Sound BlasterX G6 Hi-Res 130dB 32bit/384kHz Gaming DAC, External USB Sound Card with Xamp Headphone Amp, Dolby Digital, 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound, Sidetone/Speaker Control for PS4, Xbox One

Let's get one thing out of the way - I am NOT an audiophile. However, I am a person who owns and uses a variety of headphones and ear buds. I am also a person who is a bit hard of hearing. Before I purchased the Sound Blaster X G6 external sound card, most of the headphones I used just weren't loud enough. I had a pair of wired earbuds that I've had for several years that were loud enough for me to truly enjoy music, video games, movies, and other media on any of my devices. Unfortunately, last month, the cord developed a short in it, which pretty much rendered the earbuds useless. That prompted me to replace the earbuds. Initially, I was going to purchase the exact same pair (if it ain't broke, don't fix it). Well, wouldn't you know, the company is no longer in business. This sad fact eventually lead me to investing in a pair of wired Inner Ear Monitors or IEMs which are an upgrade from your standard earbuds but not as expensive as the top of the line, noise cancelling, name brand earbuds endorsed by rappers and rock stars. I did my research and bought two pair of IEMs that had impressive reviews, but did not break my budget. While one pair of the IEMs was just loud enough to be useful for me, the other set just didn't cut the mustard when it came to the volume level. I broke down and purchased a different brand of IEMs and the new pair had great sound, but also not enough volume. I really didn't want to spend money on another pair of IEMs, regardless of their inexpensive cost (it was starting to add up). I was researching an app that could increase the volume of the content that I play on my phone, when I found a post that talked about the Sound Blaster X G6 External soundcard, and how it was able to really enhance the user's experience playing video games. I changed the topic of my search to the Sound Blaster X G6 and I found a ton of articles and videos about how people were blown away by how different their experience was by using this portable little plug and play device. Needless to say, I had to hear it for myself. I purchased my device and was pleased with the compact size of the unit. The portability allows me to use this device in more ways than I anticipated. I can connect it to my android phone by using a USB C to 3.5 mm adapter that can be purchased for less than $20.00. That allows me to use it anytime I consume media on my cell phone. I can also use it with my laptop computer by connecting it directly using the included microUSB cord included with the package. I can also use it when I play video games or watch movies on my PS5. There is one caveat. Since this product was released before USB C became the standard type of port to power / charge devices, the Sound Blaster X G6 still uses a microUSB port to supply power to the unit. You can plug the microUSB cord into the same plug in wall charger that you use for your cell phone. You can also supply power through an open USB port on your computer or video game console. A third option which I hadn't initially considered was that it's possible to use a portable charging bank to supply power to the Sound Blaster X, at least until the portable charging bank has used up all of it's stored power. I suggest investing in either a usb extension cord with an A Male to A Female connection or an extra long microUSB cord for maximum portability. That way, you can plug the microUSB up to the wall or other power source when you are laying in bed or away from a laptop or other device with a powered USB connection. I've had the device for several weeks and I can honestly say that it works wonders for me, especially for my hearing condition. I have trouble hearing high frequencies and also some of the low end bass frequencies. With the Sound BlasterX G6, I can purchase any pair of IEMs and feel confident that I can have more than enough audible space to increase the volume to my liking. You can also connect the device to your computer to adjust the internal settings and EQ to fine tune the sound to your liking., The unit saves your adjustments and settings, even when you are not connected to that same computer. Overall, this product seems like it was made for me. It has made several pairs of IEMs and over the ear headphones that I own sound vibrant and alive. I would recommend this product to anyone who would like to enhance their audio listening experience.

Let me First talk about what I came from before moving to this. I have a Asus Maximus Code X motherboard and it has supposed 32-bit on board Audio (Realtek Chipset). I used to think it had good audio....(now I just shake my head in shame) This little thing the size of a desk of cards, plugs in with a USB cable. and absolutely blows my on Board Audio out of the Water. Not only that, but my Head phones all three Pairs of them Sound AMAZING now, and My speakers, its like they are brand new, and so powerful. It Improved Steel Series Arctis 7's, Turtle Beach Elite Atlas's (using 3.5mm) by a really surprising amount. I used to have to turn my headphones to about volume 50-60 on most games and Music, now I cant turn it past 22-24, IT IS way to loud now. The headphones can handle it, but my ears can't take more volume than this. It is Amazing. I now get crystal Clear 32-bit 96khz Spoken Dialog, Amazing 7.1 Surround (yes 32-bit 96khz even in Surround) and Perfect Stereo 2 channel in 32-bit 384khz Audio for Even more Crystal Clear perfect audio (of course this depends on your source... but honestly this DAC makes everything sound better than it did before. It also made my Klipsch 2.1 BT Desktop Speakers Thump hard as hell. I had to turn my bass down on my speakers as they now are much louder than ever before. Listening to music with this is a whole new experience, and seriously if you thought your headphones were nice before you have a whole new world of music to listen to again. The EQ Settings are excellent, and varied, From Dance to RnB to Classical and Acoustic and they have many presets for so many games. ( I honestly thought geeze there are too many almost). If you don't want to use their presets, no problem create your own. You can tailor your Sound to Direct, 2 channel, 5.1, 7.1 Virtual , and even change the type of speakers you are using which affects the frequency response allowances in the Equalizers. You can choose Headphones, Desktop, Bookshelf, Towers, you name it, all of which change your sound, or go full custom with the EQ. One thing I love about this is that your Keyboard volume and mute controls still work like you'd expect, even though you have controls right on the DAC itself for volume and Surround etc. I have the Logitech G910 Keyboard, and it works flawlessly with this DAC for Adjusting volume ever so slightly, Muting completely. The reason I bring this up is because I had a Pair of 2018 Arctis Pro's + Game DAC and it took all controls away from Windows. and it sucked having to reach over and adjust the Knob constantly, also the Arctic pros Software Sucks too, no where near as many features. and no discernible sound difference from the Arctis 7's I already own (which are a really good Headset too). The installation of this DAC is literally a breeze, Download the Software, The Driver, AND the latest 2018 Firmware update for Windows 10.. and you are Golden.. Trust me.. this is very easy to setup and configure. One Extremely Important thing to note about this DAC, it has no Battery, it is not Portable in the sense that you can use it to amplify headphones on the go etc, (this is a Good thing because Batteries die) It must always be plugged into a USB port or a USB to wall outlet Adapter to provide power. The build quality appears to be Excellent and I almost wonder if Creative Labs didn't shoot themselves in the foot by releasing this over top of their X7 External Unit, which is only 24bit/192khz. I totally understand the different use scenarios of the two, but for the Sound quality and the compact size of this thing, at less than half the price of the X7 many PC Audiophiles will not make the jump to the bulky big block, even if they want to Hook up Larger Speakers, or Headphones. This Begs the question... When will Creative release the X8 or X9.. with 32-bit 384khz High Fidelity Certified Audio? Count me in. Closing Pros: -Extremely Compact -Extremely Excellent Sound Quality 32-bit 384 Khz in 2 channel and 32-bit 96khz in 7.1 -Amazingly Easy Setup -Excellent Windows 10 Drivers that just work ( Yes Really) (REMEMBER THE FIRMWARE UPDATE) -Connections allow for Headphone and MIC Connections in the Front, and your Desktop Speakers in Back. ( yes at the same time.) -Excellent Presets and Equalizer customization, for a ton of games..(You'll see) -Excellent Software -Really Good Virtual Surround -ON DAC controls for Volume, Surround, Gain, and Scout Mode -Worth every penny of the 150.00 price tag, (I would've paid more honestly) -RGB!!! Mine is set to RED... just Solid Red.. the way things outta be. -Minimal desk Space consumption ( if that's a thing for you.. it could be a thing.. just saying) -Flawless for both Games and Music -Makes Your Headphones Scream and your Speakers Thump.. All for 150.00 Hope you guys Love this thing as much as I do!!

It wasn't until recent I decided to focus on the smaller things in life... Well I have no idea where I am going with the beginning statement so let me just get to it. I was in the market for a decent set of headphones as my HDJ's finally caved in after 6 years of use. I landed on a set which was advertised to essentially give me the same feedback but better build quality (still questioning as I am in the process of return). Only to realize that while the headset was working, it just didnt give me that oomph I was looking for and the clarity. I figured, these reviews can't be real. I then looked into EQ settings and stumbled upon sound cards. The G6 had raving reviews and I myself was a very big Creative fan owning their 5.1 surround desktop speaker set about 8 years back. I decided for the price it couldn't hurt and boy I wish I did this sooner! The sound clarity is crisp, but only if you want it to be! (does that make sense?) The adjust ability of the parameters is almost infinite giving you the sound you want our of.... well almost any decent headphones! With the switchability of low gain to high, and the SBX properties and Scout??? this is just an all in one package! My bass head heavy music never sounded so deep and wet, yet my gaming experience on scout mode was just amazing as I felt like they were right next to me (referring to footsteps from distances away). Scout mode does take a little bit of getting used to as per my experience last night (first 2 hours of running) and it's just an amazing tool to give you that much more of an advantage in FPS / PVP gaming. You truly do know where your opponents are and this literally gives you the edge in almost every circumstances. You can balance our your high's and lows with a very user friendly software downloaded via Blasterx/support website. Make sure to update your driver as per other reviews mentioned, I did not want to have a bad experience as a first time external sound card user. I can't attest to it's longevity as I have only used it for a few ours so far however this sound card really promises and delivers. I wish this came with a little pouch for us Laptop gamer's as I pack away everything every time I play sealing my investment but that's just being nit picky like the guy who says this product contains lead.... (yeah I am putting you on blast, the computer / phone you just used to write your review contains the same if not more amount of harmful properties). Portability is an A+ Ease of use A+ Sound Quality A+ Device manager / Software A+ Build Quality (if it was cased in some type of metal would have been A+) ... A- (feels empty) Overall A+ and super satisfied!

Where do I start, this thing is a piece of junk and it will most likely be returned. The sound is a touch better than my onboard audio card when it works. I do video editing and use studio-grade headphones. I thought if I could replace the Sony ES receiver from my desk that powers the headphones then that would be a plus. At first, it was going great, I set it up and it sounded good and had the power to drive my high ohm headphones. Then I went to work on videos. In Resolve 16 Studio it disconnects about every 3-5 minutes, I am not kidding. I then tried AVID, the same thing happens. I loaded up my audio editing program and the same thing. Seems they should emphasize these are for gaming only although I read that this too happens to gammers. I looked at firmware, its updated, looked at the USB controller, changed it to another, the same thing happens. The only other option is to use an optical interface and see if that fixes it but I already do that with my Sony ES receiver and truthfully its not worth the 130 plus dollar price tag when it completely fails at its only job in life. I really wanted to like this thing, I really did. ---------------- UPDATE ---------------- First off, I upgraded the rating stars to reflect my findings and workaround. I decided to install this on my Dell Precision 7510. It is on my desk as a second computer for tasks including lite video editing if my main system is busy rendering large projects. I mostly did this to see if it was a hardware conflict that was causing the disconnect. Seems that the Creative Lab unit doesn't like high I/O devices. When my Areca RAID controller is accessing lots of data, like when editing, that is when the G6 disconnects. It also does this when it accesses my onboard NVMe drives so I know it is not a driver issue with my Areca controller. It seems when there is high throughput it likes to disconnect. On my Dell Precision laptop, it seems to handle it much better when accessing its NVMe drive or its SSD drives. I have since placed my main desktop on the optical in and am using the laptop through the USB. Overall I am much happier with this setup and if I have to use my laptop elsewhere I have a powered USB that I can use to power the G6. It is not my first choice but it is working in this configuration so I will keep it. I am still using my Sony ES receiver as the sound quality is much higher from the amp, granted the Sony is the value of 20 or so of these so there is that. It also powers my studio speakers at my desk too. I've decided I am happy with the device and will keep it. It's nice to hear both computers on the same input on the receiver, I sued to have them on different inputs and now I can hear both and they both sound great now. I do hope that Creative fixes the issue, I'd prefer this powered from my main system than my laptop.

This DAC is geared towards gaming but it great for general use as well. I was just looking for a decent usb sound card to add to my USB switch that transfers my peripherals between my work and home computer. Obviously this is extremely cheap in comparison to true audiophile equipment but I was not looking to spend that much. This one had stellar youtube and online reviews for the price point and is considered a jack of all trades, not necessarily the best at all or any particular area but a really great value overall and punches well above it price point. I wasn't getting this to drive better headphones or any particular feature set it had. Just all the reviews for the sound cards under a $100 weren't convincing they were that great (such as the sound blasterx G5) and I wasn't sure what all I wanted to use this for so I decided to spend the extra $40 to upgrade to this model. I needed this to primarily drive my desk speakers and then an additional port to drive my 4-pole headset (believe it or not but a 4-pole 3.5mm port on a sound card is not too common even though most headphones come this way). The one thing that would have been nice on this unit is if it had a physical button to toggle between the line out on the back and the headset port on the front. Essentially I have to unplug one of the ports to get the audio to transfer to the other port but thats a miner issue. I was honestly impressed how much louder and how much clearer (especially back ground audio in songs) or better the audio sounded from this card compared to my PC or Mac's onboard solution. It even conditions the microphone. I called a few colleague's over slack and discord to test the difference between the computers built in port and this sound card. It was night and day, everyone I talked to said the audio was much clearer, quality was better, no hiss in the background or static in my voice. This solved problems that I wasn't even thinking about. I thought it was just because it was a $30 headset is why the microphone was just passable for use but apparently a sound card can take that cheap headset and make it sound decent. I am not saying this is going to make the $10-20 microphone beat a $120 Mic but it can definitely get it half way there. For general use I use direct mode for the sound card to just condition the audio coming from the source with no filters but when I play first person shooters I enable Scout mode which really help isolate in game movement sounds and bring them to the forefront, dampening other sounds and background audio. It works springily well. Obviously I am not an expert on this kind of gear but I noticed a pretty drastic difference in my Mic and audio performance playing with the settings and feel the $140 was well worth it.

...you would think I did the way this snaps, crackles, and pops. It started to about a week into use. You can tell especially at high volumes- and boy is it annoying. Sometimes it won't do it at all. It also seems to clip at higher volumes, but it may just have been the result of a song's poor production quality. Either way, my day 1 impressions were leaning towards it being the positive jump away from onboard audio I expected, but missing the quality I had anticipated to fully enjoy my Focal headphones (the $350 Professionals, not the super expensive ones. I know better ;)). Either way, this box by no means sounds bad. Audio testing confirms it conforms to high standards for the price. You can't fool the ear however, and to me it sounds harsh and lacks clarity. Sound is subjective and relative, but I was on the fence to return it even before it started to crackle. And then, it stopped working on me! It would just cut out until you unplugged it from USB port, and plugged it in again! Research showed many people have had both the popping and cutout issues. Some say it's related to power. I tried all 3 of my USB controllers with the same result. Whether it's my motherboard, PCI-E controller, or not is beyond my will to deal with this device. I am returning it for a Schitt Fulla 3. Schitt delivers audiophile equipment built in California with an excellent price tag. I suggest you do your own research before buying either device. Lookup DAC reviews by people who backup their claims with analytics and experienced anecdotes. The G6 does somewhat well through those too, but it failed my tried and true ear test. It also failed to literally just work, so there's that. The software is a hot mess with two nearly identical programs making things confusing. The various features made audio sound worse. That's kind of expected, but I had high hopes since Creative used to be a good brand one upon a time. Edit: first Schiit impressions make the G6 literally sound like garbage at a premium price. Schiit is audiophile, Creative is a decade old money grab using marketing schemes like selling 384kHz... that's deceptive. Anyway, if you want audio quality, get something else.

I bought a G6 but returned. Page still shows G6, but I actually buy a G3. My equipment: B350 Tomahawk(2017), GE60 laptop(2013), MDR-V6 and DT770pro-80ohm. My usage: gaming, music Pros G3 has slightly better sound quality than B350 and much better than GE60. G3 drives 80ohm DT770pro much better. G3 saves setting in itself. No need to set it again when switch to other device. Price is good for what I have. Below my headphone price. G3 runs cooler than G6. Size is good for travel with laptop. Cons Plug and play sometimes not works, have to replug again or open creative software. USB wire a bit too short for desktop PC Other thoughts G3 is a gaming DAC. But only 1/3 of my games play better with G3, because most of my games don't have good sound. And I don't care about foot steps. My headphones already do their job very well while gaming. G3 mostly improves my music listening, from classic to pop or metal. More clean and detail sound. I bought G3 because my B350 3.5mm jack started to fail and I also have an old laptop. Though the sound is better. I bought it for $60 MSRP. It is not good enough for me to say 'just buy it', if all your devices work fine now.

Have been using the G6 since I got it across two desktops and a few laptops and it's a great way to keep your sound consistent and high quality especially if you got demanding headphones. Overall I've used it with external mics like the modmic to pair with headphones like the dt770, dt990, shr840, fidelios xh2r, hd599, dt1990s and the hifiman XS with superior results to regular onboard sound. I thought about upgrading but for what... the g6 is feature rich both for gaming and music related audio and is powerful enough to drive any headphone I've thrown at it.