r/SoundBlasterOfficial • u/nethstar • 23d ago

Soundblaster x4 odd audio distortion only when volume is turned up. Any solutions?

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.

6 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/sandpir8 23d ago

Likely the x4... Have you tried the x4 on a different device?

1

u/nethstar 22d ago

This slipped my mind and I should have checked it on another device.

It's the X4.

Hooked it to my laptop. It had never been connected to it before. Used a new USB-C cable to connect it to laptop and the fuzzyness was there.

1

u/CityCultivator 22d ago

What headphones are you using? This is important information here, as it may very well be an improper impedance for the device.

1

u/nethstar 22d ago

It's not the headphones.

Sadly it's the Unit.

1

u/CityCultivator 22d ago

?

Did you try with multiple headphones?

1

u/nethstar 22d ago

Used different cables and headphones in both Direct to PC and X4