Ozzuneoj wrote on 2025-10-28, 18:58:

Also, there's little point in even mentioning 32bit 384Khz audiophile\studio grade DACs these days. DACs with those specs cost pennies now. I have bought several 32bit 384Khz USB-C to 3.5mm DAC+Amp dongles from Aliexpress for $4 over the past couple years and they work and sound great to my ears hooked up to some cheap IEMs. If you can buy this on Amazon for $6, those specs are no longer telling us why we should be spending $500 on this new Sound Blaster thing.

When I clicked the link in my email and started scrolling down the Kickstarter page, I thought to myself... "Okay... lets guess. It's going to be $129 for the starter set, with the add-on being like $79."

I was floored when I saw the kickstarter (investor\early-adopter) pricing was $300+ and actually laughed when I saw that the MSRP will be $500.

The main problem with audio is that everyone thinks they understand audio. 😀
If a device specifies 32/384, it only means that it supports receiving data in this format.
Distortion and noise data are simply copied from the datasheet onto the chip.
There is a huge difference between a reference implementation and an end-user implementation.
The 24-bit ASUS STRIX 2 was actually 11-bit.
And it didn't cost $6.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/inde … ound-card.4915/

So no, for "$6," you're getting exactly $6 worth of quality.

But even Creative in its current form, unfortunately, won't release anything worthwhile.
I'm skeptical.

shevalier wrote on Today, 06:05:

The main problem with audio is that everyone thinks they understand audio. :-) If a device specifies 32/384, it only means that […]
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Ozzuneoj wrote on 2025-10-28, 18:58:

Also, there's little point in even mentioning 32bit 384Khz audiophile\studio grade DACs these days. DACs with those specs cost pennies now. I have bought several 32bit 384Khz USB-C to 3.5mm DAC+Amp dongles from Aliexpress for $4 over the past couple years and they work and sound great to my ears hooked up to some cheap IEMs. If you can buy this on Amazon for $6, those specs are no longer telling us why we should be spending $500 on this new Sound Blaster thing.

When I clicked the link in my email and started scrolling down the Kickstarter page, I thought to myself... "Okay... lets guess. It's going to be $129 for the starter set, with the add-on being like $79."

I was floored when I saw the kickstarter (investor\early-adopter) pricing was $300+ and actually laughed when I saw that the MSRP will be $500.

The main problem with audio is that everyone thinks they understand audio. 😀
If a device specifies 32/384, it only means that it supports receiving data in this format.
Distortion and noise data are simply copied from the datasheet onto the chip.
There is a huge difference between a reference implementation and an end-user implementation.
The 24-bit ASUS STRIX 2 was actually 11-bit.
And it didn't cost $6.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/inde … ound-card.4915/

So no, for "$6," you're getting exactly $6 worth of quality.

But even Creative in its current form, unfortunately, won't release anything worthwhile.
I'm skeptical.

Very interesting! Sorry if I gave the impression of understanding this stuff more than I do. 😅

I was mainly just referring to the on-paper specs they've listed. The numbers don't really tell us anything anymore since it's possible to have those numbers on paper (like, if it has a CX31993 DAC) for pennies. Reviews will tell us what's really going on inside this thing...

My point was just that they aren't explaining who it is worth $500 to, and why. Not even having an XLR connector is kind of strange.

It'd be like if 3dfx suddenly came back with a new "Voodoo" and advertised that it had HDMI 2.1 48gbps outputs, and then slapped a price tag of $800 on it without giving any other specs or explaining why we'd want it over the competition. Erm... and it turned out to not be a GPU, but a video switch box with buttons or something. 😊

Ozzuneoj wrote on Today, 06:51:

I was mainly just referring to the on-paper specs they've listed. The numbers don't really tell us anything anymore since it's possible to have those numbers on paper (like, if it has a CX31993 DAC) for pennies. Reviews will tell us what's really going on inside this thing...

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/inde … e-review.62260/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/inde … r-review.55524/
That's the whole point.
Same chipset, but the results differ by a factor of three.
How they managed to screw up the parameters in a device "with three components and CX31993" I can't even begin to guess.

Ozzuneoj wrote on Yesterday, 23:30:

I don't think the modularity of it even matters at all unless you are intending to buy extra modules for it (leaving some of the ones you started with unused, despite the huge price tag), because the differences in using it with the buttons\knob in slightly different locations has to be very small.

Modularity makes the most sense to me if they offered different sizes bases. I could see the appeal of having a more compact unit like a 2x1 or 2x2. But since they are only offering the one 5x1 as default with a possible 2x3 as a stretch goal, who even knows if other bases will even materialize.

That's the other issue I see is the physical size of the unit is about twice as big as I would want. I have compact Roland 10-channel mixers that are half the size of this thing. I don't need some giant audio device taking up more desk space.

shevalier wrote on Today, 13:50:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/inde … e-review.62260/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/inde … r-review.55524/ […]
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Ozzuneoj wrote on Today, 06:51:

I was mainly just referring to the on-paper specs they've listed. The numbers don't really tell us anything anymore since it's possible to have those numbers on paper (like, if it has a CX31993 DAC) for pennies. Reviews will tell us what's really going on inside this thing...

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/inde … e-review.62260/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/inde … r-review.55524/
That's the whole point.
Same chipset, but the results differ by a factor of three.
How they managed to screw up the parameters in a device "with three components and CX31993" I can't even begin to guess.

I think we're in agreement then? I'm not saying anything about the actual performance of any of these devices. Just saying that the numbers Creative is giving are meaningless without reviews (which we do not have for the new Sound Blaster).

Ozzuneoj wrote on Today, 16:16:

I think we're in agreement then? I'm not saying anything about the actual performance of any of these devices. Just saying that the numbers Creative is giving are meaningless without reviews (which we do not have for the new Sound Blaster).

So, there's no new Sound Blaster.
One of Creative's top executives bought a modular gamepad from Turtlebeach and was stunned to discover that modularity is a new paradigm for gamers.
Anyone who doesn't embrace modularity is a loser and bankrupt. 😀
In general, a chaotic search for ideas.

PS. In my opinion, Creative made excellent sound accelerators and mediocre sound cards.
But that market was practically exhausted, and they couldn't find their niche.
But they don't want to leave with dignity.

That is, there are now several pretty good players in their price range (around $100) that are 100% superior in quality.
This is especially true for (external) sound cards.
Internal ones have completely disappeared; motherboards with just one PCI-E slot—for a graphics card only—have already appeared.

shevalier wrote on 50 minutes ago:

Ozzuneoj wrote on Today, 16:16:

I think we're in agreement then? I'm not saying anything about the actual performance of any of these devices. Just saying that the numbers Creative is giving are meaningless without reviews (which we do not have for the new Sound Blaster).

So, there's no new Sound Blaster.

I definitely agree with that.

They could have called it the "Control Blaster" or something.

... but wait, they wouldn't get as many nostalgia based purchases. 😮

shevalier wrote on 50 minutes ago:

So, there's no new Sound Blaster. One of Creative's top executives bought a modular gamepad from Turtlebeach and was stunned to […]
Show full quote

So, there's no new Sound Blaster.
One of Creative's top executives bought a modular gamepad from Turtlebeach and was stunned to discover that modularity is a new paradigm for gamers.
Anyone who doesn't embrace modularity is a loser and bankrupt. 😀
In general, a chaotic search for ideas.

Hehe, I came across this ad the other day so it's kind of funny that Creative and Turtle Beach are still going at it in a way.

sunkindly wrote on 12 minutes ago:

shevalier wrote on 50 minutes ago:

So, there's no new Sound Blaster. One of Creative's top executives bought a modular gamepad from Turtlebeach and was stunned to […]
Show full quote

So, there's no new Sound Blaster.
One of Creative's top executives bought a modular gamepad from Turtlebeach and was stunned to discover that modularity is a new paradigm for gamers.
Anyone who doesn't embrace modularity is a loser and bankrupt. 😀
In general, a chaotic search for ideas.

Hehe, I came across this ad the other day so it's kind of funny that Creative and Turtle Beach are still going at it in a way.

The attachment turtlebeachad.jpg is no longer available

Oh man... that is one snark-heavy ad.

Reason #6 to buy Turtle Beach : Manual author's first language: English

Oof... 😐

The 90s were definitely the wild-west of PC hardware.