Creative Sound Blaster Audigy PCIe RX 7.1 Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp

I recently upgraded my system and the new board was missing the toslink optical output. I wanted a decent quality sound card that had this port and found this card. So far it sounds great and works well. I am not a big audio buff but it is at least as good as the onboard if not better. I am sure if I had the right speakers it would be amazing. Cons: I have the latest version of Windows 11 and the default drivers would not work. I had to download the creative drivers. This was easy but I am a minimalist and would rather use built in drivers.

This works in Linux without any special drivers. I bought it specifically for the MIDI synthesis functionality, which works as expected after awesfxload is used to load a soundfont. This card supports having many different programs send audio to it without any software mixing. I'd say its only flaw is audio recording. Its default mic capture is 8-bit mono, which is of course useless, and so to get good quality microphone recording, you have to utilize its 3rd capture device, which only supports 16-channel recording, as it seems to have a pair of channels for every recording source in the card. On the one hand this is kind of fabulous because it means there's probably many more options for recording here than you would get with any other card, but the downside is that you're going to have to get ChatGPT to help you write a /etc/asound.conf that creates a virtual device that exposes only the 2 channels of that 16-channel device that you want, as no recording software is prepared to record 16 channels and throw out 14 of them. In spite of that, I don't think there's a better card than this one that you can get for Linux.

I have been hurting to get my 5.1 surround sound setup back after changing my PC set up(which didnt have the ports to use surround sound on the MB) I tried externals and other products but nothing could suffice. This went on sale and just said "cant hurt to try" I am running this on windows 10(the most recent version at the time of this review) The good: Installation was fairly easy, even on the current cramped set up i had. The software was easy to set up and (at least for me) worked like a charm after a restart. Once i tested it, my speakers worked amazing. with my pci ports being so close i thought there would be electrical hums coming through from the power supply and graphics card; but its nice and shielded. The volume and sound quality was a HUGE improvement compared to the motherboard's onboard sound. I can run the speakers at a good volume without cranking the knob to 100. Even with volume increased; no hiss or hum. The sound quality is nice and clean. even with my older logitech speakers, it actually makes em sound like a premium set of speakers. Even headphones sound amazing through it. I have yet to test the Amp to see how well it works so i may edit this review in the future. And surround sound actually works the way it is supposed to; no "simulated" or poorly eq'd trickery. With video games it is ESPECIALLY noticeable how well it works. And thankfully the software allows some adjustments and even adjustments under window's settings. Now overall a great product but there is one issue. The creative sound labs software is VERY janky. its very outdated looking and navigates kinda poorly. While it works well and I havent had many issues with it crashing, freezing, etc; your mileage may vary. As well it seems to have just very weird issues when running games/apps with 5.1 surround sound support. there is an option for a bypass so this wont happen but even that can cause issues which requires restarting. but that is worst case scenario. All in all, this card is definitely worth it. Isnt too overpriced and works well. And surprisingly never had the issues of crashing or any issues of the card somehow not being recognized. Highly recommend if you need this so you dont have to buy and install a new motherboard and go through that whole song and dance.

If you buy a PC or a laptop these days, it almost certainly comes with a sound chipset that implements a standard called HD Audio. "HD, high definition, sounds good, right?" Well, no. All that really means is the chipset knows how to talk to a HDMI interface, like your TV. But HD Audio chipsets are actually terrible. Now, if you want to ADD a soundcard into a PC? You want the same thing, right? Well, no, you probably don't. Because why would you add in HD Audio to a PC that already has it? Creative's Audigy brand USED to mean high quality sound cards. But now, many Audigy models (like the Audigy Fx) are just cheap HD audio chipsets no better than what's already in your computer. The Audigy Rx is one of the exceptions. It is NOT a junk HD Audio chipset. It is built around an EMU10K1 digital sound processor, and it is capable of PHENOMENALLY good sound. You'll need good speakers, and possibly even an external amplifier, to let it really strut its stuff, but connect it to sound hardware capable of matching what it can put out and it will SHINE. If you're putting a sound card into a PC running Linux, this is the only one you will need. (You only need to enable one driver in the kernel, snd_emu10k1 along with its snd_emu10k1_synth module.) There's one "Gotcha!" to be aware of. This card has TWO sets of audio connections — a set of six 1/8" audio jacks, and an optical S/PDIF digital output. It DEFAULTS to using the S/PDIF, even if you have nothing connected to it. If you want to use the analog jacks, you will have to set the mixer control 'Audigy Analog/Digital Output Jack' to ON. ON is analog; OFF is digital. If it's set wrong you will have no sound out. Bottom line: A great price for a really good sound card that can do far more than other cards in its price range.

This card is fantastic and the (near) perfect replacement for Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS. In my opinion, the sound quality is better for your ears and is much more fun to play with and to record. The only flaw... No THX. But that's not a big deal to me. I bought this card to replace an old favorite of mine. You see, I have two computers with both Windows XP and 7 installed on both of them on separate hard drives. My old favorite is the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS and both computers had one. They also have my least favorite, (In my opinion and for my reasons) Sound Blaster Recon3D. When I use XP on either computer I can use the Audigy 2, but when I use Windows 7, I have to use Recon3D because Audigy 2 is not compatible with Windows 7. Now here is why I wanted this card, the Audigy RX. First off, it is almost exactly like the Audigy 2 ZS but with one minor flaw. It doesn't have THX. There is a better side to this card though. It works both on XP and 7, 32 and 64 bit. So now I no longer have to keep plugging and unplugging my wires. The more expensive Recon3D has a great Surround feature, but it's more for Stereo Surround on 5.1. The card also has a hideous Crystalizer which wreaks my ears and kills your speakers. It's made for clarity but all it really is, an enhanced treble system. My speakers are not crap either. It is a like new Logitech Z-5500 Digital Speakers. A rare system that cost me over $500 and I haven't seen them sold again since I bought it a few years back. The reason I brought up the Recon3D is because I do not want anyone making the same mistake I did. I wanted a good sound card with my own custom settings for Windows 7 and I made the mistake of buying the Recon3D. You cannot custom hardly anything on the Recon3D. Only the surround and crystalizer from 0% to 100%. Nothing more. If you want a card for Windows 7 and XP that works exactly like the Audigy 2 ZS, get this card. The Audigy RX. I hope this helps anyone who needed to know.

I bought this to supplement/replace my so-so onboard threadripper audio (realtek). I had a dedicated SB Live! PCIe card for nearly 13 years prior to my x399 setup. It worked. The sound was decent. It wasn't magical, like the time I purchased a Sound Blaster 16 (which was a legendary card in the 1990s). So, with my handy dandy new x399, the onboard audio - realtek - was just not that great. (OTOH I wasn't a big fan of realtek's ethernet ICs; they are cheap and do not have features like hardware checksum offloading, etc which cheap intel/3com cards of old had working) Looking over the spec sheet for the x399 chipset's realtek stuff (rebranded to Asus, but still a realtek), it wasn't that impressive either. Sure, it looked good on paper, but many things look good on paper. So I decided to go back to my favorite brand from decades ago; Sound Blaster. I saw this card on sale and decided that it supported everything I needed (digital output, 7.1 sound, etc) Was delivered today; Disabled onboard audio on bios, shut down PC, installed card, installed drivers. No sound. At all. Rechecked cables, disconnected/reconnected cables, reinstalled/upgraded/downgraded drivers over the course of 3 hours. No sound. At all. Decided that either the card was faulty, or creative labs decided to get creative and just break the drivers. I found quite a few forum posts on reddit and countless others with problems with 'no sound after xxx windows update' or 'doesn't support VM isolation on windows 11' Big red flag there. Creative's support more or less told me that I shouldn't be overclocking my DDR4-3200 memory to, 3200 and I should go back to the stock (2166). What? This is just sheer lunacy. I decided to just send the card back for a complete refund, as it doesn't work. I will never ever buy a Creative Card again. Ever.

I built a new computer with a Gigabyte motherboard which unfortunately omitted the standard set of jack outputs for audio that all motherboards usually come with. So, to use my 5.1 set of Logitech computer speakers, I needed to add an additional sound card containing the jacks. Because I didn't want to spend a lot I decided on this Audigy RX sound card which seemed to have decent features at a reasonable price. As a standard PCI-E sound card, there's not much to it. Plug it in and go. Windows has the right drivers for it and I was able to add on the Creative control software so I can set it up as I like it. Standard Creative ease of use. Many reviews out there complain about low-quality sound but I don't hear that. It's easily as good as any other sound card or on-board sound any other motherboard has. Using it with my reasonably good Logitech 5.1 speakers and games or Youtube videos, there's nothing noticeable indicating the sound is of poor quality. So if you need an add-on sound card, there's no reason not to consider this Audigy RX card as it sounds fine and is very affordable.

I miss the glory days when sound really mattered for gaming. When the sound effects of the game were designed around SoudBlasters EAX technology it really made them come to life. Today it seems that sound is good. it is immersive but it feels like it is missing that sharpness. the crispness of the environment around you. Part of my problem is that I bought into the Razer Tiamat 7.1. true surround headset. not the virtual stuff. I have 9 speakers within 3 inches of my head. that is kinda where the impressiveness stops. but that is an entirely different review. When I got the headset, I also purchased the Asus Strix raid 7.1 sound card. which comes with this external controller that you must use. It was okay as long you used the software to boost everything. It was worthless otherwise. Built a new system that has the SoundBlaster Recon 3Di chipset on board. It sounded pretty good. However, I had to do a shutdown the system once a week because the sound would get all garbled. And you have to use the mobo mfg drivers. All this lead me back to the Audigy RX. 7.1 card. It works well now. Had to disable the GeForce audio passthrough to my monitor speakers in order for the card to retain being the default setting. Or it would be default but apps would go out the GeForce output. It would be fine one day and then poof out the wrong device. And it would look fine when you navigated to the screen to change the setting. Change it to how it was playing save the change it back and it would work for a while. So, ended up just disabling GeForce audio all together. After that it’s been pretty stable. However, another small print. Is that its only 7.1 if you have the sound blaster speakers. Otherwise it too is only 5.1. The latest driver is from 8/14/2018. Sound quality is what you’d expect from a Audigy card. Still only 24bit audio. Seems most of the 32bit audio is external cards which.. I just don’t understand why they went that direction. Anyway, hope this helps someone decide if they want it.. or.. don’t want it.

très bon produit

A little pricey but a very good quality card. Please check for PCIe X1 slot & space if you already have a graphics card. Mine is a snug fit but does fine. The sound quality is awesome and discover a new level of sound quality while listening to your usual music. Other special features are dual mic and powerful headphone amp. Best experienced with Media monkey player or winamp. The bass is prominent and using it with my old Creative inspire 4500 (4.1) speakers. Its worth spending a few bucks for crisp music experience.

Chegou bem embalada instalada e funcionando perfeitamente, áudio maravilhoso Sound Blaster é qualidade sempre

Pues compré este producto de emergencia porque quería solucionar un problema que no se si el Hardware de mi placa ( una Asus Crosshair VI Hero ) o de los controladores Realtek de la misma comenzó a dar problemas de repente, simplemente el sonido se iba y venía como si desenchufara algo y luego lo volviera a enchufar y a cada rato se me aparecía el panel de control de Realtek preguntándome que que había enchufado en los conectores de audio cuando no se había movido absolutamente nada, intenté toda clase de soluciones y nada, el problema persistía por lo que llegué a la conclusión de que tenía que comprar una tarjeta de sonido. Al principio hice mi compra con desconfianza porque esto implicaría que yo mismo tendría que instalar la tarjeta y hacerla funcionar y jamás había hecho algo así en mi vida, mi computadora es armada pero yo sólo he comprado el hardware y gente que se dedica a eso han sido quienes la han armado, pero con esto de la cuarentena por el covid19 en que no había quien me ayudara y por el hecho de que todos en casa necesitamos ahora usar las plataformas de Zoom entre otras ya sea para trabajar o las clases virtuales de las escuelas, era indispensable que ese problema con el sonido se solucionara de inmediato por lo que finalmente me animé a hacer la compra con este producto y cruzar los dedos para ver que pasaba. Sólo menciono que el producto llegó en buen estado, en la fecha prometida y que la instalación fue de lo más sencillo ya que una vez que coloqué la tarjeta de sonido en la placa Asus, instalé los Drivers nuevos y logré deshabilitar los de Realtek todo funcionó perfectamente y adiós al problema, mi sonido volvió a funcionar otra vez a la perfección, además escogí esta placa en particular porque quería algo que no fuera de menor calidad que el sonido que ya traía mi placa de fábrica sino algo similar y puedo decir que esta tarjeta da mejor sonido que el integrado de la tarjeta madre , la diferencia sí es perceptible porque el sonido es más claro y sobre todo a un volumen más alto las bocinas Logitech Z625 que tengo ya no distorsionan como antes lo hacían con el sonido integrado de la placa Asus en las mismas condiciones, ahora tengo un poco de más potencia sin distorsión y mas claridad de sonido y "Cero" problemas de compatibilidad por lo que estoy muy satisfecho con la compra ya que solucioné mi problema, mejoré mi sonido ligeramente y no tuve que gastar mucho. Lo he probado tanto con música clásica con CD's de la marca Reference Recordings ( que se supone son grabaciones de Audiófilo ) tanto como con CD's de Pink Floyd, Rammstein entre otros y el resultado ha sido satisfactorio en ambos géneros de música en comparación con lo que antes tenía, ya sólo por último menciono que yo tengo Windows 10 de 64 bits y no tengo, ni tuve ningún contratiempo ni con el Hardware ni el Software del producto, todo funcionó a la primera y sin problemas.

Estaba teniendo problemas con la musica en el pc, el sonido era muy malo, hueco... Compré unos buenos altavoces de 300€ y no mejoro apenas, incluso conectándolo al pc por la salida optica digital. Me decidí a probar con esta Sound Blaster que también tiene salida optica y la verdad es que la mejora es increible, no hay color, como la noche al día. Es solo conectar instalar los controladores y usar ya que no tiene practicamente opciones de configuración para escuchar el audio, para la grabación ya es otra cosa, pero yo no la uso para eso. Tengo también otros altavoces mas baratos, 20€, conectados por RCA y estos han mejorado bastante con la Sound Blaster pero siguen sonando huecos porque no dan mas de sí, ni se hacercan al sonido que tienen los grandes conectados a esta tarjeta. La conpré solo para probarla pero al final me la he quedado porque sin ella no tiene sentido tener estos altavoces tan caros, además que mejora bastante también los baratos.