.1 surround and has surround encoding for headphones.
As pointed out, they do external and break out soundcards.
RavenMaster
Senior Member
Posts: 1224
Joined: 2009-08-19
Senior Member
Posts: 1224
Joined: 2009-08-19
#5779670 Posted on: 04/16/2020 12:45 PM
Seems kinda pointless to release a soundcard in this day and age which doesn't support Dolby Atmos or DTS-HD and doesn't have a HDMI ARC/eARC connection. So many modern soundbars and AV Receivers use ARC/eARC now for lossless hi-def audio. Even Creative's own high end soundbars use eARC now: https://us.creative.com/p/speakers/creative-sxfi-carrier
Seems kinda pointless to release a soundcard in this day and age which doesn't support Dolby Atmos or DTS-HD and doesn't have a HDMI ARC/eARC connection. So many modern soundbars and AV Receivers use ARC/eARC now for lossless hi-def audio. Even Creative's own high end soundbars use eARC now: https://us.creative.com/p/speakers/creative-sxfi-carrier
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Posts: 142
Joined: 2007-11-13
How are these still viable? For that price. You get an external USB DAC that probably outperforms it by at least a bit.. I'm rocking a Topping D50s (or you can get a Khadas Toneboard for even way less) from an external power supply avoiding the messy power delivery from inside the PC and not wasting a PCI-E slot which are sparse on some boards to begin with.
I have no idea why Creative refuses to evolve.. If they would put their knowledge and research capacity into USB DACs instead of chasing the dead PCIE format they could still be a viable company... Change my mind.