Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB Sound Card for Computers and laptops

major EAX update right here: march 8 , 2014the x-Fi pro 5.1 supports EAX on windows 8.1and probably windows 7 too. When I first used it on XP ,..XP does notsupport Alchemy and I never herd any EAX effects with known EAX programs , on XP.( Alchemy.exe was never supported on XP ) .I went into the creative folder and saw Alchemy.exe . drag a short cutto the desk top for easy access. Add\verify any EAX programs are on theright side pane in the Alchemy applet. x-Fi supports at least EAX 3.0 andI think possibly 4.0 ,..and maybe even 5.0 . Why ? because the Witcher 1game only supports 4.0 and in the default alchemy.ini file, thewithcer 1 is included in the default list( Alchemy auto detected witcher 1 ).Plus the voice counts are at 129 , and only EAX 5.0 supports 129 voices .So, I guess MB2 or the new MB3 is still usefull,..BUT the x-Fi SB1095is a USB product . So put in on your note book or desktop PC Windows 8.1and no need to get MB3 . I only talked about MB2 and MB3 to add\provide EAX 5.0 .But the desktop has only the SB1095 installed and I get all the EAX via theAlchemy.exe applet .And , DDL dolby digital live is there too, for the SP-DIF optic port , provides4.0 and 5.1 channel audio on the optic port .x-Fi unit version SB1095retail box dated 2011CD dated 2010driver update supports windows 8 ( it also updates w7 too )*** x-Fi Pro can replace internal x-Fi extreme gamer, minus 7.1 minus EAX*** x-Fi 5.1 Pro has all the I\O features of an internal sound card.*** add MB2 to restore EAX to 5.0 HD( windows 7 )*** I was skeptical since Creative doesn't advertise it that way, but that's how it is.***** video editors can pan\edit 5.1 audio , on the notebook ! *****see MB2 note: belowBass Management:recently found bass management is available in the THX settings:Creative console THX --> Speakers enable it( speaker turns blue ), ignore the slider.Now at the top left, click the "Gear" advanced settings andset the bass management slider to 118 Hz( I know it works with the analogue jacks, have not tested on the optic out )XP :games run with 5.1 4.0 2.0 , analogue jacks only.In the creative console, leave the creative console speakers set to 5.1 .Un-sync speaker config check box( do NOT check ).now if needing 4.0 , use windowsXP audio applet to set to 4.0and the quad will now work. If going back to 5.1 , use the windowsXPapplet again. For XP, always keep Creative's speaker sync Un-checked.windows 7 :games run with 5.1 4.0 2.0 analogue or optic, our choice.*** the volume knob on the box only works with analogue setup ***MB2 note windows 7:I no longer have the MB2 feed the x-Fi Pro device( selected devices )I disable the MB2 device, from playback devices,I also disable MB2 in device manager.the installed EAX gadget and EAX 5.0 HD are still avialable to the x-Fi Pro box.The reason for disabling the MB2,it was interfering with the Direct Sound 5.1 audio editor.four configurations for a notebook to get 5.1 , 4.0 and 2.0 support with the:x-Fi surround 5.1 Pro usb box:1. pair with the turtle beach Z6A ANALOGUE 8 speaker headphones( windows 7 or XP )2. pair with the turtle beach DSS2 box OPTIC( windows 7 only, as XP can only....do 2.0 here )3. pair with a Dolby home theater OPTIC( windows 7 only, as XP can only do 2.0 here )4. pair with a Dolby home theater ANALOGUE discrete 5.1 speakers ( windows 7 or XP )ALL windows 7 configurations may add MB2 to get full EAX 5.0 HDALL XP configurations, EAX may NOT work .ALL XP configurations, No version of Dolby Digital Live will install onto XP....for this x-Fi Pro box .....( amusing because creative has Dolby Digital Live for XP with many different....internal x-Fi sound cards )XP: software DVD player that has Dolby built in, can play 5.1 on the optic.windows 7: may not have EAX support either, but Creative's MB2 software............can add full EAX support.***my configuration on the windows 7 notebook is:3 items,.... x-Fi Pro box, MB2, turtle beach DSS2gives:1. Dolby Digital Live "DDL"( allows 5.1 4.0 2.0 Dolby audio onto the SPDIF optic out )2. 5.1 4.0 positional audio on the SPDIF optic and on the analogue jacks, my choice.3. full EAX 5.0 HD ( 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 with 129 3D channels, all via MB2 )4. IR remote control5. creative update supports windows 86. its usb so it's portable7. the x-Fi box acts as a dongle, so No activation is needed for the "DDL" .And the hauppauge 950 Q usb TV tuner using player 2.4c it's the only release thatever worked right.The TV tuner is on the fastest usb port( shares the IRQ with the SATA harddrive )The x-Fi Pro is on the next fastest usb portThe usb mouse is on the slowest usb portthe 2.2 Ghz single core Celeron does pretty good, 4 gig DDR2 800 Mhz mem.intel graphics, regular series 4, NOT the 4000 HD, oh that would have been good.actually the x-Fi Pro sound card is kinda light weight. CD audio16\44100 at 1,411,200 bits per sec. 1.44 Mbs . Next, studio quality audio is24\96 at 4,608,000 bits per sec. 4.6 Mbs still should be easy for 2.0 usbDolby 5.1 audio at 448,000 bits per sec. is even easier.Plays 1920 x 1080 TV crap really nice with this config.Don't need a quad core.tweak tip: I did backup of windows 7, then reinstalled as a bare min. install,............that was an option to do so.It did help the machine run better. This was the best windows 7 tweak for the pre-installed machine.Out of usb ports: TV tuner, sound card, mouse, DSS2 box...................that's 4 devices and the machine only has 3 ports....................DSS2 box only needs USB power, powered via external USB .***final comments:1. Full set of output options. Analogue 5.1 jacks( No Dolby ),......optic output( Dolby ) , headphone output( No Dolby ), line in , mic in2. IR remote control( with battery )3. external volume\mute knob( only works with analague configuration )4. No power button( speakers may pop during re-boot, power up\down )5. Uses 400 ma on the usb port, usb ports max at 500 ma6. Plays and records up to 24 bits per sample at 96,000 samples per second .7. works good for games , movies , music.8. Allows video editors( on a notebook ) to pan\edit 5.1 audiostar rates 5 max:4 stars for XP features , No reasonable working EAX , No MB2, No Dolby Digital Live4.5 stars for windows 7 features , MB2 may be needed to get good EAX5 stars for Creative update , software download supports windows 8EAX :programs detect the 64 3D channels, but it never works on XP.Playing music, the EAX presets sometimes work, most the time not.That's my experience with the EAX on XP.For windows 7, MB2 was already installed, and the x-Fi Pro boxhas good working EAX .The x-Fi 5.1 Pro box is the total usb sound card for a notebook,it totally trumps the Recon3D.I would have gone for the Recon3D if it had the same I\O and features of the x-Fi Pro.I also passed on the x-Fi HD usb box .Creative needs to redo the x-Fi 5.1 Pro with the new Recon3D engineto make it the new Hot item.

This card did exactly what I hoped it would do and did it flawlessly.I am using a laptop.My main reason for upgrading to this card was so that I would have an Optical out port for use with my Astro A50 Wireless Headset. The card's optical output works perfectly, without any audio crackling or popping as reported by some other cards. The card is true plug-and-play, but you might want to download the drivers and the Creative software for it that lets you manage specific settings with the card.Some users consider this software as "Bloatware", but If you'd like to really take advantage of the more advanced features of this card, I suggest you install it. It hasn't caused any performance hits for me or delayed my boot time, so I really don't see the cause for complaint. It's a small little icon that gets placed in your taskbar where, upon clicking, gives you access to the Creative Control Panel and the Creative Entertainment Console that lets you adjust things on the card, such as your speaker set up, EQ settings, THX Tru Studio Pro features, EAX effects, and the ability to turn on and off the all important Dolby Digital Live feature. ESSENTIAL if you are planning on using the surround-sound feature on your headset or entertainment system.The card comes with a small remote that can be used to do various things like adjusting your volume, pausing/playing/stopping/rewinding the music/video in the active window, and a power button in the upper right corner. The power button DOES NOT turn off the card. Instead, it closes whatever is currently your active window, so if I had iTunes open and pushed the power button, it would close iTunes. I'd say that the remote has a maximum range of about 5 meters, and remote control requires direct line-of-sight to the card. You have to point it right at the card to get it to function. On a positive note, the remote comes with a battery!The card comes with a fairly long USB cable (about 4 to 5 feet long) and should be able to reach wherever you need to put it. It also contains a CD with the latest drivers and Creative software (at the time of this review).By default, this card will play audio 16bit at 48KHz instead of the 24bit at 96KHz that it is capable of. To change this, simply right click the the volume mixer (little speaker icon in the bottom right.), click playback devices, find your Creative card, right click it, click properties, go to the Advanced tab, then changed the playback under Default Rate to something of your choosing.Also, something for iTunes users: If you set your card to 24bit at 96KHz and the iTunes settings don't match, iTunes may completely refuse to play your music. I fixed this by going into iTunes and changing the playback settings to match. Do this by opening iTunes, clicking on Edit in the top-left, moving down to preferences, click the Playback tab, and in the bottom section you will see the playback settings that iTunes is currently using. Simply match them to what you set your card to and then restart iTunes and everything should be fine!A NOTE TO LAPTOP USERS: If you plan on using this as just a sound card replacement without any additional peripherals like speakers, you will be disappointed. With this card set as the active audio device, your on-board laptop speakers will not work because they are wired directly to your on-board card and without risky soldering, this can't be changed. Keep that in mind. You WILL need a set of external speakers or a headset of some sort to be able to utilize this card.As far as disabling the on-board card to avoid driver conflicts? I had originally disabled my on-board RealTek card to avoid driver conflict, but I'm using a headset and as such, don't have any speakers for external audio. I re-enabled the RealTek card so that I could switch the default playback device back and forth between my headset or laptop speakers depending on my need. I have not run into a single conflict yet, so I would say that it seems safe to keep it enabled. If you run into conflicts or Blue Screens of Death, try disabling your on-board card from the Windows Device Manager.Overall, I am very pleased with this card and feel that the price is easily justified! If you are interested in purchasing an external sound card, ESPECIALLY one that supports surround sound do yourself a favor and pick up this card for about $30 more than the competitors. You won't be disappointed!