CREATIVE – Sound Blaster Z SE Soundcard
CREATIVE – Sound Blaster Z SE Soundcard
Various Surround Delivery
On top of our raved-about Sound Blaster Surround Virtualization technology, Sound Blaster Z SE also supports up to 7.1 virtual on headphones and speakers alongside discrete 5.1 for speakers, as well as Dolby Digital Live, and DTS Encoding.
Sound Blaster Command Software
Access the full suite of Sound Blaster’s industry-leading audio processing technologies including Crystallizer that helps improve the dynamic range of audio, or Bass that provides bigger punch on the low end. All enhancements are fully customizable from the Sound Blaster Command software suite on PC.
High-quality Audio Components
Equipped with gold-plated connectors, speaker optimization technology, and digital content encoding capability for the best digital audio quality, as well as our multi-core Sound Core3D audio processor designed to deliver high-quality, pristine audio without overstressing your primary CPU.
| Weight: | 348 g |
| Dimensions: | 13.59 x 12.7 x 2.21 cm; 348.7 Grams |
| Brand: | CREATIVE |
| Model: | SB1500 |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | Creative Labs |
| Dimensions: | 13.59 x 12.7 x 2.21 cm; 348.7 Grams |
since windows 11 apparently does not have the ability to use DTS 5.1 sound …this sound blaster z se worked PERFECTLY after i downloaded the software.. now i can play all my games in glorious DTS sound- well worth the money!
I got the card and some Klipsch ProMedia speakers as i was really tired of the poor sound quality and controls afforded by internet browsers and PCs. I can now hear poorly recorded podcasts that i had to strain to hear on my PC. You can really crank everything up now. I also noticed new sounds in games that I never heard before that make the experience much more realistic. I was also intrigued with the ASIO functionality built into the card that bypasses Windows audio and its compression.
I play Escape From Tarkov and other sound based games. This really brought the foot steps out.
I recently upgraded my PC and got a Ryzen 5 5600x and an MSI B550 Gaming Plus motherboard that had an S/PDIF output that seemed handy at first up until I realized it can only do PCM 5.1 or 7.2. Meaning no Dolby nor DTS output. I output all my sound from my 5.2 home theater setup and desperately needed a solution for Dolby/DTS. Luckily I snagged this card for almost half the MSRP because it was used and like new. Easy to install both hardware and software-wise. Software isn’t a complete dumpster fire and has a lot of uses to it other than just product registration and encoder selection.
TL;DR It encodes all audio output as Dolby or DTS which was exactly what I was looking for since my Motherboard couldn’t do the same.
Excelente opcin, para reemplazar el audio interno de la tarjeta madre
En pocas palabras si el audio interno no te convence, esta tarjeta de sonido es un muy buena opcin
Los driver no me han fallado
Windows 11
Asus MOTHERBOARD B550
AMD R7 5700X
I’ve had this card installed for a couple of weeks now and the sound quality compared to the on-board sound is amazing. There are sounds in the video game I play that previously I didn’t even know were there.
Easy to install, but doesn’t pair well with standard desktop speakers. Went through several pair until I hooked some higher end powered speakers and a desktop equalizer app and now the system is super versatile, clean and LOUD.
Great component, but it will cost a little extra to get the best out of it.
Je n’avais pas eu de carte audio discrte depuis une dizaine d’annes et c’est un beau cadeau que je me suis fait en achetant ce produit. Les cartes de son intgres n’arrivent dcidment pas la cheville d’une vraie bonne carte. Faites-vous plaisir! 😉
Very Important Note: C-states in BIOS must be disabled for this card to work properly! Other than that, the card has built-in EQ and several different effects which work well but the Sound Blaster Command software (which is NOT included and MUST be downloaded) keeps changing EQ levels and SB profile settings (which I am addressing with SB Support). If not for that, I would give 5 stars.
The sound card was easy to install in my computer system without difficulty for experienced computer builders… But the only drawbacks are the paper instruction guide provided by the card manufacturer has such small print that you’ll need a magnifying glass in order to be able to read the instructions and it’s written mostly in languages other than English so the installers of this card will need to look at the picture diagrams first before doing any sort of installation procedures.
Once again Creative has not disappointed me. Easy to install and set up, once the drivers were downloaded. would be nice if they included the drivers and support program with the product though.
The software installation was not easy, and it took four days of working with Creative’s tech department to get it installed and working. It was a brand-new Windows 11 machine and the two did not like each other at all.
I am not a gamer, nor was I looking for a home theater set-up. I wanted a reasonably priced soundcard for music and the SB ZSE delivered gorgeous sound in a big way.
I thought I was screwed when I had problems installing the driver and Command software. But Creative’s Tech support was there from the beginning to the end and I am a customer for life. Great product and a company that stands behind it. You can’t ask for much more!
I’ve always known Sound Blaster’s products for their musical rendering and as I’m a bit of a music lover, so I made myself happy by buying it.
Brought my Razer headphones to life! Great sound and great volume. The best feature is there are 2 outputs so you do not have to unplug speaker to plug in headphones. Drives my 2.1 Logitech speakers with power to spare.
Pair this with some good PC speakers, like the Logitech Z623 2.1 and you’re golden. A massive increase in sound quality and everything sounds more alive. Make sure to select the proper speaker output in the Sound Blaster control panel, it defaults to 5.1 and that doesnt sound great on 2.1 speakers.
I mainly bought this to allow positional audio in video games through the Optical connector to a 5.1 sound bar system. That works great now. I’m also surprised at just how good the sound is through Headphones. I was expecting the “surround” effects, etc to be a gimmick but they are very well done. It’s not just some kind of cheesy echo or reverb.
I think I will have SoundBlaster in my PCs from now on.
Excelente para mis audfonos y bocinas monitores. Lo puedes usar directo con alta calidad y incluso cambiar las formas. Tengo varios dac audiofilos pero en PC o en la casa en general este es el mejo
Este chip me gusta 3D que trae la tarjeta, ademas que ahorra recursos para el procesador al ser independiente y remplasando el sonido que trae la tarjeta madre,( la Gigabyte sniper z97 trae este chip este chip el cual quitaron de varias tarjetas madre) bueno para los amantes de la musica.
Needed to step up the quality of the sound output on a computer I decided to use as a media server for home stereo. I was looking for an optical output from a sound card and this sure delivered. It was easy to install to a PCIe slot and it was plug and play from there. Sound quality is excellent with no discernable noise. I highly recommend this product if you are looking at adding a computer to your home stereo setup!
Adquiri la tarjeta dado que utilizo el programa Ableton para msica, y varios de los instrumentos virtuales no funcionaban bien con el controlador ASIO 4 ALL, le en varios reviews que se requiere para mejor performance una tarjeta con ASIO integrado, as que buscando tarjetas PCIe me decid por la Sound Blaster ZE. Me lleve una grata sorpresa ya que no solo el rendimiento de ASIO es el que quera pero inmediatamente not una mejora en el sonido de mi sistema 5.1 sin cambiar las bocinas. Mayor fuerza en el subwoofer y ademas un panel de control para diferentes ambientes de reproduccin como cine, msica, conciertos y ms. Recomiendo la tarjeta para auqellos que requieran una calidad de sonido superior a la tarjeta de sonido que viene por default en su mother board. Muy fcil de usar, instal los controladores despus de montarla y en unos minutos ya estaba funcionando sin problemas!
El paquete lleg sin problemas y al abrirlo lo primero que hice fue conectarla a mi PC, debo de hacer nfasis en que me tarde bastante para que pudiera encontrar el punto exacto para m odio en el que la tarjeta sonara como yo quera.
De base, el software de Soundblaster Command nos da un preset que es ms enfocado para gaming, el sonido se siente enseguida que se amplifica muchsimo, la cantidad de ruido que hacan antes mis bocinas en el nivel 100 con el audio integrado de Realtek, en esta tarjeta aproximadamente en el nivel 34 est igual de alto que en 100, por lo que es necesario ser cuidadoso al ir subiendo el volumen a las bocinas. En cuanto al sonido por defecto, puedo decir que estaba bien, sin embargo para tenerlo como yo buscaba, me met al ecualizador, quite algunos modos como el surround que en bocinas estereo solo ahueca el sonido como si estuviera lejos. Pero una vez que encontr el punto perfecto, no le he movido.
Despus de un mes aproximadamente, me compr un subwoofer el cual conecte en la tarjeta en el puerto que es para front/subwoofer y en un principio no sonaba el subwoofer, por lo que me fui a los ajustes dentro del software y me di cuenta que para que funcionar, es necesario bajar el formato de audio a 24 bits, 96000Hz. Ya que por defecto lo tenemos en 196,000Hz, sino se configura eso, jams sonara el subwoofer o para 5.1, adems de que es necesario que activemos en surround en la primera seccin del software para que funcione, en la tercera seccin en input seleccionar que sea 2.1, 4.1 o 5.1.
No me arrepiento para nada de haber hecho est compra, sin lugar a dudas se le puede sacar mucho jugo a esta tarjeta y se notara instantneamente el cambio. Para la gente que est cmoda con su audio integrado no ser necesaria una inversin como est, pero si eres exigente, est tarjeta no te va a defraudar para nada. Excelente compra.
Mi modelo es la Soundblaster Z SE, no tiene el LED rojo dentro de la tarjeta a diferencia del modelo que no es el SE.
pour les fanatique de beau son surround ( Logitech Z906 ) sans avoir a activer l’equaliser je recommande ce produit.
I realized that there are two versions of the sound blaster Z available at Amazon. The version I bought was the newest version from Nov 2020 while the version sold with the Mic is the older version from years back. So with the new version comes new drivers from Feb 2021.
Ok so now to the meat and potatoes. For just $105 bucks you get a sound card that blows away the on board sound of my Asus b450 motherboard. So I’m here listening to simple pandora on my 2.1 klipcsh speakers and there are sounds like drum beats and breathing in the music never heard before. My bang and olufsen headphones are AMAZING! This sound card also eliminated the buzz and hum my speakers had before.
The only thing that perplexes me is that the LED lights do not work.
For most people, who use headphones only while on their PC, this card would probably not be necessary. I’m an old school room-surround sound guy, so this card was the perfect , inexpensive audio upgrade for my rig.
Completely blows my onboard sound out of the water, no question. The difference is so obvious even a non-audiophile like me can tell instantly. Now is it necessary or worth it? Well that depends on your budget and whether you appreciate better sound quality. If you’re fine with your audio currently, this may improve it, but keep in mind you won’t be able to make crappy speakers sound better with this. Mine certainly don’t. Only these headphones are. In total that’s $100 for the card and $200 for the headphones though. It’s more of a luxury than a necessity imo.
People with slower computers might have trouble with the software. It can be slow/buggy but it is comparable to any proprietary software like this. They’re all just there to click a few buttons and keep drivers updated. Serves its purpose, so I’m good.
Also there is no super bright red LED at all, idk where people are seeing that. Might be a different model.
Sound quality is great, software can be a bit, but once setup you really don’t have to look at it again. For a while, with a lower quality creative labs and onboard audio, I had to run the output of the card through a mixer to convert unbalanced to balanced to prevent noise/hum. This card I am using a headphone 1/8″ to unbalanced 1/4″ cables and I am not getting any signal noise. Just good clean audio. Next best thing to a professional sound card.
Needed this so I can watch Blu-ray movies through my pc with a Blu-ray player. It has Toslink input and output. The sound quality through my 5.1 pc speakers is much better than onboard audio. Much louder and cleaner audio in everything, music, movies, and games. It has great functions and eq settings gamers will like. I can game with my speakers instead of my headphones and hear directional footsteps even better (headphones are 7.1 gaming headsets) l.
I bought this to replace the onboard sound of my pc. I can’t give a 100% review of a lot of the sound quality due to the fact that my pc is hooked up to a Logitech 5.1 surround system. That gives me a background noise when it’s on but not real audio is being played. The card fit perfectly in my pc and I also downloaded the software from online as was stated. That software makes a huge difference in sound quality when changing from one effect to another. Example being from Cinema to Gaming to Stadium etc.