Having these options on didn’t distort any of the music I listened to. Personally, I enabled Surround, Crystalizer and Bass, which sound a lot better than other sound cards I’ve used in the past. Once that’s set up, it’s smooth sailing from there as you can enable or disable a variety of functions to enhance your listening experience.
#Sound blasterx g5 usb sound card 7.1 install#
You will need to install the software if intend to use the G5 as it was intended-or you’re going to miss out on a lot of its features. Grab the BlasterX Acoustic Engine Pro Software Pack, and not the “Lite” variety.
#Sound blasterx g5 usb sound card 7.1 drivers#
The only hurdle you’ll have to deal with when setting up the G5 is making sure to download the correct set of drivers for it. For the purpose of seeing what the G5 was capable of, I used the following headphones: Audio-Technica W1000X, Master & Dynamic MW60, Creative Sound BlasterX H7, and Bowers & Wilkins P7. The G5 allows you to swap between three audio profiles that you can configure through the BlasterX Acoustic Engine app, and allows you to select between low (32-150 Ohms) and high (150-600 Ohms) gain outputs so it’ll drive both regular headphones and demanding Sennheiser headphones like the HD650 without blowing out your eardrums.
![sound blasterx g5 usb sound card 7.1 sound blasterx g5 usb sound card 7.1](https://d287ku8w5owj51.cloudfront.net/inline/products/22669/fea_1.jpg)
Finally, the volume knob is backlit in red and the side buttons have white LEDs so you won’t struggle with the buttons in the dark. Interestingly, the audio port supports analog headsets without requiring a splitter, so you won’t need to set up a mess of cables on your desktop to get it to work with any headset with a built-in microphone. The G5 unit features two 3.5mm front-facing inputs, one for audio and another for microphone. It works with PCs and Macs via USB, and both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 through optical-in. Unlike most of their previous systems, it’s an external sound card that hooks up to your system via USB. It might not matter too much to anyone who isn’t an audiophile, but I happen to be one, so here we are.Ĭreative has been a dominant presence in the PC audio scene for decades, and their Sound BlasterX G5 is their latest entry.
![sound blasterx g5 usb sound card 7.1 sound blasterx g5 usb sound card 7.1](https://inwfile.com/s-f/oeglw0.jpg)
Dedicated sound cards offer reduced latency as well as higher quality audio output free from hiss and static. The biggest advantage is the dedicated sound processor, which reduces the workload for the CPU. Even with onboard soundcards becoming the de facto standard for today’s PC setups, I’ve always considered sound cards to be a must-have addition to any gaming rig, as they offer a variety of advantages over integrated systems.
![sound blasterx g5 usb sound card 7.1 sound blasterx g5 usb sound card 7.1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media/vc/b7f19d0f-51b2-45b3-b895-a55986d78324._SR300,300_.jpg)
I couldn’t ever imagine gaming on a system without one. I’ve been using sound cards ever since my introduction to the Sound Blaster 16 way back in ’93.