Creative - Sound Blaster GC7 Next Gen Gaming USB Soundcard

I consider myself as a gamer and audiophile, While having a Focal Utopia speakers in my living room, I chose Audeze LCD-GX as my main gaming headset.I was looking for a solution that will allow me to switch between my casual desktop speakers and the headset, while giving a drive & quality boost to my Audeze as it's a shame to use such headphones with my onboard soundcard.So basically - the gc7 exceeded my expectations, it sounds great, gives you a proper control of the sound and even have 4 programmable buttons, by default one of them is switching between outputs which was awesome.+ I was very impressed by the Scout Mode as it's giving an advantage (hearing steps and hints louder and giving the sound more 'dramatic' feel).+ Bass, Treble, Mic, Surround effect controls on the fly+ variety of inputs and outputs+ Solid Creative software- Super SXFI sounds dull even with the ear scanning mobile software- A upper metal plate would bump up the design that feels somewhat 'plasticy'

Pros:The sound is amazing. I upgraded from a SteelSeries GameDAC. When I first used the GamerDAC I was blown away by DTS. Now upgrading to GC7 I am blown away AGAIN. I use the Steel Series Arctis 5's, the power provided by the GC7 is unmatched compared to the GameDAC. I can control base, mids, and treble as needed. My Arctis 5s sound amazing now, more so than when combined with its own product the GameDAC.I have a unique setup as I used to be a YouTuber. On my main PC I game and talk on discord. So having the volume mixer between game and chat was a must for me. I can balance how loud a game is or how loud I want discord.I have a second PC I use to watch YT, netflix, etc.. while gaming. I route this audio via 3.5mm to the main PC. I am also able to control the audio using the Game/Chat mixer nob. This was another must for me. I can make my game louder or my entertainment louder, etc...Gaming wise the sounds are amazing, I can hear the fine nuances in ambient environments, NPC chat is clear, bass is strong and crisp.Discord audio is clearer than ever. I couldn't be happier.ConsI understand the innovation from Creative trying to use a picture of your face, and mapping of ears. But with all of the extreme data privacy and leaks I was super uncomfortable taking my picture to 'map' my features. I was a bit frustrated when I found that Steel Series are not even supported for this feature. Maybe I could have looked it up but its not a big issue. Just something I did not like.The initial setup is confusing because it asks you to download a mobile product for the desktop. I ended up uninstalling the mobile app, did a google search and found the mobile product to control the GC7. So unfortunately I cannot comment on the true value of sxfi. I have setup a lot of complex audio routing so setup was not an issue. It was more so the instructions coming out of the box. I don't want to use a mobile device to control or update a desktop app. It doesn't make sense to me. I have experience setting up multiple audio interfaces and routing audio to different sources.

Been using a sennheiser headset which works great and really good mic but the audio has zero direction and needed some adjustments. This thing took this headset to a another level, I really like all the options. Quick and easy to adjust plus the sound card definitely looks pretty sweet. Mic monitoring works great. Was a little hesitant with all the mixed reviews but have to say I haven’t had it crash on me yet. First time I download the program, it was missing a bunch of stuff so had contact customer service and do a clean install which was annoying. Otherwise been great to me so far.

My on-board sound from my motherboard was a nightmare to deal with and this is just so great for what I wanted it for: volume loudness equalization. The software is a bit janky but I got it to do what I want by going into the acoustic engine, enabling smart volume, and enabling night mode. The price is a bit much, I'd recommend waiting for it to go on sale, which happens pretty often. I have speakers that go into an amp and the software works on macOS and Windows so I can swap to my MacBook Air when my PC is off and I'm working on it. I also have my MacBook plugging into the line-in so I can hear it when I want too. Works fantastic for my uses, and much better than an internal sound card. I don't mess with the Super X-Fi stuff so can't say anything about that, I got no need for that. Otherwise, would recommend if you're on-board sound is giving you problems.