Suggestion for Creative SB Z setup -initial bad impression

[TorqueS]

Hello guys! THERE IS A TL:DR at the end.

 

 

So, about a month ago my trusty Xonar U7 decided to die(the infamous blinking LED). I fixed it, but more on that later.

At that point I decided to buy another sound card. 

My setup coinsits of:
- Sennheiser HD-569s for general use

- Microlab Solo 6C(New) for music

- Enkor Z1000-A 5.1 analogue surround system for movies, series etc.

- I used the Senn's inline mic previously as it was enough for chatting on discord

 

So naturally, I needed a sound card capable of driving headphones and a 5.1 analogue system. The U7 was absolutely great. Everything in my setup sounded great, no distortion, no problems even with the clunky drivers.

As I could not find a  U7 MKII in stock, I setteled for the Creative SB Z as I have read that poeple were generally liking it.  And I do too, to a point.

The speakers sound great, but that's likely because I have the Z set as "Stereo Direct" for the Microlabs so the signal is fed dirrectly to the DAC, with no processing whatsoever. The surround also sounds great, it's well spaced, no complains there.

BUT, the headphone out is a joke. That's the impression it has given me this past month. I cannot help but think I am doing something wrong with the settings, so that's the advice I am searching for here.

What I did:

-uninstalled the realtek drivers and switched off on-board audio in the BIOS before installing the Z

-used the March 2017 drivers available on Creative's site.

-set headphones to stereo, in Windows' control panel as it was somehow set on 5.1 by default on the headphones out

-set sample rate and bit depth to 24/96,as I have read that 24/192 is available only in "Stereo Direct" mode which is only supported on the line out port

-disabled every SBX Pro studio crap setting in the control panel

 

I mainly listen to high-quality FLAC files, some ripped from my personal collection.

The sound is crap...it's muffled, I can barely hear the snare in songs I previously did when using the U7. The volume is too high, 30-40 is like the highest I would go with some exceptions, those being quieter than usual songs from the recordings. Moreover, I can clearly hear the right cup louder than the left, like noticeably louder. That also makes my head hurt quite a bit, even at lower volume. I have higher volume and it became distorted, something that never happened on the U7. 

The headphones themselves are fine and they sound better and balanced(volume wise) on my Axon 7 than on this Creative card.

 

So, is the headphone amp that bad or is there some driver tweak, setting that I'm missing? I have searched on other forums and couldn't find an answer so i decided to ask specifically.

I have since then fixed the U7 as well but ended up giving it to my sister before I found out how bad the Z sounds and I can't really ask her to give it back. It's more ergonomic in her setup that mine.

 

Also, something crossed my mind but I didn't try it. Can I connect the headphones to the Front Speakers/Line Out jack and use "Stereo Direct"? I didn't try it because I feared I might fry something.

 

If I can't find any solution I'll probably sell the Z and look for a used U7 MK II or a new one since they seem to be back in "supplier's stock". I thought of purchasing a separate DAC like the Fiio E10K or something like that but I don't really think it'd be an earth shattering difference on my headphones compared to an U7. Plus...I'd like a compact unit that can do them all.
 

 

TL:DR.

I got a Creative SB Z which sounds really bad when using headphones(Sennheiser HD-569), compared to the previous U7. Stereo speakers(Microlab Solo 6C New) sound brilliant thanks to "Stereo Direct". Surround 5.1 (Enkor Z1000-A) sounds good as well.All software DSP is disabled from the control panel.

 

What am I missing, settings, tweaks, or is it just that bad?

 

 

 

 

[an actual squirrel]

There's a headphones/speakers switch somewhere in the drivers, and you have to switch it when you use headphones.

[TorqueS]

I know, since the speakers are connected to a different jack than the headphones and sound won't come out simultaneously. That's not the problem.

Here's the switch.

[an actual squirrel]

Okay, these type of issues usually come from using the wrong jack,because only the headphone jack has the headphone amplifier. But if that's not the case, I am out of ideas.

[EsaT]

You need to have Surround enabled in SBX Pro Studio tab.

Otherwise you're only going to get stereo sound or front channels from games.

Which really sucks giving only artifical sound in left or right ear, or in center of head immersion.

[TorqueS]

I am aiming for stereo playback, for music. Games sound fine, sound is postitional even with Surround disabled.

I am just trying to get unaltered signal from the DAC, without any DSP or equalizer.Even ASIO sounds bad.