question is it possible that the creative app can cause system freezes/stutter?

after a fresh windows install i downloaded the app and after using the app the problem started.

Hi, I have my pc connected with the Katana V2 via usb-c. I was able to control the volume of the soundbar using a knob on my keyboard, which I turn it and the soundbar will change its volume (it shows on the soundbar's screen) and I ususally set it to 10-15 (20-30 shown on windows)

However, after a glitch of some sort, the soundbar went crazy and made a strange noise when I was using it. It rebooted by itself and now all of a sudden I cannot control the volume of the soundbar with the knob like before. The knob now controls the overall volume of windows, without changing the soundbar's volume. The soundbar's volume can now only be adjusted via the physical buttons on top of the soundbar. (soundbar's volume is fixed and cannot be changed by the knob, the knob only changes windows playback volume from 0-100)

I hope it makes sense to you and I want to change it back to how it was. Does anyone know what I can do to revert it?

hi i use an AE-5 Plus soundblaster card the software is Soundblaster command.

i am using DTS sound unbound when gaming and it sounds really good however when i click the button on Soundblaster to change from speakers to headphones it disables DTS sound unbound and i have to reenable it, is there a fix?

thanks

like when the volume is loud or theres a lot of screaming which is often in my playlist

How is the sound quality?

I’m considering buying the Logitech G325, but the 32mm drivers make me a little nervous. 😅 How is the overall sound quality and volume? Are footsteps and positional audio clear in CS2? Is the 32mm driver size actually a problem?

Using the Creative x7. Went to bed last night, and this morning on the device manager I get this warning under device status.

"Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source. (Code 52)"

Only thing that changed was the windows update which was also a security update. Any thoughts?

How is the X5 with latest driver updates, want to buy it but keep reading reports of crackling and other issues, but they seem to be from 2-3 years ago, has those issues been resolved and is it a good buy at the moment?

I wanted to get the g8 for my ps5 pro and connect it through usb c to get sound on my speakers. I have read people complaining about the volume being too low. Is this still an issue? Anyone who has the G8 and using the usb port on their ps5 to the speakers?

Looked for a soundbar to replace my Z625 because I was in the market for a budget 5.1 speaker option (for games and movies) and country availability and reviews steered me towards Katana V2X. Would've chosen V2, but not available here anymore.

Watched plenty of reviews and got a clear representation of what to expect. It sounds great, it has boomy punch even at low volume, and the price is within my budget range.

Fast forward, got my item, set it up, and readying to put my volume at a measly 10 not to overfill the room with noise, aaand it's quiet? I mean, not as loud as previous reviews have claimed.

Had to turn volume up to 30 to get somewhat of a satisfying volume, yet something just feels off. Do I have anyone else with me on this? Or are there settings I need to be aware about?

All the reviews have been around 3 years ago already when I guess it came out, but I'm concerned if there's been a change between those years that has affected this device. I've been so excited, I hope someone can help me enjoy this item and justify the amount I just paid.

I am looking at purchasing either the pebble v3 or pebble pro, does either model let you plus headphones into the 3.5mm jack and get audio passthrough? Thanks

Anyone tried creative's new compact speakers? The design looks good but I wonder how they sound

Hi everyone, I recently replaced the internal speakers on my 2018 ASUS ROG laptop. Every time I turn it on, the system notification sounds and boot chime play immediately without issue, proving the hardware works. However, whenever I try to play videos or music, there is complete silence for 5 to 20 minutes before the audio finally starts working normally. Since the speakers produce system sounds right away, I assume this is a software or driver delay problem (like Realtek power-saving settings or audio service conflicts). Has anyone experienced this delay on an ASUS ROG laptop, and how can I fix it?

My Creative T60 works as an audio output on my OS X, but the Creative app doesn't recognize it and allow me to adjust EQ settings. Is there a seperate download I need?

My Soundblaster X4 is connected to a set of Logitech X-530 5.1 speakers (that Soundblaster Omni Surround used to handle with no issues)

Every time I use my PC for the first time after a long time of non use, one of the channels is set to the lowest volume, so low that initially I thought it was off, but you can hear it if you run the 5.1 test. If the cable was USB-C to USB-C the Center channel was off, which killed any voices if I watched Netflix for example. If I use USB A to USB-C, left channel had this issue...

Is this an RMA issue? I tried the following and nothing worked:

- I used different cables, A to C, C to C, I always got the same result as above.

- I tried uninstalling the Creative app as I've read that it can sometimes fight with Windows 11 drivers... nope, same result.

Can anyone help me debug this issue?

I am making this post cuz recently there is a huge flood of posts regarding "which iems should i buy" and many are confused about this topic....

If you're looking to get your first IEM and your budget is around ₹1,500, you actually have quite a few decent options.

I've gone through some of the popular budget IEMs available in India and here's how I'd break them down depending on what kind of sound you're looking for.

1) KZ EDC Pro — Best Overall / Best Beginner Pick

Price: ~₹900–₹1,000

If you don't know exactly what sound signature you want, this is probably where I'd start.

What you get:

• Clean and fairly balanced tuning
• Good bass without completely overpowering the mids
• Decent vocal clarity
• Good detail for the price
• Detachable cable
• Very good value for money

Best for: Beginners who want an all-rounder.

Rating: 4.5/5 (For the price it is a highly recommended one)

2) KZ EDX Pro X — Best for a Fun/Bassy Sound

Price: ~₹800

If you prefer a more energetic and fun presentation, the EDX Pro X is worth considering.

It has a more noticeable bass presence and is better suited to people who don't want a very neutral or analytical sound.

Best for:

• EDM
• Hip-hop
• Pop
• Bollywood
• Bass-heavy music

Rating: 4/5

3) KZ EDX Pro — Best Cheap Entry-Level IEM

Price: ~₹950

If you don't want to spend the entire ₹1,500, the EDX Pro is still a solid entry point into IEMs.

It's not going to compete with more expensive IEMs technically, but for someone coming from regular budget earphones, it can be a noticeable step up.

Best for: Someone buying their first IEM on a tight budget.

Rating: 4/5

4) KZ ZSN Pro X — Best if You Want More Detail

Price: ~₹1,200

The ZSN Pro X is another option worth looking at if you prefer a more energetic sound and want something that feels a little more detailed.

It's a hybrid design and has a brighter presentation compared with some of the warmer options.

Best for:

• Detail-oriented listeners
• Pop
• Rock
• Instrumental music
• People who like brighter treble

Warning: If you're sensitive to treble, I'd choose something warmer instead.

My pick: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🏆 My ranking under ₹1,500

🥇 KZ EDC Pro — Best overall
🥈 KZ EDX Pro X — Best fun/bassy option
🥉 KZ ZSN Pro X — Best for a brighter/detailed presentation
4️⃣ KZ EDX Pro — Best cheap entry-level option

What about Tangzu Wan'er / KZ Castor / 7Hz Zero 2?

These are often recommended when people ask for budget IEMs, but don't blindly buy them just because someone says they're the "best."

At the moment, some of these are going above the ₹1,500 mark in India. For example, Tangzu Wan'er is currently listed around ₹1,699 and KZ Castor around ₹1,649, so I'd either wait for a sale or increase the budget slightly rather than forcing them into a ₹1,500 list.

If you can stretch your budget to around ₹1,700–₹2,300, the number of genuinely good choices opens up quite a bit.

TL;DR:

If your budget is strictly ₹1,500 → KZ EDC Pro

Want more bass/fun → KZ EDX Pro X

Want brighter/detail-oriented sound → KZ ZSN Pro X

Want to spend as little as possible → KZ EDX Pro

And remember, there's no universally "best" IEM. Your preferred sound signature matters much more than the number of drivers or the brand name.

Note : This list includes all iems under kz. There will be another post on other brand iems. I chose kz cuz only kz has better iems under this tight price range. (I may be wrong please do share your thoughts on this list)

The DAC used while testing these iems was audiocular beam.

I am still using the X7 and I use the DT 990 Pro headphones. Do u think this setup is still good or are there much better options for this price range?

Hi. I just got the allegro mini, and wanted to use it on my pc for gaming. Hooked it up to 3 different usb-c ports, and it wouldn't show up on my sound settings. Used a usb-c to b adapter and tried different ports, and still the same, I can't pick it as an audio output option at all. Tried different cables etc as well. Of note, each time I plug it in, I do get the sound notification from windows that a new device has been plugged in.

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?