Overview
The flagship of the ultra high-performance Sound Blaster Z-Series of sound cards, Sound Blaster ZxR elevates the standards of technology and performance for the future of PC gaming and entertainment. Boasting an unbeatable SNR of 124dB, it includes a DBPro daughter board and Audio Control Module for unrivalled audio playback and content creation.
Please note that the recent Microsoft update on 27 October 2020 (version 20H2), as well as some prior versions, removes Adobe's Flash Player. Our MediaTool Box software for Sound Blaster ZxR, Sound Blaster X-Fi HD, Sound Blaster Digital Music Premium HD, and Sound Blaster Omni Surround 5.1, which requires Adobe's Flash Player to work, will cease to work properly if you have updated your Windows recently. Our in-house tests also revealed that Adobe Flash Player may have been removed on earlier Windows 10 systems (prior to the Windows 10 version 20H2 update). To learn more on how to roll back your Windows system to support Adobe Flash Player content, please click here for more details.
Blaster Z: Blaster ZX: Blaster ZXR: Paul talks with. Creative Series Sound Blaster Z Series Model ZxR Part 70SB151000000 Audio core Audio Chipset Sound Core3D Channels 5.1 Sample Rate 192KHz Digital Audio 24-bit SNR 124dB Ports Line In Daughter Card: 2 x RCA (L / R) Line Out Main Card: 2 x RCA (L / R) 2 x 3.5 mm jacks (Rear, C / Sub) SPDIF In Daughter Card: 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF Out Daughter Card: 1.
Introduction
We would like to thank OverClockers UK for kindly supplying the review sample!
Creative’s newest sound card is dubbed the Sound Blaster Z. The sound card is available in the PCI Express x1 format and will run off bus power, which is great for the modding crowd and those wanting to integrate this 5.1 capable sound card into a small form-factor PC. The Sound Blaster Z is feature rich and comes with a brand-new gadget that is quite interesting to anyone using a pair of proper headphones for gaming. Creative opted to include a beam-forming microphone that should have very good noise-cancellation properties and vastly superior sound quality over normal desktop and clip-on microphones.
Coming in at just under $100, the Sound Blaster Z is the smallest and cheapest of the new generation of sound cards from Creative. The card has no audiophile features, like the ability to swap op-amps. Instead, you get a smart sound card that looks flashy, comes in a convenient form factor, and includes a microphone of good quality.
Sound Blaster Z series sound cards feature the new Sound Core 3D-processor from Creative: a quad-core processor for some offloading from the primary CPU.
Specifications
Output Level:
Front Channel Out: 2VrmsHeadphone (33 ohms): 1.3Vrms
Headphone (600 ohms): 2Vrms
Maximum DAC Resolution:
Front Channel Out : 24-bit, 192kHzHeadphone (33 ohms): 24-bit, 96kHz
Headphone (600 ohms): 24-bit, 96kHz
Creative Sound Blaster Z Series
SNR (20kHz Low-pass filter, A-Wgt), @ 24-bit, 96kHz
Front Channel Out : 116dB
Headphone (33 ohms): >105dB
Headphone (600 ohms): >105dB
Frequency Response @ 96kHz
Front Channel Out : 10Hz to 45kHz
Rear Channel Out : 15Hz to 45kHz
Center Out : 10Hz to 45kHz
Headphone (33 ohms): 10Hz to 45kHz
Frequency Response @ 192kHz(Stereo only)
Front Channel Out : 10Hz to 88kHz
Speaker Support:
Supported Output: Stereo/2.1 Speakers/5.1 Speakers, HeadphonesConnectivity:
Headphone 1 x Amplified 1/8' mini jackSpeaker Out: 3 x 1/8' mini jacks
Creative Sound Blaster Z Series Driver
Optical Out: TOSLINK
Optical In: TOSLINK
Line In / Microphone In: Shared 1/8' mini jack