We purchased the Sound Blaster ZxR so that our expert reviewer could thoroughly test and review it. Read on for our full product review.
Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR sound card review – by TotallydubbedHD
The Sound Blaster ZxR audio card was a great card in 2013. As of 2019, the ZxR has fallen behind the competition. It delivers fairly clear audio, but requires two PCIe slots and costs $250 MSRP. Compare that to offerings from other audio card manufacturers like ASUS and EVGA, which can deliver better audio performance for as little as $160. That said, the Sound Blaster ZxR isn’t without its merits: it has plenty of inputs and outputs, extensive EQ software, and it still produces quality sound. It also has features gamers will want like treble boost and voice isolation, and it sports a 6.3mm aux input and output.
The Sound Blaster ZxR has a black and red chassis on its main and daughter boards, with bright gold accents around the transistors and backplate. Together, the cards have enough outputs to support a 5.1 surround sound speaker system. They have 2 RCA outputs, 2 3.5mm outputs, 2 RCA inputs, 1 optical TOSLINK input, 1 optical TOSLINK output, 1 6.3mm microphone input, and 1 6.3 headphone output. The ZxR also comes with an Audio Control Module (ACM), which is Creative Labs' version of an amplifier and expander for the 6.3mm jacks. It has both 3.5mm and 6.3mm inputs and outputs, so you can choose where to plug your headphones and microphone. On the front of the ACM is a large, plastic volume knob that controls the loudness of your headphones.
For users who may own higher impedance headphones, the amplifier can comfortably drive headphones with an impedance of up to 600 ohms. Unfortunately, the volume control on the ACM works passively by changing the output impedance, which can distort audio on high-inductance headphones like the Sennheiser HD800 (see "How Low Should the Output Impedance Be?"). A better, and only slightly more expensive solution for Creative Labs would have been to have the knob control the ZxR's built-in volume control instead of attempting to do so passively. The HD800 sounded fine when connected directly to the sound card and using the system's volume control.
