I bought the AE-5 Plus some weeks ago, before I was looking for soundcards I already came across your channel, so when RUclips recommended me this video I had to watch it. Really happy with it, you can hear the difference between the onboard sound (which also should be using pretty decent components). At first I would've been sceptical if someone would told me that a dedicated soundcard is better than modern onboard chips. It's hard to describe but it sounds like there's more space for sound. In videogames you hear more details, especially when the scenes get crowded with lots of action, sound and music all together without it turning into a blur of sound. In music it sounds more relaxed, less 'noise in between', sometimes sound is hard to describe and also very personal at times. The high's sound a bit more stable and the bass is also tighter, and everything in between is more distinguishable. I'm using direct mode, as I like the 'real' sound better, altough the SBX features are really good! Is there any 'golden rule' of which bit and sampling rate to use? I've seen somewhere that someone said it's best to use 24/96 or 24/192 for this card. I'm using 24/96 because on higher sampling rates the sound in Doom Eternal starts glitching. Keep on making them video's!
Wow! This is really good analysis. I didn’t even know you could go up with the frequency when you turn off the post processing. Oh wow and it goes over 30k??? There are so many cool informations in your videos, I learned a lot within 10 minutes! Thank you very much, without you I for sure wouldn’t have switched to this sound card and missed on a lot of cool features and quality of life. 2 short questions: did you put the headphones on the 16-31 or 32-150 ohm settings And which filter did you use in direct mode? Fast rollout(or sth, vocabulary…) or slow rollout or minimal phase?
Thank you! And glad to have helped! I used a 32 ohm headset, so I used the 32 -150 ohm setting. I have fiddled around with the rollout, but I used could not hear any difference! I read a lot of articles about it, when preparing and I understand the mechanics behind it, but just couldn't hear any difference. Maybe this helps: cdn.head-fi.org/a/10341140.png
I never understand those surround things. It's nearly always just adding a lot of echo's to make it sort of sound like 3D. But in my opinion, surround should make it easier for you to pinpoint where the audio is coming from. And nearly all solutions fail with that. I only found that the JBL Quantum One, was one of the least worst implementations.
With account added, you can store your personal settings to your account, and after reinstall or something you can easily get that settings back. That's the way this things goes.
Helpfull video. The sound in games really is better then w onboard sound. Works well on Linux too, although there is no software support, so the RGB is not running. Aside from that, all is fine.
Good stuff Anton. I have one of these (and a few others). Have you ever tried a blind test between a few of your top pick sound cards? You'd need some help from the spouse, or a friend, but this would be very interesting to see your conclusions.
Thanks! Yes, I've thought about that a couple of times. But I don't see my wife installing drivers. So I contacted some friends, but because of corona, we can't work closely together. I'm very interested to see (and listen) if I can hear differences.
Great, good review! But please, how much better is this card than the Asus Xonar DX? Both have Dolby Digital Live/DTS. I've a Xonar DX and it 'shinnys' when I use it with my Pioneer Home Theater through the S/PDIF output. But it's old and sometimes when I turn on the PC one of the audio channels stays in low volume, then I need to reset the computer again to fix it.
Great video. I installed this one but I hear some noise when connected to the 3.5 cables. Funny thing is that this noise is not present when connecting the speakers to the MOBO onboard. Do you know the reason?
Hi Anton, I have a question although it might sounds weird I have AE5+ right now in my PC, but the bug keeps me from using the card in 5.1 channel since it will automatically swapped its channel when the time comes (I therefore have to stick with 2.0 and it's fine), so I kinda like, need your suggestion, whether should I change to Z SE, or changed to Asus Stix Raid, or just stick with AE5+? Dank u wel.
Yes, it is. However, you truly need a decent pair of Speakers as well. Otherwise, you won't be taking that much of an advantage in case you use 30-50$ PC Speakers. I've got a 2.1 140$ only, but at least it gives the flexibility to keep my card connected via 3.5mm jack and Optical SPDIF in parallel. The minimum for me would be 160$ or more 2 Speakers or at least, the Z906 5.1. By the way, with 160-250$ you can a wide arrange of extremely good Stereo Speakers which is for "Studio" with a solid Twitter. I don't remember the name of the Speakers I'm talking about. The card is amazing and the criticality even more so. I've had the Fatality Pro with Z5500 Speakers. Best combo to date I've ever had. I sold the Z5500 after 12 years working flawlessly, but I sold them for more than I bought them. Biggest regret I've ever made. At least I'll get the 906 and be done with it.
Asus Xonar D2X has the option of choosing 2 channels over 5.1 speaker output. Does this card/software have this option? Normally, the downside of onboard audio is that, when you change from 2 speakers to 5.1 speakers it automatically changes the channels as well from 2 ch to 6 channels. I want 5.1 speakers active but with 2 channels active, for daily use. I usually change to 6 ch when watching films and playing games. Why? Because I like hearing the sound, in daily use from ALL 5 speakers, even if it stereo sound. Unfortunately, 2 ch output over 5.1 speakers, in most audio cards will only be played on Left and Right speaker and nor the Central one, not to mention the rear ones...
I came here as I am researching soundcards for my new build (2 weeks old) as I have an issue with the onboard audio of my new motherboard. the LINE OUT from the motherboard is fine for everything I do but the LINE IN is not, It keeps dropping the record levels to a very low volume and one of the primary use cases for my PC is recording audio from the LINE IN connected to my Amplifier which is then connected to my Turntable and Cassette Deck, to digitize my physical Vinyl and Cassette collection for use on the go via my phone, When I sit here in my office I of course play the real physical Albums, but I NEED to be able to do this and the onboard audio in this new PC is not cutting it for that purpose. How is this card for that use? NO reviews I have found have talked about its INPUT everyone seems to focus on the OUTPUT of soundcards when reviewing them or glosses briefly overt the microphone settings which don't help me one bit. My other question is regarding the MOLEX on the back of the card, I hear it is for the lighting but does it absoloutly need to be connected if one doesn't care about the lighting? I would hate to have to add another cable to my PC just for one thing like this. but if need be I will do so.
Hi there Anton, I just found your channel and as a sound quality bit of a freak I must say I love your content. I have a question and I'm wondering if you can give me some feedback. I use a Maya44 XTe on my system connected to a Yamaha RDX-E700 and a pair of KEFs Cresta 3 speakers and a KEF PSW-1000 subwoofer. With music listening in mind, do you think I would benefit from a newer soundcard like the AE5? Do you think the Maya might be holding me down seeing as it's a soundcard with music production in mind? Thanks in advance!
Ohh boy I would love to get my hands on the ESI Maya card. I reached out to them, but they don't have one for review purposes. So if you want to get rid of it... :D The main advantage of the AE5 is that they can decode at a higher bitrate and sampling rate. MEaning the audio will be more precise. The Maya is 24 bits and 96 kHz. The AE5 32 bits and 384 kHz. That does not mean it's twice as good! A lot of people even say that nobody hears the difference. Also the mic pre amp is excellent on the Maya! If the Maya works for you, keep using it!
any chance if anyone could tell me how the bass boost is compared to the audigy v1? i bought the audigy v2 only to find they nerfed the amount of decibals you can boost the bass.
Great show very informative I've learned about setting up my sound card thank you very much when I open up the Sound Blaster command panel all of the options on the bottom are available all but the base it's grayed out any way to turn that back on, my computer is connected to a onkyo AV system set I'm using 5.1
thank you the great review. i'm planning to buy one but there's an issue i couldn't be sure about. the thing is, i have a big dts music collection (dts or dtshd audio files). is there any advantage of plus version of this card listening to hi-res/surround music? i'll be using 5.1 speakers analog output setup (no s/pdif). thanks.
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, the plus has hardware based DTS decoding, the normal only has software based. So I'd go for the Plus if I were you. Check out the Creative site to be sure!
Do you know if this sound card can simultaneously output audio to the stereo and headphone jacks? Biggest issue with my onboard audio is that I have to go into device manager to change outputs if I say, feel like turning my receiver off and plugging my headphones in. (Of course this is something I remided by hanging an audio splitter off the back of my system but it's still aggrivating.) And I don't mean hot swapping cables - I mean leaving the 3.5 to rca in one jack and plugging my headphones into an extension from another 3.5 jack
Hi Could You tell me please which one will better to music 5.1 and recording piano (ASIO): - Sound Blaster X3 - Sound Blaster AE-5 PLUS I didn't see any compare two this cards, so that i need a help from You :) Thanks for videos, are great!
If I connect it via SPDI/F, will it give me the option of 32bit 48000Hz? It's all I care. The M/B only gives me 24bit 48000Hz up to 96000Hz but the bitrate doesn't go higher. I don't care at all about the Hz.
hi Thanks for the nice video. I'll buy second hand Sound blaster Z SE or Sound BlasterXAE-5. Which is best for cinema, music and 7.1 gaming performance? ( İ just use with 80 Ohm headphone)
Hello and good day sir , i love your channel ive been 2 years now thinking what sound card should i get cause i love FLAC music using my Audiotechnica m50x . I would like to know if this sound card is supported by Windows 11 .
i was wonder about this card 32 bit is a big thing, to bad its still hard to find music in 24 bits, 32 bit will be maybe popular in next 10 years, most people still recording in 16 bit
Hello, can I get spdif 5.1 output on this card? Dolby and Dts for watching movies. My sound system is Z906, do you think I should buy this card? Actually, I'm stuck between Sound blaste Z SE. I'll be happy if you can help me. Goodbye.
Hi! I'm about to buy a sound card, can you tell me if I'm going to play fps games which sound card should I buy AE-5 or AE-7. And can you make a video about AE-7 vs AE-7 or just about AE-7? Thanks a lot, wish you have a good day.
@Antons Hardware Hello Anton, great video! But now I have more questions. I was thinking about EVGA Nu Audio or AE5. I'm using Sennheiser HD 660s with Dolby Atmos or Dts unbound codec for surround sound depending on title I play. I don't know EVGA will work with Dolby and DTS? Or I need to go with AE5? I also across EVGA Nu Audio Pro 7.1 My main goal is to maximize surround experience only on my Sennheiser headphones without any speakers. With card you will pick in this case? Currently I'm using strix raid pro. And after this video I just don't know what to pick... Thanks
Hi BL4CKSMITH1234, The EVGA doesn't support DTS or Atmos. You'd better go for the AE5 Plus. That one supports it natively (if I'm correct). I must admit that I'm not "into" Dolby or Atmos, so I'm really not sure!
Just checked it, but I was wrong! The Plus only support DTS and Dolby encoding! My best bed is to buy the license in the Windows store and use it on any device.
Yep after some research AE5 have support for speakers dolby and DTS. For headphones necessary will be licence. Thanks Anton wish you we'll. I'm hoping for some driver interface video.
Does anyone have a recommendation between this and the Audigy RX? I am torn because I'm not sure whether I'll be able to hear a difference on my DT 770s (80 Ohm)
No, there is no hotkey. But it is a good Idea! I tend to switch a lot between sound cards and outputs and always do this manually in the windows settings.
@@AntonsHardware There is an app Audio Switcher, but only if you have 2 options under speaker icon. Maybe there is an option to distinguish speaker and earphones under speaker icon in Windows
Great Video! I have a question if anyone can answer. I am currently using my Edifier S880DB Hi-Res Powered Speakers with built in DAC via optical out from Motherboard, I think it uses Realtek 1200 chipset. Would this AE5 card be a good upgrade to get better sound out of these speakers? I do Video Editing, Music Listening, and Movie Streaming on this PC. Also slightly interested in better sound from headphones, but that's not really a priority. Thanks in advance.
@@AntonsHardware yes it works But it's not practical because it amplifies the quiet sounds and turns down the loud sounds, resulting in a completely unnatural sound. In addition, the tones are only leveled up or down at the moment when the tone appears.
EVGA NU Audio price tag is like more than twice the price of creative ae 5 plus.. hahaha... obviously EVGA NU Audio is on different level audio enhancement product :)
The mic quality on the AE-5 is mediocre, not in keeping with the rest of the quality of the card. IMO, Creative is misguided in focusing on having all those analog speaker outs. They would have done better to focus on laying out two channel audio and having a decent microphone input, laying it all out on the same size card with proper isolation and shielding of the components. As it is, the mic quality is not remotely hi-fi and it's annoying to use or hear in online gaming.
I agree completely. A lot of sound cards manufacturers focus on 5.1 or 7.1, but there aren't that many people using a sound card for HTPC's anymore. I think that most of the people who buy a sound card are either using it for gaming or listing to music. Both cases are best served with a good two channel output and a mic (for the gamers). The AE-5 mic isn't that good I agree. But in defence of Creative, most people don't care about the mic quality at all. As I say in one of my video's: It's not like my friends are interested in the sweet intricate tones of my voice, when doing a raid. :D
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Saved money and bought Sound Blaster AE-5 Plus because of your review, card is beast.
Thank you and I'm glad to hear it!
I bought the AE-5 Plus some weeks ago, before I was looking for soundcards I already came across your channel, so when RUclips recommended me this video I had to watch it.
Really happy with it, you can hear the difference between the onboard sound (which also should be using pretty decent components). At first I would've been sceptical if someone would told me that a dedicated soundcard is better than modern onboard chips.
It's hard to describe but it sounds like there's more space for sound. In videogames you hear more details, especially when the scenes get crowded with lots of action, sound and music all together without it turning into a blur of sound.
In music it sounds more relaxed, less 'noise in between', sometimes sound is hard to describe and also very personal at times.
The high's sound a bit more stable and the bass is also tighter, and everything in between is more distinguishable.
I'm using direct mode, as I like the 'real' sound better, altough the SBX features are really good!
Is there any 'golden rule' of which bit and sampling rate to use? I've seen somewhere that someone said it's best to use 24/96 or 24/192 for this card. I'm using 24/96 because on higher sampling rates the sound in Doom Eternal starts glitching.
Keep on making them video's!
Good to hear! And glad to have helped!
this is really such a great review compare to the majority of other reviews (on Creative Sound Blaster AE-5 Plus)... thanks for your great effort.
Glad it was helpful!
I just bought the Ae-5 Plus! Really needed this video. Keep up with the content, it has been really helpfull and entertaining. 👌🏼
Thank you! Glad to hear it helped!
I got it and i confirm, it has a good sound. Thx for all the informations ! :)
You are more than welcome!
Wow! This is really good analysis. I didn’t even know you could go up with the frequency when you turn off the post processing. Oh wow and it goes over 30k??? There are so many cool informations in your videos, I learned a lot within 10 minutes!
Thank you very much, without you I for sure wouldn’t have switched to this sound card and missed on a lot of cool features and quality of life.
2 short questions: did you put the headphones on the 16-31 or 32-150 ohm settings
And which filter did you use in direct mode? Fast rollout(or sth, vocabulary…) or slow rollout or minimal phase?
Thank you! And glad to have helped! I used a 32 ohm headset, so I used the 32 -150 ohm setting. I have fiddled around with the rollout, but I used could not hear any difference! I read a lot of articles about it, when preparing and I understand the mechanics behind it, but just couldn't hear any difference. Maybe this helps: cdn.head-fi.org/a/10341140.png
Great video Anton keep em coming, just picked up the Asus Pheobus pleased
Good to hear that! I'm going to make part 2 about the Phoebus soon! (in part 1 I concluded that my Phoebus died)
@@AntonsHardware it does sound better than my d2x the dts and dolby headphone settings are very good
Good to hear! Do you use it for a HTPC?
@@AntonsHardware no for Warzone, tried Asus Strix 7.1 gaming headset which has the 10 drivers but the mic is terrible and surround not great
I never understand those surround things. It's nearly always just adding a lot of echo's to make it sort of sound like 3D. But in my opinion, surround should make it easier for you to pinpoint where the audio is coming from. And nearly all solutions fail with that. I only found that the JBL Quantum One, was one of the least worst implementations.
With account added, you can store your personal settings to your account, and after reinstall or something you can easily get that settings back. That's the way this things goes.
Do you think this card is close to ae-7? Because I not sure which I should buy
Helpfull video. The sound in games really is better then w onboard sound. Works well on Linux too, although there is no software support, so the RGB is not running. Aside from that, all is fine.
Good stuff Anton. I have one of these (and a few others). Have you ever tried a blind test between a few of your top pick sound cards? You'd need some help from the spouse, or a friend, but this would be very interesting to see your conclusions.
Thanks! Yes, I've thought about that a couple of times. But I don't see my wife installing drivers. So I contacted some friends, but because of corona, we can't work closely together. I'm very interested to see (and listen) if I can hear differences.
Great, good review!
But please, how much better is this card than the Asus Xonar DX? Both have Dolby Digital Live/DTS.
I've a Xonar DX and it 'shinnys' when I use it with my Pioneer Home Theater through the S/PDIF output. But it's old and sometimes when I turn on the PC one of the audio channels stays in low volume, then I need to reset the computer again to fix it.
Which of these soundcards is "the best" if one just wants to use it instead of an external DAC for "HiFi" listening?
Bedankt voor uw review!
Graag gedaan!
Great video. I installed this one but I hear some noise when connected to the 3.5 cables. Funny thing is that this noise is not present when connecting the speakers to the MOBO onboard. Do you know the reason?
Your shirt is glistening like fresh morning dew in June.
I am fresh. Just got out of the showet!
Thanks for the video. Does it adhere to the default Windows volume control or do i have to control the main volume through the Soundblaster software?
Hi Anton, I have a question although it might sounds weird
I have AE5+ right now in my PC, but the bug keeps me from using the card in 5.1 channel since it will automatically swapped its channel when the time comes (I therefore have to stick with 2.0 and it's fine), so I kinda like, need your suggestion, whether should I change to Z SE, or changed to Asus Stix Raid, or just stick with AE5+? Dank u wel.
is ae5+ worth it bro if using speakers?
yeah just don't do 4.0 or 5.1 that's all
@@ahha6304 why not bro do they sucks?
lol you asked me about AE-5 for 9th times now keep the record kid
Does it decode Dolby digital plus?
Any chance of atmos?
Nope, sorry. No such thing.
Yes, it is. However, you truly need a decent pair of Speakers as well. Otherwise, you won't be taking that much of an advantage in case you use 30-50$ PC Speakers. I've got a 2.1 140$ only, but at least it gives the flexibility to keep my card connected via 3.5mm jack and Optical SPDIF in parallel. The minimum for me would be 160$ or more 2 Speakers or at least, the Z906 5.1. By the way, with 160-250$ you can a wide arrange of extremely good Stereo Speakers which is for "Studio" with a solid Twitter. I don't remember the name of the Speakers I'm talking about. The card is amazing and the criticality even more so. I've had the Fatality Pro with Z5500 Speakers. Best combo to date I've ever had. I sold the Z5500 after 12 years working flawlessly, but I sold them for more than I bought them. Biggest regret I've ever made. At least I'll get the 906 and be done with it.
Asus Xonar D2X has the option of choosing 2 channels over 5.1 speaker output. Does this card/software have this option?
Normally, the downside of onboard audio is that, when you change from 2 speakers to 5.1 speakers it automatically changes the channels as well from 2 ch to 6 channels. I want 5.1 speakers active but with 2 channels active, for daily use. I usually change to 6 ch when watching films and playing games. Why? Because I like hearing the sound, in daily use from ALL 5 speakers, even if it stereo sound. Unfortunately, 2 ch output over 5.1 speakers, in most audio cards will only be played on Left and Right speaker and nor the Central one, not to mention the rear ones...
I came here as I am researching soundcards for my new build (2 weeks old) as I have an issue with the onboard audio of my new motherboard. the LINE OUT from the motherboard is fine for everything I do but the LINE IN is not, It keeps dropping the record levels to a very low volume and one of the primary use cases for my PC is recording audio from the LINE IN connected to my Amplifier which is then connected to my Turntable and Cassette Deck, to digitize my physical Vinyl and Cassette collection for use on the go via my phone, When I sit here in my office I of course play the real physical Albums, but I NEED to be able to do this and the onboard audio in this new PC is not cutting it for that purpose.
How is this card for that use? NO reviews I have found have talked about its INPUT everyone seems to focus on the OUTPUT of soundcards when reviewing them or glosses briefly overt the microphone settings which don't help me one bit.
My other question is regarding the MOLEX on the back of the card, I hear it is for the lighting but does it absoloutly need to be connected if one doesn't care about the lighting? I would hate to have to add another cable to my PC just for one thing like this. but if need be I will do so.
Thank You!
You're welcome :D
Hi there Anton, I just found your channel and as a sound quality bit of a freak I must say I love your content. I have a question and I'm wondering if you can give me some feedback. I use a Maya44 XTe on my system connected to a Yamaha RDX-E700 and a pair of KEFs Cresta 3 speakers and a KEF PSW-1000 subwoofer. With music listening in mind, do you think I would benefit from a newer soundcard like the AE5? Do you think the Maya might be holding me down seeing as it's a soundcard with music production in mind? Thanks in advance!
Ohh boy I would love to get my hands on the ESI Maya card. I reached out to them, but they don't have one for review purposes. So if you want to get rid of it... :D
The main advantage of the AE5 is that they can decode at a higher bitrate and sampling rate. MEaning the audio will be more precise. The Maya is 24 bits and 96 kHz. The AE5 32 bits and 384 kHz. That does not mean it's twice as good! A lot of people even say that nobody hears the difference.
Also the mic pre amp is excellent on the Maya!
If the Maya works for you, keep using it!
any chance if anyone could tell me how the bass boost is compared to the audigy v1? i bought the audigy v2 only to find they nerfed the amount of decibals you can boost the bass.
On SPIDIF IS THIS A STEP UP FROM THE Z?
SPDIF is always rather difficult. The AE5 is a better card than the Z.
How does it compare with the Soundblaster Z and Soundblaster AE 7? Thanks for the reply
Right in the middle. The Z is a real budget card that is OK. The AE5 and the AE7 are very similair, with the AE7 having a bit better components.
Heb de AE7 gekocht, die break out box voor headphones was belangrijk voor me. Kan je deze eens reviewen aub?
Zou ik heel graag doen, maar hij is zo duur! En test samples van Creative krijg ik nooit. Zijn altijd voor de grote jongens. :(
Great show very informative I've learned about setting up my sound card thank you very much when I open up the Sound Blaster command panel all of the options on the bottom are available all but the base it's grayed out any way to turn that back on, my computer is connected to a onkyo AV system set I'm using 5.1
thank you the great review. i'm planning to buy one but there's an issue i couldn't be sure about. the thing is, i have a big dts music collection (dts or dtshd audio files). is there any advantage of plus version of this card listening to hi-res/surround music? i'll be using 5.1 speakers analog output setup (no s/pdif). thanks.
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, the plus has hardware based DTS decoding, the normal only has software based. So I'd go for the Plus if I were you. Check out the Creative site to be sure!
Do you know if this sound card can simultaneously output audio to the stereo and headphone jacks? Biggest issue with my onboard audio is that I have to go into device manager to change outputs if I say, feel like turning my receiver off and plugging my headphones in. (Of course this is something I remided by hanging an audio splitter off the back of my system but it's still aggrivating.) And I don't mean hot swapping cables - I mean leaving the 3.5 to rca in one jack and plugging my headphones into an extension from another 3.5 jack
nice to see the recon 3d again ;) Maybe I should have got this instead of the zx
Lol I liked the Recon 3D! Great budget card!
Que buen video, saludos desde Argentina!!!
¡De nada y saludos desde Holanda!
I just ordered mine, old fiio is disconnecting, cant wait to experience it
For music playback, does the simulated surround allow 2 channel music to be simulated 5.1?
In my experience it will just add a lot of echoes. Upscaling 2.0 sound is rather difficult.
Dose this card has mic affects like echo and reverb which are available in the old cards
Not sure... Cant remember because it was some time ago since I last used this soundcard.
Hi
Could You tell me please which one will better to music 5.1 and recording piano (ASIO):
- Sound Blaster X3
- Sound Blaster AE-5 PLUS
I didn't see any compare two this cards, so that i need a help from You :)
Thanks for videos, are great!
If I connect it via SPDI/F, will it give me the option of 32bit 48000Hz? It's all I care. The M/B only gives me 24bit 48000Hz up to 96000Hz but the bitrate doesn't go higher. I don't care at all about the Hz.
hi Thanks for the nice video. I'll buy second hand Sound blaster Z SE or Sound BlasterXAE-5. Which is best for cinema, music and 7.1 gaming performance? ( İ just use with 80 Ohm headphone)
Hello and good day sir , i love your channel ive been 2 years now thinking what sound card should i get cause i love FLAC music using my Audiotechnica m50x . I would like to know if this sound card is supported by Windows 11 .
Yes, the AE5 is supported for Windows 11 and can be downloaded from their website!
@@AntonsHardware Thanks you kind sir take care & keep up the nice work !
Thank you!
So can I use a SB 32BIT card in a 64bit PCIe slot?
Meaning a B550 pro MB?
Yes you can. The bitrate is independant of the the bitrate of the pci e slot.
i was wonder about this card 32 bit is a big thing, to bad its still hard to find music in 24 bits, 32 bit will be maybe popular in next 10 years, most people still recording in 16 bit
Yes, most people record in 16 bits. You can use DSD audio files! That is used for Super Audio cd's and is supposed to be the best audio quality!
which is your best sound card>
I currently have the Burson Playmate 2 which is modded with different opamps. This sounds amazing.
I have the Asus strix roar but I'm thinking of changing to this card. What are your thoughts?
The Strix is a very good card! But it is getting old and driver support isn't that great. If I had to chose I'd go for the AE5!
With Edifier it will make any difference?
Which Edifier?
Hello, can I get spdif 5.1 output on this card? Dolby and Dts for watching movies. My sound system is Z906, do you think I should buy this card? Actually, I'm stuck between Sound blaste Z SE. I'll be happy if you can help me. Goodbye.
Yes you can! The AE5 is a lot better than the Z!
@@AntonsHardware thank you very much
You're welcome! :D
Hi! I'm about to buy a sound card, can you tell me if I'm going to play fps games which sound card should I buy AE-5 or AE-7.
And can you make a video about AE-7 vs AE-7 or just about AE-7?
Thanks a lot, wish you have a good day.
Hi Richard, There is not much difference between those two, so I'd choose the AE-5! Have a good day too! :D
@Antons Hardware Hello Anton, great video! But now I have more questions. I was thinking about EVGA Nu Audio or AE5. I'm using Sennheiser HD 660s with Dolby Atmos or Dts unbound codec for surround sound depending on title I play. I don't know EVGA will work with Dolby and DTS? Or I need to go with AE5? I also across EVGA Nu Audio Pro 7.1 My main goal is to maximize surround experience only on my Sennheiser headphones without any speakers. With card you will pick in this case? Currently I'm using strix raid pro. And after this video I just don't know what to pick... Thanks
Hi BL4CKSMITH1234, The EVGA doesn't support DTS or Atmos. You'd better go for the AE5 Plus. That one supports it natively (if I'm correct). I must admit that I'm not "into" Dolby or Atmos, so I'm really not sure!
Just checked it, but I was wrong! The Plus only support DTS and Dolby encoding! My best bed is to buy the license in the Windows store and use it on any device.
Yep after some research AE5 have support for speakers dolby and DTS. For headphones necessary will be licence. Thanks Anton wish you we'll. I'm hoping for some driver interface video.
Im trying to decide on either this card or the Schiit Hel 2 external dac/amp for gaming, any thoughts?
I would love to test any Schiit equipment but havent done so yet. So i cant tell. Sorry!
Does anyone have a recommendation between this and the Audigy RX? I am torn because I'm not sure whether I'll be able to hear a difference on my DT 770s (80 Ohm)
The ae5 is wayyyyy better than the rx. The rx uses an old soundcard chip. The ae 5 is modern anns more capable. You will hear the difference!
Can I easily switch between speakers and earphones by using hotkey?
No, there is no hotkey. But it is a good Idea! I tend to switch a lot between sound cards and outputs and always do this manually in the windows settings.
@@AntonsHardware There is an app Audio Switcher, but only if you have 2 options under speaker icon. Maybe there is an option to distinguish speaker and earphones under speaker icon in Windows
Would it be worth upgrading from a ZxR card? I use it purely for music with a Gigaworks S750 set.
The ZxR is an excellent card. So no, it wont be a real upgrade.
Great Video! I have a question if anyone can answer. I am currently using my Edifier S880DB Hi-Res Powered Speakers with built in DAC via optical out from Motherboard, I think it uses Realtek 1200 chipset. Would this AE5 card be a good upgrade to get better sound out of these speakers? I do Video Editing, Music Listening, and Movie Streaming on this PC. Also slightly interested in better sound from headphones, but that's not really a priority. Thanks in advance.
If I were you, I'd keep on using the Edifiers. The improvement will be minor when using the AE5.
@AntonsHardware I got the AE5 mainly for headphone improvements but thought maybe the Esifiers would also benefit going through it as well.
Yes this will give u better sound than the motherboard 1220 alc
good video
Thank you! :D
Turn off "Direct Mode" in Playback. Now you can use Scout Mode. But anyways it`s confusing.
Did you get it working? Was it worth it?
@@AntonsHardware yes it works But it's not practical because it amplifies the quiet sounds and turns down the loud sounds, resulting in a completely unnatural sound. In addition, the tones are only leveled up or down at the moment when the tone appears.
King was AE-9 To bad its make for short time and i was to late to get. I use Ae-7 now for years
EVGA NU Audio price tag is like more than twice the price of creative ae 5 plus.. hahaha... obviously EVGA NU Audio is on different level audio enhancement product :)
The components used are somewhat exotic, that's why the NU is more expensive.
The mic quality on the AE-5 is mediocre, not in keeping with the rest of the quality of the card. IMO, Creative is misguided in focusing on having all those analog speaker outs. They would have done better to focus on laying out two channel audio and having a decent microphone input, laying it all out on the same size card with proper isolation and shielding of the components. As it is, the mic quality is not remotely hi-fi and it's annoying to use or hear in online gaming.
I agree completely. A lot of sound cards manufacturers focus on 5.1 or 7.1, but there aren't that many people using a sound card for HTPC's anymore. I think that most of the people who buy a sound card are either using it for gaming or listing to music. Both cases are best served with a good two channel output and a mic (for the gamers). The AE-5 mic isn't that good I agree. But in defence of Creative, most people don't care about the mic quality at all. As I say in one of my video's: It's not like my friends are interested in the sweet intricate tones of my voice, when doing a raid. :D
Its a great card but the software is buggy.
Also ASIO 2.0 is terrible.
But for gaming and music it really rocks.
I'm not into ASIO or audio creation, so I wan't aware of that! Thanks for the information!
@@AntonsHardware Np:)