CREATIVESound Blaster X4 Hi-Res 24bit/192kHz External USB DAC and Amp Sound Card, Super X-Fi, Multi-Channel, 7.1 Discrete Surround, Optical-in, Optical-out, Line-in, Mic-in, Headset-in for PC and Mac

I bought the Sound Blaster X4 external "sound card" for two reasons.1-I because it was necessary for better sound using a mini-micro PC in a small chassis not big enough for typical sound cards.2-Because I wanted the flexibility of an external device that would serve at least a 5:1 speaker system.This sound card should suit almost any PC or game user as well as those simply wanting very good audio.Build quality seems very good and its small size and desk foot print made it very functional in my case.As usual once discovered the Creative app software compatibility makes everything accessible that you might need to tweak, although in many cases leaving everything as standard is great as it is. Installation is easy and as near plug and play as possible. Even without is own dedicated drivers it worked but of course remember what is written above to get the most from the card.At first I was only let down by the lack of an ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) driver especially as I sometimes produce music for my own multi channel entertainment.I wrote to Creative to find out if a dedicated ASIO driver was in the pipeline.Creative were amazing... They responded by email within a day saying that the X4 was ASIO 2.1 Compliant but the driver was not included in the standard Creative app or the SXFi app. The representative said that they would find the link for the ASIO driver from the Creative team.A second email arrived with a link to download the ASIO driver.Once installed all if not more than expected ASIO channels functioned from within my DAW and other VST apps.If there are musicians looking for a one stop ASIO sound card the Sound Blaster X4 might just be for you given the value for money that compares well considering the up to 7:1 ASIO multi channel once installed.In addition it is good to know that Creative can and will help as they did with my enquiry.Well done the Creative and their product.

The Creative Sound Blaster X4 is a nice piece of kit, it has many functions and it has a very good sound quality there are so many different types of ways you can use this, It also has a volume function on top to turn the sound up or down, with touching your DTS. I recommend this Product to anyone who wants great sound and many ways to use it.By ZionMany Thanks to Amazon Services.

The sound coupled with my beyerdynamic 990 pros make gaming and listening to music a joy. I can't fault the sound quality. The only thing I dont like about these and the X3 is that there isn't another usb input on the unit and most mics use usbs and not the 3.5mm jacks anymore. If your not that bothered about tweaking your mic then its fine.

I have always considered Creative as being of good quality, after all, I have some desktop speakers from them. However, although the 'card' might be very good, the control is not well thought out and the software is not good. The control it one large dial that if turned, raises and lowers the volume; if pushed in the middle mutes and unmutes the sound. If pressed down on the edge, it adjusts its sound level to zero... WHY??? I have essential tremor and often accidentally press the edge of the dial down and have to stop what I am listening to, to readjust the sound level.

Creative is not what it used to be.As soon as you install the official drivers, you'll hear crackling on every sound start - extremely annoying and not the best for headphones. Contacted support and a week later they said this is the expected behavior. Not sure who'd expect that.Moving on, the app js atrocious, takes a minute to load on the higher end machines, doesn't persist data properly. The mic volume knob gets out of sync with the system. All issues creative is aware of and choses to say it's expected behavior.The sxfi is up to each user, for me it sounds like playing sound inside a soda can.Build quality is terrible, paint coming off after 4 months of stationary use.Creative should really hire someone that knows about software and firmware.

I really like this sound card - it is superior to the older X3 despite having slightly lower specs on paper as well.I use this as a “plug and play” device and do not bother with any of Creative’s software - you would need this if you wanted to use SXFI or create your own EQ presets however.Compared to the X3, it offers greater volume output right off the bat, roughly equivalent to that of a higher end motherboard on its maximum gain setting - I like this a lot. The grey colour scheme also makes the X4 look more premium compared to its predecessor.My favourite feature of the X4 is that it allows me to switch between headphone and speaker output using a physical button - volume levels are saved between each and it removes any potential issues that may arise from switching audio devices in Windows.Since it is external, if your motherboard audio suffers from electrical interference at high load, using this will solve that issue as well. My current motherboard (Asus X670E Hero) does not suffer from this and has excellent onboard audio - but I still much prefer to use the X4!All in all - I strongly recommend this device for those who wish to upgrade from onboard audio and take their PC audio experience to the next level!

Love it. Been using it with some sennheisers for gaming and listening to music. Cost me less than 200 for the both and sounds better than even more expensive gaming headsets just directly plugged in to your computer or console.Few people whinged about the software. Been fine for me.