Sound Blaster G8 - Hi-Res Gaming USB DAC with Dual USB Audio Mixing and Fully Customizable Acoustic Engine and 10-Band EQ

Much better than onboard sound and it's good that it can be hooked up to more than one source.

Being using this for over a month now, and does what I needed it to do, which was drive a set of DT880 headphones with enough power. Over all, I like, would have preferred the headphone socket to be either at the rear or side. if you have an adaptor or long plug forget it. Also without plugging a mike into the unit the left hand volume mix does nothing really. I have a USB mic, so does not interact with this unit, shame!

This is the second Soundblaster I've owned and I love it! It has plenty of power to drive high resistance headphones and multiple USB-C audio inputs which is a very unique feature and allows me to play games on my PC and plug my tablet in and listen to the baby monitor at the same time. I was going to mark it down slightly for the fact that the LED in the "Soundblaster" logo couldn't be turned off, however, they released a software update that added the option - I really appreciated that because it shows that Creative listen to customer feedback. It has a small footprint for the power it can output and is really easy to set up. The creative software is easy to use and it also links with my Creative PC speakers meaning I can adjust all my audio settings in one place. Overall, I highly recommend this product, it's built well and is decent value for money. The software has lots of customization options for sound preferences but also has easier presets to allow you to just plug and play if you need to.

First of all, on a good note, I thought the sound quality was excellent. Really clear, dynamic and neutral sounding with some IEMs I had. However, I had to return this for the reasons below as the quality of it was below what I expected for the price. It randomly wouldn't output sound, had to unplug and plug it in. Then, USB port 1 wouldn't be detected at all on it but USB port 2 would through the Creative app. Seemed very glitchy. Also tried various ports, USB 2 ports on my motherboard and USB 3 ports. No real improvement. The sound would randomly click and pop when listening to music, watching streams. This was also annoying. No other DAC I have has done this. This might be some interference, someone suggested this might be due to the lack of USB isolation. I wasn't prepared to add additional expense by adding USB port isolation just for this. It was also suggested on some forums that it may be the Creative drivers themselves causing this, with someone suggesting just using Microsoft drivers instead, losing the various features this item offers. The questionable design choices compared to other DACs left me with more doubts about it's quality, the angle of the 3.5mm ports at the front pointing downwards wasn't an issue for me but could be for others with long connectors. The use of two USB ports for mixing audio from the same device (USB 2 provides more than enough bandwidth for two audio streams using one port). Maybe I would reconsider it if they created a new revision with improvements but as far as it goes, it seems like a few good ideas put together with a lot of compromises in it's design rushed out to market.

I have quite a few headphones and was using about three different headphone amps. This has replaced them all and it drives all my headphones well. I have Grado RS2. and Sennheiser 490 pros, and 660s among others and this amp drives them all well. The gaming function works good on it too but you can turn of all effects and run it in pure stereo if you prefer.

Awful! Purchased to replace my old Sennheiser GSX1000 dac. This Sound Blaster G8 produced a constant high-pitched buzzing noise. Changed pitch when switching between audio profiles. Only way to get rid of it was to turn the game/voice balance dial most of the way over to the left which meant I couldn't use the game chat mix feature without having to put up with the background noise. Tried to persevere but ended up returning. Possibly just a faulty unit but I've heard others complain about the same issue.

After making my first purchase of a high fidelity pair of studio headphones, I then started looking for a dac to power their high impedance. After watching some reviews I stumbled upon the SoundBlaster G8 and placed my order. Upon arrival, I was presented with a neatly packed box, quick start guide and the cables needed for power/audio (both are type C so make sure you have available ports). The sound quality is crystal clear and consistent with what is promised. The software provides the means to customise your audio experience with both manual and preset EQ profiles precise volume control and mixer options. Scout mode is incredible for gaming and makes hearing audio cues easier. Unfortunately I did have a bad time setting the software up due to what seemed like a driver or compatibility issue. However after getting in contact with Creative sound support, it was quickly resolved. Overall the G8 provides great sound quality at an ok price while delivering on features. Sound level can be a bit lacking depending on preference and your headphones.

I've been looking for an option to merge TV and PC sound signal into 1 output, so I can listen to both simultaneously. My old Sony Hi-Fi tower was able to mix RCA channels reliably, but it broke down and has been switching between TV and PC channels, but not anymore! The G8 will mix your digital inputs together and offer you a lot more! You can even set every input and output volume, signal bandwidth etc. If you want to be in charge of your multimedia setup and listen to your devices simultaneously, BUY THE G8! I have discovered some flaws as well though: the volume control knob does reduce master volume in Windows, but the device still forwards the signal to other devices such as AVR, so it won't have any effect. Not a deal braker as I can just turn the volume on the AVR instead which is right next to me on the desk, but I think Creative should really address this as not all customers may have another device with volume control for external speakers. The other issue is poor manual instructions and lack of English description (the one language that should be really there).