Creative unveils Sound BlasterX AE-5 gaming sound card with 32-bit DAC and RGB lighting
If you thought the concept of a sound card was dead, you'd be wrong, but I wouldn't blame you for thinking it. After all, on-board motherboard sound is often excellent, and many people will choose a USB DAC nowadays as an upgrade.
Today, Creative unveils a new PCIe sound card that will get you excited. Called "Sound BlasterX AE-5," it is chock full of features and impressive specs. While overkill for most, it features an insane 32-bit/384kHz DAC. It offers connectivity for a 5.1 speaker setup. Since this is a gaming product in 2017, it of course has RGB lighting -- it comes with attachable RGB light strips to illuminate your case. While this card is designed for gamers, it will also be ideal for audiophiles listening to music.
"Delivering an industry-leading gaming headphone amplification experience, the on-board headphone amplifier is custom-built using discrete transistors and audiophile-grade WIMA film/foil capacitors in a dual-amp design to satisfy the most demanding needs of today's intense games and high-resolution audio. Experience the difference of a discrete dual-amp design as each audio channel is individually amplified to deliver pristine, uncompromised audio. Plus, the high heat resistance of the German-made WIMA capacitors greatly reduces noise and audio interference. The Xamp's ultra low 1Ω output impedance also makes it perfectly capable of driving sensitive in-ear monitors as well as studio-grade headphones from 16Ω to 600Ω," says Creative.
Pure Edition
The company also says, "At the heart of the Sound BlasterX AE-5 sound card is the quad-core Sound Core3D audio DSP and a 122dB ESS Sabre-Class DAC that instantly boosts regular motherboard audio with up to 32 times more clarity. The premium audiophile-grade DAC with its high dynamic range indulges users with up to 32-bit/384kHz lossless playback and true audio fidelity for high-definition audio in games, movies, and music."
Creative shares the following specifications.
| • | Audio/DSP processor | : Sound Core3D | |
| • | Channels | : 5.1 discrete speaker out 7.1 virtual headphone surround |
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| • | Interface | : PCIe | |
| • | DAC | : ESS ES9016K2M SABRE32 Ultra DAC | |
| o | Max playback resolution | : 32-bit/384kHz | |
| o | DNR | : 122 dB | |
| o | THD + N | : 0.00032% | |
| • | ADC | : Sound Core3D | |
| o | Max recording resolution | : 24-bit/96kHz | |
| • | Headphone amp (600 Ω) | : Custom-designed discrete headphone amp (Xamp) | |
| o | SNR | : 116 dB | |
| o | THD + N | : 0.0009% | |
| o | Output impedance | : 1 Ω | |
| o | Headphone impedance range | : 16 - 600 Ω | |
| • | Connectivity | : 3 x 3.5mm line out (front, rear, center/sub) 1 x TOSLINK optical out 1 x 3.5mm headphone out 1 x 3.5mm microphone/line in 1 x Intel HD audio front panel |
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The RGB lighting is totally unnecessary, but oh so cool. While the normal version comes with just a single light strip, the limited-edition white "Pure Edition" comes with four. You can customize the lights using the included Windows software.
Gamers will appreciate the new Scout 2.0 mobile companion app. Creative claims that it can help you locate your opponent in games using an all-new Scout Radar feature. How well this will work remains to be seen.
If you want to add this beautiful card to your PC, the normal version can be had for $150 in July. The Pure Edition will cost $30 more and will be sold exclusively from Creative directly in August.