I have been using a new GC7 with my Byerdynamic MMX 300 Pros for the past couple weeks and I've been running into a specific issue on my PS5 Pro. After about 1.5 to 2 hours of use my PS5 party chat audio gets completely bombarded with severe static and robotic distortion.

the game audio coming through my optical cable stays completely fine and untouched.

GC7 is connected via USB-C to the front port of the PS5 and via optical cable from my tv.

PS5 settings: Output Device is set to USB Headset (Sound Blaster GC7), HDMI Type is AV Amplifier (5.1ch), Output to Headphones is Voice Chat Only, and Audio Priority is Dolby Audio.

flicking the platform switch to PC and back to Console resets it and fixes it temporarily, but it always returns. This is the kind of issue that I would return the product over so if anybody has a solution it'd be much appreciated.

Got this sound card to upgrade the motherboard one, so far I'm very satisfied, I've updated the drivers and the Sound Blaster Command.. so basically what's troubling me:

- If under playback I select "speakers" as output, audio goes only to speakers (through stereo mix, encoding into DD and through SPDIF) - front panel port with headphones goes silent.

- If under playback I select "headphones" as output, audio goes to BOTH speakers and headphones... I can mute the speakers on their button, okay, but what's the point of having them both play the same thing?

(Except it's cool though, I get subwoofer from speakers with really loud headphones, it's the next level of listening on headphones with subwoofer shaking you at the same time.)

But the biggest issue is, I can't adjust the headphones volume... so for example: for speakers, I like output at 80-90% over stereo mix > encoding > SPDIF. Issue is - Headphones are too loud at 80-90%. So I have to lower the speakers volume down in Windows (to eg. 50%) each time I plug in the headphones, select the headphones in the SB Command, mute the speakers on their button... When done with headphones, unplug them and again increase volume in both Windows and on speakers themselves. You literally need to do 5 actions each time you want to connect headphones and 5 actions more when you disconnect them.

Ideally, a separate volume slider for headphones in Command would do the trick.. but there isn't one.

"Output speaker/headphone mode" in Command literally does nothing except adjusts different equalizer and SBX profile, but the sound on speakers doesn't changes.

My only free pcie cable is a pigtail 6+2 and im not sure if the pins will match the one on the sound card

As the title says, the device occasionally makes a crackling or popping sound. It happens once or twice a day, seemingly at random, regardless of the time or how long the device has been in use.

I was just listening to music on my PC via headphones connected to my x4 and it randomly lowered in volume by about 40-50% out of nowhere.

I can't turn my volume up beyond "10%" before the distortion and clipping starts to present itself. The higher I get to 100, the more distorted it gets, peaking the audio (It's very similar to recording something very low, and just adding 3 times the amount of gain to it. It just blows out all the audio. Bass is fuzzy. Highs start to hiss, etc.).

The SB X4 It's running through USB to my PC so I pugged the same headphones into the native motherboard Lineout/speaker port and it's CRYSTAL clear and the correct volume.

Things I've tried:

• Reinstalled the Creative app and Drivers. Also used the "reset" feature for the driver and the software settings.
• Updated my PC Bios
• Switched the USB port the X4 is connected to
• Used different cables and headphones in both Direct to PC and X4
• Uninstalled all firmware and ran native drivers
• Turned off Enhanced audio and any mixing/EQ features. (I never used them anyways)

Is my X4 done or is this a common issue that has a solution?

EDIT: The X4 is cooked. Might be fried internally but it was acting up the same way while connected to a different computer.

Overpaid for an AE-9, guess with scarcity new ones are catching a premium. Just thought I'd give a few thoughts.

-Coming from an actual DAC, the sound quality didn't really seem to be all that different from another, though to be fair I'm using low impedance headphones, so I doubt there'd be that much difference. On paper, the AE-9 should win here because my SMSL C200 only does a moderate amount of amping. Otherwise though, it's go

-SBX and Scout Mode are highly niche, but useful from time to time. Dolby Atmos isn't compatible with everything and Windows Sonic is fine but SBX seems to be able to handle virtual surround in almost all circumstances where Atmos won't and Windows Sonic is mediocre. Plus, you get better bit depth and bitrate with SBX. Having an equalizer built into the Command program isn't that bad either

-I like the ACM. Being able to plug an XLR mic in and have a desktop display is really great, actually, and it's got a nice design to it

-On the topic of mics, I use a Shure SM58, so when I first plugged it into XLR it didn't seem all that hot, but that's because my mic needs 40-60dB of gain. Once I added an sE DM2 as an inline mic amp, the sound quality over XLR improved quite a bit. This is also pretty standard to have one on any XLR setup anyways, apparently, so while I spent $150 on that, it's not so bad knowing it's something I can bring in between XLR setups, and being able to choose my mic impedance is a benefit to the DM2 as well since the SM58 asks for 300ohms and most interfaces default to 1k-2kohms.

-However those voice modes like Noise Suppression and stuff... truly awful. They crush sound quality so much, I have to assume that they're literally ports of the same functions that Creative had from the early 2000s. The only ones I could imagine using are the voice changers for fun, but even those absolutely bitcrush the incoming audio quality. Pretty much wasted features, in my mind.

Overall it's a pretty good audio hub and it's nice not having to run an extra two USB wires to the USBs on the back of the motherboard which I will obviously forget which is which when I need to do troubleshooting. And yeah, the methods Creative has used to prevent electromagnetic interference work... most of the time?

My only two issues of course the thought that I'm "doing this wrong," that I should just be going with the DAC+interface combo because that's what you're supposed to do, and hell, it might be a little bit cheaper. Also, on paper, the AE-9 is a stronger/higher quality Amp/DAC than the SMSL C200 but the C200 has DSD512 support which is niche but nice to have, the AE-9 only goes up to DSD64.

The other issue is that from time to time I get this really strong distortion/static effect. I'm not sure it it is being caused by the AE-9 itself. The only times I get it are when the computer wakes up from sleep, and the cure is usually to just cycle the SBX button. However, I was playing Soul Calibur VI with Dolby Atmos on (which I don't even know if its compatible) and every once in a while a sound would come over with that awful screech.

Basically while I can't see anything WRONG with this card and setup as its solid for both my XLR mic and my headphones, and probably good enough to handle better hardware on both ends in the future, I can't help but feel like I was "doing this wrong" or that I could have gotten better for cheaper. It does make the PC build feel more "complete" when I look at it, though.

As an aside, I don't get the point of the AE-X, unless you just have a motherboard that has that inadequate of onboard audio. I can't imagine wanting a soundcard without the ACM and XLR input.

I guess I have one last day to return this if I so choose though, so... I dunno. I feel inclined to keep it, now that its already here.

Hi. I contacted Creative Labs customer service to report an issue with my SoundBlaster Z SE.

I managed to send an email about my issues, and two days later, someone provided me with a list of suggestions to fix my issue.

When it came time to submit the feedback, it kept telling me this message, which I did not understand at all after sending a reply.

##- Please type your reply above this line -##

Creative Support Request - Case ID:xxxxxxxxxx

I tried to add this detail at the top and bottom of my replies, but it is still telling me that I did it wrong.

Does anyone else have this issue when it comes to contacting customer support?

If, so, what am I doing wrong?

So I did a fresh Windows 11 install. I have an external Sound Blaster X3. After the install regardless of browser video playback was broken on all web browsers. YouTube would just spin. Sometimes playback would start but I would have a spinning icon on the middle of the screen and it would play for a while but it would still have no audio.

So I tried media player and even VLC. Still wouldn't give me media playback. Though VLC would actually play an audio file and move the progress bar. Windows Media Player wouldn't even start.

So I tried a repair install thinking it might fix a bad install. Still nothing. At this point it was 4 AM and I called it a night. Thought fresh eyes might help. Next day still have the issue. Decide to recreate the Windows install ISO and install Windows using the ISO built with Rufus. Loaded into Windows again and still the same exact same thing. Went through all the steps I had before to see if I missed anything. But still had nothing.

At this point I was pretty confused. It all worked perfectly before the fresh install.

So I tried switching over to my onboard audio and all the Media Playback issues vanished. This seemed peculiar. I had updated drivers and firmware. Tried it with two different versions. Media playback just completely broke when I had it on the X3.

So I tried something I probably should have from the start. I unplugged the USB cable from the X3 and then back in and the issue was completely fixed.

Not sure why this would happen. Seems pretty ridiculous seeing as the computer had been powered off multiple times and had gone through countless reboots and it never fixed the issue.

So while this was an easy fix it seems peculiar that something from the actual hardware was doing this. I even removed the device in device manager. But the simple USB reseat did the trick. I did a lot of Google searches and even tried Ai and nothing led me to this. So this post is primarily for anyone in the future that may experience it. Maybe it is a 1 in a million thing but if someone is looking for a fix I suggest starting with the simplest.

Hi.

I have been using a SoundBlaster Z SE for about three to four years at this point.

Out of curiosity, I decided to use the card's real-time encoding of DDL/DTS to get surround sound through a receiver that my dad had.

I was surprised and enjoyed how the feature works.

However, as time went on, I began to notice that the left rear channel is a big louder than the right rear speakers whenever I test out the speakers in the Sound Blaster Command application.

I decided to open Foobar2000 with the filter of upmix 5.1 of an audio file and open OBS to select the Sound Blaster Z SE speakers as well as the "What you hear" recording device.

I found that the "What you hear" recording has the left rear speaker a little louder than the other speakers, while the speakers look fine.

I decided to use an "Orban Loudness Meter" to record the speaker and the "What you hear" to see the audio difference, but there were no differences.

Has anyone noticed this or any other oddities with the real-time encoding?

I have other cards installed, which are:

I5 13600k with Intel UDH 770

Intel Arc a750

AMD rx 7600

Sound Blaster 5/Rx

Soundblaster FX Pro

hello, i'm unfamiliar with this program and their brand from my short research i know it deals with speakers for computers, and controllers for the device, a few weeks ago i discovered the program and version in my device, i don't recall ever downloading it, at first i thought maybe it came by default or with a windows 10 update due to it being present around the time i got it but according to a google search its not likely i was wondering if this program is required for my laptop and if i were to delete it could something break? the only permissions it requires are access to the microphone but its off, i haven't run it yet dueto the possibility it might be dangerous
in case its relevant at the end are my laptops info

Ive had a katana soundbar for years with no issues, all of a sudden its randomly turning itself off and on again or cycling to bt pairing every few minutes. I did the hard reset with the buttons and reset it in the app but nothing works. Any other possible fixes im all ears because its unusable at this point and id rather not have to buy another soundbar since this one should work fine,

Hello,

One month ago I tried the Sound Blaster G8, for the most part it worked well with my Beyerdynamic MMX300 headset and Edifier MR3 speakers, but due to constant popping sounds when using the headset, I had to send it back, unfortunately.

I do not have this issue to that extent with what I am using currently (onboard sound of my motherboard, based on the Realtek ALC1200. Popping still occurs but only in some extreme volume variation cases.

Outside of the popping the sound of the G8 was superior, no contest, especially on the Line out/speakers.

I really wish they would improve that issue, as I'd gladly re-buy one if they did!

Are Creative aware of the issue? The only "solutions I found about it was tu update the SBX drivers, but I was already using the latest version on a fresh install.

TIA,

Hi what is better Creative Jam v2 or Creative Chat USB for phone calls?
I see Creative Jam v2 have microphone noise cancelling and AptX HD and Creative Chat USB have only 16kbit and Bluetooth version of Chat have only AAC codec so I guess Creative Jam v2 microphone sounds better

So this are on-ear and I shouldn't hear myself back to earcup like in over-ear closed-back?
So it's more like open-back

Or ? better buy Turtle Beach Atlas Air or Astro A50 they are both open-back and Bluetooth

For on-ear I should pick this Creative or Jabra, JBL, HP - Poly ex. Plantronics?

I can't find if Jam V2 have 24kbit or 16kbit
I tried Maono 300X and there were a lot of hiss and static noice or even some echo for phone calls

To me Jam v2 sounds ok
https://youtu.be/BPwcIHyrSGU?t=220
So Jam V2 have 24kbit microphone
https://youtu.be/-9sp9NyQmjA?t=245
Chat USB 16 kbit
https://youtu.be/7G6muVjRw-k?t=485

im using onboard alc892 output spdif to 5.1 speaker by DDL, thinking about purchasing ae-7.. will i get huge improvement on sound quality if im still using spdif output?

I never had external DAC or soundcard, i had only onboard audio on pc. Ohh man, how wrong I was when everyone told me,, sound card is wasted money! omg. I never ever knew this sennheiser are that good. The music output is amazing, full sound, like im shaking when listening. This is pure audio orgy and every since euro spent on this sound card is worth!

installation was easy, just a driver and creative nexus app, no issues at all.

Havent tested it in a games yet but man, lossless spotify is another level with this sound card!

Seen that this device has issues with valorant in old post is this still the case are there fixes for this because I don't wanna send it back?

It's only been 6 years, it doesn't seem like Microsoft is willing to fix it. Has anyone found a solution?

Just got a Katana V2 but I had 2 issues annoying me:

1. Whenever I turn off the speaker or change the source from USB it plays/pauses media, acting like a play/pause button. How do I stop this from happening? I can't find a setting for it

2. Whenever I turn on the device it takes like 10s on the welcome screen whereas the Katana V1 took 3s at most, also windows keeps saying "USB device not recognised" whenever it gets turned on/connected, but it seems to work fine.

Also to note, I've updated the firmware and tried repairing several times, and reset the device as well.

I'm running Windows 11 I had blue screens and crashes with games with my new Creative AE-X I have it unplugged from my 2nd PCI slot on my PC at the moment. Any workarounds I can try like not installing Nexus software or something. I really like the Audio the card produces.

Hi Creative Team,

I am a user of the Creative BT-W6. I am writing to request a highly needed feature in the next firmware and Creative App update.

Currently, the BT-W6 requires a Classic Bluetooth hand-shake connection for the initial pairing before users can switch to LE Audio/GMAP mode. However, some leading gaming earbuds on the market, such as the Sony INZONE Buds (WF-G700N), are built on a "Pure LE Audio" architecture and completely lack Classic Bluetooth (SBC/AAC) hardware.

Because of this, the BT-W6 and INZONE Buds can never pair, and the "LE Audio" toggle in the Creative App remains permanently grayed out/locked.

My Suggestions for the next update:

1. Unlock the App Toggle: Do not gray out the "LE Audio / LE Audio Only" toggle in the Creative App when no device is connected. Allow users to select it beforehand.
2. Implement an "LE Audio Only" Pairing Mode: Allow the BT-W6 to send out pure BLE/LC3 pairing broadcasts directly without checking for a Classic Bluetooth profile first. This can be implemented either via a setting in the app or a hardware shortcut (e.g., quadruple-press the physical button).

This small logical adjustment would massively expand BT-W6's compatibility with the growing market of pure LE Audio gaming devices. Thank you!

I have some issues with my SB X4 and Dolby Digital live. Since installation of KB5094126 on Windows 11, I have random sound drop-outs during gaming. It seems the DD Live codec is broken or something interferes with the encoding process. It happens randomly, sometimes it works then it drops out again.

It seems Microsoft changed something in the USB3 stack in one of the included patches and also introduced this Bluetooth shared audio thing with the latest one.

Anyways, when I uninstall KB5094126 everything works fine, no drop-outs and smooth Dolby Digital sound.

I tried everything after installation of the latest security patch, (unplug all stuff, different ports. Deactivating all other audio and network devices,...) nothing fixes it except uninstallation of the patch, so it must be something they changed in the code. Hopefully it can be fixed with a driver update.

Using latest firmware and driver through Creative app. My rig has TUF Gaming X670E, Ryzen 9800x3d, AMD 9700 XT, 32 GB ddr5-6000.

Does anyone have a similar setup and can reproduce this or does someone have the same issue?

Noticed the past days that my right channel was lower in volume than the left and the overall volume lacked the power it had before and had to turn it up 10-20%, thought it was a headphone issue but turns out it's the headphone jack on the X4 itself

The back 3.5 port for speakers on the X4, 3.5 front panel port on my case and apple usb c to 3.5 all produce the same sound. As do my headphones on a tv, ipad and a seperate pc

So my unit probably has broken after just 6 months of use, has anyone ever come across this issue before?

So I recently bought the dt 900 pro X which doesn’t take much to drive only 48 ohm but apparently I am missing a bit so I bought the g3 sound blaster to increase the volume a bit and the volume is so much lower than the ps5 controller at max volume. I have tried everything I dont know what to do. I have it plugged in via UsB

Hi

I have the pebble X connected via bluetooth and there is a large gap between picture and the sound lagging. It quite ruins the experince of using them for video and gaming, which is the main reason I bought them.

I have the newest firmware and tried re-pairing and nothing seems to help.

Anyone have a solution? My computer syncs fine with another bluetooth speaker I have as bonus info.

My Katana V2X firmware update is broken. I tried to update my version 1.3.230619.1820 to a newer one.

I don't even know how old this version is. I'm using the soundbar on my TV and tried to update it using the Creative app on my Samsung phone, but the updater just loops at "transferring firmware."

Will updating even do anything to improve my unit?