Sound BlasterX G1

At the sale price, this is an absolutely amazing piece of technology. It simply works, does what it says, unlocks some basic audio tuning, and vastly outperforms the onboard audio on my outdated but not low-end motherboard. The dongle itself is constructed of the usual materials, only setting itself apart with the red "X" that lights up while plugged in. It is alarmingly light, but don't let it deter you from the quality of sound it outputs. I'm no audiophile; I'm sure this leaves something to be desired for the hardcore aficionados of sound, but even my average ears picked up the increase in richness, deeper lows and sharper highs. The accompanying software is bare but functional, my preference for software, and seems to work well. It even has a voice effects feature for your microphone that seems more of an afterthought than a genuine tool but the novelty is worth noting. The EQ works well and the different audio effects do impact the sound in noticeable ways. I am not keen on the virtual 5.1 or 7.1 sound features but I also do not have headphones that even pretend to offer surround features. Connecting to Discord my friends immediately noted how much better my voice sounded and I was also able to get more volume out of the headset itself on the call. Listening to music went from pleasent to engaging, both the increased volume and the broader range of sound brought more to my usual playlists. Gaming is improved too: things sound more genuine and details are preserved, worlds sound more alive and I can pick out audio queues much quicker. The scout mode that's advertised went untested for me, I couldn't get the hotkeys to work and I didn't like the sound of keeping it enabled, however it was functional in the tests I tried with it on. It feels more like a specifically tuned EQ setting more than anything. Overall, this is absolutely hands down a win for me, and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking for improved audio on any system. I'm sure you could pair a high end sound card with a quality amp and get some mind blowing sound, but for someone who just wants sounds to sound like they ought to, this is it, especially for the price.

I'm going to state why I was looking for a sound card in the first place. The onboard sound on my motherboard just isn't that great. The Realtek ACL892 is crap. The native drivers in Windows want to run in 7.1 surround, even when you have a 2-speaker headset plugged in. I had to force install the Realtek drivers ("Windows has detected your current driver may be a better match" my ass...) just to get it to work as plain 2-speaker and not try and do surround sound in games, just to have audio cut out. I play Day-Z with my friends. I also like to play first-person games like the new Wolfenstein series. The worse thing in the world is to turn, in-game, and have the sounds to your back/side just disappear entirely or end up as a flat, lifeless audio. So I was goign to get one of Creative's PCI-e cards to have better control over whether it is or is not surround and have a card that can actually handle it. That's when I came across this little beauty. It was a good chunk less than the cards, and when paired with the Sound Blaster H5 headset, enabled virtual 7.1 surround in a "made for each other" type mode. I can tell you it's made a huge difference. I was blown away the first time I opened up Day-Z. Even my friends said my voice is much clearer now, and man can I hear a difference now than before. I turned off the onboard sound, it's redundant at this point. I was skeptical at first, having had a USB audio device in the past, but man has this adaptor changed my mind. If you're considering this and are hesitating, just get it. You'll be happy you did.

A week ago, I bought a rando-named brand that was less than $10 because my cat chewed the wire of my old 3.5mm to USB Turtle Beach adapter. While the incoming audio was great the rando-name, the mic sounded like a landline telephone. I did get what I paid for... THIS right here is what I wanted. I use this with Windows 10 and this has Audio Enhancements such as Bass Boost, Surround Sound, Loudness Equalization, and Spatial Audio configurable in the Mic Properties part of the Sound Control Panel. No drivers needed, total plug and play. So if the headset you want only comes as 3.5mm, this is what you need right here. This one has a single long 1/8" jack for a TRRS (left audio, right audio, mic, ground). This does come with a TRS spllitter, or you can buy their other one that has two TRS jacks already. I've bought Creative products all the way back from the late 90's and see they're still doing more-than-decent products to this day. Thanks.

First off, let's talk about the pros. The Sound BlasterX G1 is small and compact, making it convenient to carry around. Its build quality is solid, and it feels durable enough to withstand regular use or the occasional bang against the desk. The 7.1 Surround sound works exceptionally well, and I can now pinpoint the location of footsteps and other audio cues in games with remarkable precision. This level of immersion was unexpected, especially considering the modest price point of my headphones I am using at $20 (Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones) However, there are a couple of drawbacks that need to be addressed. Initially, I found the volume to be disappointingly quiet straight out of the box. To fix this, I had to download additional software from the Creative Audio website. It would have been more convenient if this software came bundled or if the device was pre-configured. For those who encounter similar volume issues, install the BlasterX Acoustic Engine Pro software, and X-Plus Configurator (G1) software after. When installing the configurator select "General". The sound card uses the default Playstation config, which is quieter by default and selecting General will override that profile and things will be louder... MUCH louder. In conclusion, despite the initial volume issue, the Sound BlasterX G1 delivers impressive sound enhancement capabilities for the price. If you're willing to invest a little time into setting it up properly, you'll be rewarded with a vastly improved audio experience.

I got this because the audio plug on my work laptop stopped working and I need to participate in video meetings regularly. This product worked flawlessly to meet that need. The fact that it doesn't need special drivers is a big plus if your work computer is locked down and you cannot install software. The short cable is perfect for me because my headset already has a cable that is more than sufficient in length. Many other options seem to think you need an extra 3 feet of cable to get in the way. I did not experience the hissing issue mentioned in some other reviews. The sound quality is excellent for both input and output.

You don't buy this hoping it's the best sound device you've ever heard. You buy this device because you need a usb dongle that can act as a headset adapter for teleconferencing (VOIP), listening to music, videos, etc. The audio software only works for windows, since it's a gaming dongle. It's pretty good. But I'm most impressed with it just dang works on all the platforms I've found a use for it on. The chip they use in this thing is well supported on all platforms right out of the box. The audio is sufficient to where I'm not complaining 1 bit. It gets the job done. It has support for the 4-pole headsets. The quality of the dongle is pretty good. I've broken a a few of the cheaper plastic non-wired variety which split the headphone + mic ports, and the casing always breaks open. They also usually have hissing noises. This case has already taken some beating and I would buy another one in a second if this breaks. It's just so handy with laptops on various platforms.

Some people talked about the hiss on this device but there were some comments that appeared to indicate that it was a settings issue so I took a chance. I should not have done so. The hiss will drive you nuts. I tried all of the "fixes" I could find on the web and then I contacted support. They gave me a number of other things to try (and thoroughly messed up my sound settings in the process) but the problem persisted. In the end, they asked me to send them information about my PC so they could find the root cause. The problem is that I also tried this on my laptop with the same results. This device just isn't worth it. One thing to note is that the hiss does not appear until you ask for sound. So if your PC is not actively producing sound, the hiss will turn off (abruptly). Once you play a sound, though, it will come right back. If you hit the mute button, the hiss will go away. One way to test that the hiss is still there (if you can't tell because you play loud sounds) is to play music or a YouTube video and then pause it. The hiss will continue for anywhere from 2 seconds to 15 and then it will shut off. Just to be clear on my setup and what I tried, I am running the latest version of Windows 10 on a custom machine. I plugged the dongle into a USB extension and also directly onto the motherboard. I am using Bose QC25 headphones with the 4-pole cord (the dongle takes/requires a 4-pole cord). I tried my Samsung laptop (running the latest version of Windows 10) as well. I tried a 3-pole adapter. I tried turning off the mic in Windows (in case it feeds back even though the setting to listen to the mic is disabled). I tried Sound Blaster's configuration applications (both of them). I tried setting the adapter to generic (instead of a game mode) and changing the Windows sound settings to 24/96. I reset everything to the defaults using their software. I reduced the volume everywhere (volume level did not affect hiss unless the sound was muted). Once I am done with this review, I will be returning this item.

I had my doubts about something so small being adequate for gaming. I decided to take the plunge because it was newer than any of the internal sound cards in its price range and great reviews. I am not disappointed. This along with my Superlux HD668b (recommend for anyone on a budget to look into the HD668b headphones) has given me the best directional sound of my life. I have been a pc gamer for 24 years. I have owned many sound cards and headphones in that time and this little thing crushed them all in the gaming department. It is also very good at music and movies. I had a little problem registering it online. I did live chat with them and they had it fixed in under 5 minutes. I love the software. It gives you very customizable sound settings. It will work with 3 poles "no mic" headphones without an adapter. for those who get static, (I did) I contacted support. They said to install X-Plus Configurator (unplug, install, replug) set to generic then change the sample rate in windows to 24/96. I did, problem solved on my 3 pole headphones. If that doesn't work for you remember if you are using headphones without a mic you are plugging 3 poles into a 4 pole jack. It might be the open mic pole giving you feedback. If you get a mic/headphone splitter and plug in a mic it could solve the problem. This is meant for mic/headphone combos with 4 poles, says so in the product description. I didn't take a star because they tell you to get a splitter if you're using 3 poles. Pros. Fantastic 7.1 headphone setting. Software. Customer support. Overall sound quality. Cons. One, four-pole jack. I recommend this if you are using 3 pole devices KingTop 3.5mm Combo Audio Adapter Cable for PS4,Xbox One S,Tablet,Mobile Phone,PC Gaming Headsets and New version Laptop