Creative introduces the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition in a white finish with added RGB effects

erek

erek

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Excited? Creative is trying to capture something of the market somehow

"The Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition supports Dolby Digital Live and DTS encoding — a feature that was absent the AE-5 Pure. Available ports include 3x 3.5mm 5.1 Line-out, 1x TOSLINK Optical-out, 1x 3.5mm headphone-out, 1x 3.5mm Mic/Line-in, and 1x Intel HD audio front panel connector. The AE-5 Plus Pure Edition uses the same Sound Core3D DSP and the ESS Sabre 32 Ultra DAC found in the AE-5 Pure and AE-5 Plus Editions that allows for 32-bit 384 kHz playback resolution, a 122 dB SNR, and a THD of 0.00032%. The card also offers a discrete headphone amp but does not allow op-amp swapping, which is a feature in the flagship Sound Blaster AE-9.

The Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Pure Plus Edition can be availed for SG$259 (US$182). Creative is also offering an upgrade program for those have purchased the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Pure Edition directly from creative.com in the last 90 days. Users can purchase the new Sound BlasterX AE-5 Pure Plus Edition from Creative and file a return claim for their Pure Edition card. Refund for the original AE-5 Pure Edition soundcard will be initiated after the return claim is successfully verified."

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https://www.notebookcheck.net/Creat...e-finish-with-added-RGB-effects.466166.0.html
 
I don't understand how they're still in business. The only people who would buy a soundcard today are enthusiast builders.People that know keeping a DAC/Amp outside of the computer is the way to go.
 
I am interested in this a little, but I would need to find a good set of headphones to make use of this card that I actually like the feel of. I'll keep it in mind for my next system build.
 
This is crazy silly. One of the biggest potential downsides to having your DAC inside your computer (aka a soundcard or motherboard audio) is that your computer is an electrically noisy environment. So let's make the problem even worse by putting things like RGB lighting on the card that have nothing to do with audio?
 
GotNoRice said:
This is crazy silly. One of the biggest potential downsides to having your DAC inside your computer (aka a soundcard or motherboard audio) is that your computer is an electrically noisy environment. So let's make the problem even worse by putting things like RGB lighting on the card that have nothing to do with audio?
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Good RGB LED's don't generate much noise at all its actually one of their nicer qualities so there is no real downside to placing them on a sound card for this sort of thing. The amount of noise they generate is completely insignificant compared to that of your CPU cooler or water pump or any number of other electronics within the computer case itself even after taking distance into account. So I am more curious about what kind of shielding they have on the card to protect it from those components instead. That said I highly doubt my ears still have the range required to actually hear any difference between using this card or the standard USB software stuff that Logitech & Corsair are using for their headphones.
 
I looked into the ae-5 plus before I settled on the EVGA Nu Audio Pro last week. I thought about going the external dac route because of noise etc.. but settled on an internal card instead. Sounds great to me, but I'm no audiophile. Using Sennheiser 599 and Beyerdynamics DT770 80ohm cans.
 
UltraTaco said:
After recently removing my sound card and switching to onboard audio, taco cnt understand why he didn't do that earlier!! Sound is just as incredible without it!

This new one does look pretty, but will likely block airflow to GPU because of close proximity of both components.
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I have one of those Dual Soundblaster cards. It's just missing some lighting.

I have a decent amount of space between the top card and the GPU.
IMG_3522.JPG
 
I had the lower model in my gaming rig for a couple of years but moved it to my Xeon when I got the higher model.
The lower model had red lighting.
IMG_1695.JPG
 
When you come from a PC gaming background and just aren't aware of external DAC's being as ubiquitous as they are, even for less money, then you buy one of these. Once you get into audio even a little bit, you see the light (or lack of it, as it is) and buy something else.
 
erek said:
why don't you care?
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Because i stopped paying attention to sound cards almost a decade ago. Onboard sound has been good enough for me for quite a while.

Though thats not saying much, i involuntarily stopped gaming a few years ago.
 
pillagenburn said:
Because i stopped paying attention to sound cards almost a decade ago. Onboard sound has been good enough for me for quite a while.

Though thats not saying much, i involuntarily stopped gaming a few years ago.
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do you miss gaming? :(
 
pillagenburn said:
Because i stopped paying attention to sound cards almost a decade ago. Onboard sound has been good enough for me for quite a while.

Though thats not saying much, i involuntarily stopped gaming a few years ago.
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marriage?
 
GotNoRice said:
This is crazy silly. One of the biggest potential downsides to having your DAC inside your computer (aka a soundcard or motherboard audio) is that your computer is an electrically noisy environment. So let's make the problem even worse by putting things like RGB lighting on the card that have nothing to do with audio?
Click to expand...
The SNR of Creative cards is hard to beat with an external DAC for the price AND it's internal. They still make sense.

...and if you are using onboard and can't tell the difference in audio when you are listening to music then...
1. You have some really crappy speakers/headphones. Are they bluetooth?
2. Your music is all from YouTube/streaming
3. You aren't actually comparing and are in denial
 
I won an SoundBlaster AE9 from a contest on Overclock.net. Been using an external DAC for years. Honestly I cannot tell a difference with my setup and with the external DAC I had set up (AudioEngine D1). I can tell differences between setups easily because I work in the audio industry, but the more I use the AE9, the less I'm impressed. These speakers attached to my PC aren't audiophile quality (Audioengine A5+ / S8), but you'd think you'd hear a noticeable difference. The software is solid, and if I was running a 5.1 on the system instead of stereo, I'm sure it'd be much better. I actually sold the DAC, but wish I kept it because I hate this clunky attachment that works with the AE9 (the included cable just isn't long enough).
 
I have the Saber AE-5 for like the past two years despite the bad reviews on Amazon. it sounds good but I had better soundcards in the past madet by Creative from like the 90s which were alot better for some reason. Maybe it was the cheap speakers or the cards were just good back then. the early 90s creative drivers were horrible back then I think I installed the drivers about 32 times with the lighting bolt strike when they were setup.
 
I just recently was picking up a soundcard, and ended up determining that anything that goes inside the PC case was bad. Ended up with a JDS Labs DAC, and Headphone AMP.

Easily the way to go.
 
Conman said:
I don't understand how they're still in business. The only people who would buy a soundcard today are enthusiast builders.People that know keeping a DAC/Amp outside of the computer is the way to go.
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The X-Fi AMP by all accounts is a great product. Sometimes if a company is small enough they can survive with a few decent products. Look at Jackery. They have three dudes in a room in California, build their crap in China, and sell to RV'ers and Camping enthusiasts and survive.

criccio said:
When you come from a PC gaming background and just aren't aware of external DAC's being as ubiquitous as they are, even for less money, then you buy one of these. Once you get into audio even a little bit, you see the light (or lack of it, as it is) and buy something else.
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I don't disagree that external amps can be very good. But some folks are very nostalgic and want to keep it internal. Unless you have the highest quality ripped audio and the best headphones, the differences between this card and a good DAC are probably subtle.
 
I have $500+ in sound cards just sitting in the closet because the driver issues and random BIOS problems that cause it to sometimes boot disabled were pissing me off.
 
Here come the audio snobs...

High end ASUS ROG mobos have onboard audio that is close enough to soundblaster quality for the majority of gamers' uses. I still have a titanium X-Fi but no need to use it.

There is RF noise, everywhere. That means inside your case, outside your case. Good audio products are shielded. Being external doesn't necessarily = better. The X-Fi is shielded. If your external isn't shielded, you will get noise. If your internal is shielded, good chance it will be fine.
 
I only use a Sound Blaster Z in my second computer since it has an optical in, which allows me to combine sound from both computers and feed it to an AVR.

I only use a Sound Blaster Z in my main computer for the mic. I bought a second Sound Blaster Z as spare when I thought the first one was going bad.

Given that the AE that has optical in is $350, maybe I should buy another Z just in case :/
 
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sirsad said:
I haven't looked at this stuff in ~8 years but my memory is that optical was better. But I am glad to see that there are other products that can combine sounds from two sources!
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One of the funny things is sometimes people would buy expensive soundcards but then use the optical out.

The reason a soundcard is expensive, a lot of the time, is the analog to digital circuitry and when you use digital, you bypass all of it. Meanwhile, a USB to Optical interface is quite cheap and its all digital. Then again, you need to then consider where your analog to digital conversion is being done.

Optical is still one of the best ways to get audio out of a noisy (EMI wise) computer.
 
criccio said:
One of the funny things is sometimes people would buy expensive soundcards but then use the optical out.

The reason a soundcard is expensive, a lot of the time, is the analog to digital circuitry and when you use digital, you bypass all of it. Meanwhile, a USB to Optical interface is quite cheap and its all digital. Then again, you need to then consider where your analog to digital conversion is being done.

Optical is still one of the best ways to get audio out of a noisy (EMI wise) computer.
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I agree. I only got the Sound Blaster Z at the time because it was the only card that I saw that had optical in. I am not sure if I was right at the time but no big deal.

I also use HDMI to the AVR so the PC never sees analog.
 
Conman said:
I don't understand how they're still in business. The only people who would buy a soundcard today are enthusiast builders.People that know keeping a DAC/Amp outside of the computer is the way to go.
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I don't agree with this since a soundcard is just a DAC/Amp but in your case. The only purpose of getting an external DAC/Amp is to avoid the noisy PC, but a good soundcard can avoid this problem easily. By getting an external DAC you're now subject to USB transfer speeds and possibly lower audio quality. Personally I can't stand most onboard sound which consists of Realtek, and an external DAC is just more expensive and takes up space. PCIE sound cards are the way to go.
 
DukenukemX said:
The only purpose of getting an external DAC/Amp is to avoid the noisy PC, but a good soundcard can avoid this problem easily. By getting an external DAC you're now subject to USB transfer speeds and possibly lower audio quality.
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Singling these comments out as pure (and IMO incorrect) opinion. It is not "the only reason" by far. If you're interested in high quality audio playback and that's all, you wouldn't be caught dead with a Creative sound card. Additionally, the ideal interface method for a quality external DAC is optical, completely isolating the DAC electrically from the PC. Also USB transfer speeds? What? Possibly lower audio quality? Sure, if you use a $12 USB audio adapter, sure.
 
criccio said:
Singling these comments out as pure (and IMO incorrect) opinion. It is not "the only reason" by far. If you're interested in high quality audio playback and that's all, you wouldn't be caught dead with a Creative sound card. Additionally, the ideal interface method for a quality external DAC is optical, completely isolating the DAC electrically from the PC. Also USB transfer speeds? What? Possibly lower audio quality? Sure, if you use a $12 USB audio adapter, sure.
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So much misinformation in such a short post.
Gotta love the internet
 
criccio said:
If you're interested in high quality audio playback and that's all, you wouldn't be caught dead with a Creative sound card.
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I wouldn't disagree but I'm more about sound cards and not Creative Sound Cards. Creative is stuck on their legacy.
Additionally, the ideal interface method for a quality external DAC is optical, completely isolating the DAC electrically from the PC.
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I mean, that's what a receiver is for. Digital is digital and optical is just overkill with added latency. As much as people try to isolate the DAC from the noisy PC, most high grade audio equipment doesn't go anywhere near that far. I feel that the PC audio enthusiast has run out of reasons to spend money and the external DAC was invented so the poor PC audiophones with too much money have a place to spend it. That's why Creative made a $180 Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition.
Also USB transfer speeds? What? Possibly lower audio quality? Sure, if you use a $12 USB audio adapter, sure.
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Not sure what DAC you'd prefer but if it's USB2.0 then some compression will be involved, depending on how many audio channels you prefer. As we all know compression reduces audio quality. USB 3.0 may avoid that problem, but now you gotta deal with latency caused by USB, because again we're gamers not someone listening to a MP3. If you experience audio stuttering/crackling then that's due to latency from the audio device you're using. Which at that point good luck figuring out which USB 3 device has direct connection to the CPU to avoid the issue.
 
I stopped using a soundcard with my X-Fi Extreme Music. It was a great card and I had it for years, but the driver support started to get harder and harder to get. I eventually started using onboard sound and haven't looked back.
 
think i stopped using soundcards for almost 20 years, plagued by creative troublesome drivers. only used onboard audio until a few months back. now using external DAC. onboards are sufficient even for gaming, but if you want to improve your listening pleasure, external DACs is the way to go. i dont see going back to souncards anytime soon.
 
The last add-in card I used was back when Battlefield 1942 was still in full swing. I remember picking up ~10 FPS or so. It was a Platinum something from Creative. An Audigy perhaps
 
LightsOut41 said:
What do you recommend for $130 that meets or exceeds the AE-5?
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Something like a Fiio D03K ($22.95)+ a JDS Atom Amp($99) and a RCA cable ~$5. Would allow replacing the DAC in the future with something even better, but hits that price point.
 
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