Sound Blaster GC7 Review: An X3 With Extras
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 тра 2024
- Creative's new Sound Blaster GC7 is a pro-quality DAC aimed at the streaming crowd. In this video Adam talks about his time using the GC7 and compares it to his current favorite PC gaming DAC, the Sound Blaster X3.
Buy the GC7 on Amazon: amzn.to/2PWr1IO
00:00 - Intro
00:32 - Unboxing
02:41 - Hardware Tour
06:36 - Specs
07:35 - Super X-Fi Setup Problems
09:21 - Creative Application
10:06 - EFX Control Panel
11:15 - Other Thoughts
11:56 - GC7 vs X3
14:20 - Conclusion
Buy The Full Nerd shirts on our Design By Humans shop: www.designbyhumans.com/shop/P...
Follow PCWorld for all things PC!
--------------------------------
SUBSCRIBE: ua-cam.com/users/subscription_c...
TWITTER: / pcworld
FACEBOOK: / pcworld
TWITCH: / pcworldus
WEBSITE: www.pcworld.com
#SoundBlaster #GC7 #Review - Наука та технологія
Thanks for the fairly in depth review Adam.
do you have to use their software or will the device be recognized by other audio software like audacity?
i know to use the more advanced super x-fi part you would have to install their software but i am looking to use the device to record and and play and give line in to a mac that does not have a line in.
the mac mini 2018 and newer apple removed the line in so you cant record i suspect it may be to lay the drm grounds for future drm.
Love the X3 as I have a 5.1 setup with the Z906 speakers. Great overview on the Sound Blaster GC7.
we got the same speakers
how did you connect z906 to GC7? Now my 5.1 system is connected with 3 mini jacks to sund card in PC. If I buy GC7, howe will they be connected?
Nice review but you didn't really mention what kind of headphones you were running with the GC7 when testing.
I know they say they can drive phones with an impedance of up to 300 ohm but did you try to push it with headphones that run it to the limit and if so did they sound how you would expect?
I'm considering nthe GC7 and pairing with Sennheiser HD6XX phones but am concerned it I'll get everything out of the phones if they are at the upper limit of what the GC7 is supposedly capable of.
I was looking for the differences. I checked Linus first, but no dice. So glad to have found your channel and awesome breakdown.
great view. the guy is so humble and honest. and the accent and speed very suitable for non-native English speaker.
I am comparing new X4 and GC7.
Question: does it have memory? I need it for console, so can I customize the buttons, unplug it and plug it to my console? Or everything will be erased as soon as I unplug it from the PC?
Great review, wish you had a also done a comparison between SBX (sound blaster G6) and SXFI (GC7 and X3). Tried to search in your channel but had no luck.
Agreed. IMO the x3 is on the low end for a comparison no? Or is the G6 the superior device for straight gaming and this is not an upgrade unless you are a streamer. This is almost the same price as the G6 and its bigger and newer making me think its not a gaming/audio upgrade but a streamer upgrade.
If I use GC7 for my PC and plug it with the USB power, what if I have a mobile or something plugged into the line in 3.5 jack can I hear both those audios at the same time? Or is that why there's a switch in the back where you can only hear 1 audio at a time.
An example would be in my situation where I get console audio through my monitor via a 3.5jack and plugging it into an old dac I have. This dac is plugged into the computer via USB. And I can hear console audio and my pc audio all together. Is this possible?
I dont think you mentioned it but the X3 supports up to 600ohm headphones while the GC7 does only up to 300 ohms.
Ooh hmmm. Thanks for the info. Now I'm gonna need to reconsider if I wanna get the GC7.
Hi,
would you say its a good idea to upgrade X3 to this one?
I see they re-invented the software again for no good reason, Sound Blaster Commander looks professional and this new one looks rather simple.
Do you know if they coming up with GC9 version or maybe PCIe Card version with SuperXFi?
@@pcworld Hi, dials are nice but I never use them, I always configure from software but I care about Sound quality.
Sound quality-wise they identical? and the SuperXfi doesn't sound better in the new card? I also noticed it lacks 32bit modes so the DAC is actually worse then X3?
Creative advertised it as dual DAC or something, but X3 has the same features, it has both Super X-Fi and the old Surround modes too.
I ordered this so I have better sound for gaming in my semi for when I get to play games. Good review
Hello, Great video, very well detailed. I would like to buy the gc7 soundblaster for my ps5 but it has no optical output. How is the DAC connected in this case? Is this the best solution for the PS5 or the SoundblasterX G6 or another Astro pro TR type model would be better? thank you
Either over USB-C or with the hdmi converter and then over tosslink
Run HDMI from your ps5 to your tv, then run optical out from your tv to the GC7
Looks nice Adam!
Dose it has mic effects sound like revarbs and echo like old versions 5.1 XI-FI
I love this video cause I've got the X3 and been looking at the GC7 for quite a while. I would like to ask tho, is there a customization where the mic gets muted as on Discord but still audible in Stream? I would like that on the GC7 instead of a programmable key on my keyboard/mouse.
You can do this. Put discord on voice activity and bind toggle mute to a key combination. Put that same key combination into the creative software. Voila, the button can be used to toggle your microphone on and off on discord.
@@evilmarc I did that before but without a clearer UI, I once needed to speak in Discord but remained muted the entire time. So my team was wondering why I stayed silent only the realized I was talking to them muted.
I've tried using the overlay in Discord but sometimes it's difficult to remember if it's muted or not.
Anyone knows if it's possible to have it connected to 2 pcs and switch between them easily? e.g. pc1 through usb and pc2 through line in.
Finally someone mentioned abt preferring the headphone out to be at the back!! I have the same sentiments.. and I think only the Sennheiser GSX1000 does this :)
@AmpEdition Hmm.. I don't think so. The headphone jack is on the front right.
Is this just basically a replacement for the mobo audio chipset, e.g., RealAudio?
does anyone have any insight on how the gc7 would pair with beyerdynamic dt 990 pro 250 ohm?
In my SXFI app there is zero Logitech headset to choose from :/ idk what difference it makes, or what is least bad, to choose another brand or just go with "unknown headphone" but when i do the "surround test" under the playback tab i cant hear any difference on all the left/right/front/rear and i'm using a fairly good headphone called Logitech G Pro X (wired) :/
From what I remember Creative saying long ago, the profiles are small tuning adjustments. I personally wouldn't worry about it too much and just pick unknown.
-Adam
Can this drive high impedance headphones?
Would you say this is a cheaper/budget option compared to the goxlr mini?
It is cheaper than the go xlr mini, but with my experiences with the X3 i wouldn't buy anything from creative again. The x3 is just trash. I would spend the extra $80 for the go xlr mini any day. The xlr ports give you more choices for mics. The sliders give you better visual control of your levels. The go xlr mini is over all just a way better device.
@@pcworld AHHH Bummer :(
Thanks for the response.
what sound card do you need for a music lover to get the highest quality sound in headphones?
x3 or x4 for external 5.1 speakers ?
I sure wish those programmable C buttons were more flexible. For example, I'd like to set C1 to load the Music sound mode and EQ, C2 to load the Rainbow Six Siege sound mode and EQ, and C3 to open an app. Unfortunately, you can only assign sound modes to one button at a time and for some reason when I assign a C button to open an app, it only works while the Creative program is opened. If I close the Creative app and reopen it (manually, or just by rebooting) that setting is blank and has to be reset - needless to say that's a waste of time and basically doesn't work.
I sure hope Creative fixes these bugs in the software and adds the functionality for multiple buttons to load individual sound modes and EQs.
Can I connect the Astros A50 with this ???
VERY VERY VERY BIG QUESTION: WHEN YOU TURN THE VOLUME KNOB, DOES THE VOLUME MOVES UP/DOWN ON THE COMPUTER VOLUME MIXER ????
@@pcworld I asked because I have a ZxR and it has a separate knob with cables, for headphones and microphone. That knob was in the audio path and of course analogic. When turning I could hear cracks and noises. Luckily can be taken out and the soundcard used without it. I alrerady throw it out.
Yes
Do you need to use optical on console? Aka PS5. Has no optical. So how does the mixer work?
the optimal setup for ps5 is to use something like the astro HDMI to optical adapter to split optical audio from ps5's HDMI output and input it to the gc7
Now it's better a gc7 or X4 for the same price?
i bought a sound blaster x4. it has the same sound as in the built-in AC97 codec, and the additional effects of the sound card are made cheaply and are not needed by anyone))
Kinda of a bummer that their Super XFi sound setting isn't native to most of their products lol. It's kind of a hassle to get that app all set up
awww mate thats not a bad price at all superxfi is brilliant thing I have ear buds that are game changing I may get involved here
Can anyone compare this to the Astro Mixamp pro tr 2019?
I’ve been using that along with Dolby Atmos and it’s solid… but I’m a gear junkie and I’ve been eying this one for a while 😅
X4 or GC7 for ryzen r7 2700x based PC? Please advice
@@pcworld Thank you for answering. I am buying it because I want to hear footsteps better. Is there anything else I should consider for this purpose?
My current headphone is A Logitech G pro X
@@pcworld Thank you! I will buy the x4
I dont understand why they need to have 2 apps: SB Command and Creative. X3 uses Command and the GC7 the Creative one? they could focus their attention on the UI/UX more instead of multiplying the control software...
My only gripe with Creative is how it releases products and then dumps them 18 months later.
The SXFI headphone list has not been updated for more than 2-ish years
@@pcworld yea, it's a pity because they had a product with a lot of promise, but it is not maximised to it's fullest potential.
The X3 is also another product with good hardware but really bad software support. In fact, for the first 6 months, all X3s(I went to test out their display unit in their showroom.) had a DSP issue that causes the SXFi surround to sound anemic and congested; unlike the SXFi amp. I had to bring down my X3 and SXFi amp to Creative to show them the differences, since their customer service kept insisting that it was working as intended.
@@hierox4120 crickets.....
Please compare GC7 and X4
I played with this today for the first time and like it overall. The only thing I found so far that I wish I could do is turn on SXFI while outputting to both headphones and speakers simultaneously. Unfortunately, SXFI can only be turned on when outputting ONLY to the headphone setting exclusively. This means I have to switch from dual output mode to headphone-only mode whenever I want to turn on SXFI. Not a deal-breaker for me but it would be nice for my use case.
@@pcworld Thanks for reading through the comments. Turns out it will not affect me much after all in the short term because I still think my games have better sound with SXFI turned off. I had high hopes that I would like SXFI Battle Mode in games this time around, but still think it takes too much "body" out of the sound and just makes everything in the game sound too tinny for me. I seem to get better directionality when I leave SXFI off and set the sound to 7.1 in Windows. I am only speaking about Rainbow Six Siege in this case because that's what I play right now. I'll try SXFI again when Battlefield 6 comes out - it may sound better in that game since its environment is much more outdoors than RB6 Siege.
In any case, keep up the good work and thanks for the review!
@@pcworld I should add that I like SXFI for music, especially live concert recording. I just can't get into it with Siege.
@@pcworld The SXFI Battle Mode didn't seem to help - it just seemed to make everything quieter and still tinny for me. I will try all the SXFI options again when Battlefield 6 comes out. I think that Rainbow Six Siege may not be the right type of game for SXFI because a) it's mostly playing in small indoor environments and b) it's an OLD game released in 2015 so I don't think it's audio programming was designed to accommodate things past basic stereo.
I WANT to like SXFI for games, so I'm hopeful with BF6.
Im interested in the configuration you setup, for out putting to headphones and speakers simultaneously. These reviews never show the cable managmeent they use to test. If you dont mind me asking , in dual-ouput mode how were you toggling between headset and speakers, were you using in game options, Creative SW or PC device managment?
What was the cabling you used and what type of speakers ? Did you use USB or Line IN from the PC , and did you use Optical or Line OUT ?
@@mickhurley7305 Hello Mick. I like to keep things as simple as possible so I have only three cables connected to my GC7:
1) The included USB cable is plugged from the GC7 USB port into a USB port on my PC
2) a stereo cable from the line out on the GC7 to my two desktop powered speakers, and
3) a 4-pole cable from the headphone out port on the front of the GC7 to my headset (which is a Drop Sennheiser PC 38X).
To toggle between the three modes in the GC7, I use the Creative Software OR one of the programmable C buttons on the device itself (you can program those buttons in the Creative software). Basically, the GC7 is capable of three modes:
a) output to Headphones only (this is the only mode in which you can use SXFI),
b) output to speakers only, and
c) output to both.
In the Creative software, you can choose which one of these are active.
By the way, the speakers I use are cheap desktop speakers (just two of them) that have a volume knob on the right speaker which also acts as the on/off switch. They are plugged into the wall for power and they are plugged into the GC7 line out with the 3.5mm stereo cable. I usually leave them turned off because I almost always wear my headphones, but it's nice to have the ability to reach across the desk at any time and turn on the speakers to hear sound without having to change anything in software or switch to a speaker mode every time. Since I don't normally use SXFI, I just leave the GC7 in dual mode so that I can do this whenever I want. Basically, output is always going to both speakers and headphones, but I control the speakers with the volume knob/power button to turn them off when not in use.
I hope this helps! Feel free to ask if you have any more questions.
Looks nice but... the whole requiring and messing around with apps on a phone is a deal-breaker for me. For a couple of years I've been using a Sound BlasterX G5 for my computer which overall I'm satisfied with, so as long as it keeps working good I plan to continue using.
The one upside is that it's a "one time" thing. Once you done the headmapping and connected it via Bluetooth to the GC7 and activated and downloaded the headmapping. It should be done. So a hassle but a one time hassle.
The most important question is why i watched the whole video without any interest :)
I have the X3 specifically for the surround feature and I really enjoy it. Software was a little buggy and wouldn't let my computer go to sleep automatically. But that seems to have been ironed out.
Also, you mentioned that you were using the phone input on this. But doesn't that mean you're not using it as "digital audio converter"? It's just analog to analog with some filters thrown on it at that point. Connecting it though USB would be the proper way to go.
Also, x-fi is garbage lol just give me the raw audio.
Why would buy anything for a fake simulated surround feature? And worst of all a bad disgusting sounding surround feature? Just get better headphones. The X3 sounds horrible
Who the hell puts their PC to sleep these days?
What is the point of an X3 or GC7 if you only want the "Raw audio" Why not just get a DAC/Amplifier that just gives you the "Raw audio" but amplified and clean.
@@ImpendingJoker This guy
its high time this external sound cards should have HDMI inputs for decoding sound
This video is nicer and easier to know performance and understand !
but I want to the subtitle written in easy English and japanese
Got this Sound Blaster GC7 and when it comes to audio quality it';s very decent. What drives me nuts is scout mode. When active it's very good for music, movies and also games which it is intended to. But when mates are using mics and scout mode is on ,sounds from game are way too loud yet any dialogs are super quite. Also all talks from mates when using mics are super quite. Can barely hear them. Have to crank up volume but that will increase overall volume too much. When scout mode is off all sounds are very flat. Any help with setting would be greatly appreciated.
Same as Sound Blaster X3
Still have my sound blaster xfi fatality Pro and when feeding sound from it through optical cable it is better now with scout mode.also did some research and it seems creative should have loads of work regarding this to fix.
Thanks for bringing my attention to this product! I also am a PC Gamer who uses the X3. Looks like the GC7 fixes my little annoyances with the X3 though so I think I'll try it.
The thing I didn't like about the X3 was that it only had one knob to change volume with and there was no way for me to see what the volume was set to without a 3rd party overlay. Every time I switch between speakers and headphones the volume always reset to 50% so knowing where it is became important. I much prefer the non-infinite knob for volume! I also like that there are more buttons so I don't have to remember what different combinations of the same button does.
I also just noticed that it can output to both the speakers and the headset at the same time, which is great. I can't get the X3 to do that. Basically, I don't have to switch between the two anymore, I can just leave them both running all the time and just cut power to my speakers when using the headset. :-) Sounds good to me!
When people use the word niggles.. yikes.
@@TheEnd Replaced it with something else so as not to cause any discomfort. Thanks for pointing it out.
I do also have the X3. That 50% problem on switch, I do not seem to have it. Could you explain how to reproduce that?
You do have the latest firmware (1.6.210127.1120 seems on Command software to be latest) and Driver (1.16.04.14)?
@@citycultivator2101 I have the same firmware as you and the driver is almost the same (I suspect you added a 0 by mistake). Mine is 1.16.4.14. Anyway, to reproduce the issue, I just have to switch from speaker output to headphone output. Whenever I do that it instantly switches the volume to 50%. Here is a detailed list of steps I regularly encounter.
- Turn on computer. The output is normally set to headphones (since I don't use my speakers much).
- Volume is at 80%, where I normally leave it.
- I hold down the SXFI button on the X3 to switch modes to speakers - the volume stays at whatever it was last set to when I used speakers. In this case it is 80%.
- I hold down the SXFI button on the X3 again to switch back to headphone mode - now the volume always resets to 50%.
I can do this over and over and no matter what I change the volumes to on either output mode when I switch back to headphones from speaker output, the volume is always reset to 50%. It's quite annoying.
I just got the GC7 yesterday and am about to set it up now on my PC, so hopefully, I will just use the dual mode and never have to change between them so I hope not to have this same volume issue. :-)
1. Has anyone else experienced Creative software crashes? I have only spent one day playing with the GC7 and the Creative software app on my PC and during that short time, the software regularly crashed every 20 minutes or so while I was making settings changes and creating my own EQ. Seems very buggy - I hope Creative continues to update it regularly. Even when I make a minor change to a Sound Mode, and save it, the changes don't always save when I close the app and reopen it.
2. Has anyone else rebooted their PC only to find that Windows can no longer recognize the GC7 device? I have had this happen multiple times. Even if I just turn off and on the GC7, Windows will sometimes not re-recognize it. That happened frequently yesterday too. Tonight, after work, I will try using a different USB port to see if that helps. I may also eliminate the three foot USB extension cable I have been using. I had this same setup when using the X3, but never had the problem of not being recognized.
In summary, I hope Creative continues to issue frequent updates to both firmware and app/drivers so that this becomes more stable. I'll try to report back later after I have tried changing USB ports and removing the USB extension cable from the picture.
@@pcworld I am on an i9900K, Windows 10 Pro machine with an RTX2800 Ti and 32 GB of RAM.
Last night after I plugged it into a different USB port and got rid of the extension cable, it stayed connected even after a reboot. The software still crashed a couple of times though.
I've had issues with my X3, like the volume control on the unit will be totally independent than my Windows volume. Imagine the mess I go through controlling the volume via my keyboard and the X3.
BUT.. I think I finally came to a "solution". I run my X3 in driverless mode. No drivers, no SB command. Just a pure DAC. How do I get my EQ settings in? Via my phone (BT). Works great and I dont have bloatware running on my Windows anymore :)
@AmpEdition Well, I'm still using this workaround. Only very occasionally the volumes still do get out of sync, perhaps due to drivers being updated automatically. Big advantage is that there is no lag when turning the volume using my keyboard. I had that before with SB software installed.
@AmpEdition Thanks for the tip. I don't overclock anything - all is left at default levels. I have not had any issues lately because I don't really change much anymore - in other words I don't really use the software very often. Once I set up the GC7 with everything I wanted, I just leave the software closed. I only run it once in a while to see if there are any updates and new features. The odd time when I do leave it running, it seems to be fine. I was only experiencing frequent crashes and issues when I was using the software a lot to change settings.
So good , I love Creative had a Soundblaster in like 1992.
I havent purchased a sound blaster since 1999.
Lol same
Needing a phone to setup a device on a PC is bizarre. Why?
It's such a bummer that this product don't work with XLR or USB microphones. It takes a away a lot of value I think.
Or does someone know how XLR and/or USB microphones somehow can be controlled by this device?
Because, markering the GC7 for streaming and eliminating high quality XLR/USB microphones and limit to 3,5mm analog is not very good imo.
My usb yet is pluged to it thru the 3.5m jack on the back of the yeti
why oh why not usbC headphones out
Just got it I believe the switch to n the back that has pc/console/mobile is to control what will connect the headset n mic. I love this gc7 it’s amazing. My audio 300% louder crispier and full of bass.
"Creative is know for high quality DACs" - pst! haHahahAHAhahaha -:JJ Jameson meme:
So kids the take away from this video is when you can't figure stuff out, hope that you may still have the manuels you threw out in the first minute of ownership.
I bought the gc7 and it's cool but I've got to say, the sxfi modes including Bartle mode sound absolutely horrible in game. Muddied and suppressed and then the scout mode is just way too high on the highs. It's ridiculous. The software is also absolutely horrendous. Returning this one for sure. The soundblaster g6 was much simpler and more effective for me. Honestly I've found better results with significantly cheaper units.
I still haven't invested in a discreet sound card. not for years, ever since onboard sound and headsets withtheir own drivers became a thing
These kind of videos would be better if they didn't have people in them.
SXFI THE BEST!
While creative makes good hardware, software is still terrible
I bought it. Requested a refund within 30 minutes of listening to the harsh harsh sounds. It sounds very muffled in any mode. I play lots of cod, and when shooting a weapon it hurts my ears to the point where you can't stand it. I have $400 gaming headphones (audeze Mobius) that blow this out of the water in every way possible. Do not buy this it's just bad.
But but ! Iam waiting for Last Cam standing from last year 😭
@@pcworld ❤️
I don't like this cloud thingy.... :(
well SoundBlaster really went down hill..
First! Hi! :)
i dont remeber subbing-
you failed
Angry comment!!
What an unnessesary product
nul en 15minutes de vidéo ,il n'a même pas branché le périphérique ,on se croirait sur une chaîne télé achat 👎👎👎👎.
lol...."review"
Looks cheap
Poor company, they were on top 15 to 20 years ago and so useless now.
and you are a normal person that think the shit mother board audio is good!! I guess you forgot how good soundblaster was and still is!! i remember plugging in a sound blaster to my IBM computer 20 years ago and i was BLOWN away at how much bettter the sound was
beyond desktop computers, I don't believe you know what Creative really does for the entire audio/sound industry. It is still a very relevant company.
@@UPsideDOWNworld321 huh? Just use optical and have it feed your DAC, no need for a PCI sound card
@@UPsideDOWNworld321 Too bad they f'ed their customer base by not releasing drivers in the past. Never Creative again!
@@UPsideDOWNworld321 Creative is far away from being great these days. Especially the product in the video cant properly drive high Ohm headphones (in the advertised range)
And dont let me start about the software from creative. To this day i cant even change from speakers to headphones in the driver when i use toslink for my speakers.