Sound blasterx ae

High-end audio lovers finally have a new option on the horizon with the Creative Labs sound card, the Sound BlasterX AE-9.

Sound BlasterX AE-9 is a very expensive sound card, costs about $ 299

Aimed at a more demanding class of sound listeners, the AE-9 features audiophile features such as replaceable op amps, or opamps.

Following the launch of the Sound BlasterX AE-5 and Sound BlasterX AE-5 Pure last year, the AE-9 climbs a couple of steps. The card appears to have standard 3.5mm connectors for the rear, center, and secondary input and output ports, as well as for the stereo output and RCA optical input and output ports.

While still based on the same Sound Core 3D chip (AE-5, AE-5 Pure), the AE-9 gets rid of the on-chip digital analog converter, or DAC, in favor of an external DAC. The premise is that a high-end DAC will make the sound even more pristine and reliable.

Creative comments that the audio card has a signal to noise ratio of 129dB and uses an ESS Saber 32 analog-to-digital converter. Since both the AE-5 and AE-5 Pure use an ESS ES9016 DAC, we think the AE-9 is a step up, perhaps even a Pro ESS DAC.

Creative's AE-9 uses a 6-pin PCIe connection

For the first time on a sound card, the AE-9 uses a 6-pin PCIe connector for power. Those are about 75w of power for the AE-9.

The new junction box features a single combo jack that supports TRS and XLR connectors for microphones. The microphone jack is a nod to musicians and probably to 'YouTubers' who prefer high-end microphones.

Sound BlasterX AE-9 is a very expensive sound card, it costs about $ 299, we go that it costs as a mid-range graphics card, but it is not focused on players but for professionals or semi-professional content creators who need the best possible sound quality. The card will be available at the end of this month of December.

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