Review and Measurements of Sound BlasterX G6

[deadchip12]

The G6 will again sound the same as the DX3 pro and the 7-year old dolby usb sound card. That's the thing with proper, non-broken gear, they should all sound transparent. Those subjective claims about sound stage and "airier" sound are the typical audiophile bullshit.

Get the G6 if you need/want its features, otherwise you won't really hear any improvements really.

Yeah I suspect the same, but that was not the case with the e10k. When I still owned that dac amp, switching back and forth between the e10k and the usb sound card, I can hear a noticeable difference in soundstage and sound signature. Things sound less wide and warmer on the e10k. I thought it was placebo but I did not hear a difference between the dx3 pro and the usb sound card. Very weird. I heard dac amp can affect sound signature (making it warmer/brighter) but not the soundstage, but somehow it affected both based on my experience with the e10k. I’m afraid after buying the g6 it will sound like the e10k instead of the other 2.

The usb sound card is in a pretty sorry state appearance wise so I’d want to replace it with something prettier and newer. Out of all the features the g6 offers, I only care about the 7.1. I do own dolby atmos for headphone but that software does not work with certain games and the soundstage is smaller vs other tech. I use hesuvi as well but ironically that only works with a 7.1 device so 2-channel dac amp like the dx3 pro will have some problem (there’s a workaround it seems but I’m lazy), and also the hesuvi’s simulated hrtf may not match the real hardware hrtf on the g6. The 7.1 on the g6 is not the ideal one either; I heard 7.1 created by Sennheiser on the gsx 1000 is the best atm, but as mentioned it does not work with console which i own. Sigh.

 

[Veri]

Can always try the G6 from amazon and return if you don't like the sound or device for whatever reason
relatively hassle-free!

 

[deadchip12]

Can always try the G6 from amazon and return if you don't like the sound or device for whatever reason
relatively hassle-free!

My country does not have amazon so I don’t have that luxury unfortunately

 

[IBJamon]

I can't compare it to a Topping or FiiO, but the G6 sounds great and has low noise if you are careful not to introduce ground loops (which are possible even with USB). I have found it to sound excellent even with my Koss electrostat headphones.

 

[deadchip12]

I can't compare it to a Topping or FiiO, but the G6 sounds great and has low noise if you are careful not to introduce ground loops (which are possible even with USB). I have found it to sound excellent even with my Koss electrostat headphones.

My external usb dolby sound card is working fine with no noise so I don’t think there will be an issue with the g6 either. What can introduce ground loops btw?

 

[nimzabo]

Hi. I don't know much about sound so i'm asking here...
I bought this card and i have HK SoundSticks III speakers and Sennheiser HD 579 Headphones, foobar and Win 7 64.
So far i turned everything off in the Creative software.
I don't know why but anyway any change that i tried with the software seems to make no effect at all, as far as i can ear.
Before i had Xonar DG and Creative Z and if i moved a slider in the Equalizer or other settings the difference would be clear.
With G6 all sound the same to me.
Is there any custom software that works better than the one from Creative, like there was with the Xonars?
I welcome any advice.

Generally i think the sound has improved and it plays a bit louder (more than enough) but in a few songs now i have distortion and muddy sound in some segments and before i didn't.
Other thoughts is about the headphones which are also new.
I had The Monster DNA Pro 2.0's before and i think they were better than the HD 579's.
Overall they sound good but i think they lack some vividness and punch. In some songs it seems like the vocals aren't as strong as the instruments, as if they were singing from a distance.

 

[IBJamon]

My external usb dolby sound card is working fine with no noise so I don’t think there will be an issue with the g6 either. What can introduce ground loops btw?

I am so sorry I didn't reply earlier. I think I tried to reply on my phone, got distracted, and never came back to it.

In my case, I had two different ground loops that caused problems. One was that I had the input going through a switch box, and one of the items switched was my monitor's headphone out, along with my PC's onboard audio plugged in. I can have two of those, but not all 3, plugged in. Once I unplugged one of them (the onboard audio in my case, though I leave the monitor unplugged and plug it in only when needed) and that solved that.

I also noticed that my USB hub has a USB printer connected to it, and that raised the noise levels as well.

Thankfully, I have things mostly under control at the moment. I hope that helps you, and sorry again for the delayed response.

 

[swine]

Hi,

Looking at some newer desktop DAC for my laptop PC, mainly into playing music thru speaker. NOT into headphone.
Currently i'm using Creative Digital Music Premium HD USB.
Considering to upgrade either Creative Sound Blaster G5 or Fiio K5 Pro. The K5 Pro pricing would be quite similar to Creative G6. So the G5 definitely is a cheaper alternative here.

My concern would be is the G5 a significant upgrade over my Creative Digital Music Premium HD? Or a K5 Pro is a better choice.

Regards,
Ed

 

[IBJamon]

I don't think we have measurements for either of those. We know the G6 is a fairly decent DAC. The G5 is stated to be not as good as the G6, but we don't have third-party verification stating otherwise.

 

[Veri]

My concern would be is the G5 a significant upgrade over my Creative Digital Music Premium HD? Or a K5 Pro is a better choice.

K5 Pro!

 

[swine]

I don't think we have measurements for either of those. We know the G6 is a fairly decent DAC. The G5 is stated to be not as good as the G6, but we don't have third-party verification stating otherwise.

not sure what dac is the G6 using as it is not mentioned, but the G5 is using cirrus logic, so the price bump on the G6 might be down to the discrete amp for the headphone which is pointless to me. Of cos Creative as always would like to boast the S/N ratio.

 

[swine]

K5 Pro!

I was thinking to give it a try as K5 Pro is a proper audiophile standard given the price in similarity with the G6. But would like to hear some opinions on some users here who had experienced with the likes of Fiio K3 and Creative DAC just for the sake of comparison for speaker output from PC instead of the majority discussing on headphone.

 

[Azeendeen]

Is there a way I can use the G6 as a DAC only and connect to any other amps?

 

[Manos]

Is there a way I can use the G6 as a DAC only and connect to any other amps?

Yes, there is line out on the back (3.5mm)

 

[Adahn]

Hello. I recently got a G6 after reading your excellent review.

What I'm not sure I understand is how to ensure that the device stays below -2dbFS for optimal operation when used as a usb ampdac to power headphones.
If I understood correctly, the actual volume setting on the device itself is irrelevant, because the problem lies with the DAC and not the amp.
So, in regular DirectSound operation, adjusting windows volume control won't help. Need to use something like Equalizer APO to do a -2db preamp, right?
And when using ASIO or WASAPI exclusive through foobar2k, apply a pre-amp of -2dbFS? How about turning down foobar's volume control, which would be easier? And by how much?
Finally, what about playing DSD files? Can't control sample volume there.

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to wrap my head around these concepts and it's not easy. And thanks for all the great reviews.

 

[cineaste]

I have the Topping NX4 DSD and Sennheiser HD650, is the G6 card worth it for FPS games or gaming in general? Am I missing out just staying with my current combo?

 

[Raimei Templar]

I have the Topping NX4 DSD and Sennheiser HD650, is the G6 card worth it for FPS games or gaming in general? Am I missing out just staying with my current combo?

If you like virtual surround its worth it. Creative SBX is one of the best virtual surround DSPs for games, I think the only one really better than it is the Sennheiser GSX one. Alternatively you can try out dolby atmos for headphones for 15 bucks or windows sonic which is free. They are pretty decent as well and work with any USB dac.

 

[bennetng]

Hello. I recently got a G6 after reading your excellent review.

What I'm not sure I understand is how to ensure that the device stays below -2dbFS for optimal operation when used as a usb ampdac to power headphones.
If I understood correctly, the actual volume setting on the device itself is irrelevant, because the problem lies with the DAC and not the amp.
So, in regular DirectSound operation, adjusting windows volume control won't help. Need to use something like Equalizer APO to do a -2db preamp, right?
And when using ASIO or WASAPI exclusive through foobar2k, apply a pre-amp of -2dbFS? How about turning down foobar's volume control, which would be easier? And by how much?
Finally, what about playing DSD files? Can't control sample volume there.

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to wrap my head around these concepts and it's not easy. And thanks for all the great reviews.

Try these files:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...y-of-software-volume-control.5922/post-172865

 

[Jakkal]

I've found pictures of the internals if someone is interested.


More pictures in this review.

 

[raif71]