Does anyone have a Sound Blaster Z, Zx, or ZxR?

DECEiFER

Hi,

I'm looking to refund my Sound Blaster Zx due to absolutely lousy mic quality with a lot of what seems like interfering noise in the background when noise reduction is off. When noise reduction is on, it sounds like crap, cutting so many frequencies out has dire consequences. I've already exchanged it for a new Zx, which I got on Friday, and the problem persists. I've re-built my PC and cleaned in those hard-to-reach areas to eliminate the possibility of my system being the cause of it. I even removed the motherboard from the case entirely and reseated the CPU and heatsink. My motherboard is screwed into to the studs properly, it uses 9 of them, and I haven't left any out so it *should* be grounded. I don't own any meters that can test that.

I've also switched slots and connected only the bare minimum hardware (even leaving out the case switch and LED connectors as my motherboard comes with its own power switch) with no fans connected also (apart from my GPU's - MSI Twin Frozr III NGTX570 Power Edition) and reset all my BIOS values to defaults to rule anything else out. I also recently replaced my PSU with a Corsair AX860 in case that was the problem (but I wanted a new PSU anyways because my old OCZ GameXStream 850 was noisy as hell). So far, no change.

What I might do before I return the Zx is test it in a different system. There isn't any other desktop in the house so I'll find one elsewhere in the next few days. I really do hope it's the card because if it's my motherboard (ASUS P6T - Socket 1366), I'll have to spend hundreds (that I don't have) on getting a new CPU and a large hard disk (to replace a few IDE disks I use for music storage) in addition. I've also considered the GPU and I'll see about putting a different GPU in to test that also depending on the result of the test on another desktop, because if it happens on another desktop, it's probably not caused by anything in my system.

What I'm asking is if anyone owns a ZxR, which is a completely different card to the Zx, if you could record the ambience in your room so I can hear the quality and see if it's any better than my Zx? It'd be very much appreciated. I'm currently looking at either a ZxR or an ASUS Xonar Essence STX as a replacement to my Zx.

If you own a Z or Zx, it'd be just as appreciated if you could do the same to confirm that the problem I'm having is because of the card across the board or just my card or system.

Just to show you the scale of the problem:
http://www.deceifermedia.com/main/files/audio/NR=Off,SV=74,Vol=80,Boost=30%20-%20Mic%20off.wav
http://www.deceifermedia.com/main/files/audio/NR=Off,SV=Off,Vol=80,Boost=30%20-%20Mic%20off.wav

NR = Noise Reduction
SV = Smart Volume
Vol = Windows Mic Volume
Boost = Mic Boost

In the above recordings, the mic is plugged in but the physical mute switch is on. It also doesn't matter what mic I use, because the Zx desk mic array and other headsets have produced the same result, so I've ruled out any individual mic being the cause.

I do have the boost set to the max, which is 30dB on the Zx, because the volume is so low without it. Even at 20dB the interference is there, at a slightly lesser extent, but the at the cost of the usable signal from the mic being lower also, so it all balances in the end and there's no amount of tweaking I've been able to do to fix it.


Thanks for reading.

Soundman

Do you have your software set to use it as Mic In as opposed to Line In? Just a thought that might create that sort of noise, in that it might be picking up fan noise from the case. It does appear that these cards are pretty bad for their mic levels though.

Do you have a webcam attached as well? Try disable the mic in that if that isn't the one you are using.

Are all drivers completely up to date?

Can you try a different power cable for your PC? Preferably one that will definitely provide an earth to the unit. I've had this sort of noise at gigs before from computers with bad earths.

DECEiFER

Hi Soundman,

Thanks for your post.

Soundman wrote: »

Do you have your software set to use it as Mic In as opposed to Line In? Just a thought that might create that sort of noise, in that it might be picking up fan noise from the case. It does appear that these cards are pretty bad for their mic levels though.

I do, it's configured to be used as a Mic socket. I used Adobe Audition to record the wave files in my first post and if the jack was set as a line I wouldn't have been able to select the "Microphone (Sound Blaster Z)" input, so that's definitely not the problem. I tried recording via the Line-In and as expected the gain is so low you have to bump the microphone to see any sign of life.

Soundman wrote: »

Do you have a webcam attached as well? Try disable the mic in that if that isn't the one you are using.

I do and I've disabled the camera's mic and I've even tried disconnecting it.

Soundman wrote: »

Are all drivers completely up to date?

My drivers are 100% up-to-date, I perform the updates manually and often check the Creative website for newer versions.

Soundman wrote: »

Can you try a different power cable for your PC? Preferably one that will definitely provide an earth to the unit. I've had this sort of noise at gigs before from computers with bad earths.

When I bought my new PSU a few weeks ago, while my first Zx was RMA'd for "repair," I made sure to use the new power cord that came with it. The power cord is a three-pin UK one. I've even tried plugging it into the wall socket instead of into the multi-socket I normally use, just to be sure.


Also to note:

In addition to the Zx, I have an X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro (PCI-E) and a Yamaha DSP Factory DS2416 (PCI) hooked up (the latter I've had since 2001). I keep the X-Fi around so I can use the MIDI wavetable, because the Z-Series has removed that feature completely. Even with those other cards taken out and all the case fans and CPU fan disconnected, the problem persists. My Realtek onboard sound is disabled in the BIOS and I do not have the front panel sockets on my case hooked up to my motherboard either.

Soundman

With regards the power cable... Is it one that has a metal earth pin or plastic? Just want to make sure that there is an earth on the system is all.

DECEiFER

Soundman wrote: »

With regards the power cable... Is it one that has a metal earth pin or plastic? Just want to make sure that there is an earth on the system is all.

Metal, big time. I'd have been fairly sour when the AX860 arrived to find that Corsair are scamming us with cheap power plugs with plastic earth pins on their flagship units. I don't think I've ever had one made of plastic come with a PSU before, not that I can remember anyhow.

That's what's puzzling, everything appears to be fine and I get no interference in my sound cards' outputs.

Dravokivich

Any creative soundcard I've used always had that problem.

DECEiFER

Dravokivich wrote: »

Any creative soundcard I've used always had that problem.

Thank you for your reply, it inspires confidence to hear that, but I don't remember my Audigy 2 Zs Platinum Pro having any noticeable issues (it was marketed as a recording card and came with a decent I/O module), or at least it wasn't as bad as the Zx - but I did use it on another rig, which I've since sold, before I had built my i7 rig in 2010. It's worth noting that the Audigy didn't have software noise reduction, whereas the Zx and X-Fi do. My X-Fi is noisy (when noise reduction is off), but that humming/shrill sound from the Zx isn't there, it's just very hissy. With noise reduction on, both cards' recordings sound like I'm underwater with so many frequencies being cut. I've had Sound Blaster cards consistently since 1993. I don't remember much before the Audigy 2. But it's at the point where my X-Fi input sounds better than the Zx's input. Though, the Zx is superior in every other way.

But since the ZxR is an audiophile's card but it also has some recording potential, I'd imagine that they went a step above all their other cards? The ASUS Xonar Essence STX is also an audiophile's card but it's an aging product, as it's been around since 2009. I've also read mixed reviews about its mic performance and the "apparent" microphone amp that's onboard, citing it as an audiophile's card to enhance the listening experience rather than recording one. I just want to get the right card for the job without getting it wrong again beforehand. I can't find anything on the ZxR's mic quality, so I'm stuck for opinions on that one, hence this thread. I'm sure both cards sound lovely so I'm just worried about the input/mic right now.

So does anyone own any of the Z-Series cards? My original request to have the ambient noise recorded and linked, I'd really appreciate if anyone could do that and mention which exact card they have in the series (though the Z and Zx cards are identical, with the ZxR being the only one that's different). And if anyone has a Xonar Essence ST/STX, please weigh in, as it'd be great to hear what you have to say.

DECEiFER

Okay some news.

A new driver came out days ago and I only realized it yesterday when I was testing on another desktop. The other desktop didn't have the shrill but it was still very hissy. Upon returning home and installing the new driver on my PC, I noticed that the shrill was too gone and all that was left was hiss. I wanted to be sure it wasn't a fluke so I uninstalled the drivers, clean, and put the second-newest ones back on.

I took this recording with the mic off, Smart Volume set at 30%, and the Focus set at 30°:
http://www.deceifermedia.com/main/files/audio/Mic off - SBZ_CD_LD_1_00_16.wma

Then I uninstalled the old drivers, clean again, and put the new ones back on again after going through the process of rebooting, etc.

Here's a recording using the exact same settings on the new driver:
http://www.deceifermedia.com/main/files/audio/Mic off - SBZ_CD_LD_1_00_22.wma

This confirms that it wasn't a fluke and it clearly wasn't my system at fault either. I wish I'd tested the second-newest drivers on the other desktop to see if the shrill noise appeared but I didn't consider the newest drivers fixing the problem and now I'm not arsed with setting up the test again on it, so I'll call it a software problem based on the evidence.

I might all the same go through with the RMA just to get a better card for the job as I'm not just concerned with the output, which is what the Zx is more concerned with.

The ZxR has a more mutual concern with the input, or so it would seem on paper. The ASUS Xonar Essence STX could be the way to go also. I'll continue to think it over and in the meantime, I'll hope for someone to chime in about either card with concern to the mic quality (with a mic recording to show off, if at all possible!). I'd still be really grateful if anyone could do that.

Thanks again to everyone for posting so far. Your suggestions and feedback have been very much appreciated.