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NYalex
281
Jul 31, 2015
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i don't know, this unit sounds great on paper with all the features.
but $400 for a creative product? i don't know.
after audigy 2, creative has been making garbage marketed heavily towards gamers. they have not released any significant sound cards (as far as quality goes) in the last 10 years.
i've had an external dac/amp usb from creative in the past that i threw out the window because of how shitty it was. granted that was only $120, but for what it was it was expensive.
i just don't have faith in creative products anymore.
and i go WAYYY back with their products, sound blaster ISA, 16, awe32, 64, live, audigy, i've had them all since early 90s.
every single card they ever made don't hold a candle to the old aureal vortex, still to this date.
maybe i should give this a try.........
Jul 31, 2015
Actionable_Mango
81
Jul 31, 2015
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NYalexCreative was hit hard by highly capable/inexpensive sound chips integrated right onto motherboards. Since then, they've been hit and miss.
I agree with you they've made a few stinkers over the years, but they've made some good stuff too. The X7 really fit the bill for me, so I took the risk on one and am really happy I did.
If it meets your needs, I encourage you to ask least look at the reviews for it around the web. Also, in case you didn't see the link earlier, here is a very detailed review: http://www.head-fi.org/t/756102/creative-sound-blaster-x7-detailed-review-impressions
Jul 31, 2015
Lateralus
290
Jul 31, 2015
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NYalex"after audigy 2, creative has been making garbage marketed heavily towards gamers. they have not released any significant sound cards (as far as quality goes) in the last 10 years."
Not totally true. The Sound Blaster Z, Zx, ZxR, and older Titanium HD were all reviewed to have great SQ. I agree with them being hit or miss, particularly during the Vista days, but it's ignorant to call everything after the Audigy 2 garbage. I kinda miss my old X-Fi XtremeMusic. It's probably crap now compared to the Xonar STX that I was using prior to the X7, but it was a great card for its time.
Anyway, it shouldn't be assumed that the X7 was built only for gamers and lacks SQ because of it. They chose quality components and built it with SQ as a selling feature.
Jul 31, 2015
Anzial
1494
Aug 1, 2015
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LateralusWell, I think the worst part of Creative products is driver support. The moment next gen products hit the shelves, all of the old ones are stop being supported. Once X8 or whatever comes out, there will be no more drivers for X7 and it'll gradually become a $400 paper weight, because unlike bitfrost and other other "plain" USB DACs, it needs drivers to shine.
Aug 1, 2015
Lateralus
290
Aug 1, 2015
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AnzialThose are good points. I was actually going to say yesterday that much of the hate towards Creative is actually attributed to the drivers, not the hardware. I've never had any major problems, but the software was horrible for some. It seems as though they have improved in this area (it's still kind of cumbersome, but at least it doesn't crash your PC anymore).
Agreed that support for the X7 will stop at some point, but it'll still retain whatever functionality that it has at that point (which, even now is a lot). I don't see it becoming a paper weight any time soon. It'll likely eventually be surpassed by a superior solution, but by the time it's actually obsolete I'll most likely be ready to try a new toy anyway. :) At least Creative isn't like Apple (and I love my iPhone 6) -- I don't think we'll be seeing the X8 6 months from now, the X9 one year later, etc. This product should be good to go for a while.
Aug 1, 2015
Anzial
1494
Aug 1, 2015
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Lateralusyeah, you maybe right, but then core3d chip inside current creative products is getting long in the tooth. It's possible that next couple of years the next gen hits and all current soundblasters end up with their brethren like x-fi in the dustbin of history
just look up creative's history - every 4-5 years a new chip. core3d successor is imminent me thinks
Aug 1, 2015
Actionable_Mango
81
Aug 1, 2015
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AnzialIndeed that is where individual components shine.
Aug 1, 2015
DigitalRonyn
558
Creative Labs
Aug 1, 2015
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AnzialHey guys, as the PM for the line I'm listening really close to this conversation (in a good way I assure you). We actually are still supporting cards all the way 2 generations prior to the Z series (Recon3d and X-Fi Titanium). We're working on drivers for these generations for WIndows 10.
We know we have some work to do on our rep with drivers and we've been working hard through the Z series (and with driver revisions to older series cards) to change the perception of some folks who might have had a bad experience prior. With the E and X series we've taken that even further since we know there's a crossover into a new market segment.
You can rest easy. The X7 is a flagship product. It's a cornerstone to a much bigger picture that we're developing.
The components in the X7 are top notch and we designed it to be an awesome amp / dac FIRST and then layered in our tech for gaming and entertainment on top of that.
We know that if we didn't start with the right components and design there was absolutely no way we'd get the cred and acceptance from serious audio enthusiasts.
With that being said though..the drivers are going to supported for a LONG time. That I can assure you.
Aug 1, 2015
DigitalRonyn
558
Creative Labs
Aug 1, 2015
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AnzialThe core3D isn't going away. The thing is a beast for audio and it's adaptability makes it ideal for deploying in several ways. We're able to add features to products because the cores can be re-programmed for specific audio tasks. This adaptability has only begun to be used with the current gen products.
This gives us a huge advantage over devices that are just using a codec...they can't adapt to the times. They are what they are.
Aug 1, 2015
Anzial
1494
Aug 2, 2015
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DigitalRonynDon't get me me wrong, I love Creative products, going back all the way to AWE64 or 32 back in the day. But I also has my share of driver angst over the years when old products stop being supported as soon as new ones show up, leaving a lot of people with perfectly good audio products behind once a new operating system shows up on the scene. So I do hope you are right and Creative will improve driver support but I should also say that I've heard this before, many times.
Aug 2, 2015
DigitalRonyn
558
Creative Labs
Aug 3, 2015
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AnzialTOTALLY understand Anzial. No worries!
Aug 3, 2015
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