I bought two Creative sound cards in recent times, mostly out of curiosity. Other than that, I think only the first computer (Pentium 133 MHz) I had at home had a Sound Blaster, but I'm not sure, I'd have to dig for documentation if it's still around. Did they come with FM tuner back then?

The marketing for this new product is just silly. Do they expect people with at least half of working brain will take them seriously?

Creative or no Creative, the world is a horrible place. If there wasn't Creative, there'd be some other company.

Who knows, if people were like me in general, most companies may actually go bankrupt because they'd hardly sell anything. The system is broken.

Some of this thread feels like I'm watching trolls feeding each other.

What I would say is that I bought the Xfi-MB3 software but that's now f*cked because my PC crapped itself and I cannot re-register it on a different PC (or evne download it afaik). That leaves a bad taste about Creative for me, at the moment.

I've been re-reading this sentence trying to make sense of it:

Missing the magic of classic PC gaming? Relive it with built-in DOS sound and games

Are they saying that this device has build-in DOS sound that can be used with DOS games? Or are they saying that it has built-in DOS games themselves?

Whatever marketing hype they are trying to generate is not worded the best...

Living wrote on 2025-10-06, 16:28:

do i need to explain that meme?, are you 15 or what?. Lets try with another one: […]
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butjer1010 wrote on 2025-10-06, 16:14:

Living wrote on 2025-10-06, 11:49:

https://media.revistavanityfair.es/photos/60e85574fccef075722a4831/master/w_1600%2Cc_limit/46567.jpg […]
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if you are gonna feel and comment like a californian crystal gen dude, then you are on the wrong place.

like what you want, but corpos are not your friend.

If You think i would cry because of Your emotions towards someone or something, then You're on wrong place! You should go at least to school again. You don't understand simple sentences i wrote up there....

do i need to explain that meme?, are you 15 or what?. Lets try with another one:

this is you

dont quote this, im not wasting any more time on you

If i had IQ like You, i would write the same. Fortunately, i don't. It is sad when someone who thinks he's smart, couldn't understand simple sentences (You're the smart one i mentioned in first posts, the one who knows everything from the Earth beginnings) ... Lucky for me, You're not wasting any more time on me, lucky me!!!

darry wrote on 2025-10-06, 12:44:

Just to be clear, there are, IMHO at least a few nuances here. […]
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Just to be clear, there are, IMHO at least a few nuances here.

a) Some people have negative feelings about Creative. Either they dislike the company for various reasons and possibly even wish it to fail. I do not feel this way about Creative despite understanding the reasons shared by others.

b) Some people have negative feelings about this new product's marketing campaign because it is full of mostly hype and buzzwords AND never makes it clear concretely what problems it is trying to solve or what needs said product might fulfill. I, for one do not have any idea what this product might be able to actually do for (or not) me based on that marketing campaign. As a consequence I do have a negative view of the marketing campaign specifically.

c) Some people might already have a negative view of the actual product. I personally feel that there simply is not enough to go on for that. This might end up a very good product that people (possibly even myself included) actually find useful and, hopefully for Creative, the product will sell well. However, as I have previously stated, there is currently too little actual information for me to be interested, especially in the context that I do not feel I am missing anything in particular in my retro experience and the marketing is not being very convincing, IMHO (see point b). In other words, I DO NOT have a negative view of the product and, in fact, do not have ANY view of the product because it's use cases are unclear at this point.

Very well written, much better then I could have done.

I would say I'm
95% point B
5% point A
2% point C (as in I doubt I'll actually have a use for it)

... I'm also not very good at Maths 😉

New update to this new "Sound Blaster" product...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/soundbla … prelaunch-story

This is copied from the email I just received:

Re:imagine what a sound blaster can do Insider Access Note #1 […]
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Re:imagine what a sound blaster can do
Insider Access Note #1

Meet Sound Blaster Re:Imagine — a modular audio hub that brings all your audio devices together in one place. Switch connections instantly across any input, and any output.

Customise your setup with programmable modular controls. Enjoy high resolution audio playback via a powerful DAC and amp. And you have superuser access to hardware, to create and run your own apps on it

More than a sound card, it is your hub, your control deck, and your creative playground.

RE:IMAGINE WHAT A SOUND BLASTER CAN DO

The Ultimate Audio Hub

Seamlessly connect devices such as PCs, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles, as well as microphones, headphones, speakers, and instruments, all in one place. Route any input to any output instantly with a simple tap, without tangled setups.

Modular and Customizable

Expand and reconfigure with magnetically attached swappable modules such as Smart Screens, sliders, knobs, and quick keys. Allows users to adapt their setup as it evolves.

Fully Programmable Controls

Every button can be configured as macros to perform any action a user wants, for example, mute a call, trigger a software code compile, or activate any Matter-enabled smart home device.

Studio-Grade Sound

High-resolution 32-bit/384 kHz playback with a studio-quality DAC and amp powerful enough to drive everything from professional headphones to large desktop speakers.

Superuser Access

With root access to hardware, developers can build and share their own custom apps that utilize this open platform in any creative way — making this a truly community-driven platform.

Many Fun Apps Included

Enjoy retro DOS games, music visualizers, an AI-powered DJ, and the iconic Sound Blaster Parrot and Dr.Sbaitso, reborn as AI-powered companions.

From the same team that defined PC audio — this is the next chapter of Sound Blaster.
6 days to launch.
Tues 28 Oct – 7 AM PST | 10 AM EST.

You’re getting the first look.

Launch is very soon. Stay close!

Keep an eye out for our next Insider Access Note emails which will reveal more details over the next days.

There is also an animated gif in the email which is too big to upload, but it seems they put it on their Facebook page as well.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CgFzECyRe/

So yeah... modular control thingy. To be used for whatever people program it to be used for?

It's interesting anyway. Nothing I have space or a use for, but if the little switches and buttons feel nice I guess it may appeal to some people in today's ASMR, fidget toy, streamer aesthetic world. Whether it's enough to make this a success for Creative... only time will tell.

Enjoy retro DOS games, music visualizers, an AI-powered DJ, and the iconic Sound Blaster Parrot and Dr.Sbaitso, reborn as AI-powered companions.

WOW!!! IT'S RETROSPLOITATIVE LLM SLOP SHIT!

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2025-10-24, 02:36:

New update to this new "Sound Blaster" product...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/soundbla … prelaunch-story

This is copied from the email I just received:

Good to know what they are actually making.

I'm gonna pass on this, as I have zero interest in any of the features that they've announced there.

Ahh, just what the world needs...another plastic hub / dongle / pseudo-retro thingy.

I suppose if it had a variety of hardware based MIDI modules that could be swapped in and out, it *might* be interesting for retro gaming...otherwise...

Still not sure what this thing is even supposed to be good for. And really hoping this isn't representative of what it's supposed to look like.

Plus they are leaning into the whole "AI" fad. 🤮

Customize your setup with swappable hardware, retro gaming, and AI-powered apps.

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-10-24, 12:38:

Still not sure what this thing is even supposed to be good for. And really hoping this isn't representative of what it's supposed to look like.

Plus they are leaning into the whole "AI" fad. 🤮

Customize your setup with swappable hardware, retro gaming, and AI-powered apps.

That Wing Commander screenshot on the likely tiny screen is truncated. I get that the product art is rendered, but that seems a bit rough for something billed as one of the product's core features. A tiny widescreen display is likely not the best choice for playing DOS games anyway.

leileilol wrote on 2025-10-24, 03:43:

Enjoy retro DOS games, music visualizers, an AI-powered DJ, and the iconic Sound Blaster Parrot and Dr.Sbaitso, reborn as AI-powered companions.

WOW!!! IT'S RETROSPLOITATIVE LLM SLOP SHIT!

Feels like the epitome of a design-by-committee product.

darry wrote on 2025-10-24, 13:05:

That Wing Commander screenshot on the likely tiny screen is truncated. I get that the product art is rendered, but that seems a bit rough for something billed as one of the product's core features. A tiny widescreen display is likely not the best choice for playing DOS games anyway.

It's so bizarre why you would even want to play DOS games on something like this.

There are already a plethora of portable gaming devices that can do that. And if this is something designed to be hooked up to a computer, why not just play them on a computer.

It seems like the most pointless thing ever. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

IMO dosbox handhelds are total bs, the games weren't meant to be played that way. A gimmick. And next to them this feels like a gimmick of a gimmick.

Yeah... It's going to be a hard pass from this old man as well. 🤣

Perhaps I'm just too old, perhaps I just don't get it, but I can't seem to see any point for this to exist. I'm sure it might appeal to some people, but I see this quickly fading into obscurity. Using the Sound Blaster name to play on nostalgia to try and sell ... whatever this is.

Of course it was going to be another "AI" slop.

I'm still trying to figure out what problem this thing is designed to solve. Ignoring the AI and DOS gaming nonsense, they're advertising this as the "ultimate audio hub" and have this diagram of devices connecting to different audio outputs.

But in what scenario would I want to connect my phone or a guitar to the same speakers as my computer? Or for something like a headset, I have a Bluetooth headset I can already connect directly to my PC and my phone. Why would I need something in the middle of that?

And for cases where I do want to mix and/or switch audio between things, conventional mixers and audio switchers already exist.

I don't understand why this device needs to exist.

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-10-24, 18:27:

I'm still trying to figure out what problem this thing is designed to solve. Ignoring the AI and DOS gaming nonsense, they're ad […]
Show full quote

I'm still trying to figure out what problem this thing is designed to solve. Ignoring the AI and DOS gaming nonsense, they're advertising this as the "ultimate audio hub" and have this diagram of devices connecting to different audio outputs.

But in what scenario would I want to connect my phone or a guitar to the same speakers as my computer? Or for something like a headset, I have a Bluetooth headset I can already connect directly to my PC and my phone. Why would I need something in the middle of that?

And for cases where I do want to mix and/or switch audio between things, conventional mixers and audio switchers already exist.

I don't understand why this device needs to exist.

its an audio interface with a virtual routing matrix. i have many times connected my guitar to my pc through an amp sim. loooots of people do it. this is standard audio interface stuff, just with bluetooth on it from the looks of it.

think of it like the RØDECaster Pro II or similar stuff..

BloodyCactus wrote on 2025-10-24, 19:30:

its an audio interface with a virtual routing matrix. i have many times connected my guitar to my pc through an amp sim. loooots of people do it. this is standard audio interface stuff, just with bluetooth on it from the looks of it.

think of it like the RØDECaster Pro II or similar stuff..

Oh, I understand the point of an audio interface and connecting music hardware to a PC. I've got such a setup myself. It's just in those contexts audio is being routed to the PC usually into a DAW, not just to the speakers or headset or something.

It also seems redundant because audio interfaces and other such devices already exist.