Questions About the Sound BlasterX G6

[jidenshaotoko]

I'm not an audiophile. However, I enjoyed using my on-board audio processing so much over these last 3 years, especially the amplification and how much oomph it gives to everything. But the audio on my motherboard started hitching out recently, which is a bummer because I miss using these features.

 

So I started looking around to finally get my first sound card. Now, before you guys start recommending options, I'll just go ahead and say I live in Brazil, and my options here are extremely limited; both from availability and also price (the X3 goes for almost US$600 here, for example). I'm familiar with the Sennheisers, Mayflowers, Shiits, but unfortunately none of them are available for purchase here. We don't even have the X4 in stores.

 

The G6 is more within my price range, but I have a couple questions. For reference, I use an Audio Technica M50X.

 

- I don't care about all the software fluff other than surround sound virtualization. Can I use it without ever having to install software, or does virtualization only work if I have it setup through Windows first?

 

- That said, how's 5.1/7.1 virtual surround sound? I'm not looking for accuracy (I don't have a frame of reference to even know how accurate sound would, well... sound). I'm just looking for extra oomph. Does it deliver?

 

- Can I plug it into my TV via optical out and have everything I have plugged into it come through the sound card and onto my headphones?

 

- What about PS5? Will this setup passthrough audio or will audio be limited to the console? Reason I'm asking is that to capture PS5 footage, I can't listen to anything with headphones plugged into either the controller or the console, otherwise the file has no sound.

 

- Can I expect the same level of "amplification" that I'd have on PC, but plugged into the TV?

 

- If I have it plugged into the TV, what modes do I have available (direct, 7.1, SBX, scout...?)

 

Thanks in advance. Appreciate you taking the time to read this.

[OfficialTechSpace]

1 hour ago, jidenshaotoko said:

For reference, I use an Audio Technica M50X.

M50X is overhyped.

1 hour ago, jidenshaotoko said:

So I started looking around to finally get my first sound card.

Soundcards are objectively poor by comparison to an external solution.

1 hour ago, jidenshaotoko said:

- That said, how's 5.1/7.1 virtual surround sound? 

"7.1 surround" is a gimmic, it's a digital audio processing filter.

1 hour ago, jidenshaotoko said:

 Can I plug it into my TV via optical out and have everything I have plugged into it come through the sound card and onto my headphones?

Soundcards output audio, they don't always accept inputs. It's a solution for your desktop.

1 hour ago, jidenshaotoko said:

I'm not an audiophile.

Agreed, lol.

[Psittac]

1 hour ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

M50X is overhyped.

Soundcards are objectively poor by comparison to an external solution.

"7.1 surround" is a gimmic, it's a digital audio processing filter.

Soundcards output audio, they don't always accept inputs. It's a solution for your desktop.

Agreed, lol.

Condescending much?  He HAS the M50X, the G6 isn't a sound card and he means optical out of TV

 

2 hours ago, jidenshaotoko said:

The G6 is more within my price range, but I have a couple questions. For reference, I use an Audio Technica M50X.

 

- Can I plug it into my TV via optical out and have everything I have plugged into it come through the sound card and onto my headphones?

 

- What about PS5? Will this setup passthrough audio or will audio be limited to the console? Reason I'm asking is that to capture PS5 footage, I can't listen to anything with headphones plugged into either the controller or the console, otherwise the file has no sound.

 

- Can I expect the same level of "amplification" that I'd have on PC, but plugged into the TV?

 

- If I have it plugged into the TV, what modes do I have available (direct, 7.1, SBX, scout...?)

 

Thanks in advance. Appreciate you taking the time to read this.

 

The G6 looks like an acceptable solution, I know little to nothing about it but I just looked over what information it has.  Your headphones are very easy to drive so they should get at least the same volume that your onboard audio provides but should offer a better quality of sound.  *edit: I just realized it runs only off usb power which would be a limiting factor if you had higher impedance or lower sensitivity headphones.

 

As for connectivity I'm pretty sure that what ever is sending audio to your TV will be the audio source that is output from the TV's optical.  So when you're looking at your computer it'll have that sound and when you're on your PS5 it will have that audio assuming everything is connected to the TV through hdmi.  If I had to guess the optical out will not impact your game capturing but I can't say for sure.  As to the limitations of optical I know they are lower than hdmi, there is a hard cap on the signal that optical can convey but I don't remember what it is, I'd google what optical is capable of it's self because it will be the connection limiting you.  *edit: I would imagine that you could switch between optical and usb on the device so that you can have a better connection from your PC and still connect to PS5.  Also I would double check that the PS5 is compatible, it only say's PS4 on their page.

[OfficialTechSpace]

48 minutes ago, Psittac said:

Condescending much?  He HAS the M50X

I'll admit, yes. But that was intentional.

[rice guru]

10 hours ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

 that was intentional.

Unfortunate

[CTR640]

@Tigerleonhas a Sound Blaster if I'm correcly.

[Tigerleon]

5 hours ago, CTR640 said:

@Tigerleonhas a Sound Blaster if I'm correcly.

Yep. SB AE-9

[CTR640]

2 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

Yep. SB AE-9

A few years ago I wanted to get the X7 lol. It got the inputs I needed/want but for some reason, it went the other route.

[jidenshaotoko]

On 1/28/2022 at 6:50 PM, Psittac said:

The G6 looks like an acceptable solution, I know little to nothing about it but I just looked over what information it has.  Your headphones are very easy to drive so they should get at least the same volume that your onboard audio provides but should offer a better quality of sound.  *edit: I just realized it runs only off usb power which would be a limiting factor if you had higher impedance or lower sensitivity headphones.

 

As for connectivity I'm pretty sure that what ever is sending audio to your TV will be the audio source that is output from the TV's optical.  So when you're looking at your computer it'll have that sound and when you're on your PS5 it will have that audio assuming everything is connected to the TV through hdmi.  If I had to guess the optical out will not impact your game capturing but I can't say for sure.  As to the limitations of optical I know they are lower than hdmi, there is a hard cap on the signal that optical can convey but I don't remember what it is, I'd google what optical is capable of it's self because it will be the connection limiting you.  *edit: I would imagine that you could switch between optical and usb on the device so that you can have a better connection from your PC and still connect to PS5.  Also I would double check that the PS5 is compatible, it only say's PS4 on their page.

Thanks Psittac!

 

Knowing the baseline of what I can expect is definitely helpful as I honestly have no idea of what to expect from a dedicated DAC/Amp. I did my own research, but even Creative's website has some confusing and contradicting info in regards to G6, so I figured I'd ask people who know way more than I do.

If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of their page, it says the PS5 is compatible, but only via optical. The thing is, PS5 doesn't have an optical port like the PS4 does, so that's where the confusion stems from. I figure they mean you can use an HDMI audio extractor straight into the G6 to make it sort of compatible.

 

Anyways, thanks for the helpful answers! Appreciate it.

[ShearMe]

9 hours ago, jidenshaotoko said:

I figure they mean you can use an HDMI audio extractor straight into the G6 to make it sort of compatible.

Probably just whoever writes various product info stuff doesn't understand the tech enough. Some of the articles I see when searching "PS5 optical port" are saying "Just use your TV's optical output, duh"

[Psittac]

9 hours ago, ShearMe said:

Probably just whoever writes various product info stuff doesn't understand the tech enough. Some of the articles I see when searching "PS5 optical port" are saying "Just use your TV's optical output, duh"

That would make perfect sense, problem solved so far as I know