![]() ![]() The X7 has a full set of 5.1 analog outputs as well an optical out. Of course, even at this base layer of purpose, there is considerable nuance, and I mean more than just DSP. One is 3.5mm, while the other is the bigger 6.3mm.) Once the computer's sound has been brought over and rendered, the X7 wants to output in amplified stereo to whichever quality speakers the user has selected and connected, or else to whichever stereo headphones the user has selected and connected. Among the device's defining array of inputs and outputs, that USB connection is extremely important. Via an asynchronous USB 2.0 connection and the SB-Axx1 audio processor, the Sound Blaster X7 wants to do all of the sound card and DAC work on a PC or Mac. To understand the X7, I'm going to go through its many layered abilities. How those two important distinctions shake out is that the X7 is more capable than many receivers is some areas, but less in others. Its intrinsic nature is to bridge a playback source with the user, and in that way it's at once immediately identifiable as a receiver, but with USB DAC abilities and a compact form factor. Creative has packed the small, triangular unit with the kind of halo features that don't normally make it past the concept phase, while at the same time, introducing questions of purpose and usability. It's in this desk space where the X7 enters, looking to become the new heart of whatever kind of sound the user enjoys. No smart device or computer, regardless of the form factor, is complete without some kind of headphones or speakers. With this evolution, audio reproduction is likewise, nearly always front and center. With PCs, tablets, and smartphones so integral to both productivity and entertainment, these devices are always front and center. But bring the office into the modern era, and the whole setting, no matter how clean, will inevitably feature a computer, smart device, or some combination thereof. ![]() It's obvious entertainment characteristic at odds with the professional nature of the executive desk. In this image, the likely three piece unit is usually off to one side of the office. ![]() The reality of such small footprint/highly stylish and likely expensive systems has, however, been a little too much like other executive gifts- pretty, seldom used, and ultimately unsatisfactory. In the realm of home theater and in the sexier version of an office, there has been for decades an idea that a compact, but exquisite audio system was always at the ready. That would be the executive audio system. But while the feature set is dizzyingly long, what the X7 is meant to do can be broken down into layers.īefore I start categorizing what the X7 does and what it doesn't, I'd like to invoke an image that may have been missing at the X7's introduction. In essence, with the X7, Creative has attempted to capture just about everything the company does well on the PC sound card side, and combine it with a mix of features normally found on a full-size receiver. Last year, Creative Labs introduced what is (and may be to come) their flagship product, The Sound Blaster X7.
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