Review and Measurements of Sound BlasterX G6

[Robbo99999]

I think that device is just supposed act like an inline volume control so I can use it with headphones without detachable cables. I still have a few days to return the G6 and buy a different DAC/amp, or maybe I'll just invest in a proper amp. Decisions decisions...

There's not much point having a G6 unless you're using it for it's surround sound capability (virtual 7.1), either in gaming or movies. If you want to have a good quality DAC without surround capability then I can recommend the Topping E30 DAC to you, which I have - it's got volume control within the DAC itself (independant of windows volume control, a preamp mode), and is not buggy like the G6.....you'll need a headphone amp to add to the E30 though. I only have a G6 because I use it for gaming for virtual 7.1 surround sound, and it was measured on this website so I knew it was good quality for music listening too.

 

[ku1185]

There's not much point having a G6 unless you're using it for it's surround sound capability (virtual 7.1), either in gaming or movies. If you want to have a good quality DAC without surround capability then I can recommend the Topping E30 DAC to you, which I have - it's got volume control within the DAC itself (independant of windows volume control, a preamp mode), and is not buggy like the G6.....you'll need a headphone amp to add to the E30 though. I only have a G6 because I use it for gaming for virtual 7.1 surround sound, and it was measured on this website so I knew it was good quality for music listening too.

Honestly, I play a lot of games so I just wanted something with a mic input. I was hoping the 7.1 would be better than some other ones I've tried but I'm not really getting much out virtualized surround sound, even the Dolby Atmos thing. Been PC gaming since the 90's and I guess I'm just too used to stereo.

So I have a few days until my return window closes. Decided to dive into the BIOS to change up some power settings and so far I haven't noticed the popping noises. I'm debating whether to suck it up and pay out for a proper "stack" or make the G6 work for me. Hmm.

 

[Robbo99999]

Honestly, I play a lot of games so I just wanted something with a mic input. I was hoping the 7.1 would be better than some other ones I've tried but I'm not really getting much out virtualized surround sound, even the Dolby Atmos thing. Been PC gaming since the 90's and I guess I'm just too used to stereo.

So I have a few days until my return window closes. Decided to dive into the BIOS to change up some power settings and so far I haven't noticed the popping noises. I'm debating whether to suck it up and pay out for a proper "stack" or make the G6 work for me. Hmm.

Try changing the Surround variable in the software to improve your 7.1 virtual experience. 30% works best for me in fps gaming, of course you need to tell your game you're using 7.1, as the game needs to output 7.1 channels and then the Soundblaster software virtualises those channels into the headphone. I think it also helps if the frequency response of your headphone is accurate.....if you haven't tried it already EQ your headphones to the Harman Target by using Oratory1990 settings: https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets. I think virtual surround sound processing will work best when your headphones are as neutral as possible (ie the Harman Target, for most people).....the reason being that virtual 7.1 from Soundblaster is also designed to work with 2 channel speakers rather than just headphones, and the Harman Target is supposed to mimic the "natural" sound of a 2 channel speaker system rather than leaving the headphones just sounding like "headphones".

 

[Foscot]

Would the built-in amp be powerful enough for the Hifiman Sundaras? According to my calculations, 200 mW (which this can easily handle without much distortion) would be enough to drive them to above 115 dB SPL which is obviously more than enough.

I've heard some talk of headphones "scaling" with higher power, and people mentioning that the Sundaras really need a low of power to truly come to life. There seems to be a lot of headroom even with the relatively low power on tap here, so why are people recommending to use amps with outputs of multiple watts?

 

[Veri]

I've heard some talk of headphones "scaling" with higher power, and people mentioning that the Sundaras really need a low of power to truly come to life. There seems to be a lot of headroom even with the relatively low power on tap here, so why are people recommending to use amps with outputs of multiple watts?

This is one big lie in the audio scene. Sure you can appreciate your gear all you want but this "scaling" thing is seriously dumb. Don't buy into it.

 

[Foscot]

This is one big lie in the audio scene. Sure you can appreciate your gear all you want but this "scaling" thing is seriously dumb. Don't buy into it.

Yeah, as someone who has a graduate degree and is currently studying a PhD in physics, it truly sounded like BS to me.

I suspected that it was simply a matter of people having spent a lot of money on gear, and their brain justifying the purchase to them by making it sound better...

Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[MNML]

Is it possible to use the G6 as your DAC and a Schiit Heresy as the amp or extra amp?
Sorry for the noob question, still learning.
Thank you,

 

[pongpaktech]

Is it possible to use the G6 as your DAC and a Schiit Heresy as the amp or extra amp?
Sorry for the noob question, still learning.
Thank you,

Yes that is 100% possible.

In the measurements the headphone amp half of the G6 isn't the most powerful (it's a USB Bus powered device after all) so if you want/need more power using a 3.5 TRS jack out the rear "line out" (they're actually pre-outs) to dual RCA to a dedicated amp works, just make sure to decrease the volume to -2 dbFS for the best SINAD. The DAC part seems spot on for the price (at -2 dbFS), especially if the gaming features are useful for you

 

[pongpaktech]

Thanks. This doesn't seem to affect what I'm experiencing, however.

When playing music, instruments sound more natural and real when Windows volume is set very high compared to when it's set very low (e.g., bass guitar sounds very thin at low volume but full and thick at high volume; snare drums sound extra sharp and punchy at low volume but well rounded at high volume). Oddly enough, I'm not experiencing this difference when using a USB dongle: things sound virtually the same whether at low Windows volume or high Windows volume. I've heard that with other DACs, you want to set the source audio volume to max to get the best quality audio, but with the G6 that means it's the volume that G6's amp will output.

Hmm... Now I'm wondering if I should get a separate AMP or try to find a separate volume reducer.

What I use on my Windows 10 PC is this app called ear trumpet. It replaces the main windows volume slider which only has the master volume with a master volume control plus sliders from the windows mixer. I made a comment a little earlier about it but here's the screenshot if it's interface again:

With this you'll be able to bump up the master volume (which is linked to the G6 volume) then independently lower the volume of each app so that the G6 runs at a louder volume so that you get less IMD, out of the line out at least.

 

[MNML]

Yes that is 100% possible.

In the measurements the headphone amp half of the G6 isn't the most powerful (it's a USB Bus powered device after all) so if you want/need more power using a 3.5 TRS jack out the rear "line out" (they're actually pre-outs) to dual RCA to a dedicated amp works, just make sure to decrease the volume to -2 dbFS for the best SINAD. The DAC part seems spot on for the price (at -2 dbFS), especially if the gaming features are useful for you

That is exactly the thought process I used, and hoped I wasn't wrong.
I bought a Schiit Heresy, and a dual RCA to 3.5 cable on Amazon.
Budget, but for now it will do just fine.

Thank you,

 

[PhuFighters]

Hi ASR fam, I hope everyone is having a great weekend! Not new to the forum but first time post here. So I have the G6 usb into my Ps5 and a pair of Sundara into the front of the G6. On high gain, it drives the Sundara pretty loud at around 10 for me. So I just got a Asgard 3 and have it going into the optical out of the G6 (bypassing G6's amp). I put it on the Asgard's high gain mode and the volume up to about 2:30 or so just to get even close to the level using G6 alone. What's going on here? I thought the Asgard 3 should be able to drive anything haha.

 

[Veri]

Hi ASR fam, I hope everyone is having a great weekend! Not new to the forum but first time post here. So I have the G6 usb into my Ps5 and a pair of Sundara into the front of the G6. On high gain, it drives the Sundara pretty loud at around 10 for me. So I just got a Asgard 3 and have it going into the optical out of the G6 (bypassing G6's amp). I put it on the Asgard's high gain mode and the volume up to about 2:30 or so just to get even close to the level using G6 alone. What's going on here? I thought the Asgard 3 should be able to drive anything haha.

Optical to Asgard, so you are using Asgard internal DAC right? That is the reason, the Schiit DAC cards only output ~1.4V voltage while line level is supposed to be 2.0V...

You should use G6 RCA line-out into Asgard.

 

[PhuFighters]

Optical to Asgard, do you are using Asgard internal DAC right? That is the reason, the Schiit DAC cards only output ~1.4V voltage while line level is supposed to be 2.0V...

You should use G6 line-out into Asgard.

Sorry, that's what I meant.. My Asgard 3 doesn't have the internal DAC.. I'm running G6 line out into RCA in on Asgard but man do I have to crank the thing. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of headroom but just out of curiosity in trying to understand why the G6' amp on high gain gets super loud at 10 versus the Asgard 3's high gain at almost close to 3. Any thoughts on the matter?

 

[Veri]

Sorry, that's what I meant.. My Asgard 3 doesn't have the internal DAC.. I'm running G6 line out into RCA in on Asgard but man do I have to crank the thing. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of headroom but just out of curiosity in trying to understand why the G6' amp on high gain gets super loud at 10 versus the Asgard 3's high gain at almost close to 3. Any thoughts on the matter?

The Asgard should have like 8x as much power so I'm quite confused by that, too.

 

[PhuFighters]

Hahaha right? Hopefully somebody with this setup or have any experience with it chimes in. I'm a legit noob when it comes to this stuff but I do understand that the Asgard 3 should out perform the G6's amp by margins.

 

[Foscot]

Hahaha right? Hopefully somebody with this setup or have any experience with it chimes in. I'm a legit noob when it comes to this stuff but I do understand that the Asgard 3 should out perform the G6's amp by margins.

The G6, when using the line out, is actually functioning as a pre out. You should set the volume on the G6 to 85% (to avoid the clipping issue in Amir's review). If you haven't done that, see if that works.

 

[PhuFighters]

The G6, when using the line out, is actually functioning as a pre out. You should set the volume on the G6 to 85% (to avoid the clipping issue in Amir's review). If you haven't done that, see if that works.

Hi Foscot thank you for your input! I've just tried that and the volume is just too low on high gain. At this point with the G6 at a lower volume, the Asgard's volume knob is closer to 3-4 on high gain. I mean correct me if I'm wrong but my ears should be bleeding at those levels on the Asgard's high gain haha

 

[Foscot]

Hi Foscot thank you for your input! I've just tried that and the volume is just too low on high gain. At this point with the G6 at a lower volume, the Asgard's volume knob is closer to 3-4 on high gain. I mean correct me if I'm wrong but my ears should be bleeding at those levels on the Asgard's high gain haha

That is strange indeed. I just use the G6 for my Sundaras since it gets more than loud enough, so I don't have any experience with using another amp. For me, 30% on the G6 in high gain is more than enough.

Hopefully somebody with the same (or similar) combo as you can chime in.

 

[PhuFighters]

That is strange indeed. I just use the G6 for my Sundaras since it gets more than loud enough, so I don't have any experience with using another amp. For me, 30% on the G6 in high gain is more than enough.

Hopefully somebody with the same (or similar) combo as you can chime in.

Yeah man, really weird and I couldn't agree with you more! The G6 with Sundara on high gain gets loud and fast. I got the Asgard recently and thought what the heck.. Let's try it with the G6 and it's findings led me here for answers haha. Hope I can get some answers here

 

[Adahn]

You're probably trimming the line out signal somehow, somewhere. The G6 has an internal mixer. Check your volumes.