Sound Blaster X4

I bought the Sound Blaster X4 external "sound card" for two reasons. 1-I because it was necessary for better sound using a mini-micro PC in a small chassis not big enough for typical sound cards. 2-Because I wanted the flexibility of an external device that would serve at least a 5:1 speaker system. This sound card should suit almost any PC or game user as well as those simply wanting very good audio. Build quality seems very good and its small size and desk foot print made it very functional in my case. As usual once discovered the Creative app software compatibility makes everything accessible that you might need to tweak, although in many cases leaving everything as standard is great as it is. Installation is easy and as near plug and play as possible. Even without is own dedicated drivers it worked but of course remember what is written above to get the most from the card. At first I was only let down by the lack of an ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) driver especially as I sometimes produce music for my own multi channel entertainment. I wrote to Creative to find out if a dedicated ASIO driver was in the pipeline. Creative were amazing... They responded by email within a day saying that the X4 was ASIO 2.1 Compliant but the driver was not included in the standard Creative app or the SXFi app. The representative said that they would find the link for the ASIO driver from the Creative team. A second email arrived with a link to download the ASIO driver. Once installed all if not more than expected ASIO channels functioned from within my DAW and other VST apps. If there are musicians looking for a one stop ASIO sound card the Sound Blaster X4 might just be for you given the value for money that compares well considering the up to 7:1 ASIO multi channel once installed. In addition it is good to know that Creative can and will help as they did with my enquiry. Well done the Creative and their product.

Reddit is awash with stories about issues with this device on Windows 11 on the AMD platform. Safe to say I experienced none of this. The issues people are having are down to Windows and the AMD platform. Mainly due to overclocked Memory/CPU. I myself have issues unrelated to this device on USB because my memory is running at 6000mhz (basically it's Overclocked). I've moved my gaming rig upstairs to a spare room. I used to have intermittent issues with a Maschine MK3 being used as an external USB DAC. I put that down to it being attached to a KVM on a hub. Since moving my rig upstairs I had even more issues using the X870 onboard sound card (lagging mouse, BSOD's, etc) randomly when booting up. I purchased this device as my mobo doesn't have 5.1 surround output. I deactivated my onboard sound, and simply used this. It instantly stopped all the issues I was having. I can understand how this may actually be the reverse for other people using the AMD platform. Perhaps your onboard sound is solid, and soon as you use this, you will get issues. The fault is purely with AMD and their infinity fabric and memory controllers. Especially when it comes to USB signalling. It's a real shame Intel was found lacking. The memory controllers on Intel is solid compared to AMD. I've never had as many problems with instability as I have with AMD. Unfortunately Intel has its own issues with CPU's burning out due to voltage issues. Coupled with high TDP and poor performance, we find ourselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. You MAY have problems using this device. For me, it was the exact opposite. This device has finally brought some stability to my system that has been lacking for at least 16 months!! This isn't a fault with this device. It's AMD. They really need to do something about their memory controllers going forward. If they don't, my next rig will be Intel, and I will take the 5-10% performance hit on gaming for a system that isn't going to be hit and miss to what peripherals I can or cannot use. The unit itself is well made, and does exactly what I wanted it to. It has mini line out that I attached to my 5.1 surround. I particularly like you can easily switch between headphones and the external powered 5.1 system. I also enjoy that the sound volume is saved separately for each output. The volume wheel is well built. Things I would like to see improved. The ability to dim the LED ring. There doesn't seem anyway to lower the brightness. It's not a major issue, but I would like that ability. The configuration is rather confusing, and the website lacks any kind of manual other than a QuickStart guide. But once you get it configured, it's perfectly acceptable. I don't have any background hiss. Any pops or crackles. Both on the AMP side and the headphone side. You can use high impedance headphones. But it won't go as loud as a dedicated headphone AMP. Something to keep in mind if you have headphones that go above 80 ohms. But as an owner of such headphones, you're already aware of this. They go loud enough for gaming. But for music, a few more decibels would be appreciated. I'm delighted with this device as it has brought much needed stability. But I can totally understand if this is the reverse for you. Thanks AMD, it's been a wild ride.

I decided to buy a DAC from Creative because my experience with the FX V2 internal sound card was great up until the jacks stopped working intermittently , and the software features are brilliant. with this DAC , it’s been great so far , the light ring around the volume dial isn’t too bright or dim and the unit itself feels good quality and is quite heavy for its size despite it been made out of plastic. Sound quality is definitely better than my sound card was , very impressed. The setup unfortunately was quite difficult , connecting the device to the PC is easy however , the software would not install The drivers , after restarting the PC it would once again ask me to install them. What fixed this issue for me was - download DDU (display Driver uninstaller) and uninstall your Audio drivers (not video card drivers) - then go to settings on windows and click on apps , type Creative in the search bar. Uninstall everything creative related , then install the creative app again DO NOT plug in the DAC until after the creative app has been installed. Here’s my honest ratings overall - Value for money - 9/10 Sound quality - 10/10 Device quality - 10/10 Size and convenience - 8/10 Software features - 10/10 Ease of software installation - 4/10 Software reliability - 7.5/10 Device look - 8/10 Going to a 3 star is a bit harsh that’s why I listed some good and no so good things about the device.

I bought this because i have 3 computers connected to a single monitor. I had to keeps swapping speakers around depending on which PC i use. I bought this sound card and connected to a USB KVM. Now i can swich between all my different computers and not have to switch speakers around. the sound card can support up to 7.1 speaker system. I have it connected to a 5.1 pc speaker system. The sound quality is better than the built in sound chips .

The Creative Sound Blaster X4 is a nice piece of kit, it has many functions and it has a very good sound quality there are so many different types of ways you can use this, It also has a volume function on top to turn the sound up or down, with touching your DTS. I recommend this Product to anyone who wants great sound and many ways to use it. By Zion Many Thanks to Amazon Services.

Having owned an internal soundcard for a while now, an Essence STX II, I decided that my new PC build would enjoy a new, external sound card. USB sound generation?! The future is now! What a mistake that was. The item itself is nice. It looks great parked on the desk. That's where the positives start and end, as no matter what I tried, I could not get this to output 5.1 audio via SPDIF. I couldn't even get Windows to recognise it as a 5.1 capable piece of hardware. All efforts returned to stereo output. This is to the same speaker setup that said Essence STX II has been managing 5.1 with, effortlessly, for several years via SPDIF even though the Essence STX II is out of official driver support and relies on community drivers (which work flawlessly on Windows 11). The Creative software is atrocious, also. A minefield of multicoloured icons with no distinct purpose or intent. There's zero logic to any of it and that then carries through to Windows itself, trying to make sense of whatever the Creative software is setting. After spending days, trawling numerous reports and posts by people online suffering from the same, I just have no option but to give up. My trusty Essence STX II is back in, installed with drivers and outputting to 5.1 dolby, recognized by windows and passing all 5.1 speaker output tests. Maybe USB sound generation isn't the future, after all. Unless you're just looking for a dumb stereo/virtual surround gadget that you can plug some headphones into. Seems a bit pricey for that, though.

Wow - I can for once, without a shadow of a doubt, lay to rest my worries that this X4 could not compete with my "old" X-Fi Titanium PCI-e sound card, it doesn't compete, its much better! I can only put it like this: Go back 10yrs when you switched over to a creative/other brand card over on-board audio. The difference is night and day. That's the exact same feeling I just got moving away from my X-Fi Titanium! The sound quality through my ancient 5.1 Altec Lansing speaker system is better. The box itself isn't small, but a pleasing desktop piece if you're into that kind of thing. The centra dial is nice and big, it feels tactile, something you can grab and adjust nicely - the dial has fine controlled increments. The blue glow is welcomed - it's not too bright where it's distracting/annoying. I have yet to test the other features like the SXFI or Bluetooth - I mainly bought it to replace my X-Fi Titanium for desktop usage (gaming, movies and music) and it's brilliant. Build quality is great & sound quality is amazing. I will update this review in time but I had to leave my initial thought given how awesome and pleased I am =)

I wouldn't say it is worth £120. It does increase my sound quality a lot, and I love using the super x-fi setting. However, I have had a lot of issues with it over the past ~9months. Sometimes it just does not pick up my microphone and I'll plug it in and out, reset the software, plug my headset in and out, restart my PC and suddenly one of the above might fix it - no idea why it does this. This hasn't happened for a while now, thankfully, although it used to occur a lot - worried it'll happen again. Further, the buttons and knobs on the actual device are confusing to get the hang of, and for a while it was working fine - I could easily adjust the audio balance of my call with my partner against the audio of the game. This for a while has not worked though, despite being set up the exact same way it was when it was working - now it just changes to a weird red outline on the volume knob and doesn't appear to do anything. Shame really. Really just not completely worth £120 because of the software which sporadically breaks every so often, I can't say Creative support is great either, as they were really no help with my problem above when it happened. To reiterate, audio wise, it is a nice jump up and the Super XFI feature I personally really enjoy with anything, whether it be just music, a video or gaming. The software however is what appears to be its detriment, which I suppose is good considering it can at least be fixed the easiest; this is yet to happen though. The newest X5 is also a massive jump in price from the X4 and appears to be marketed to a completely different group of people than what the X3 and X4 was, so sadly, Creative seem to not be going in the best direction. Used with the MMX300 headset. Edit: April 2024 - crackling noise which seems to be from the cable that connects the X4. I haven't unplugged it or even moved the X4 since I bought it in June 2022. Edit: November 2024 - crackling noise seemed to literally disappear on its own, can't remember what fixed it but was maybe a software update. Ironically, a recent software update brought it back and made it unbearable and I had to forcefully revert back. There are threads talking about this on Reddit and yet Creative has entirely ignored the issue - that broken driver update is still the most recent. The software really does let this product down so much. I really love SXFI on its normal setting and think it sounds far better than without it, but the software is such a pain.