CreativeSound Blaster AE-7 Hi-Res Internal PCIe Sound Card, Quad-Core Processor, 127dB DNR ESS SABRE-class 9018 DAC, Xamp Discrete Custom Bi-amp, Discrete 5.1/Virtual 7.1, Dolby, DTS Encoding (Black)

I was never a real fan of the RGB craze. I mean it is cool, but it was all fluff.. I am silicon dating myself here.. I remember going to Electronics Boutique's (before it became EB games) at the mall and EggHead looking at the newest sound blaster 16. Then I remember getting the Audigy and then Audigy 2.. then the RX... but that was all before 2008ish... Creative kinda went silent when it came to innovating the next big audio jump.. I do not blame them with MP3s with so called "cd quality" - 128bit I mean what was the point? 24bit audio was way more than enough. recording while respectable still did not hold their own to the dedicated capture cards. They re-focused their attention to other products.Then they came out with the 32bit pro audio. FINALLY. Not that it really means anything at this point. I do not know of anything out there that can take advantage of that kind of fidelity. I was excited to see the AE-7 card designed for gamers. 127db 5.1 discreet surround or 7.1 virtual. with a ESS SABRE 9018 DAC. Plus a custom Bi-amp dedicated/designed for audiophile grade headphones with an impedance of 1 - 600ohms.I picked up this card because a neon green brand with 3 snakes told me I could no longer get replacement ear pads for less than a two year old headphones from them and they recommended I get new ones. So I did.. I picked up the EPOS I Sennheiser GSP 600. Respectably a starter audiophile headphone. amazing gaming headphones. I spend most of my day on headphones from work using MS teams, music.. Pandora, FLAC, or movies either digital or streamed. they all sound amazing. audio is super crisp. Windows 10 did not have a issue with the drivers like some other card MFGs.Their software is actually really good. like Nvidia as with optimized graphic profiles per game they have done the same type of optimization. Like an EQ but it is much more tuned to the type of game than just adjusting hertz. I probably hear the footsteps in CoD much clearer and louder than my opponent.I think the days of games having tailored audio based on the chip (like what they did with Audigy) are gone, but I think creative has taken the correct step in still being able to bring you that type of experience.This is not a cheap card, but IMHO it is the best card when compared to the other cards on the market at a similar price point. it does not have all the added accessories like some of the others, but I think if you were able to put them head to head you can hear the difference. If you plan on using $30 headphones I wouldn't bother.It is a lot harder to gauge audio. everyone hears differently some folks hear frequencies better/worse than others... and you cannot really pause it and study the difference like you can with a graphics card or tv. I can tell you that for me personally. I can hear the difference. I have had a noticeable difference in my gaming performance across the board. music sounds better. The mic is really good as well. I can speak normal and have not had a complaint from anyone that I was too loud or to soft. no hissing or buzzing. Even though that is more of a headphone thing it does attest to the protection they put in place on the hardware to minimize EMI interference from the rest of the PC components. That being said I would still recommend putting the card as far away from the other cards as possible! lol.I do have one gripe. switching between the headphone and speaker inputs is done in software. not a big deal it opens quickly and is easy to get to I just wish there was a toggle switch I could add to the taskbar or a right-click option on the service icon in the notifications area or a button/switch on the volume command thingy that sits on your desk.Anyway... that is it. I hope this helps you decide one way or another. OH for those looking for some RGB goodness it has some.. minimal but some. just my style.

Needed three 3.5 mm outputs for old 5.1 logitech X-540 speakers with green, black, and orange cables. Current motherboard's 5.1 setup has only two outs in back, requiring the third to be routed through a very noisy front output on case. Also, ALC4080 is overrated.Jump in sound quality and detail from realtek is very noticable on both speakers and headphones. In FPS gaming, can actually pinpoint the direction of where certain sounds (footsteps) are coming, or where in the sky spyplanes are overhead (Black Ops Cold War). Could not previously on the mess that is onboard audio.Music sounds beatiful, bold, and cinematic in Hogwarts Legacy. The clarity is bringing out details I previously blamed on diminished hearing from too many rock concerts.No problems with crackling. No static sound when I adjust the stupid Windows volume control. Doesn't pick up noise from GPU, though I do have it in the furthest slot away from it.Software is fine. I don't know why everyone keeps going on about it. The options are simple and straightforward.No adjustible RGB like the AE-5 Plus (powered via a separate molex cable). The logos on the top and back are a fixed, warm, white light.Lastly it comes with an audio control module for the desktop with two pairs of jacks (6.3 & 3.5 mm) for heaphones/mic. Volume knob adjusts level smoothly, much better than the jerky volume control on my keyboard.Audiophiles will probably read this, scoff, and start ranting about DACs and receivers, but this was absolutely worth it.

In the IT industry we have a saying... "garbage in, garbage out" meaning if you give a computer system bad data you will get bad data. this holds true with any type of electronics including speakers. if the source is outputting bad audio, the speakers will reproduce that. good speakers are only half the equation, this is the other half. for the most part you will not find a sound card like this integrated on a budget to mid line motherboard... there is a reason this cost more than the average motherboard just for a sound card.first of all, if you don't have Studio monitors or headphones you can skip over this. you won't hear a difference because your speakers or headphone cannot reproduce the output. I have a set of Klipsch pro media THX certified speakers and a set of AKG studio headphones which are budget for sure but still studio quality and I'm in love with the sound this card provides. the sound stage is very detailed and instruments you didn't know where used in the music come through. it's a whole new level of detail. My previous sound card was a Sound Blaster Audigy FX V2 with DBPRO daughter board... that card was nice, but this is next level. the only thing I don't like is the lack of an internal front panel audio header. the included external volume controller is a bit odd... it doesn't actually control the volume on the computer just the volume of the actual output so it's just another separate volume control adding complexity... if it accidentally gets turned down you can adjust the computer volume till your blue in the face, it won't fix the issue. also, it only adjusts the headphone volume. I think for the price they could have put a bit more thought into that accessory even if it had to take up a USB port to control the volume on the computer. that's a minor complaint. I will just eliminate the volume control if it becomes an issue. I do also kind of wish the LEDs on the card were RGB and addressable but that's not a problem. this is getting out of gaming sound cards and into professional studio equipment... That croud doesn't really care about RGB effects. the non-adjustable white and amber lights on the card are a classy look. the Sound Blaster logo on the top glows white and the AE-7 on the back on the card glows amber. if you want decent sound and RGB go with the AE-5. The AE-5 isn't going to give you the sound that this card does however.