Creative Sound Blaster ZxR PCIe Audiophile Grade Gaming Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp and Desktop Audio Control Module

I'm not sure where to begin with this one. I've had this sound card and it's extras setup on my PC for several months now and although it's been an adventure in and of itself I have zero regrets. This sound card is hands down the best I have ever used and I highly recommend it for any individual that is gaming or audio editing or just likes the sound of crisp audio.First off let me explain that I have used good onboard sound for years and then upgraded to the Creative Sound Blaster Recon 3D THX which was great on it's own. When I decided to upgrade from the Recon 3D is when the adventure started. Admittingly I am a fan of Creative's hardware but not so much for their software. More on that in a minute. However, I promise this review will be my honest assessment and not a fan boys biased opinion. Keep in mind I, like many others, have worked with PC hardware and software for a couple of decades now and with that comes the ability to work through some of the common problems with the various PC products on the market. Does it always work and am I always right? No. Have I spent time scouring the internet for clues and directions on how to get things to work. Yes. But, in the end, it pays off. Live and learn with patience. I went from the Recon 3D to a Sound Blaster Zx which I have reviewed here on Amazon. It is an excellent card as well but I find it does fall short on the hardware and sound quality end versus it's sibling, the ZxR. Just a side note, many believe that the Sound Blaster Z and the Zx are the same card with the only defining difference being the ACM module. Not so. Look closer and you realize they are not quite the same. Their hardware differences are minimalistic to say the least, but it does make a difference on the users listening experience under the right conditions. Either way, the ZxR blows both the Z and Zx cards out of the water. For reference my PC specs are as follows:Windows 10 Pro 64bitAsus Rampage IV Black Edition motherboardIntel 4930K Cpu running at stock speed32GB G.Skill 1600mhz DDR3 memoryEvga GeForce 980 Ti graphics cardKingston 128GB SSD as OS drive and a mixture of other Western Digital storage drivesCreative T4 Wireless speakers connected to the sound card via optical/toslink cableWith that here is my review of the Sound Blaster ZxR sound card:Aesthetically the card is phenomenal. It's beautifully crafted and of an excellent build quality. It has loads of connectivity and versatility as you will often see with many Creative products.The hardware setup process was painless and the software installation took very little effort. It is important to remember for those of you who are upgrading from a previous model or same series card especially that you remove all traces of the old software prior to installing the new. Many people will skip this step as I use to do, but this will prove to be a mistake in many cases, not all, so it's best to just save yourself the headache and start with a clean a slate as you can from the beginning.After everything was installed and I had it all up and running I was back in Windows and immediately noticed the upgrade in sound quality, even from the Zx version card. Also it's important to note at that time I didn't have the Creative T4 Wireless speakers and I was using standard 2.1 speakers running off of 3.5mm setup. However I did use optical connection for my gaming headphones and this where the frustration started. There is a common issue with this card where the Daughter board or the DBPro board is not recognized by the operating system after a reboot . The primary sound card always worked flawlessly but the detection of the Daughter board was intermittent at best. Had I not been using the optical connection for my headphones this would not have been such a problem but I was so it was a big problem. So began the search for a solution and this is where the feverish searching of the internet took place. Googling, product forums, discussions, emails, days, weeks, installs, uninstalls, reinstalls, boot sequence changes, boot priority changes, sweat, blood, tears, loss of sleep, loss of hair, clinical depression, moving of the card from pcie slot to pcie slot, slow software support, an RMA to creative, and lots of time later, it all came down to Windows 10. Under this OS the Creative drivers fight with that of the Windows 10 reference drivers and seeing that Windows 10's driver are newer, to the operating system, it was more logical to install these over the ones that Creative provides from their website. The problem came when Windows detects the sound card as a Sound Blaster Recon 3D Pcie card and installs the driver for that card over the driver for the Daughter board on the ZxR card. "The Sound Blaster Audio Controller" driver is replaced with the "Sound Blaster Recon 3D audio controller" after which the computer fails to see the DBPro board after reboot. Sometimes after a full shutdown and a visit to the bios I could get the board detected again and after a quick look in Device Manager I would see that the correct drivers were working properly, but after a reboot they would revert back to their non-functional state and then came the software hell all over again. So I downloaded the little program from Microsoft that allows you to reject updates from their servers in Windows 10 and changed settings in the OS that checked for driver signing and forced the install of only Microsoft approved drivers (it's my PC, I built it, I'll do what I want :)). After using an uninstaller program, and CCleaner, deleting all traces of all things Creative, and restarting my PC, I started again with the installation of the cards and corresponding software. Everything has worked flawlessly since then. Reboots, cold starts, shutdowns, it works every time, and now that I have the Creative T4 wireless speakers over optical (which is on the Daughter board) the sound is incredible across all ranges and frequencies. I've checked in Device Manager a few times just to make sure that Windows hasn't tried to pull a fast one but it still says the driver provider is CREATIVE and not Microsoft as it said before when I was having the issues. Would I buy this card again? Yes, I would. Can I recommend this card to everybody who owns a PC? No, but then again that depends on the individual. Also, it's no secret that Creative likes to throw that word "Audiophile" around like there is no tomorrow as if it is a standard of excellence. But people need to remember that that word does not describe a status for an enthusiast or even a professional. It's not a rank or position but rather an individual's own perception of sound that separates one listener from the next. An audiophile can hear the subtle changes and alterations in audio of various kinds and sources but make no mistake that does not define the experience for the next guy. What this all means is, at least for me, the ZxR is worth the price and even the hassle for the end result that it produces, it's sound processing and quality. But to some others, maybe not, and that's cool. For gaming, music, and movies it does an excellent job and it far surpasses all of the other sound processors I have had previously. Highs, mids, and lows are all processed very well and allows for a very immersive experience be it during a hardcore gaming session, the watching of the latest movie, or listening to your favorite score from your artist of choice.Something else that is important to keep in mind when you are getting a high end card you need to remember the piece of hardware standing between you and the sound card, e.g. your speakers and headphones. If you have crappy speakers or headphones you won't ever realize the sound quality of this or any other sound card. It can process the greatest sound ever but if that "bottlenecks" at the user end where it is projected to your ears your efforts and money are null.Something else that is important to note, the ACM module muffles the sound when connected to the sound card. What this means is not a drop in the sound quality but rather shear volume. What was once 40% volume is now 25% with the ACM module plugged in. Pump up the volume and little more than normal and you'll be back to normal. Also all of the Creative sound cards from the Recon 3D to the ZxR can handle 600ohm headphones but only the ZxR gives you the ability to switch between standard and High End amperage in the DBPro software. The sound card and the ACM module have connectivity for studio quality headphones as well as the standard 3.5mm jacks. The card is quick and responsive with very little to no latency.I'm not a big fan of the software. I'm sorry Creative, but this has proven to be your greatest downfall. The software race is just as important as the hardware race (e.g. Logitech G933 gaming headset...separate review). The software of any PC hardware product is what allows interaction between the user and that product. The DBPro software works, but I feel it could be a little more robust and allow the user more control. Again, they got it with the hardware side of things with the ability to swap out op amps and all. That's a great feature, but for those of you with 5.1 surround sound setups you will find that there is no way to adjust the individual channels of each speaker, whether physical, or virtual over headphones. Which brings up another con I guess. This card is rated for 5.1 surround sound setups, not 7.1. Why? I have no idea. It could surely run a 7.1 setup but for some odd reason it is advertised for only a 5.1. Not a huge deal which is why I'm not knocking a star off, but something for a new buyer to consider if it applies to you.Final thoughts. If you have a knack for awesome listening experiences and speakers and/or headphones that you already know sound great, and you fill you need an upgrade from whatever you have now, the ZxR is a great choice in my book. Be careful if you are running Windows 10 as you will probably have a small fight on your hands. If you aren't a fighter, this isn't for you and that's okay. I personally would much rather things just work out of the box, but I'm too stubborn to let something, especially technical things, beat me without a fight.

I have a new pc build and just added this card. I thought my new onboard card was great until I installed the ZXR. After a night of listening to music and calling friends on Skype I have no regrets on buying this card other than cost and concern related to the reliability of the hard ware over the long haul after noting several other reviews on reliability. If this card lasts as long as some of my old sound cards then I might consider it 5 start purchase. It made me happier with my old Logitech speakers purchase due to the improved sound quality. I just have to say wow on how overall music reproduction, voice clarity, and instrumental separation now sound. Improvements also noted with gaming reality, notably with clarity, sound separation, and location sounding.There are several settings issues you can run into depending on your set up. I had an install error on my TV tuner card after swapping card slots to install the ZXR. I had to uninstall all my media drivers then install the TV tuner card drivers and then add Sound Blaster drivers and software after rebooting. Second issue I ran into with was a setting issue in Sound Blaster software. I had to change the speaker setting to Stereo and then Windows finally recognized my speaker set up as 5.1. Before this change Media Player and various music players sounded great but Skype and couple other programs sounded extremely low volume, muffled, and distorted. Windows also did not play rear channels in the control panel's sound speaker configuration until the setting change. This fix was found totally by accident to boot. Other reviews note microphone issues I have had none here so far and actually quit using my old trusted USB microphone at this point. Wish software had a task bar for easier muting. Other than this very happy with card.Is it worth it? Yes if it lasts a long time I think was great purchase for myself and the broad range of use. If the card croaks in next year or so it way over priced. This card has pretty good depth and range of use that brings down cost issues if it lasts and you can put it all to use. If all the extras are not needed, one of the lower Soundblaster Z cards might be a better choice and sound about as good after reading through comparison reviews.