Listening to the Optical in on my Sound Blaster X

Not sure what I'm missing here.
I have an optical cable to the "optical in" on the expansion bay on my Sound Blaster X-fi Fatalty.
I can see in my "Sound" control panel that I'm getting sound, since the green bars are going up and down; and when I pull the opticla cable, the bars stop moving; yet I can't hear anything.
I can hear MP3 off my harddri've, so my speakers are working fine, but what ever is coming in through my "optical in" , I can't hear.
Any suggestions ?
Thanks in advance.

I knew I'd figure it out sooner or later.. and BOY, what a difference in quality too with an optical cable.
<Control Panel>..<Sound>..layback TAB>..<Speakers Properties>..<Custom TAB>..<enable Digital I/O>

Similar Messages

Optical Out From a Sound Blaster Live 5.1 Exter

Hello, I know there has been numerous posts about digital out and other things of the sort. The other day I hooked up my sound blaster li've to my 5. yamaha av receiver using an optical cable. The only problem is that no sound is being output through the optical cable, even when I turn on the speaker settings to digital output only. The only way I can get sound through the optical is when I use a dolby digital and or dts encoded dvd in windows media player. I am a?very advanced sound electronics user and was wondering if there is something that I have to do within the program or something else. Thanks for the help. Alex

Hello, Well after spending some time I was able to figure out my own problem. If there is anyone else that has a li've external that ever has a problem, hopefully this will help you out. So I have my sound blaster hookep up optically to a yamaha a/v receiver. First thing make sure that you are in fact getting a signal through your optical cable, the end of the cable should light up red, indicating that light(audio signal) is infact being sent through cable. Next, make sure your receiver's input mode is either set to auto or pcm. That way, your reciever will automatically detect your optical and or coaxial cable. At this point, even if you don't set the speaker settings to digital out only, you should still get sound through digitally. If you do not get sound, switch it over to digital out only, and uncheck the synchronize with control panel, and like in my case, it should work. One common misconception is that optical either only works with digital sources, or does not make a difference in sound quality, and to let you know, that is a big farse. After solving my problem, I was listening to stereo music and switching between analog and pcm on my receiver, and let me tell you, it makes a HUGE difference. The digital cable, because it is transferred through light signals, does not compress the sound that much, even with stereo sources, so if you are able to, I highly recommend using optical and or coaxial, but optical is preffered. I hope this helps anyone who ever needs it. Alex Lopilato

The mix console of my Sound Blaster Elite Pro don't working

I have a Sound Blaster E lite P ro card which brings a console accessories mixed model SB050 and a remote control RM800, happens that my sound card works very good, but the remote control and the mixing console is not working.
I would like your help with this early. Thank You

Have you gone to System Preferences > Sound > Output and is the volume slider above the minimum end of the bar?

No optical out on Creative sound blaste

I am looking for?a new sound card but cant find an optical out on any model. Why?

dude, i think i can get u ur signal, but currently i can only get silent recordings, u may have better luck.
on the minidisc, there should be a switch or button that will toggle synchronised recording on and off, turning it off should get u a signal, but it wont be in sync wiv the cd, ie u cant trust it to form track gaps.
hope that helps, done flame me if it dont, if i manage to get substance to my recording, i will send u the info just in case.
take it easy

Optical cable? For Sound Blaster Z

Hi all, Do I need to use an Optical cable to recieve CMSS-3D or Dolby Digital Live Surround sound to my headset?
Thanks.

Anyone?

Sound blaster Audigy 2zs platinum setup with creative inspire 5.1 digital 5

what should the setup be for the sound blaster Audigy 2zs platinum and the reati've inspire 5. digital 5500 because with the decoder in i only get center fl fr on games. i dont get sound from the rear speakers.but when i take the decoder out and just plug the 3 leads straight into the back of my sound card i get 5. any help plz.i done a thx sound test with the decoder in it does fl i can hear it but i can hear the center as well
and no sound comes out on the 2 rear speakers when doing the test.but when puting the 3 cables straight into the back of the sound card i runed the test and i could hear all the speakers fine even the rear speakers any help plz is this ment 2 happen or do i have to change some settings thanks for any help plz help me thanks.

I Have had a problem for ages. I have the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum and Inspire 5. digital 5500.
I have copied the advice I received/didnt recieve from creative.
Best of luck
Dear Martin
Thanks for your reply
I am sorry for the problem you are facing.
To achieve outputs from all the speaker during speaker test, you will need to have an analog connection, or digital DIN connection.
That will be possible if you connect the three line out jacks on your soundcard, to the three audio input (analog jacks->green,black,orange) on your speaker, if it has this connection. Or, you may connect them using Digital DIN, if they have this connection.
If you are using digital connection (coaxial, optical), there will be no way to achieve sound output from all the speakers during 5. speaker test, as they carry stereo signal.
Best Regards
(Mod Note: Name Removed)
Creative Customer Support Services
Creative Labs Europe:
Original Message Follows:
Hi
I understand you must be busy, so no problem.
No I do not hear EAX when in Pro-logic mode. I only hear (depending on the game in question)
Half life two: front left-right and centre. NO rears
Fear: Front, left, right, & centre. No rears
Farcry Front left, right & centre. No Rears
When I run your speaker test HISSSSS, No Rears, no front left or right
Beats me?
Regards
Martin
-----Original Message-----
From: CLE Customer Support [[email][email protected]]mailto:[email protected][/url]]
Sent: 24 January 2006 5:44
To: Martin
Dear Martin
I apologize for the delay on the answer.
If you select Dolby Prologic mode on the decoder, are you able to listen
the game audio, with EAX, in all of the speakers?
Regarding to the optional bay dri've, you can purchase it from ou
Best Regards
(Mod Note: Name Removed)
Original Message Follows:
Hello
Your email was helpful, unfortunately, not for my unit, you see I would
have
connected the Jack leads in by now if the inspire had Jack lead inputs
as
you describe
Please don't think I am being sarcastic, but from reading the
correspondence
below it would seem as if your department is having difficulty
understanding
my problem.
Also it would seem your department doesn't have the necessary technical
information on your very own product, so to help with your dilemma I
have
taken photos of the input/outputs on the Inspire unit.
You will clearly see the inspire has no inputs other than Coaxial and
Optic.
This leaves me back to my last post. I think the solution would be for
me to
purchase the correct processor, which would have come with the original
sound card had I not been a little tight on the money front.
I have attached a photo of the sound card with the processor, I would
love
to buy this processor but find myself unable to locate this product on
your
web site. Would you possibly be able to send me the correct link to this
item so I can buy this Processor Please?
Kind regards
Martin
-----Original Message-----
From: CLE Customer Support [[email][email protected]]mailto:[email protected][/url]]
Sent: 8 January 2006 0:3
To: Martin
Subject: RE: CLE -
Dear Martin
Thanks for your reply
Your soundcard is Audigy 2 ZS
Your speaker is Creative Inspire 5. Digital 5500
You will need to have a 3:3 cable(with the color green, black, orange)
to connect your soundcard to your speaker, to achieve the 5. effects
with games.
Below is the connection:
- Connect line out jack of Audigy 2 ZS
to 'Front' of Creative Inspire 5. Digital 5500 using the green color
connection
- Connect line out 2 jack of Audigy 2 ZS
to 'Rear' of Creative Inspire 5. Digital 5500 using the black color
connection
- Connect line out 3 jack of Audigy 2 ZS
to 'Center/Subwoofer' of Creative Inspire 5. Digital 5500 using the
orange color connection
Once you have done the correct connection, play the game DOOM3.
Ensure you have selected either the EAX or surround option in the game
settings.
Does it work?
Best Regards
(Mod Note: Name Removed)
Creative Customer Support Services
Creative Labs Europe
Original Message Follows:
You have lost me. Your sound card clearly states that I can have EAX
surround decoding from the sound card I have purchased.
All of the games on your web site claim to give me an environmental
effect
that will blow my mind, hence EAX.
All I have done wrong is NOT buying your decoder that comes with the
sound
card. My mistake.
All I want to do is re-address this issue and buy the correct
decoder/processor.
Can you point me to the correct link on your web site so I can buy the
correct decoder/processor?
As for the PCM out of the above cables, this foxes me as my other
equipment
only use Optical cabling on my Lexicon processor and from that I have DD
7., DTS 7. and meridian 5. lossless.
My issue is more to do with NO EAX from the rear and centre channels
while
in-game.
Kind regards
Martin
-----Original Message-----
From: CLE Customer Support [[email][email protected]]mailto:[email protected][/url]]
Sent: 6 January 2006 09:3
To: Martin
Subject: RE: CLE - Technical Support Request (KMM887805I6636L0KM)
Dear Martin
Thanks for your reply
All commercial digital connection eg. optical or coaxial cable will only
carry PCM stereo signal. If you want to output the signal to a surround
5. with extra EAX environment effects, it will not be possible at all
since it is only restricted to stereo channel signal.
As per current industry limitations, we are bound to follow the standard
one-signal output for all our SPDIF and Optical output jacks. This is
something that is currently shared by all vendors for all products.
Please note that all games are not dolby digital, even they are , it
will require certain motherboard to encode it to dolby digital signal,
which our soundcard does not support.
You can only use analog connections to gain true 5. surround for
gaming..
email.
Best Regards
(Mod Note: Name Removed)
Creative Customer Support Services
Creative Labs Europe
Original Message Follows:
Hi Joong
I don't fully understand your email, but I do get the gist of what
you're
saying and understand I need to connect the analogue cable to fully
appreciate the sound in EAX.
Would you be able to tell me what product I could buy from your
catalogue
which would marry up with the sound card I have, as I understand now
that
the Inspire 5. will not do the job.
Kind regards
Martin
-----Original Message-----
From: CLE Customer Support [[email][email protected]]mailto:[email protected][/url]]
Sent: 6 January 2006 04:00
To: Martin
Subject: RE: CLE - Technical Support Request (KMM8875697I6636L0KM)
Dear Martin
Thank you for the reply.
Computer games written with support for 3D audio do not require a Dolby
Digital Interacti've Content Encoder (DICE) to output multichannel sound,
with no exceptions. Sound devices that support the real time encoder
technology from Dolby will simply receive the multichannel wave file
output and encode it in real time to a somewhat modified Dolby Digital
bitstream. Creative does not support the Dolby Digital Interacti've
Content Encoder on any of its sound cards.
The only difference between a Sound Blaster card and an audio card that
has a real time encoder, is that you can make a one-wire, digital
connection from your audio card to your home theater receiver and enjoy
discrete multichannel sound from the game. However there will be a
continuous, slight delay, known as "latency", as the encoder is creating
and transmitting the bitstream, and of course the compression scheme
being used is "lossy" (i.e. not bit-accurate).
If you want to enjoy 3D audio in 3D enabled PC games in multichannel
surround sound with a Sound Blaster card, it is recommended that you
connect the analog outputs of the sound card directly to the analog
inputs of the receiver. This will require 3 cables for 5. surround
sound, one for front right and left, one for rear left and right, and
another one for front center and subwoofer. Though it requires more
cables than a real time encoder system, it will not have any latency
issues. When connecting PC audio to a home theater receiver, Creative's
latest sound cards such as Sound Blaster Audigy, Sound Blaster Audigy 2
are likely to provide higher quality audio than any Dolby Digital real
time encode system available for the PC today.
Please retain all the previous correspondence when replying to this
email.
Best Regards
(Mod Note: Name Removed)
Creative Customer Support Services
Please do not use this link to submit technical queries
Original Message Follows:
Hi
One particular game which has "in-game" DD is Farcry; I used this as my
benchmark disc for DD and to push my Nvidia 7800 GTX GPU's (I have tried
it
on friend's machines and they get the full surround effect so I Know
this
version is ok. I also have ALL of the game patches & updates.
I would like to point out that while playing Doom 3, Half Life 2,Fear,
Colin
McRae rally 04,FIFA 2004,Meddle of honour pacific assault, Rome, Shadow
ops, All these games have EAX HD, which is enabled within the options
menu
"in-game", But I do not get ANY use out of the rear's and I might as
well
listen in stereo.
No, inspire 5500 does not automatically switch while "in-game" when DD
is present as you would expect, but does if it was a Movie, which makes
me
think the DD stream isn't getting to the processor.
I originally thought I could put all this to rest if I could buy the
control
panel that would have come with the Sound card if I had not tried to
save
money, but every time I search your accessories site I get completely
lost,
it really isn't user friendly, the sub-menus are very time consuming and
point you in the wrong direction because they are not categorised as Joe
public would understand
I downloaded your TEST Movies and creative demo player utility, ran it
but
still no EAX HD or DD if that were present.
I want to put this card and Processor into my boys computer (which is
the
same Spec as mine and I will update to the FX series, but I am unwilling
if
I cannot find a logical reason why this set-up cannot work first.
Would it have anything to do with the pins on the Digital out on the
sound
card plug, the one I bought and was attached to the last email? Only
sending
certain channels down to the processor?
Regards
Martin
-----Original Message-----
From: CLE Customer Support [[email][email protected]]mailto:[email protected][/url]]
Sent: 5 January 2006 08:09
To: Martin
Subject: RE: CLE - Technical Support Request (KMM8868993I6636L0KM)
Dear Martin
Thanks for your reply
Your speakers are fine as you mentioned that there is sound from all the
speakers when you are playing movie.
May i know what game are you playing when there are no sound from the
rear speakers?
Have you done the appropriate settings in the game to achieve the 5.
sound?
Is there any game patches that you will need to update?
Does the Dolby Digital LED light up when you are playing the game?
Please retain all the previous correspondence when replying to this
email.
Best Regards
(Mod Note: Name Removed)
Creative Customer Support Servic
Original Message Follows:
Hi
I am sorry; I should have said the Inspire 5. was model number digital
5500
S/N SW330030026.
The inspire has these connection on the back of the processor
>From top/back of unit
Audio Outputs
Front
Rear
Centre/subwoofer
Audio inputs
Audio line in
Coaxial
Optical
DIN
The Din to a remotely located Subwoofer which has the speaker leads
inputting into it. Plus power.
Attached is the creative view of the controls menu and I have attached
the
invoice I was sent, it shows the lead I was told to fit.
As I said, I can now hear DD5. while within a movie from ALL speakers
BUT
no sound from rears during IN GAME DD5.
I do not use this PC for films only games.
Regards
Martin
If you are having a digital connection, it is normal for only get only
front left/right is you use the speaker test option.
http://us.creative.com/support/kb/article.asp?l=3&sid=4858
Speaker test only outputs from two front speakers?
You mentioned that that you are unable to get any sound from the rear
speakers when playing game right? May i know are you using a digital
connection? May i know what speaker settings have been made under
Creative Speaker settings?
Do get back to me on the above.
Thanks
Original Message Follows:
Operating System: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
Creative Model Number: SBO 350
Computer Brand/Model: home made
Processor/CPU: AMD 64
Memory: Gig DDR 4
BIOS Type/Revision: 5. 39
System Board/Chipset: ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe
Detailed Problem Description:
I have the above Sound card.
I also own Inspire 5. amp/processor
I Wanted to save money by connecting above sound
card to amp/processor
Connections on sound card made life very difficult
I contacted Creative for help. you told me to buy
an RCA to mini jack cord which also has other connections, from your
web site, (I tried to find
the product number for you, but your sub-menu
system is so poor I couldn't locate the RCA/mini
3.5 /to phono link for you) this cord connects
directly into the digital in, on the sound card (3.5 Mini jack) to the
coaxial input on the
inspire 5. amp/processor.
I have enabled ALL sp-diff settings and digital in
setting on every program/utility/kitchen sink and all.
I have an SP-Diff wire from DVD burner to creative
sound card, and yes its enabled and digital only
is selected.
I can play a DVD and see the inspire 5.
automatically change from Pro-logic to Dolby
digital when it See's an AC-3 stream.
when I try and play ANY game you say has EAX
,2,3,4 I cannot get any sound from my rear
speakers (see above in Dolby Digital ALL speakers
work correctly)
when I enter the set-up menu within the creative
software you supply with the sound card and select
5. speaker, digital only, test the speakers via
the white noise function, all i hear is left and
right noise. no centre, no rears.
I phoned you tech support line, the boy on the
phone didn't have much of a clue about your
product and I had to tell him what connections sit
on the inspire 5. series amp/processor.
I want to build another PC for my son, I want to
add the FX series sound card and amp, but i am not
willing to buy anything until i feel you have
helped me to solve this problem first.
please can you help, I am at the end of my tether
with this sound card.
kind regards
Martin Waite
Message Edited by Daniel-CL on 0-28-2006 :36 PM

DVD-Audio and "can not detect sound blaster card" with Audigy2 Va

I recently purchased an "Audigy2 Value" card from an eBay user, because I recently purchased some DVD-Audio discs. I downloaded the Audigy2 drivers from the website, and the Creative MediaSource player. 5. Surround sound worked fine for me, though sometimes the driver would reset to the default 2/2. sound and I would have to re-select 5. sound, which was annoying.
Then I was completely unable to get the MediaSource player to recognise my DVD-Audio discs, and the EAX functionality of the player would never work. The EAX logo never appeared in the player. When I tried installing the MediaSource player from an install disc, I got the message "can not detect sound blaster card". Then I discovered the world of EEPROM problems.
I followed advice from some other threads, including using ScanPCI to get information on the card, which yielded the following result.
When installed on my machine (Asus A7A266 motherboard) the ScanPCI reads:
Vendor 02h Creative Labs
Device 0008h Unknown
Command 0005h (I/O Access, BusMaster)
Status 0290h (Has Capabilities List, Supports Back-To-Back Trans., Medium Timing)
Revision 00h, Header Type 00h, Bus Latency 20h
Self test 00h (Self test not supported)
PCI Class Multimedia, type Audio
Subsystem ID 0002h Unknown
Subsystem Vendor 02h Creative Labs
Address 0 is an I/O Port : 0000A800h
System IRQ 5, INT# A
New Capabilities List Information :
Power Management Capabilities
Supports power state D2
Supports power state D
Current Power State : D0 (Device fully-operational, no power saving)
On another machine (specs unknown, it's a "house pc") I got this (with 3 entries!):
Vendor 02h Creative Labs
Device 0002h EMU0K Audio Chipset (SB Li've!)
Command 0004h (BusMaster)
Status 0290h (Has Capabilities List, Supports Back-To-Back Trans., Medium Timing)
Revision 04h, Header Type 80h, Bus Latency 20h
Self test 00h (Self test not supported)
PCI Class Multimedia, type Audio
Subsystem ID 002002h CT4850 SBLi've! Value
Subsystem Vendor 02h Creative Labs
Address 0 is an I/O Port : 00009000h
New Capabilities List Information :
Power Management Capabilities
Current Power State : D0 (Device fully-operational, no power saving)
Vendor 02h Creative Labs
Device 7002h PCI Gameport Joystick
Command 0004h (BusMaster)
Status 0290h (Has Capabilities List, Supports Back-To-Back Trans., Medium Timing)
Revision 0h, Header Type 80h, Bus Latency 20h
Self test 00h (Self test not supported)
PCI Class Input, type Other
Subsystem ID 002002h PCI Gameport Joystick
Subsystem Vendor 02h Creative Labs
Address 0 is an I/O Port : 00008800h
New Capabilities List Information :
Power Management Capabilities
Current Power State : D0 (Device fully-operational, no power saving)
Vendor 02h Creative Labs
Device 0008h Unknown
Command 0004h (BusMaster)
Status 0290h (Has Capabilities List, Supports Back-To-Back Trans., Medium Timing)
Revision 00h, Header Type 00h, Bus Latency 20h
Self test 00h (Self test not supported)
PCI Class Multimedia, type Audio
Subsystem ID 0002h PCI Gameport Joystick (Guess Only!)
Subsystem Vendor 02h Creative Labs
Address 0 is an I/O Port : 00008400h
New Capabilities List Information :
Power Management Capabilities
Supports power state D2
Supports power state D
Current Power State : D0 (Device fully-operational, no power saving)
(Just a note: above you can clearly see that it does not say I have an Audigy, it thinks it is a SBLi've. Is this normal? The card IS an Audigy 2, it says so on the card.)
So, I put the card back on my own PC, thinking this has fixed my EEPROM, but I get the same as before. Subsystem ID 0002h. And of course the install software will not detect the card.
I realise that I could go back to using the web drivers, but this still leaves me with MediaSource not recognising the card and not enabling DVD-Audio or EAX, which is why I bought the card in the first place!
I have heard that the VIA chipset is possibly to blame for the EEPROM problems on the Audigy cards, and certainly it seems like it is not permanent, since it gave different information on the other PC. So now I am seriously considering getting a new motherboard.
Do other motherboards cause this same problem? I don't want to buy another board and get the same trouble. All I want is to be able to install my MediaSource and have it recognise my card so I can listen to my DVD-Audio discs.
Cheers,
Russ.

Figured out my problem. Installing the drivers from the web to begin with was a bad idea. They just did not work properly with the card.
The "card not found" problem has gone as well, after installing it in another PC. I am also using the proper install disc now, as the other one I was using turned out to not be for the Audigy 2 value after all, but was an Audigy 2 install disc. That easily explains the "Card not found" error. The differing results from the ScanPCI program are still bizarre, though.
Thanks to all of the people on the forum who posted information in other threads to help me deal with this issue. For now I am sticking with the original drivers from the disc and I am not upgrading.

Sound Blaster Instability - Are you affected? (Stability Test for "Squealing", et

I've created a test that works on my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS with my particular hardware configuration as a proof of concept of the instability ( "high-pitched squealing" ) issues I have. (I have an ASUS P5N-E SLI motherboard.) I am seeking to find out if it "works" for other people with squealing issues (i.e. triggers them).
Do our problems really have common symptoms, or a common source? I hope we can find that out, and ideally this would be a step toward that.
I believe it would be helpful for people who have problems with their cards to post some system information, along with descriptions of what the problems are.
Some useful system information to post would be . Motherboard, 2. CPU, 3. Video Card, 4. Sound Card, 5. Operating System, 6. Sound Driver and version, 7. Power Supply.
.. and then whether you have problems with Snap-Crackle-Pop (SCP), High-Pitched Squealing (HPS), BSODs, or other errors.
For example, here's my information:
. ASUS P5N-E SLI
2. Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
3. ATI X800XT
4. Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
5. Windows XP Pro SP2
6. Creative drivers, 5.2.4.96 (SBAX_WBUP2_LB_2_09_006)
7. Cooler Master iGreen Power 600W
I experience HPS and BSODs. Typical times for the sound test to fail for me are between 5 seconds and 2 minutes.
Some information is better than none. It's not necessary to give complete system information if you don't know it all. But the most important information would be what motherboard you have, what sound card you have, what problems you experience (if any) and whether or not the test results in instability for you.
IMPORTANT: It's important to note that you are running this test AT YOUR OWN RISK, and while the files included don't inherently cause harm, it is possible for data corruption to occur if your system is affected by this issue.
These key files are needed in order to perform the test: a MIDI and a high-definition audio file (in this case, a high-definition (24-bit/48kHz) WAVE of near-silence). These are included in the zip file I have linked to below. According to CreativeSkeptic, MIDI playback makes high utilization of the PCI bus, so this may be why the problem is caused so easily this way.
I would be interested in hearing your results if you have experienced the high-pitched squealing in games or even if you haven't.
You can hear an example of what may happen if you experience instability [url="http://www.supload.com/listen?s=Sxfea3MfL">here[/url].
Sound Blaster Test.zip at Wikiupload.com
Or.. Sound_blaster_test.Zip by Bigupload.Com
(Note: The zip file is around 50KB in size, but it expands to over 42MB. This is due to the high-definition nature of the 5-minute wave file necessary to induce this problem in affected systems.)
This test will measure the stability of your Sound Blaster in your
particular system configuration. It is tested with Windows XP and
Windows Media Player , though these *may* not be essential for the
functioning of the test.
WARNING:
CLOSE ALL RUNNING PROGRAMS TO AVOID DATA LOSS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
Instructions:
. Open silence.wav in Windows Media Player. To do so, you can drag it
onto the Windows Media Player shortcut in this folder.
2. Then, open the Play Midi shortcut.
Note:
This test will ONLY work if your system is using standard or full
hardware sound acceleration. In addition, your system must be using
your Sound Blaster as its MIDI interface directly. Software synthesizers
will not trigger the problem.
You can tell if your system has become unstable based on the
corrupted nature of the instruments played by the MIDI. It will
begin to sound odd and unnatural, with random notes inserted
here and there. It will be clear to you that this has happened.
For me, it doesn't take more than a few minutes before the instability
appears.
If this is the case, it is recommended that you do one of two things:
- Press the RESET button on your computer.
- Pull the power plug, if you have no reset button.
This is to avoid data loss associated with a blue screen of death
that would normally occur if you did not take these measures to
prevent it.
If you do experience these stability issues, you are at risk of BSOD's
when gaming or other playback problems. Please report this in the forum.
To hear a sample case of instability, visit the following URL:
http://www.supload.com/listen?s=Sxfea3MfLMessage Edited by sireebob on 03-25-200708:2 PM

My X-Fi XtremeGamer passes this "test". No BSODs, etc. But I've discovered my computer has problems beyond sound card issues (I didn't even notice them until recently).
In other words, I've seen firsthand (whether this is true for the majority or not) that my issues with the Audigy 2 ZS don't translate exactly over to the X-Fi XtremeGamer, so if you have an X-Fi don't expect problems with this test, but by all means try if you want to see for sure.
(One problem remains from the Audigy 2 ZS, however: randomly skipping ahead in videos or certain audio streams. It doesn't happen with onboard audio, but my tendency is still to call this a system problem unrelated to the sound card because it doesn't happen on my old PC.)
(Oh, and I know I'm replying to my own post, so don't think I'm nuts. I just thought it would be appropriate to report my experience with my new card in another post.)Message Edited by sireebob on 03-27-20072:24 PM

My Sound Blaster Zx issues

Other than the problems I am about to write, it has been an amazing gaming experience with all the games I've played. I've been using Sound Blasters since the ISA 64 (DOS era) times. I hope for the best for Creative.
Second of all, I am using the latest drivers from the website and after the list of problems you'll see my full system specs I copied from archive sorry for unnecessary details of the system.
Too much noise when I am using the headset it's very annoying too much to handle sometimes. Scrolling up and down the web pages make noise. I don't know what causes this issue. It may be that the shielding on the headset's cables is too bad (it may be since it's leaking the speakers to mic. People can hear what I am listening to even if the mic is disabled on the headset). There is the same noise when it's on speakers too but I cannot verify whether it's the cables that are picking the noise or the card. In order to solve this issue I connect the Sound Blaster Zx to the bottom of the motherboard where there is a PCIe 16x. This eliminates most of the noise but creates so many other problems I am not even going to talk about since Creative may not have designed this card's controller to work on PCIe 16x bus. All the problems exist when it's connected to 1x PCIe and 16x problems are not listed below.
Frequently upon restart, it asks me too choose the sound card for PRO STUDIO and Sound Blaster Speaker Setup separately. The names are followed by numbers. ex: 2 - Sound Blaster, 3 - Sound Blaster
Surround left is a lot louder than surround right speaker. I have to adjust it's dBs on the Speaker Level panel. First, I thought this could be an issue with the T6160 box, but I have a 5.1 surround headset and I feel the same to some degree when I'm using it. I play Battlefield 3 usually and it's very noticeable if you want to try.
CrystalVoice Focus doesn't work at all other than making the mic stereo. You can hear which direction sound is coming from, but it doesn't limit the angle. It still captures everything. I need it to capture only my voice not the surroundings outside the angle.
This is not a terrible issue: Sound Blaster does a fantastic job on canceling the sound coming from the speakers if that sound was processed digitally. Without any effect on the voice (mic) it fails to cancel the echo and creates a 2 - 3 degree loop (then it drops)
When all the five jacks are connected upon restart sometimes it doesn't stay with the last chosen settings (5.1 speakers), it automatically switches to headphones.
Sometimes channels get all mixed. Either have to restart or switch between headphones and speakers
Again, I'm posting full specs since I heard other peripherals may be the reason to some problems.
AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE @4.1
CM Seidon 120M Water Cooling
G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 2 x 4GB DDR3 2400
GIGABYTE GV-R779OC-2GD Radeon HD 7790 2GB
SAMSUNG 840 Series 120GB
Logitech G710+
Logitech G700s
ROCCAT ROC-13-400 Alumic
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Zx
Creative Inspire T6160 50 Watts 5.1
Cooler Master CM Storm Sirus 5.1
JVC HA-RX900
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP
FSP Group AURUM 92+ Series PT-450M
LG IPS224V-PN Black 21.5" 14ms
ASUS VG248QE Black 24" 144Hz 1ms

Originally Posted by KaziQ
Other than the problems I am about to write, it has been an amazing gaming experience with all the games I've played. I've been using Sound Blasters since the ISA 64 (DOS era) times. I hope for the best for Creative.
Second of all, I am using the latest drivers from the website and after the list of problems you'll see my full system specs I copied from archive sorry for unnecessary details of the system.
Too much noise when I am using the headset it's very annoying too much to handle sometimes. Scrolling up and down the web pages make noise. I don't know what causes this issue. It may be that the shielding on the headset's cables is too bad (it may be since it's leaking the speakers to mic. People can hear what I am listening to even if the mic is disabled on the headset). There is the same noise when it's on speakers too but I cannot verify whether it's the cables that are picking the noise or the card. In order to solve this issue I connect the Sound Blaster Zx to the bottom of the motherboard where there is a PCIe 16x. This eliminates most of the noise but creates so many other problems I am not even going to talk about since Creative may not have designed this card's controller to work on PCIe 16x bus. All the problems exist when it's connected to 1x PCIe and 16x problems are not listed below.
Frequently upon restart, it asks me too choose the sound card for PRO STUDIO and Sound Blaster Speaker Setup separately. The names are followed by numbers. ex: 2 - Sound Blaster, 3 - Sound Blaster
Surround left is a lot louder than surround right speaker. I have to adjust it's dBs on the Speaker Level panel. First, I thought this could be an issue with the T6160 box, but I have a 5.1 surround headset and I feel the same to some degree when I'm using it. I play Battlefield 3 usually and it's very noticeable if you want to try.
CrystalVoice Focus doesn't work at all other than making the mic stereo. You can hear which direction sound is coming from, but it doesn't limit the angle. It still captures everything. I need it to capture only my voice not the surroundings outside the angle.
This is not a terrible issue: Sound Blaster does a fantastic job on canceling the sound coming from the speakers if that sound was processed digitally. Without any effect on the voice (mic) it fails to cancel the echo and creates a 2 - 3 degree loop (then it drops)
When all the five jacks are connected upon restart sometimes it doesn't stay with the last chosen settings (5.1 speakers), it automatically switches to headphones.
Sometimes channels get all mixed. Either have to restart or switch between headphones and speakers
Again, I'm posting full specs since I heard other peripherals may be the reason to some problems.
AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE @4.1
CM Seidon 120M Water Cooling
G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 2 x 4GB DDR3 2400
GIGABYTE GV-R779OC-2GD Radeon HD 7790 2GB
SAMSUNG 840 Series 120GB
Logitech G710+
Logitech G700s
ROCCAT ROC-13-400 Alumic
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Zx
Creative Inspire T6160 50 Watts 5.1
Cooler Master CM Storm Sirus 5.1
JVC HA-RX900
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP
FSP Group AURUM 92+ Series PT-450M
LG IPS224V-PN Black 21.5" 14ms
ASUS VG248QE Black 24" 144Hz 1ms
Hello, KaziQ.
I can't say about headset, my microphone and headphones are separate and they are working fine.
I had the same problem with 2- sound blaster, 3- sound blaster, but it was on old buggy system, I made a fresh install of Windows 7, now I think this problem is gone. But it's smth related to Creative drivers.
I have no problems with volume of channels, seems all good, right-left, both rear, etc.
As for CrystalVoice- all the same. It's making microphone Stereo, somehow, I think, it should help with angles u are speaking into it, but i don't know how, coz this feature seems kinda useless to me. On other hand, I can hear myself and people can hear me perfectly, using this small mic that came with Z soundcard.
As for switching to headphones- yes, I had this issue on old system. Reinstalled from scratch Windows (formatted drive C) and drivers. Problem is gone for now.
And I never got mixed channels, never! Even on old system.
But I advise to do the same... try clean installation...
And good luck. )

Sound Blaster USB left ear died

The left ear on my sound blaster USB headset just died today for no reason.
I was listening to the headset, just fine...
Took the headphones off for 3 seconds to talk to someone, put them back on, left ear was flickering on and off
5 seconds later it was totally dead...
Still is of course..
I dont have serial number or warranty papers, nor the reciept for the headset but I have all the original boxing and packaging plus the disk it came with and installation information... Even the little california lead poisoning paper.
I tried using support submit RMA request but that needs Serial #, tried using some other method and the site is broken.
HELP ME. The headset is only 3 or 4 maybe 5 at most monthes old, still in warranty.

Hi,
I am not sure which headset you have but the serial number is usually listed on the back of the box as well as on the support leaflet. Please write to support using this form, do let us know if you still encounter difficulty writing to them.
PS: If you still cannot find the serial number, just key in a random number and explain your situation to support in your email.

Sound Blaster h

We're owrking on my friends computer, and something got messed up in the sound card (he had a virus).
At first, no sound would play regardless, and the sound card wasn't in device manager. We blew out his hard dri've and reloaded XP from scratch, and it plays sound for everything except DVDs. it has a cable from the DVD player to the sound card, and the device manager says "Creative Sound Blaster" and thats it. Do we have the cable from the DVD dri've connected to the right port on the card? It worked fine before the virus.

I see. Thanks. And I assume that having the cable connected puts it in "CD audio" rather than digital mode.
Daniel-CL wrote:
Katman, That cable would normally be used for playing CD Audio, but all modern OS's, including XP, do digital audio extraction from CD's. Thus, instead of the dri've sending analog / digital audio to the soundcard, the PC is reading the disk like data, transfering it over the bus, and then producing the audio. This usually gives better quality and the dri've can be used more efficiently and at higher speeds. This also allows for listening to a cd while you also rip, etc... Daniel

Issues related to Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio (PCI Express 1)

Hi, I've recently bought a SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio (PCI Express edition).
Before I address my issue, I'd like to point out that my rig is:
Maximus Extreme (mobo)?
Q6600 (cpu)
ATI4870 (vid card)
4Gigs of DDR3 (ram)
and my OS is Vista Home Edition (32 bit precision)?
And so after physically installing the hardware, I quickly installed everything there was on the CD- this included the drivers available on the CD. After this installation, I restarted then found most recent updates via online sources (creative.com). But even after all of this, I wasn't able to get my microphone to work. Now from my understanding, the jack is shared between Line-In and Microphone and I'm supposed to configure this setting. And so I tried to do that, but my only problem was that I was unable to use any of the available features. After researching for a few hours I found out that I, appearently have to uninstall everything that I had installed and then reinstall everything from online sources (from creative.com-- latest drivers for vista 32 bit). But even then, I still can't use my mic or configure the settings so that I could use microphone instead of Line-In.
Now going back to my actual question, how do I configure the settings so that I could use Microphone instead of Line-In?

ERe: Issues related to Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio (PCI Express )[ Bumping.
Almost the same problem here.
Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio edition, Windows 7 64bit.
I downloaded the latest driver from the Creative site, installed it, update with the update manager and then i installed the console.
Issue number : I DONT have your same console. I dont have a "Mode" button, im stuck in Entertainment Mode. I cant control almost nothing and i dont have all the options u have.
Issue number 2: My mic isnt working good. It's VERY low on volume, i cant be heard without the +20db boost (the only boost option i have, i cant boost more) and even with that acti've that's not that loud.
It is still working good with my onboard realtek soundcard. I cant understand what's the problem and how to solve it.
Ah, my headset is a Creative Fatality.

DO NOT install this driver for Sound Blaster Audigy SE, or Sound Blaster Audigy Va

I have two creative products that work fine under xp. But since installing vista my sBli've platinum doesn't work at all, i find out that creative are no longer supporting this card for vista. Fair enough... So I'm waiting for the SB audigy driver update and behold I read that i shouln't install the driver for my other Sound Blaster card, Audigy SE.
what are creative trying to do? does'nt look like a well run company.
And from what I've read what is the point of getting a card that is suppoted by the new driver as other people seem to be complaining that this new driver doesn't enable all the features as under Xp.

If I am right your Audigy is the first Audigy (EMU0k2) soundcard that was launched by Creative Labs. You need the drivers for the audigy series. For driver/application updates: Latest downloads Audigy Platinum
For a proper install, you may use the tools Driver Cleaner or Driver Sweeper in Windows Safe Mode to clean up the older drivers that are left in the system which can cause the problems you are having now; you can find these tools at Guru3D (under 'General Utilities').
After that You can install the drivers including the software/applications by using the install cd which is supplied with your Audigy soundcard, and then install the driver updates manually afterwards.
Or you can try out the new Daniel_K's driverpack (software/applications included, install cd not needed): SB Audigy Support Pack 2.8.000EQ (08/22/2008)
Good luck!
Message Edited by CTman on 09-23-2008 05:38 PM

Sound Blaster 5.1 or Sound Blaster Live

can enybody help me to find the right driver for Creative Sound Blaster 5. please note that its not Creative Sound Blaster Li've 5.
Creative Sound Blaster 5. and Creative Sound Blaster Li've 5. ARE THEY SAME? OR WHAT?can anybody help me?thanks in advance.

that means it`s no Sound Blaster 5. for vista driver?and?we can not find this kind of driver unless Creative reopen it'sand we still can not use kx version driver to make it work on vista?and i have install that card with xp driver,but it`s just 2 channl make sound.how can i fix it's

Creative Sound Blaster 5.1 Windows 7 Driver Please!!!!

i recently upgraded my pc from vista to windows 7....the driver cd for creative sound blaster 5. which worked for vista is not working for windows 7...can anyone please ppost me the link to download the driver for windows 7 or atlease tell me how to rectify this problem....its very urgent...i have no sound in my pc....please help!!!!

hi <span class="lia-user-name UserName">sachinsankar555
<span class="lia-user-name UserName">if you have 32-bit version you can resolve your issue so easly
<span class="lia-user-name UserName">just make your driver cd?compatible with windows xp, i?trieded this and it worked with 32-bit
<span class="lia-user-name UserName">but now i am having 64-bit and it wont recognaize it at all

Listening to the Optical in on my Sound Blaster X

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