# What should I buy the Creative z, zx or the zxr?



## springs113 (Jun 2, 2013)

I am looking to get back into the music scene and totally undecided, I did hear that the new onboard sound is great on the new z87 chipset mobos.


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## OneMoar (Jun 2, 2013)

don't waste your time on anything creative there utter garbage now adays
get a XONAR if you really believe you will hear a difference 
 Computer Hardware, Input Devices, Sound Cards, AS...
creative uses Realtek Chips in all there cards now the same chips that power onboard audio there is zero difference between a soundblaster and Realtek HD


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## springs113 (Jun 2, 2013)

OneMoar said:


> don't waste your time on anything creative there utter garbage now adays
> get a XONAR if you really believe you will hear a difference
> Computer Hardware, Input Devices, Sound Cards, AS...
> creative uses Realtek Chips in all there cards now the same chips that power onboard audio there is zero difference between a soundblaster and Realtek HD



I had an Audigy 2 zs great card(for xp) everything else blah...
sounds like a blind opinion, can you enlighten me please as to why you feel that way.


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## Octopuss (Jun 2, 2013)

OneMoar said:


> don't waste your time on anything creative there utter garbage now adays


A piece of advice: if you want to be taken seriously, type like a human with some education (I am sure you went through some). This broken ghetto spelling is retarded.

Also, can you back your Creative statement anyhow?


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## OneMoar (Jun 2, 2013)

springs113 said:


> I had an Audigy 2 zs great card(for xp) everything else blah...
> sounds like a blind opinion, can you enlighten me please as to why you feel that way.



I believe I did that
note the phrases "now adays"
and "creative uses Realtek CHIPS on there cards" since you can install a driver and get EAX and Crystallizer on Realtek chips


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## scope54 (Jun 2, 2013)

OneMoar said:


> ...and "creative uses Realtek CHIPS on there cards" since you can install a driver and get EAX and Crystallizer on Realtek chips



This is proof that creative's software suite can be used on different audio chipsets.


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## TC-man (Jun 2, 2013)

Hi,

If you really need a dedicated soundcard, then the ZXR would be a very good soundcard, but it's pretty expensive. I believe it makes use of better and high quality components (than the Z and ZX) which will result in way better and cleaner sound quality (you will notice that if you have really high quality speakers or headphones). 

Drivers and some software won't give you the ultimate sound quality and experience of a dedicated soundcard such as the higher end Xonar and Creative Labs soundcards. You just can't turn an onboard soundchip into a high-end X-fi soundcard with some software, even though Creative Labs wants you to believe that. My old Audigy 2 ZS still sounds better than many onboard soundchips from today, to me the Audigy 2 ZS still sounds cleaner, clearer and more powerful than e.g. Realtek ALC889/892.

To be honest, the Asus Xonar has their fair share of driver issues (perhaps worse?), just like Creative Labs has. On the other hand, there's a community that makes their own drivers (from the reference C-Media drivers) for the Xonar soundcards to achieve better/lower latency, performance etc. etc..


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## OneMoar (Jun 2, 2013)

if you are intending on spending ~200 on a soundcard then there is no better card then a HT Omega 
HT | OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI Interface Sound Card ...


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## OneMoar (Jun 2, 2013)

TC-man said:


> Hi,
> 
> If you really need a dedicated soundcard, then the ZXR would be a very good soundcard, but it's pretty expensive. I believe it makes use of better and high quality components (than the Z and ZX) which will result in way better and cleaner sound quality (you will notice that if you have really high quality speakers or headphones).
> 
> ...


for the most part this is right but there are some exceptions mainly because the newer boards use decent components
the point I was trying to make is that when you buy a creative card these days you are basicly buying a RealTek Chip with some fancy software and a extra OAMP
if you are really serious about audio

HT | OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI Interface Sound Card ...

HT | OMEGA eClaro Sound Card - Newegg.com 

ASUS Xonar Essence STX 124 dB SNR / Headphone AMP ...
anything cheaper then ~150 bucks and you are better off with on-board audio


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## springs113 (Jun 2, 2013)

OneMoar said:


> if you are intending on spending ~200 on a soundcard then there is no better card then a HT Omega
> HT | OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI Interface Sound Card ...



I have no PCI slot on my mobo.

What is so good about the omegas... never heard of them, I know about auzentech and the xonar but not the omegas.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jun 2, 2013)

springs113 said:


> I have no PCI slot on my mobo.
> 
> What is so good about the omegas... never heard of them, I know about auzentech and the xonar but not the omegas.



This is what he meant to show you.

HT | OMEGA eClaro Sound Card - Newegg.com

HT Omega sound cards are really good mainly due to their NO FUSS drivers. Creative Drivers.........all I can say is. Have fun.


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## springs113 (Jun 2, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> This is what he meant to show you.
> 
> HT | OMEGA eClaro Sound Card - Newegg.com
> 
> HT Omega sound cards are really good mainly due to their NO FUSS drivers. Creative Drivers.........all I can say is. Have fun.



In my past experience with creative, the only time I had a driver issue was when I upgraded to vista and the Audigy 2 zs drivers sucked.  As far as the drivers for xp went, I loved it, the Audigy powered my dj movement.  I really liked all the reviews on the Z series so far and was wondering if there is any real difference between the zx and the zxr as those were my initial choices.  I know reports stated that the z and zx are basically the same but I read somewhere the later batches of the zx used the same capacitors as the zxr.  I guess the main difference is the daughter card with the zxr and I think the dac controller.  Any inputs/thoughts.  As far as the omegas go I would have to read up some more, but If I go the zxr route I would like to do so before the current sale on the egg is over.


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## OneMoar (Jun 2, 2013)

HT Omega are ProGrade Audio cards They have High Quality AMP's a mulipass filters Special power Caps Full Driver MOFSETS's its 100% hardware card

the essence STX is a step-down from the eClero


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## springs113 (Jun 2, 2013)

I do like to game too, wouldn't the creative be an all around better solution.  I'm no audiophile but I do like my clarity.
Eventually what I would like to do is hook up my pc to dj sound.


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## OneMoar (Jun 3, 2013)

springs113 said:


> I do like to game too, wouldn't the creative be an all around better solution.  I'm no audiophile but I do like my clarity.
> Eventually what I would like to do is hook up my pc to dj sound.



DirectSound died when vista came out + all of creatives "proprietary API  EAX,CFC died with it"


hardware acceleration is dead its all done via drivers and the cpu now  
thats why I said creative wasn't relevant anymore


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## Nordic (Jun 3, 2013)

I can't say which sound card to get, but I can say that creative is not as bad as the rap it is getting from these guys.

You might be interested in tpu's review of the z card here. You also might find this thread of interest.


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## springs113 (Jun 3, 2013)

I think I'm going with Creative for now..at least for today.  I read reviews on the z and the zxr but really haven't found any info on the zx which seems to bethe sweet spot. The zxr is on the egg for 199 and the zx is 129 the z is 89 around my way.


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## springs113 (Jun 3, 2013)

Any more thoughts on this topic here I have read lots of reviews and have seen lots of negative and positive opinions and still cant draw a conclusion


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## OneMoar (Jun 3, 2013)

springs113 said:


> Any more thoughts on this topic here I have read lots of reviews and have seen lots of negative and positive opinions and still cant draw a conclusion



if you want the best audio quality and don't mind installing a 3D party driver get either a Xonar or a HT omega


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## springs113 (Jun 3, 2013)

OneMoar said:


> if you want the best audio quality and don't mind installing a 3D party driver get either a Xonar or a HT omega



I have read about those that and have seen the same complaints.


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## OneMoar (Jun 3, 2013)

springs113 said:


> I have read about those that and have seen the same complaints.


the OEM drivers suck on pretty much all the cards but creative doesn't allow anyone to make there own driver packages so there users are left out in the cold


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## springs113 (Jun 3, 2013)

true but the creative software isn't as bloated as it used to be.


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## KingPing (Jun 3, 2013)

I have Asus and Creative cards, never had any serious problem with any of them, hardware or drivers. I use my Creative Titanium HD to listen to music and games it's better than the Xonar DX which i use with my 5.1, and way better than the onboard sound (if you have good headphones or speakers).

I would go for the Zx, unless you have very good audio gear, if you have very good audio gear then go for the ZxR (but i doesn't have analog 5.1)


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## OneMoar (Jun 3, 2013)

KingPing said:


> I have Asus and Creative cards, never had any serious problem with any of them, hardware or drivers. I use my Creative Titanium HD to listen to music and games it's better than the Xonar DX which i use with my 5.1, and way better than the onboard sound (if you have good headphones or speakers).
> 
> I would go for the Zx, unless you have very good audio gear, if you have very good audio gear then go for the ZxR (but i doesn't have analog 5.1)



DX = 89.99
Creative Titanium HD = 150.00
all that fancy audio control stuff is a waste of time
if you want real audio quality all you need is the following
1 AMP
2. and a volume control


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## erixx (Jun 3, 2013)

OneMoar said:


> the OEM drivers suck on pretty much all the cards but creative doesn't allow anyone to make there own driver packages so there users are left out in the cold



Hi there, I have a XFi titanium with modded PAX drivers and suite. Years ago, Creative tried to block modded drivers but retired from that battle. Thas all Mr Moar!
The sound is noticeably better than onboard. Sometimes (hard reset or power outtage) the cards gets mad or disappears. But that is so since ever, since ISA soundcards, lol.


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## springs113 (Jun 3, 2013)

OneMoar said:


> DX = 89.99
> Creative Titanium HD = 150.00
> all that fancy audio control stuff is a waste of time
> if you want real audio quality all you need is the following
> ...



I think I am going to creative and heard their is a major difference between the zx and the zxr but I don't want to pull the trigger and have buyers remorse...I also read that the zxr has different capacitors than the zx, the zx I heard were a mixed bag.


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## Frederik S (Jun 5, 2013)

I have not heard the ZxR but based on the stuff they changed from the vanilla Z I doubt you can hear any difference. If the Z lacks a feature you absolutely must have then go for the higher end models, if not get the normal Z and use the saved $ elsewhere like on the headphones for instance!

They all share the same headphone amplifier circuitry so they will sound almost if not completely identical. Higher end boutique caps will not make an audible difference. 

The TI amplifier is best with high impedance headphones due to its high output impedance. 

Cheers,
Fred


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## springs113 (Jun 5, 2013)

Frederik S said:


> I have not heard the ZxR but based on the stuff they changed from the vanilla Z I doubt you can hear any difference. If the Z lacks a feature you absolutely must have then go for the higher end models, if not get the normal Z and use the saved $ elsewhere like on the headphones for instance!
> 
> They all share the same headphone amplifier circuitry so they will sound almost if not completely identical. Higher end boutique caps will not make an audible difference.
> 
> ...



You may definitely be right and that is why I bought both the zx and zxr...to see what my ears tell me cause ultimately I may never need the zxr even though its connectivity aspect is great.  There's no restocking fee in me returning either card so I will like with the likes of buying both with no remorse.  I heard the z has mixed batches, some with higher quality capacitors like what's in the zx and zxr, is that true?  The zxr I see have a separate emi shield on the board itself.  The cost difference between the z and zx is about $20, I don't mind taking that plunge even if it's for the acm alone that makes the different.


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