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Creative Launches Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe Sound Card

erek

erek

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"Creative launched the Sound Blaster AE-X to its PCIe sound card lineup, following the Audigy FX Pro"

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"On the connectivity side, the sound card sports optical S/PDIF input and output alongside the PCIe interface. From the software side, it features Scout Mode for positional audio, AutoEQ headphone calibration presets and customizable sound profiles. Altogether, these features position the Creative Sound Blaster AE-X somewhere between a dedicated music DAC and a gaming audio card. The card is listed at approximately $155 in China, €189.90 in Germany, €194.90 in Italy, and 774.05 PLN in Poland."

Source: https://www.techpowerup.com/349253/creative-launches-sound-blaster-ae-x-pcie-sound-card-with-ess-dac
 
I'm happy that Creative seems to have found a market, and they are keeping up with it.
Because USB headphones and Wireless headphones have just dominated the gaming space, both of which render cards like this useless.

Good 3.5mm gaming headsets are hard to come by.
 
Lakados said:
I'm happy that Creative seems to have found a market, and they are keeping up with it.
Because USB headphones and Wireless headphones have just dominated the gaming space, both of which render cards like this useless.

Good 3.5mm gaming headsets are hard to come by.
Click to expand...
If one is going for wired, is there any point in choosing a "gaming" headset over an old-fashioned pair of (non-"gaming" branded) headphones?
 
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emphy said:
If one is going for wired, is there any point in choosing a "gaming" headset over an old-fashioned pair of (non-"gaming" branded) headphones?
Click to expand...

A good pair of real headphones and a dedicated microphone is a great way to go. Almost any webcam can be used as a Mic, and due to streaming there are more wired Mic options available now than ever if you wanted something better.

The only real advantage of a headset is having that microphone literally attached to your head. That's not my preference, but it can be more consistent if you move around a lot while talking.
 
Lakados said:
I'm happy that Creative seems to have found a market, and they are keeping up with it.
Because USB headphones and Wireless headphones have just dominated the gaming space, both of which render cards like this useless.

Good 3.5mm gaming headsets are hard to come by.
Click to expand...
If you plug in a USB headset, does it render the software useless? Because Creative surround virtualization and especially the smart volume management are the best on the market. Keeps the dynamics sounding natural, music still sounds good and game audio impactful, but you can hear small details like footsteps without killing your ears from powerful effects. I also dont think most people use headsets as the only audio gear, it's a wearable with its own inconveniences and dangers.

I play with speakers so I will probably buy this. I remember the insane difference in general audio quality as well with the 2019 AE-5 in my old PC.
 
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I don't play much in the way of MP games anymore (getting old I guess) so this is something I may be interested in. I'll wait for the reviews.

I did consider the new FX card they recently released but then I realized that it uses a realtek chip which is apparently known to be somewhat problematic. Nah.
 
Lepardi said:
If you plug in a USB headset, does it render the software useless? Because Creative surround virtualization and especially the smart volume management are the best on the market. Keeps the dynamics sounding natural, music still sounds good and game audio impactful, but you can hear small details like footsteps without killing your ears from powerful effects. I also dont think most people use headsets as the only audio gear, it's a wearable with its own inconveniences and dangers.

I play with speakers so I will probably buy this. I remember the insane difference in general audio quality as well with the 2019 AE-5 in my old PC.
Click to expand...
USB headphones tend to (there may be an exception I don’t know about) use their own software sound drivers and don’t bother with any other ones the system may be equipped with.
 
I am tempted to buy one.. just to get off USB audio...
 
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revenant said:
I am tempted to buy one.. just to get off USB audio...
Click to expand...
According to the comments for the article, the AE-X is USB audio, just docked in a PCIE slot.

That's not enough though, as that's a PCIe to USB bridge, so that decoding chip, whatever that is, is the USB to DAC companion.
Click to expand...

That is an excellent point, and the Sound Blaster AE-X is the perfect proof that internal cards have adopted this architecture.
Under the hood, the AE-X features an ASMedia ASM3042 USB controller chip directly on the PCB. This chip functions as an internal USB-audio interface that bridges Creative's audio processor to the system via the PCIe 3.0 x1 slot.
...
So you are entirely right; looking for a USB-audio interface is key, because modern internal cards like the AE-X are essentially high-end USB DACs permanently docked into a PCIe slot.
Click to expand...

WTF? I thought it's PCI-e to avoid the USB latency and jitter, but that card converts low latency high bandwidth PCI-e to USB? Weird design choice. I understand it makes the signal path easier, but still.
One could just buy an external USB from Creative and call it a day, with all the advantages of having physical volume dial and some other physical controls as well, easy to access connections that aren't at the back of your PC case, etc.
Click to expand...

"Unfortunately nothing new in that.
Asus started using USB sound chips with PCIe bridge ships years ago.
Not sure if they had any actually natively PCIe sound card and just used bidge chips for first old PCI before USB."
Click to expand...

The SPDIF input is something I'd want - though I wish it included coaxial SPDIF-in. But I'm disappointed that it supports only 2.0 speakers. I don't know why Creative Labs can't just release a high-end soundcard like the AE-9 that has a full feature set, which doesn't come with an unnecessary external / preamp module.
 
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Yet another dumb product. It has an ASM3042 PCI-E to USB bridge
Why waste a PCI-E slot on a USB audio solution, unless it's something native like the X-Fi in my sig?
 
Delicieuxz said:
According to the comments for the article, the AE-X is USB audio, just docked in a PCIE slot.
Click to expand...

AAAIGHH... there is no escape... I was sort of kidding but this is kind of interesting. It must be easier/cheaper from a manufacturing standpoint for them to use chips that are native USB then creating a bridge to be wrapped in a pci-e device. So this would go: AE chip via USB -to-> pci-e adapter (essentially) -to-> PCH -to-> CPU ... Onboard USB has one less hop, goes directly to PCH. and onboard USB has come a long way since days of old with USB audio could really tax the system, pci audio was def a step up.

gemini agrees ...

"Performance: While some enthusiasts point out that converting high-bandwidth PCIe to USB creates an unnecessary extra step, modern USB audio controllers are incredibly fast, and this setup delivers flawless 32-bit/384 kHz playback and DSD256 decoding."


I guess I'm "some enthusiasts" ;)

It would be cool to see Creative to partner with someone and put that chip directly on a motherboard, like MSI used to do with the SB Live on their old Neo 4 Platinum.. like for a premium variant.
 
I really wanted this to be great... but I doubt it can power my 250 ohm DT 770 Pros. I'll stick with my Fiio K7. 0 complaints with it after about 1 year.
 
erek - looks like maybe.. Creative's Sound Blaster AE-X relies on its audio processor (such as the Sound Core3D or xCORE architecture) to offload complex audio processing from your CPU. It is primarily used to achieve pristine headphone amplification (up to 600 ohms), hardware-accelerated surround sound, and lag-free, low-latency audio capture for gaming, streaming, and music production

GoodBoy - Headphone Amplifier: Features the proprietary Xamp discrete architecture, which bi-amplifies left and right channels individually. It powers demanding studio headphones (up to 600ohms)
 
WhoBeDaPlaya said:
Yet another dumb product. It has an ASM3042 PCI-E to USB bridge
Why waste a PCI-E slot on a USB audio solution, unless it's something native like the X-Fi in my sig?
Click to expand...
Supposedly it’s to better deal with noise isolation and signal integrity.

Apparently GPU’s (especially gaming ones) and PC power supplies are electrically noisy, running a sound card directly over the PCIe spec then requires the signal to be cleaned that can result in the signal itself being changed.

They claim that putting the USB controller in the middle does a better job at maintaining the audio signal integrity from end to end.

My ears don’t work well enough to weigh in on this fight. Decades of dumb shit have left me lucky to hear at all.

But having the Sound Card inside the case is basically a convenience thing for some so why not offer it?
 
I still prefer the audio output of my old Audigy 2ZS against my motherboard audio. It's just cleaner and punchier, especially when hooked up to my headphone amplifier. Yes I still have one that works perfectly.
 
revenant said:
erek - looks like maybe.. Creative's Sound Blaster AE-X relies on its audio processor (such as the Sound Core3D or xCORE architecture) to offload complex audio processing from your CPU. It is primarily used to achieve pristine headphone amplification (up to 600 ohms), hardware-accelerated surround sound, and lag-free, low-latency audio capture for gaming, streaming, and music production

GoodBoy - Headphone Amplifier: Features the proprietary Xamp discrete architecture, which bi-amplifies left and right channels individually. It powers demanding studio headphones (up to 600ohms)
Click to expand...
others are saying it's an ASMedia chip? but other products on the market with this ES9039Q2M DAC are paired with an XMOS chip.. interesting

"the AE-X features an ASMedia ASM3042 USB controller chip directly on the PCB. This chip functions as an internal USB-audio interface that bridges Creative's audio processor to the system via the PCIe 3.0 x1 slot.
Beyond this internal USB routing, the card packs impressive hardware characteristics:
  • DAC: Equipped with the flagship ESS ES9039Q2M dual-channel DAC.
  • Audio Resolution: Supports playback up to 32-bit / 384 kHz and native DSD256 decoding.
  • SNR: Reaches an outstanding 130 dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (the highest in the AE lineup).
  • Amp: Uses Creative's custom X-amp discrete bi-amplifier supporting audiophile headphones up to 600 ohms.
So you are entirely right; looking for a USB-audio interface is key, because modern internal cards like the AE-X are essentially high-end USB DACs permanently docked into a PCIe slot."

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https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...e-sound-card-with-ess-dac.349253/post-5726299
 
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