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Creative Sound Blaster X5 Hi-res 32bit/384kHz External USB DAC with Fully Balanced Xamp Headphone Bi-amp, Bluetooth Receiver, RCA in/-Out, TOSLINK Optical in/-Out, Mic-in, Headset-in for Audiophiles 

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$249.99

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About this item

  • AUDIOPHILE-GRADE COMPONENTS - Be ready for exceptionally pristine audio in 32-bit / 384 kHz over PCM at up to 130 dB DNR, made possible by two Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs that can also decode audio formats in DoP128 and DSD256. With an extremely low THD+N rating of ~0.00018% (-115 dB) and ASIO 2.2 playback and recording over USB and S/PDIF, enjoy audio in its purest form
  • FULLY BALANCED XAMP HEADPHONE BI-AMP - Sound Blaster X5 is equipped with our custom-designed Xamp discrete headphone bi-amplifier technology that amplifies and drives each earcup individually, eliminating noise caused by in-circuit interference, and keeping crosstalk to a minimum. The fully balanced audio can then be delivered through a 4.4 mm gold-plated headphones output connector for an accurate reproduction of the original audio content in its most authentic form
  • BLUETOOTH RECEIVER WITH USB HOST PORT - The USB DAC sports a Bluetooth receiver that supports AAC audio codec; connect a wireless audio transmitter to the dedicated USB-A host audio port, stream audio from your preferred device, and play audio wirelessly to your Bluetooth headset. This USB-A host audio port also works with external USB speakers, microphones, and headsets for extra flexibility
  • VARIOUS CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS - Choose from two-way RCA and TOSLINK Optical connectors, a gold-plated 3.5 mm Microphone-in port with an easy-to-access mic gain knob, as well as a convenient USB-C audio port that also powers the Sound Blaster X5 via a single cable for fuss-free audio enjoyment. For versatility, the Sound Blaster X5 also features a ubiquitous gold-plated 3.5 mm headphones port for easy connectivity to your commonplace headphones
  • EASY-TO-ACCESS CONTROLS - The Sound Blaster X5 features an entire getup of front-mounted buttons and switches that are easy-to-access and intuitive for everyone. Activate the customizable DSP-controlled EQ button, instantly increase or decrease mic / headphones input gain, mute or unmute your microphone, or turn off all processing with Direct Mode switch; all the convenience are at your fingertips



Product Description

Pure, pristine, and unadulterated audio exists with Sound Blaster X5

Sound Blaster X5

Hi-res External Dual DAC USB Sound Card with Fully Balanced Xamp Headphone Bi-amplifier for Audiophiles

Pro-audio lovers: The Sound Blaster X5 is made for you.

Top-notch components. Industry-leading technologies. Exceptionally high-resolution audio.

In a gist, the external USB sound card fires up to 32-bit / 384 kHz PCM playback at 130 dB DNR, and features dual Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs, our custom-designed, fully balanced Xamp headphone bi-amplifier, and customizable DSP EQ functions.

On the connectivity front, it comes with a USB-A Host port with USB audio that works with USB microphones and headsets, and even wireless Bluetooth receivers for wire-free audio. This is amongst a plethora of connectivity options such as TOSLINK optical and RCA connectors, so you can connect the Sound Blaster X5 to various platforms, including PC, Mac, PS5 and PS4 and even your sound systems, AV receivers, set-top boxes, and Blu-ray players.

If you are an audio enthusiast or have a discerning pair of ears, the Sound Blaster X5 is one of the best desktop audio accessories you’ll ever need in your get-up.

Zero compromises in quality 

Zero compromises in quality 

Sound Blaster X5: in numbers

Featuring not one, but two Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs on the Sound Blaster X5, be ready for exceptionally high-resolution lossless playback in 32-bit / 384 kHz over PCM with ultra-high dynamic range of up to 130 dB DNR. These DACs are also capable of decoding audio formats in DoP128 and DSD256 to deliver high-fidelity audio streaming and acoustic details you cannot miss.

To enhance the Sound Blaster X5 for smoother operability, the dual DAC microcontroller unit (MCU) design also serves to minimize inter-dependency between major components, reducing the risk of a single point of failure. This allows for improved efficiency with quicker response time between user interaction and device control, and boosts overall product performance.

Plus, with an oversampled multi-bit modulator utilizing mismatch shaping technology for incredibly low Total Harmonic Distortion rating of ~0.00018%, audio distortion is almost non-existent with the Sound Blaster X5.

It also supports ASIO 2.2 playback and recording over USB and S/PDIF, so you can easily access multiple audio inputs and outputs at ultra-low latency, and enjoy audio in its purest form.

The perfect headphones sidekick

Xamp discrete headphone bi-amp

Xamp discrete headphone bi-amp

Our custom-designed technology that drives each earcup individually via 3 stages of amplification circuits and works in tandem with the dual DAC ensemble to amplify the audio signals of the left and right earcups independently.

This arrangement eliminates noise caused by in-circuit interference and keeps crosstalk to a minimum.

Fully balanced headphones output

Fully balanced headphones output

The fully balanced audio can then be delivered through a 4.4 mm gold-plated headphones output connector for an accurate reproduction of the original audio content in its purest and authentic form. It works with studio-grade headphones of up to 600Ω, including the most demanding high-end, open-back planar-magnetic headphones, as well as sensitive IEMs, with its ultra-low 1Ω headphone output impedance.

Supports immersive virtual surround

Supports immersive virtual surround

It also supports virtual surround on your headphones, deploying HRTF (head-related transfer function) algorithms onto multi-channel audio streams for immersive, theater-like audio envelopment with realistic spatial audio positioning, to whichever content you choose indulge in.

Go wireless, and more

Go wireless, and more

The USB DAC sports a Bluetooth receiver that supports AAC audio codec and a USB-A host audio port; connect to a wireless audio transmitter and stream audio wirelessly to your Bluetooth headset. This USB-A host audio port also works with external USB speakers, microphones, and headsets.

Connectivity

Connectivity a whole lot of options

Connectivity-A whole lot of options

Choose from a plethora of two-way RCA and TOSLINK Optical connectors, a gold-plated 3.5 mm Microphone-in port with an easy-to-access mic gain knob, as well as a convenient USB-C audio port that also powers the Sound Blaster X5 via a single cable for fuss-free audio enjoyment. For versatility, the Sound Blaster X5 also features a ubiquitous gold-plated 3.5 mm headphones port for easy connectivity to your commonplace headphones.

  • Wireless Bluetooth 5.0: Stream audio wireless from your PC, Mac, or mobile devices; supports AAC and SBC audio codecs
  • USB-A Host Audio Port: Connect to external USB speakers, headsets, microphones, or even a wireless audio transmitter such as Creative BT-W4 or Creative BT-W3
  • 3.5 mm Mic-in: Connect an external microphone for communications or audio recording
  • 4.4 mm 5-pole Balanced Headphone Jack: Connect to a pair of 4.4 mm balanced headphones and enjoy clean, unadulterated audio reproduction
  • 3.5 mm 4-pole Headphones Jack: Connect to a pair of versatile 3.5 mm headphones or headset to enjoy fuss-free audio
  • RCA (Line-in and Line-out) and TOSLINK Optical Connectors: Plug in your sound systems, AV receivers, Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, and even TV
  • USB-C: Power up the Sound Blaster X5 and stream audio directly with the same USB-C connection to Windows PC, Mac, PS5 and PS4

Controls

Controls

The controls are really easy to access

The Sound Blaster X5 features an entire getup of front-mounted buttons and switches that are easy-to-access and intuitive for everyone.

You are also in full control to take your audio further. Make adjustment to the 10-band EQ frequency graph, select from a list of Acoustic Engine’s pre-tuned audio profiles, or switch them off completely for clean, pure, unadulterated sound. Our Creative app offers you full customizability over what you wish to hear, or not.


S. Brown
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2025
I regret buying this. I have had nothing but problems with it.The cons:1. It disconnects regularly and the USB cable needs to be pulled and reinserted. It has disconnected while I was using it too. This is not a USB power setting...it's bad design.2. It "loses" its driver a couple times a week. It will prompt you over and over and over to install the driver that's already installed. Connecting it to another USB port is the only thing that fixes this.3. It has a bug where it sets the mic volume to zero after a boot. It happens every time for me. Lots of people complain about it, but apparently Creative isn't concerned enough to fix it.4. There's a USB host port on this where you can supposedly plug in a Bluetooth device to use wireless headphones. I've tried both Creative's own BT-W3 and BT-W5 and neither worked.5. I occasionally get a massive ground loop through this. I don't hear it on other sound cards, just this one. Of course there's no ground screw on this thing either.The pro:1. It sounds great when it works.This is my final Creative Labs purchase.
Byron Seijo
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2024
This for my use is a do it all device. I have multiple dac/amps and I wanted something for headsets if I want to use one. This works fantastic for my use
Russell Randolph
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2024
Awesome device! Has with amazing clarity and bass. Great flexibility. I don't use it for the gaming functions or DSP at all, only direct mode. I use it as a DAC, balanced head phone amp and pre-amp to my amp for bookcase speakers. Fabulous sound quality on headphones and speakers in direct mode.I did not have any of the issues the previous reviewer had. The device function and app has been flawless.
Franco F
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2024
The Sound Blaster X5 seemed to have everything I was looking for, balanced headphone output, EQ support, RCA and optical inputs and outputs and Bluetooth support. The ability to mix across inputs was a welcome bonus too. My plan was to use it with my PC as well as a PS4 and occasionally Bluetooth receiver, tough to find an all in one that can do all of that with audiophile level hardware.From the get go there were problems. The device was not recognized by windows and could not load default drivers. I was planning to use the creative software anyway so all good. However it took 5 installation attempts and restarts before windows picked it up, and even then only after messing around in the device manager.Once I was finally up and running, issues with the volume control started cropping up. This isn’t necessarily a bug but design decisions around how the volume levels are controlled, especially when mixing inputs, leaves a lot to be desired. I would’ve preferred if it was simply controlling hardware volume and I can control the windows volume independently. If I wanted to play some background music from windows while using the PlayStation on the optical input I had to lower the volume all the way in Spotify just to have reasonable levels.All of this was acceptable since I recognized this was a pretty custom / specific setup but after just 2 days the device randomly dropped the Bluetooth connection while playing music from my phone and started loudly hissing, I had to throw the headphones off my head it was so loud. It continued hissing and loudly cracking, to the point I was concerned it would break my expensive headphones. I tried to reconnect, restart, reset to factory, perform the diagnostic tool on the app, etc etc. but the hissing never went away and I was never able to get it to play anything from any source. Spent two hours messing around with it with no progress.Overall, I think creative is on to something with this type of device but the X5 simply isn’t ‘finished’. Even though I was willing to give it a pass on some things I will be returning it and looking elsewhere, will likely need a combination of devices to achieve what I’m after.
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