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- If you couldn’t tell by the overall tone of this review, I really enjoyed my time with the Creative Sound BlasterX Katana. Normally, I’d categorize something like this as a “good sound for what you’re paying” type of situation, but that doesn’t really work here. The Katana just straight up sounds really good.
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Sound BlasterX AE-5 Review: A Gaming Sound Card for Headphone Aficionados
Creative Labs was instrumental in evolving PC audio with notable products, like the Sound Blaster 16, AWE 32, AWE64, Live!, Audigy, X-Fi, and Extigy, and algorithms like EAX technology. Most of its competitors through the last three decades, like Yamaha, ESS, Turtle Beach, Auzentech and M-Audio, evolved their product line-ups or faded into obscurity. There were acquisitions of Aureal and Sensaura technologies that further boosted Creative's technology portfolio, too. Sound cards seem passé nowadays, as motherboard manufacturers hop up high-definition audio codecs with higher quality op-amps, capacitors, shielding and S/PDIF outputs, that make discrete sound cards a harder sell. But despite all the optimizations and tweaks to on-board audio, there’s only so much you can do with cost-conscious audio codecs.
Creative Labs recognizes the shortcomings of on-board audio and offers a variety of USB DAC’s, like the Sound Blaster E5, G5, and X7 to provide higher quality audio output, but its internal sound card lineup has been a bit stagnant. Heck, the last time we reviewed a Sound Blaster card was in 2014 with the ZxR, and we haven’t seen any new sound card releases since the ASUS STRIX RAID DLX in 2015, until now. Dubbed the Sound BlasterX AE-5, the latest PCIe sound card from Creative Labs comes with all the gamer necessities, including a high-quality DAC, dedicated headphone amp, sleek looks, and RGB lighting controls.
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| Interface | PCI Express x1 |
| Dynamic Range | 122 dB (Stereo, DAC) |
| Total Harmonic Distortion (THD+N) | |
| Sampling Rate (DSP Playback) | 16-bit / 16, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz24-bit / 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz32-bit / 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz |
| Sampling Rate (Direct Mode Playback) | 16-bit / 48, 96, 192, 384 kHz24-bit / 48, 96, 192, 384 kHz32-bit / 48, 96, 192, 384 kHz |
| Sampling Rate (Recording) | 16-bit / 16, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz 24-bit / 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz |
| Headphone Amp | |
| Connectivity | 1 x 1/8-inch Microphone / line-in1 x 1/8-inch Headphone / headset out (Xamp)1 x 1/8-inch Front out1 x 1/8-inch Rear out1 x 1/8-inch Center / Sub out1 x Optical S/PDIF out1 x HD Audio front panel header1 x RGB LED header (supports 5V RGB strips) |
| Power | 1 x MOLEX (+5V for Aurora lighting) (optional) |
| Pricing |
At the heart of the Sound BlasterX AE-5 is Creative Labs’ in-house Sound Core3D digital signal processor (DSP) that’s also found in the previous Recon3D and Z-series. But the Sound Core3D implementation isn’t the same as the previous generation cards despite being the same silicon. Creative Labs claims the Sound Core3D was engineered with emphasis on future-proofing so it’s programmed differently in the AE-5. Differences include support for 44.1 and 88.2 kHz playback in Direct Mode and virtual 7.1 support. The volume control on the AE-5 is directly mapped to the DAC volume too, so there’s no fiddling with an audio mixer to ensure you’re adjusting the correct volume slider.
Joining the Sound Core3D DSP is the ESS ES9016K2M Sabre Ultra digital-to-analog-converter (DAC) that’s typically found in high-end audio gear. Pioneer employs the ES9016 series in its Elite LX701 and higher-end receivers that start at $1,600 MSRP. The 32-bit DAC delivers sampling rates up to 384KHz in direct mode, which bypasses the Sound Core3D DSP and is intended for pure listening experiences with lossless audio formats. Going through the DSP limits sampling rates to a max of 96KHz.
Creative Labs touts a signal-to-noise ratio of 122 dB with total harmonic distortion (THD) of 0.00032%, which is 2 dB higher than the extremely optimized on-board audio of an enthusiast motherboard like the ASUS Crosshair VI Hero, but numbers aren’t everything. This leads us to the Sound BlasterX AE-5’s most desirable audiophile feature - the trick new Xamp headphone amplifier.
Typical headphone amplifiers use a single amp to drive both channels of its stereo headphone output. The Xamp separates the left and right channels and amplifies them discretely for pristine audio quality. Creative Labs backs the dual amps with audiophile-grade transistors and WIMA capacitors to achieve a THD of 0.0009% and 116dB SNR on the dedicated headphone output. The Xamp’s 1-ohm output impedance enables it to drive anything with an impedance sensitivity from 16 to 600 ohms so you can drive anything from your budget gaming headset to those Sennheiser HD 800s you’ve been yearning for.
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Summary:
Portable & Versatile Speaker with decent audio quality
Creative Sound Blaster FRee Bluetooth Speaker Review – I’ve always been in love with my Creative Roar Bluetooth speaker but it’s not always practical to carry around. Sometimes you just want something smaller, yet doesn’t compromise on the volume.
This new Bluetooth speaker from Creative, FRee, is a compact, portable Bluetooth speaker that can be carried around quite easily and supports multiple connections for the input.
Creative Sound Blaster Free Speaker Review
Whatever storage you store your favorite tunes in, this speaker can play them (well, unless if you have them on a CD).
Creative Sound Blaster FRee Review – Packaging
The Creative Sound Blaster FRee looks like an update to the Sound BlasterAxx AXX200, featuring similar design and power. The FRee looks a bit more premium though.
The speaker looks like a small non-cylindrical tube which serves for a dual-orientation placement that depends on your situation. Place it horizontally for wider stereo separation or vertically for a loud 360 degree sound. If cranking the volume up doesn’t sound loud enough, there is also a “Loud” button that you can press to further amplify the sound output.
Unfortunately, the sound doesn’t get better at higher volume (or when the “Loud” feature is turned on). It does get louder, but a lot of details within the music seem to get lost, or distorted. The volume does not disappoint, however, so you should still be able to hear your music as the small party goes on.
Connectivity is one of FRee major strengths. It supports 4 different types of connections:
[1] Bluetooth
Pairing is simple and straightforward, and you can pair the speaker with your smartphones or tablets. If you have Spotify, Apple Music, or Google Play Music, it will work great with this set up. I’ve listened to my Google Play Music songs on this during my tests.
The speaker also allows 2 devices to be paired simultaneously, making it a breeze to share the speaker between devices or family members.
[2] microSD
The Sound Blaster FRee has a built-in MP3/FLAC player with playback controls, so you can simply copy over your songs to a microSD card and play them directly. There is no app to fiddle with and no set up to be done. Have multitudes of songs? Simply copy them to different microSD cards and swap them over as you get bored with a particular genre. Supports up to 32GB.
[3] USB
Traveling with your laptop? Simply plug the Sound Blaster FRee into your laptop’s USB port and enjoy your music away (or movies, games).
[4] AUX IN
If you have an older device or consoles like my PS3, you can simply hook a 3.5mm audio cable into the AUX IN port. This means that the speaker can pretty much accept from any input, assuming you carry a 3.5mm cable with you.
The portable speaker is also a speakerphone, which means you can do a conference call with it. Or if you have your hands full (such as preparing a meal), it’s good to know that you can still chat assuming your phone is paired with the speaker.
Sound wise, the quality is pretty good, though not astonishing. The Bass is good at times, but sometimes feels a bit muddy.
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Creative Sound Blaster FRee Review Conclusion
The Creative Sound Blaster FRee is not free (don’t get confused by its name) but comes with a compact, unique design with decent audio quality. It’s easy to carry without sacrificing volume and power, and versatile. Pair it with your phone to listen while you move around the house, carry it while you travel to listen to your music in a hotel room, or bring it to a party indoor/outdoor without worries (it’s PX4-certified splash proof).
The sound quality is not exceptional and sometimes sounds tinny compared to the Roar, but it’s definitely loud and powerful for its size.
Disclosure: Review sample was supplied for reviewing but all opinions are mine and not paid.