Creative X3 - Super Brief Review

[marshac]

Exceptional sound - I purchased this due to frustrations with the RealTek audio on my motherboard and 5.1 audio. Reading up on my options, I was interested in the new chipset in the X3, and for the price, thought I would give it a shot. I haven't spent much time gaming, so I can't speak much to the gameplay enhancements (footsteps, etc) they talk about, but for music the music is more balanced, bright, and full. The 32bit/192kHz decoding is a step up from my previous 24/96k - I'm honestly not sure the human ear can tell the difference if everything else is equal, but music does sound better. The ability to switch between headset and speakers with a button is nice - my A50 headset was always causing me grief in this regard, so I "downgraded" to a corded A40 and it has been great with this single-button switch. It also outputs optical out simultaneously with Dolby Digital encoding through the Toslink port alongside the discrete 7.1 analog outputs. There is a large dial on the top to adjust volume if so inclined. If you're looking for a sound card around $100 and don't mind the space of an external card (USB-C at that), check this one out.

 

[mrjohnbb]

I'm recommending it too. The software allows for some eq'ing that can make a huge difference in SQ. I still like the free and excellent Peace Equalizer APO Configurator for eq'ing and a bunch of other good stuff but with a button on the X3 you can scroll thru 3 customizable presets. With the inputs (mic, line, optical, usb) the surround outs and, bonus, a separate sub out it can solve quite a few in/out problems and make for a tidy simple pc setup. Haven't bought a nice pair of headphones yet so can't comment on SQ for that or how well they push 250 ohm headphones but I will soon. Looking real hard at the Beyerdynamic DT880s.