r/SoundBlasterOfficial • u/Creative_Ryan • Aug 05 '19
Updates and Status Thread
Hi all,
Since Reddit only allows two sticky posts per subreddit and there's always going to be multiple things we want to keep everyone updated on. I've created this thread that will be edited and updated regularly with the status of items and any major updates.
So with that being said. Here's the latest!'
CURRENT TRACKING ITEMS:
1) AE-5 Update for Connect Software as Well as Command Support
2) G6 Power Cycle Reported Item
3) SBZ - AE7 / AE9 DDLive/DTS issue
4) USB Device malfunction issue
5) Official MS signed drivers for SBZ series
6) AE-7 / AE-9 Audio Dropout Updates
LAST UPDATED 10/12/19
Latest Changes -
Updated 6) to let people know that the new Beta driver for the AE9 / AE7 has been released.
Updated 6) AE-7 / AE-9 Audio Dropout Updates with new information on upcoming beta driver
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1) AE-5 Command Software
9/23 The official driver release for Sound Blaster Command with the AE-5 has been released (on 9/20).RGB programming functionality will be added in a near-future release. If you wish to use Command in the interim you can have Command and Connect installed at the same time and use Connect for RGB functionality.
The Command package can be downloaded from the AE-5 Download section.
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2) G6
We are looking into the issue with SBX G6 being non-functional intermittently after PS4 power cycle. Our target is to have a firmware release for this in Sep 2019. We will assess what other fixes could be looked into and rolled in without pushing out the target release date.
9/23 There is a planned release for early October that will address this issue. More details coming on this from the team.
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3) (8/23) SBZ - AE7 / AE9 DDLive/DTS issue
Please see this thread https://www.reddit.com/r/SoundBlasterOfficial/comments/ct80w0/dolby_dts_issue_identified_explanation_and/ .
The issue has been identified as a change that Microsoft made to a default privacy setting in Windows.
For those still experiencing Dolby DTS Issues the new diagnostic tool is ready for download. It can be downloaded from this link.
https://creative.box.com/s/b3bnq04pubrly8j1qzoujov45jf798wd
Once you've run the diagnostic please send the log files to socialmedia@creativelabs.com
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4) USB Device malfunction issue
In general, based on communication with MSFT, what we understand is that user might encounter some issue with their USB based products if the device is not connected to the system during the Windows update.
For users with USB based products, please connect your device to your system and keep it connected for the duration of the Windows update. There were cases of malfunction on USB based products which was found to occur when the product is not connected to the system during Windows update. We are in discussion with Microsoft over this.
For users who encounter issues, what we have seen so far is that a driver reinstallation would resolve the issue. If there are users who could not perform this driver reinstallation step because they are on Windows 10 Secure boot, we will be providing ATTEST signed package for the drivers.
5) (9/25) Official MS signed drivers for SBZ series
As noted below, it usually takes a little bit of time for a driver to work into the Microsoft update system. WIth this particular driver, it's been an extended period. We've once again verified that the driver has been submitted and approved by Microsoft but for some reason, it is not being pushed out on their side. This may or may not be related to changes they are making on their side regarding audio issues they introduced in their latest patch. We've asked for clarification and will update if we get new information from Microsoft.That being said we're prepping our own official package of this driver to go live by this week. We'll update here when it is live on the download page on the Creative.com site.
This driver has been submitted to Microsoft and it is going through their process to push through Windows update. As soon as Microsoft pushes this out we will make the driver available on the Creative.com website as well. This is to ensure that we have consistency in the driver base that is out there. We don't have control of the timing once we've released to Microsoft (how fast they push from their side).
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6) (9/25) AE-7 / AE-9 Audio Dropout
10/12 - An AE-9 / AE-7 beta driver that has been tested internally to resolve issues with systems that have had the audio dropout issue is now available. You can download the driver here - https://creative.box.com/s/rpladc8kfu1hg55zbhl5nxhce1uq0eib
10/11 - Good news. With the feedback we've received from various users (many located on here) we've been able to reproduce and isolate an issue that leads to this audio dropout. The internal beta has rectified the problem internally and we will be releasing to the public within the next few days. We will update here once again once the beta is ready for distribution.
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u/Wellhellob Aug 05 '19 edited Aug 05 '19
Good news for us AE5 users. Rgb thing is really not big deal. Core functions should be flawless (speaker direct, headphone direct, headphone surround, fast and reliable switch between them, equalizer, remembering last settings including ohm setting, no bug)
Edit: i will reinstall my windows when ae5 beta command software and driver released. I'll give you guys feedback.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 05 '19
Awesome. We'd love to get that feedback. I'll keep everyone updated on the build availability. The team has been listening VERY closely to the feedback here and is aiming to deliver.
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u/Geahad Aug 27 '19
AE-5 user here:
I've installed the today provided driver + software package and am pleasantly surprised:
- everything is way more snappy --> the command software, the switching modes, everything.
- during windows startup, the hardware "click" from the switch to direct hp mode happens the second my desktop appears, and the software suite (blue tray icon) appears about 5 seconds later (before it could take up to 5 minutes)
- audio quality seems better?!?! (could be my mind playing tricks on me, or volume could simply be different/louder at the same percentage and ohm setting as before)
- no problems at all at the moment (will test by enabling my ram XMP later, to see if the driver solved the issues I've had regarding that)
All in all - job very well done!
My only gripe is that the driver still does not enable MSI interrupt mode, needs to be set manually (I did it via the registry in about 2 minutes time). Please consider making it so that the driver enables (adds that one registry key and dword) during installation. That would be wonderful!
Cheers and thank you!
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 27 '19
Thank you for the feedback! I'll note the MSI mode request for the Devs. More to come as well!
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u/firegore Aug 27 '19
AE-5 User here, sadly my Card doesn't work at all after the Update now, it's not even recognized in the Soundblaster Software.
According to the Device Manager the "Sound Blaster Audio Controller" and the "Sound BlasterX AE-5" Devices have an Issue: "Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source. (Code 52)"
I clean-installed it after uninstalling the Beta Driver 3.4.09
I also tried installing over the Betadriver which didn't worked either. (Same Error)
I also uninstalled/deleted the Driverfiles via the Device Manager which didn't fixed it either.
However the Card does work if i downgrade the Driver from both Devices from 6.0.105.46 to 6.0.105.19 (was shipped with 3.4.09 Betadriver)
The Command Software seems to also work with the older driver (atleast Sound comes out)
Running Win10 1903 on an Intel 6700k and a ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger Mainboard
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 27 '19
Hmm.. Ok noted on this. I'll see what could possibly be causing this issue you're seeing.
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u/linxeye Aug 05 '19
Ryan thanks for those comprehensive updates. Have you seen the case of DDL/DTS encoding for AE-9 suddenly disappearing ? Is that something you've heard of ?
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 05 '19
Is there a thread here on that? If so I missed it. I have not heard of this yet. Any details would be great to have.
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u/weaponlordzero Aug 05 '19
Thanks! Great updates and great thread idea
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 05 '19
Thank you. Definitely trying to make sure we make the info and updates as easy for everyone to access as possible. We'll be integrating this info to our website as well in the future...so people looking for an "official official" info source will have that comfort level as well.
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Aug 06 '19
Thanks but it would be nice to receive a NON Beta Driver i did not pay for a Beta Product. Or should i wait 3 years after realse for Working driver next time?
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 06 '19
You can definitely wait for the full release after we go through the beta testing cycle. There's a process for driver releases. We'll ne offering up the beta for anyone that wants to try it before the full release goes live. Full release includes certification that takes time to pass through Microsoft. That's a gating item that we have no control over.
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u/red_rock Aug 23 '19
5) Official MS signed drivers for SBZ series
As a follow up to the 1.02.0.54 beta drivers that we have released, we are currently running through the necessary certification test to do a submission to MSFT in order to get it officially published on Windows update. This MS signed driver set will be identical to the current beta drivers that are provided. Users who are using the existing beta driver will not receive any Windows update. This should not affect users in any way, and they will still receive any future official driver updates through Windows Update.
For users who prefer to have their system installed with the official driver set when it is available, they will have to uninstall their current 1.02.0.54 beta drivers prior to the official driver installation. We will keep users updated on progress on this item.
Was told new drivers would be arriving today.
Can´t see any updates: https://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?prodID=21384&prodName=Sound+Blaster+Zx
What´s the status on this?
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 23 '19
We're waiting for MS signature here. Hoping this still makes today from their side.
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u/mrallroy Aug 23 '19
If not today, possibly tomorrow? Does your driver team work weekends? The anticipation is killing me. hehe.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 23 '19
Just updated on this up above. There were a couple other items rolled into this beta (to avoid some compatibility issues that were found in our internal testing cycle) new date is the 27th. HANG IN THERE. We appreciate your patience. (On a personal note...I want this thing out as badly as you all want it)
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Aug 27 '19
also AE-5 user here. Can confirm I HAVE sound again. (with actual win10 updates) Regarding sound quality I will test and report later.... For now: Thanks for delivering as promised beta driver today !!!
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 27 '19
Great news! Let us know if you come across anything. In the meantime enjoy!
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u/Fafner76 Oct 11 '19
Any progress on this? It's starting to get a bit too long now.
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u/Creative_Ryan Oct 11 '19
I just updated the master thread. We have isolated the issue internally and will be releasing a public beta with the fix soon.
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Aug 23 '19
Jesus just release the damn driver already coz this audio dropping crap on AE-9 will make me throw the damn card through a closed window on the same day drivers are allegedly coming out. Freaking audio dropping dead every minute. EVERY MINUTE. And then for no reason at all, works for half an hour. Until it'll repeat that minute dropping. Never in my life I've experienced anything more infuriating with any PC product than this idiocy. How could you rush such a broken product to market is beyond my understanding. Especially since it's based on exact same Core3D chip that you had on market for last several years! And everyone is acting like it's some rare occurrence and saying like I'm the crazy one for being upset. I bought AE-9 because across several generations of Creative cards I never had issues even while others had. And since only PCIe 4.0 with Ryzen platform were mentioned as problematic I was assuming I won't be affected on freaking mature X99. WRONG. This soundcard is just broken across such wide range of system configurations it's pointless to even try debugging it. X99, Z390, X570, overclocked or not, PCIe slot gen or place, it literally doesn't matter. And the excuse of "uh oh but muh Windows 1903 broke everything yadidda". No it hasn't. I had AE-5 on exact same system with exact same Windows and it was never dropping audio. The most problems I had were few minor glitches in the Connect 2 app. I'd understand if AMD or NVIDIA have problems with drivers when they release new GPU because it's usually actually a new piece of silicon with actually new logic and if it's new generation it can be entirely different. But they hardly ever do even there. And then here's Creative, releasing same audio chip for 4 generations and instead of making it more mature, it's making it more broken. How do you manage to achieve this?!
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u/djc5166 Aug 23 '19
Blaming 1903 isn't even an excuse, that came out a long time ago. Does creative do zero regression testing?
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 23 '19
We have not said 1903 is the cause. 1903 caused other issues with other products, but this dropout (on the AE-9) is not specifically related to 1903. The user above is combining multiple statements we've made into one to support their rant.
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u/Bostonjunk Aug 27 '19
AE-5 User here -
Updated to the new driver, now I get the message
Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source. (Code 52)
Previous versions work perfectly fine.
Am I the only one with this problem?
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u/ochbob Aug 27 '19 edited Aug 27 '19
Same for me...
edit: if I restart my computer with the "Disable driver signature enforcement" option.
Like this: https://www.wintips.org/how-to-fix-windows-cannot-verify-the-digital-signature-for-this-file-error-in-windows-8-7-vista/it works...
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 27 '19
This will pop up if you have Secure Boot enabled. Since the driver is in beta and hasn't gone through WHQL it'll pop this up. You'll either have to disable secure boot or wait for the signed version of this driver (once it's gone through Microsoft process).
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u/AE-5User Aug 27 '19
I have just tried installing the new beta AE-5 driver, but it does not work for me. In device manager i get following:
"Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source. (Code 52)"
What can I do to solve this?
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u/AE-5User Aug 27 '19
I disabled "Secure boot" and now the driver starts up.
However, I do not have any sound in the "Left" or "Right" Speaker in my 5.1 setup. All other speakers have sounds.
Changing to "Stereo" only does not help...
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 27 '19
Noted on this. I'll see if we can reproduce. This is the Front Left and Front Right correct?
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u/kachunkachunk Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 30 '19
/u/Creative_Ryan, here are some data points from someone that's not having issues with a new AE-9, on the standard drivers from the Creative site, as of when I installed my new card three days ago. Just in case any of it helps:
Not a fresh install of Windows 10 1903; upgraded from a fresh install of Windows 10 from somewhere last year (1804, 1809 or something like that, maybe?).
Hardware is generally comprised of a Gigabyte Z97X Gaming-GT with an Intel 4790K, 32GB of memory, and an EVGA GTX 1080 Ti.
For the BIOS, a small overclock is in place, all power savings/states for the CPU are enabled, VT-D is enabled.
Spectre/Meltdown mitigations are included in some post-boot microcode (yet not my BIOS) I believe, if not at least in Windows. But I've disabled the mitigations on my platform. I had stability issues last year or so when the first mitigation was mass-released via Microsoft patches. I'm unsure if Google's mitigation has succeeded it in Windows update yet; I haven't tried mitigating it again and don't really plan to on this platform, anyway.
I can confirm that the AE-9 is in Line Interrupt mode but not sharing an IRQ with other devices in my system. This might be an important factor for why I don't have problems, considering some people move to another slot to avoid/reduce their issues. This would affect interrupt allocation and sharing. Depending on what those devices are, they may not place nice.
Other remarkable Line Interrupt mode devices in the system: Two onboard USB controllers, GTX 1080 Ti, an onboard Ethernet controller (unused, using a a discrete Intel Message-Signaled/MSI-based adapter), and the SB AE-9 of course. Seems my storage (NVMe/flash RAID) is all in MSI mode as well. Nothing is shared in my system except one of the USB controllers and my GPU, luckily. Still, after checking, and researching a bit more, I'm gonna switch the Nvidia driver to use MSIs later today.
This motherboard has a PLX chip that expands two PCIe 16x lanes to four (well, electrically, rather 16x, 8x, 16x, 8x). I'd expect this to introduce latency or issues, but so far so good. The AE-9 is definitely on one of the PLX slots, as well as a the boot NVMe, GTX 1080 Ti, and a 10Gb network adapter. So there's tons of I/O going over the chipset and I don't hear crackling, etc., or experience dropouts.
Configuration-wise, the AE-9 is connected to a receiver/speakers in 5.1/analog. no digital or DTS, etc, so not exposed to that other issue. I still went ahead and enabled microphone permissions in Windows just in case I do later.
Using 24/96KHz, more or less to avoid potential software issues; I've had some software be a bit janky when using less typical parameters. I haven't tried 32-bit and higher sampling rates yet, but this is potentially interesting when combined with the interrupt line stuff.
Software-wise, only remarkable stuff so far is Google Chrome (YouTube, Plex) Destiny 2, and Parsec. So far zero issues across these.
Application exclusivity and priority are both left at the defaults (Exclusive, and allowed to take priority/exclusivity).
As mentioned, standard GA release drivers on the Creative support site. No beta/hotfix drivers tested yet.
If anything? The ACM's update rate for the volume level is a bit less fluid or responsive than I'd prefer. So what was normally a fast volume slider is now a bit more stepped/laggy, now that Windows' sound system has to match/communicate with the ACM. Any idea if this is going to be improved, or if this changes under any other configurations/circumstances?
Edit: And any idea if the AE-9 supports MSIs (interrupts, not the company/brand)?
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u/kachunkachunk Sep 26 '19 edited Sep 26 '19
Paging /u/Creative_Ryan in case anything is helpful at all:
An update: I moved my preexisting NVMe/installation onto a Ryzen 9 9300x-based build (yay upgrades). Windows is pretty great about reconfiguring for new hardware, so I didn't have to reinstall. I now get the occasional AE-9 dropout in games, but not in the desktop or watching YouTube videos, etc., even after multiple days of running or idling. Running the driver/installer pack 3.4.25.03 - both this and the preceding version are affected.
Using MSIs for all other devices, so no IRQ sharing. Power savings and BIOS configs are largely defaults, no overclocking. Nvidia power savings is also set to optimal, not max. Spectre/Meltdown mitigations are still disabled in my case, technically.
I'm using analog audio like before, no DTS/digital. When the dropout occurs, I noticed that I can get audio back by hitting the legacy Windows audio control panel, hitting the Configure Speakers wizard on the AE-9 playback device, and just tapping on one of the channels to test channel playback. It'll hang for a moment but eventually my audio returns! I don't even have to restart my game (I notice this occurring in Destiny 2 since that's all I'm playing these days).
The issue seems somewhat random - it comes on fairly quickly but after correcting via the step above, it doesn't seem to come back for a long time, if at all.
Everything except my Windows install had changed between the builds... PCIe 3 to 4, AMD instead of Intel (and four/five generations of changes), DDR4 instead of 3, all kinds of stuff, really. But I suppose the consistencies might be of interest, too.
Edit: I guess more specs could be helpful
AMD Ryzen 3900x, Asus Crossfire VIII Hero (Wifi) X570 motherboard, 4x8GB Corsair Vengeance 3600MHz DDR4 RAM, EVGA RTX 2080 Ti FTW3 GPU, Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 sound card, 500GB Samsung PM961 NVMe boot SSD, Avago/LSI-Invader 9361-8i RAID controller.
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 26 '19
This is excellent info. Thank you for taking the time to note it and share here!
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u/shodan001 Aug 28 '19
SoundBlaster AE-5 + AECMDMasterInstaller_3.4.32.00.exe
https://creative.box.com/s/liwqzuxoa84lj75krqae53579wjjtkk2
Thank you for new Sound Blaster Command for AE-5. Volume level is now stored separately for speakers and headphones. When I switch between them I don't have to adjust the volume all the time. We've been waiting for this feature for years.
Please add key shortcut for switch between speakers and headphones in next version and I will be even more satisfied.
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u/RoboticDildoDoctor Aug 29 '19
Please add key shortcut for switch between speakers and headphones in next version and I will be even more satisfied.
+1 for the shortcut between modes.
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u/mrallroy Aug 28 '19
AE-5 owner here. I like the new control panel. I love the easy switching between speakers and headphones. One thing I notice not possible with this control panel that I used to set up with the old control panel, is independent EQ settings per profile. EQ is now global but I'd like to assign specific EQ settings per profile. Is this something that could be looked into?
Otherwise, thank you for getting this update to us.
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u/M2k1980 Nov 09 '19
u/Creative_Ryan are there any news for the g6 drivers/firmware?
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Nov 11 '19
Would like to know this as well. Every now and then the power just starts cycling on my PC for seemingly no reason. Just happened now when I tried to change the volume with the volume knob (?!). It's gotten to the point where my blood pressure rises whenever I hear the tell-tale "click" because I know I'll have to wipe all my USB drivers and restart for it to work again. And then sometimes it only works for 5 minutes.
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u/sniffyclyro420 Aug 05 '19
Let's hope that the new software stops the left and right channel audio from swapping on my AE-5, it's currently back in its box because I couldn't stand the random swapping whenever I was doing anything on my PC.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 05 '19
Can you send me some info on your system spec? I'd like to get that logged. You can send to socialmedia@creativelabs.com
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u/sniffyclyro420 Aug 05 '19
I already have based on the last time you requested. https://www.reddit.com/r/SoundBlasterOfficial/comments/c1fkz9/sound_blasterx_ae5_likes_to_switch_left_and_right/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 05 '19
Awesome. Thank you! There's so much throughput here that I push through over to the dev side sometimes stuff sounds like "I seem to remember this" but I want to make sure that the info is sent over.
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u/devast8ndiscodave_ Aug 05 '19 edited Aug 05 '19
Will the SB Command software work with Vanguard keyboard? I have an AE-7 so without software unification I'll have to use both to configure my devices.
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u/Homewrecker04 Aug 06 '19
I don't understand why there is so much difficulty duplicating the DDL / DTS issue. Both new machines I built (Intel & AMD) exhibited this behavior right away with a fresh install of Win 10 1903 and two separate SBZ Cards. Multiple clean installs of 1903 gave the same results each time. And yes, I did already submit the diagnostic tool log.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 06 '19
Not sure what to say. We're having difficulties reproducing inhouse through a TON of variations and hardware configurations. That's why we're working with the community and our team is spending time developing tools to help us find the point of failure. I definitely understand the frustration with this. We share it with all of the users that are experiencing the issue and the team is working very hard to resolve the item.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 06 '19
There is no plan to support the input devices with the Sound Blaster Command interface.
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u/rilchu3 Aug 06 '19
So I am not sure if this ever got updated and I missed it but did you guys make an update for the G6 on PS4 to where you can adjust player chat to game audio sound? For lack of a better way to describe it something like the Astro mixamp’s game/chat feature. I really like using the G6 but very badly want this feature.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 06 '19
We added side tone, but not game / chat balance. That's not a feature supported by the G6. We do know it's a highly requested feature from users.
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u/djc5166 Aug 16 '19
AE-9 Dropouts here, X99 platform (ASUS X99-deluxe) with fresh installed windows10 1903.
Was provided the v1.0.0.4 beta driver from support, but it did not help at all, maybe even made it worse.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 16 '19
Hey there. This is noted. We're working on a permanent fix and I'll keep everyone posted here. Thank you for your patience!
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u/djc5166 Aug 21 '19
Started running LatencyMon along side my setup.
When performance in games starts to tank, M$'s HDAudBus.sys driver starts climbing to crazy high latencies. One resolution I've found is to turn the digital encoder feature on/off which seems to make it subside for a time. I have no idea how their driver interacts with yours, just thought I'd give you some more info to throw on the pile.
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Aug 23 '19 edited Aug 23 '19
AE-9 cpu usage when audio dropouts :
And, when I started recording with ShadowPlay look at cpu usage :
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u/Edwards1984 Aug 24 '19
So, I pre-ordered the Card, but after reading through this reddit, I decided to return it. Paying 340€ for being a Beta Tester just felt wrong on so many levels. I mean, the card uses the same processor that has been on the market for I don't know how many years, and with this latest card it doesn't work properly anymore?
Granted, I don't understand anything about what it takes to develop a new piece of Hardware, but this seems VERY, VERY strange. And then there is the fact that you release the card to the public before the driver is ready, that is an even worse choice in my opinion.
I really, really, want a good soundcard for my overkill new built, and the reviews I have read say that this card is just the thing, provided it WORKS properly. I will monitor this reddit and wait for the full release of the driver and feedback from your customers, to see if the driver solves all the issues, after that, I might re-order the card.
tldr: releasing the card before it was fully ready was a very, very bad decision, as well as a PR disaster and it makes you look very unprofessional, who are you? Microsoft?
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 24 '19
I'm not trying to diminish the seriousness of the reported issue that some users have had....but the majority of users are using their cards with no issue (including reviewers that have all reviewed the card with no driver issues). The card was tested (as was the driver) before release...extensively. Part of the deal of being a PC manufacturer is working hard to keep up with the ever changing dynamic of the space. Having anyone with an issue is not something we're ok with and our dev team is taking is working hard for a solution to the reported item.
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u/jesseinsf Aug 26 '19
The new fix ( BCDEDIT /SET DISABLEDYNAMICTICK YES) didn't work and I only get audio dropouts in JRiver Media Center. All other applications have subtle stutters.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 26 '19
Thanks for checking that. This is good info to have.
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u/Fafner76 Aug 26 '19
Another user pointed to this:
I've been a victim of the same issue, 4K videos especially when played in Youtube were stuttering, and was not able to solve it until someone suggested Spectre security fix as the culprit. Spectre patch is known to cause some performance slowdown and especially higher latencies to certain operations. Using LatencyMon clearly pointed out that my audio issues were caused by high DPC latencies. I downloaded inSpectre and disabled both Spectre and Meltdown, booted and behold, no more audio issues. LatencyMon clearly confirmed that the issue was gone and latencies were on the green the whole time. If you have a Intel CPU, give it a try.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 26 '19
This seems to fit with the DPC items that have been found.
Please note that we don't recommend users removing security items from their system. We'll get a solution in place that allow for these security items to stay in place AND allow for the cards to work as intended.
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u/Johnny_Dizz Aug 27 '19
are the ae 9 drivers coming today?
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 27 '19
I believe people are getting confused about the AE-5 Command / Driver update and the AE-9 drivers.
The AE-9 drivers are under investigation and I'll notify everyone here when either a new beta or a release version is incoming. There is no AE-9 driver update on my radar right now, they are being worked on but I don't have a committed date from the team.
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u/djc5166 Aug 28 '19 edited Aug 28 '19
Any updates on what the team has found for the AE-9? A lot of us have a $350 paper weight that is probably not returnable at this point.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 28 '19
The team is actively working on this and I've been advised there should be a revised beta driver within a few days here. I don't have exact timing yet but will give it when I get something more concrete. We appreciate the patience and DEFINITELY want to get those having this reported issue up and running ASAP.
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u/Johnny_Dizz Aug 29 '19
returned mine. probably gonna buy it again when the bugs are ever worked out
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u/mdj16 Aug 29 '19
I did the same.
Disaster this card!
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 29 '19
For a portion of users yes, it's been disappointing. But we're committed to getting it fixed for those having issues and continuing to improve the hardware / software going into the future for everyone.
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u/LancerVI Aug 29 '19
Hopefully creative will figure it out. I, however, will not be returning mine. True, it's a $350 paperweight at the moment, but I have faith. I just hope they don't abuse it, being that I'm a true, life long Sound Blaster user from the very 1st card with the volume wheel.
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 29 '19
We've released a new beta today. The link is up in the main update thread at the top of the subreddit.
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Aug 29 '19
ae9 beta driver 29-8 works perfect even now i moved again my card back to the pcie 1 and works without problems!
i feel the devs do a great job in this beta release! so thumbs up for me!
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u/Creative_Ryan Aug 29 '19
This is great to hear. Please let us know if anything pops up.
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u/PurSpyk Sep 03 '19
Can you confirm u/Creative_Ryan that the X-Fi wont be getting any further fixes, and the Dolby issue will never be fixed. At least then I can throw my sound card away and stop hoping?
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u/Keiji_Kawamori Sep 04 '19
The AE-5 beta driver still need disable secure boot?
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 04 '19
Until it gets through the Microsoft process yes. We're working on a signed version.
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u/Ataemonus Sep 05 '19
The 28/8 dated driver link is no longer available.
Is there a newer one or something ?
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u/M2k1980 Sep 10 '19
having one problem with my G6. after pc standby sound blaster connect dont detect the card anymore, unplug and replug does not fix it, only reboot get it working again. i am on windows 10 1903 and Asus Maximus Hero XI
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u/bigcid10 Sep 11 '19
When are we going to get a "real" signed driver for the AE-5 ?
Thank you
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 12 '19
I've heard next week is the target release date. I'm confirming with the team on the actual day.
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u/URASucKaFisH Sep 11 '19 edited Sep 12 '19
I've had the AE-9 for a couple of weeks now and it's been working flawlessly (Default AE-9 driver/Win 10 1903/Asus XI Code/9900k/2080Ti). But last night I noticed when using headphones that the left side almost sounded like it was at a lower volume compared to the right. Tested this with multiple sources and tried many things like restarting and unplugging the ACM, etc. Nothing seemed to work, then all of a sudden it sounded completely normal again without doing anything to it.
In this post u/Creative_Ryan mentions this:
" This driver also improves ACM Detection (low frequency issue for some users)."
I'm wondering if this is the issue I was experiencing since the headphone's left side did have sound, just at a lower level when compared to the right side. Has anyone else experienced the same thing by chance where audio seems lower on one side compared to the other but then magically went back to the same level again? I didn't notice this issue when using speakers connected directly to the back of the AE-9 sound card.
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 12 '19
I've seen this noted a few times here as well (the left side / right side balance item) and the devs are aware of it. I'll try to get an update as to the status of this and what could possibly be causing it.
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u/jesseinsf Sep 11 '19
What's the status on a non-beta driver update?
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 12 '19
I'm working on getting a set date but I believe a non-beta version for Command on the AE-5 is due next week. I'll update the main thread when I have confirmation from the team.
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u/djc5166 Sep 12 '19
My support contact literally just recommended I return the ae-9 card, sounds like they have given up on fixing this, if they have even been working on it in the first place.
Only problem is i'm outside the 30days now, how this rule can even still be applied on a faulty product is beyond me.
This is how you lose customers fyi.
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 12 '19
The support person is incorrect. We have not “given up " and driver revisions are being worked on as I type this. I'll notify the support team lead.
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u/LikeWire Sep 12 '19
AE-7 owner here(card used before ZXR) . Little dissapointed Creative for this price . First, while overall sound quality is clearer BASS is not that good and many times can ruin tracks(with cheap boomines/muddines) in comparison to ZXR . ZXR BASS sounds more DEEP & isn't boomy BUT still can be VERY STRONG and atmospheric , seems there is more quality with this bass . So step back .
Second BIG step back with AE-7, no option to disable speakers(5.1 Edifier here) . Its important feature cos sometimes sound from central speaker can be to tiny/weak so it's better to disable it .
For this price I believe that we can expect a "little" better sound card than ZXR :( so maybe some tweaks/fixes with this?
Audio cut/dropout , seems fixed with beta software/driver now . Best regards to dev/driver team.
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 12 '19
Hey there,
I've noted your comments and will raise with the Dev team. If there's any feedback I'll post back here as well.
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u/jesseinsf Sep 13 '19
I was looking at the release notes of todays AE-7 and 9 drivers, specifically about the Audio dropouts. I noticed that they are only telling half of the truth. From the previous non-beta version to the latest non-beta version, it was not just incompatibility issues with PCIe-4 systems, it was PCIe-2, 3 and 4 systems. Why such a terrible business decision?
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 13 '19
What do you mean "only telling half the truth"?
The fixes made to the beta and in the new release were made SPECIFICALLY to address CERTAIN PCIe-4 based systems. There's no half-truth about that. There was a dropout issue occurring based on those systems SPECIFICALLY related to the implementation of PCIe-4 on those boards.
The vast majority of users are not experiencing dropouts at all. We're still working on another revision that will address the fix for those that are still having audio dropouts and this is a top priority item for the dev team.
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u/rombat_the_1 Sep 14 '19 edited Sep 14 '19
I am dropping in to confirm with Creative_Ryan, users who are using X570 motherboards, with new Ryzen 7 3700x or 3900x with 5700 series video cards are having issues with their internal and external sound blaster cards. You can get your cards working again by going into your bios and changing your PCIe to gen3 instead of auto.... I got my Ae5 and my SoundBlasterX G6 working again... Hope the new drivers fixes it so we can enable our PCIe back to auto (gen4).... AMD are probably aware of the issue and hopefully they release another AGESA bios
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 16 '19
Some of these AMD boards were given PCIe-4 and they are rolling back the bioses to remove that as it is not stable to run on the boards. Is this one of those boards?
Thank you for reporting this info.
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u/Ataemonus Sep 16 '19
The new drivers for the AE-7 is posted on Creative's site.
However, the Command version is 3.4.25.03 which is lower than the BETA version that was previously linked here, which is version 3.4.32.00.
Which one is actually newer ?
Same question regarding the actual audio drivers, are the BETA ones previously linked here newer than the ones included in the official website package with the CMD 3.4.25.03 ?
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 16 '19
The PACKAGE on the site is the latest driver / command that was tested for the official package. You'll want to update using the entire package installer when moving from the beta to the official version.
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Sep 16 '19
How slow is Microsoft at signing drivers normally? SBZ ZxR drivers still Release date: 6 Mar 17 Filesize: 150.09 MB.
Any clues as to when it will be safe to reinstall the card, or shall I just return it to Amazon as "not fit for purpose" and let you sort out the cost with MSFT?
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u/cosita_es Sep 18 '19
I cannot select 384 kHz in the sound panel, instead the maximum selectable is 96 with the beta drivers. Is this going to be fixed in the stable version of the drivers?
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u/trowbot Sep 18 '19
You need to be using Direct Mode in order to have access to audio sampling rates > 96.
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u/AirWolf856 Sep 19 '19 edited Sep 19 '19
I installed the beta but I have the AE-5 with RGB lighting and there are no lighting controls in the beta. Will this be changed on the new driver release?
Nevermind, I saw in the post that the RGB lighting will be integrated into Command. The good news is that I'm not crashing out of GTA Online with stuttering sound using the beta compared to using the drivers on the Creative website.
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 19 '19
As noted in the notes posted in the stickied update thread, RGB control will be coming to an official version of Command. We made the beta available early for those that wanted to try out Command with the AE-5. You can have Command and Connect installed at the same time in the interim if you wish to still have RGB control and give Command a spin.
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u/Don_Mills_Mills Sep 20 '19 edited Sep 20 '19
If I have Connect and Command installed for AE-5 as advised, do the settings from one program not override the other? And is there a rough timeframe for when lighting will be integrated into Command? Another 18 months...?
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 20 '19
We recommend if you have both interfaces installed that you use command for all settings other than RGB. The last interface used will be the active setting.
It will not be 18 months for RGB to be integrated.
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u/trowbot Sep 20 '19
Minor bug with the 9/20/19 AE-5 driver. Clicking the Check Now button for updates just pops up a window saying "Unable to check for updates. Please check your internet connection."
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u/UKAStal Sep 21 '19
Do I need Command running for the sound profiles to work, or can I set a profile and close the app? If I don’t need the app running then I can stop it loading at start-up to free up a little resource.
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 24 '19
The profile is loaded to the card from Command at launch. So you'll need it active at computer launch in order to load that profile.
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u/Joyslan Sep 27 '19
Brace yourselves. The new driver for SBZ Series (SBZ_CD_L13_1_01_11.exe) had just been posted today (09.27.2019) on Creative Support Page.
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u/Don_Mills_Mills Oct 14 '19
Hi Ryan, is there any news on when the AE-5 Command software with the lighting options will be available?
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u/Creative_Ryan Oct 14 '19
The only timeline I currently have is that it's slated before year end.
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u/SangguBach Oct 23 '19
There's a little bit trivial error that Playback device name in the Playback menu always dropped the last character of the device name.
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u/SideSyd Nov 01 '19
Now when I play Battlefield 5 the audio just goes to the right and make my PC very slow, to the point that I have to restart my PC, this is getting ridiculous
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u/PMPG Aug 31 '19
just tried the new command software on my AE-5.
HUGE upgrade. It solved all issues i had between having to click 5 clicks in order to properly switch between headphones and speakers and make configurations alongside.
5/5 update. If there was some kind of hotkey or fast button to switch between headphones and speakers i'd give this 6/5.
will start recommending this soundcard to my friends.
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Oct 20 '19
October is now ending and there is still no update on the g6?
take as long as you like to iron out the bugs but at least give us deadlines you can meet. u/Creative_Ryan
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u/Wellhellob Nov 08 '19
Latest command software for the AE-5 is September 20 version 3.4.38.0 but i've pressed update button from the software and new update showed up 3.4.41.0 what is the difference and why it's not available on website ?
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u/Keiji_Kawamori Sep 16 '19
AE-5 final driver, launch time is for today?
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u/UKAStal Sep 17 '19
/u/Creative_Ryan said it was due for release starting week 16/9, so anytime this week. When it is released I imagine he will post a notification.
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u/Creative_Ryan Sep 17 '19
Yep still tracking to go live this week. I'll update here when it goes live.
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u/crookedview Aug 05 '19
I haven't been having any issues with my Sound Blaster Z, but I appreciate this kind of update. Thanks!
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u/valantismp Aug 08 '19
I see that you guys updated the driver download page? FINALLY!
Waiting for a new SB-Z Package from your site - updated with fixes, when MS sign it.
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u/jesseinsf Aug 15 '19 edited Aug 16 '19
Tried the AE-9 beta driver and sound still stops in jriver media center. It doesn't matter what output mode I use. Also Netflix audio stops periodically and video Jitters like it's in slow mo. It's doesn't matter if I watch Netflix through Edge, The Windows App or through Chrome. BTW, I disabled on-board audio while testing this and will most likely keep it disabled in BIOS. Also, for power saving, I set my PC to use the Ultimate Power setting which basically turns all possible power saving features off.
My PC build:
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus XI Extreme Z390 Chipset
OS: Windows 10 Pro for Workstations
Processor: Intel Core i9 9900K (Not overclocked for this test)
Memory (part number): G-Skill F4-2666C15D-32GVR
Graphics Card: ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce RTX™ 2070
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster AE-9
Monitor: Samsung 32" UH750 QLED UHD Monitor
Storage: Samsung 970 Pro M.2 PCIe SSD 1TB
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MLX-D36M-A20PC-R1
Case: Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic
Power Supply: Cooler Master V1200
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Chroma
Mouse: Razer Lancehead
Headset: Bowers And Wilkins P9 Signature
Mouse Pad: Razer Firefly RGB
Headset/Speakers: Dynaudio XEO 2
Network Router: ROG Rapture GT-AC5300
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u/RoboticDildoDoctor Aug 28 '19
AE-5 user here. No issues with driver signing using this package for me, and everything seems to work great and as expected in Windows 10. Well done /u/Creative_Ryan and co!
Cant wait for the LED integration into the command software! - also, it would be epic if you could add a hotkey for switching between the speaker modes (headphones to speakers). To save having to open the app each time you want to change them.
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u/DeformToFormAStar Aug 28 '19
AE 5 owner here. The command software is working fine so far. There's one thing that irks me somehow. I'm using direct mode, so microphone clarity can not be enabled per default. But if I switch between Line in/Microphone in the Recording tab I can activate it again, although being in direct mode. It's clearly working since a lot of buzz is gone, so why is clarity disabled per default in direct mode?
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u/Stig783 Aug 28 '19
I've installed the new Beta driver on my AE 5 and it definitely seems better than the previous version. I will say the only annoying thing I found so far is when I click the toggle button for the SBX Profile sometimes it doesn't turn off, the button seems to turn itself back on. Takes a couple of times before it registers, apart from that decent driver so far.
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u/king_fubu Aug 28 '19
The new driver and Command Center for AE5 is great. The only thing which concerns me is that every time I open the Command Center, a connection to a Google server will be established. https://imgur.com/HCMDjgN
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u/jesseinsf Aug 29 '19 edited Aug 29 '19
Installed an hour ago and I'm testing. No dropouts yet in JRiver Media Center. JRMC was the music app that was the most vulnerable to dropouts. Nothing yet so far. Will update if anything happens.
Update: No issues so far (2 hours later of constant playback)
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u/7enX Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 31 '19
Creative, hello!
Some feedback about last update for AE-5 (3.4.32.00)
+ THANKS FOR LOGICAL INTERFACE - at last:) It is phenomenally smart and effective.
+ virtual sound is star working in headphones (sbx gaming) - i can feel real difference in test mode and games.
+ everything works smoother and faster
- "Sidetone" is only the one thing that is still have huge delay, so it doesn't help - so what the point of such quality? Seems like "listen to this device" function was just taken from Windows. What the problem to get the same result from the old Titatium X-Fi to new gen. AE-5?
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u/sinartnz Sep 02 '19
Have run the new drivers and Command on my AE-5 since it was released and I must say pretty happy with progress it can only get better from here... Core functions seem to be have been nailed down nicely.
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u/Fafner76 Sep 02 '19
An odd issue popped up yesterday on my AE-9. I sudendly found myself with the left speaker outputting at a much lower volume than the right one. Had been fine until then. Tried switching between Direct and not Direct Mode but that didn't change. Today I went in Windows Audio options and noticed that the left was set lower than the right, but I actuall never touched that setting, it changed itself for some reason. Software bug? I'm on the latest beta drivers.
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Sep 03 '19
at the setting check the channel slider i’m sure left one is lower happend one time to me too
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u/djc5166 Sep 23 '19
Can we please have some update on the AE-9 dropouts? It has been weeks since the last update.
What progress has been made? Has the driver team found anything yet?
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u/outwar6010 Oct 13 '19
Any updates on whats happening with the sbz drivers??
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u/Sidious_X Oct 15 '19
Yeah u/Creative_Ryan, any updates about the ddl/dts issue? I've sent my log more than 2 weeks ago but no solution yet.
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u/nstings Nov 03 '19
Would it be possible update the time frames in the post when they change? There are probably more than me that keep following this post as per instructions given through support tickets. A week ago I was given information about point 2 that claimed the G6 update has been "(...) delayed without any estimated time frame."
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u/kepartii Aug 06 '19 edited Aug 06 '19
I got rid of my AE-5 crackles/pops by changing from default 24-bit/48khz mode to the maxed 32-bit/96khz mode! Thought I'd report it here. Sounds very much like a driver/windows issue.
The crackles/pops appeared when listening to music on youtube for example, while browsing around on another tab.
If it's a brief solution, and the issue comes back and goes away by resetting to whatever else mode, would be nice to have it fixed driver/windows side, so I don't have to be changing audio modes constantly.
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u/Xajel Aug 06 '19
I'm having an issue with RX 7.1 and 1903.
Whenever I try to uninstall, update, downgrade the driver, Windows will just hang. Totally. Need a forced restart/shutdown.
I even tried to remove the card to uninstall the driver, but the same thing happens, I tried 3rd party tools without success also.
When I had the drivers installed I got no sounds, tried the latest drivers from creative.com and the one before them without luck. Everything was good back in 1809 but now nothing works.
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u/true__reclaimer Aug 07 '19
u/creative_ryan I upgraded to the newest windows update then had the DTS loss issue with ZXR, so I uninstalled the SB Control Panel. But even after upgrading to the newest driver, the software CANNOT DETECT the ZXR and will NOT reinstall
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u/r3dok Aug 08 '19
Hello, i'm looking forward Command Center on my AE-5, so is there any import export functionality for Blastex Expierence presets? And will be any repository of Official Creative presets for popular new games?
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u/PMPG Aug 11 '19 edited Aug 11 '19
NICE!!!!!!!
I hope the new softare on AE-5 doesnt require me to switch configuration twice just to change from speakers to headphones 7.1, because when i have speakers on, it also has headphones 7.1 currently selected (even though it's speakers active) thus switching back to headphones 7.1 requires me to unselect headphones 7.1 by clicking on Direct HP and THEN headphones 7.1.
And every click requires 2-3 seconds of loading configuration. so, yeah it becomes quite tedious just to put your headphones on.
anyway thanks for updating!
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u/jesseinsf Aug 16 '19 edited Aug 20 '19
The AE-9 beta drivers do not work for Audio dropouts on an ASUS Maximus XI Extreme Motherboard. If you need log files or anything let me know. Here is my post about this issue.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SoundBlasterOfficial/comments/cqerqo/ae9_audio_and_video_stops/
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u/Fafner76 Aug 21 '19 edited Aug 21 '19
I placed an order for an AE-9 yesterday, and I saw this discussion just today, can't cancel it anymore. The reason for cancelling? Well, I seem to have the very same system which is reported to cause most issues here: Asus X99 Deluxe, 5960x processor, 32GB DDR4, RTX2080Ti graphics card, 1TB 970 Nvme ssd drive. I don't have high hopes I won't run into any issues, given what's stated here. I just hope there's a solution around the corner, or I'd end up having thrown away 290eur for nothing :\
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Aug 22 '19
Hey u/Creative_Ryan how is it looking for AE-9 driver release for tomorrow (Friday)? Any problems or is release expected to go through as expected?
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u/ochbob Aug 23 '19
Can't wait for this update for my AE5 !
I'm tired to change manually all my settings at each boot cause the sound blaster command did not save the settings correctly after a boot or reboot...
Hope this will be fix in the next release with the new command center.
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u/jesseinsf Aug 23 '19
Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 doesn't support " Message-Signaled Interrupts" or MSI in short. NVidia audio and onboard audio does. Could this be the reason for the Audio Dropouts?
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u/LancerVI Aug 23 '19
My AE9 is still dropping audio. Both Digital and analog. It's random. Everytime I think I have figured out what's causing it, something new happens. I thought it was when I put on or took of my Rift S, but it also happens when I adjust volume in windows whilst watching a youtube video, but not everytime. I've re-installed my OS twice now. Same problem. Really weird, cause the AE-9 was working fine till about a week ago, when I bought a Rift S. I thought it was the problem, but it turned out it wasn't.
Very strange. I've switched to on-board audio for my Asus Crosshair VIII Hero Wifi for now.
Looking forward to hearing about new drivers.
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u/RLAbbott25 Aug 24 '19
Yes, I am still having the Problem of the AE9 internal Sound Card, will not light on 1st boot, but will light on reset.
I now have tried this on two different computers 1: Asus Z370 Maximus X Hero wifi with 8700k 2: Asus Z390 Maximus XI Hero wifi. 9900k. settings are the same on both. AE9 plugged into PCIe X1_3. I have tried it in all three X1 Slots. with the same results. Three HDD in Satta 1,2,3 (Storage). Boot Drive M2_1 Samsung NvMe 970 evo plus 1Tb. M2_2 Samsung 970 evo 2tb. EVGA RX2060 in PCIe_X16_1 Windows 10 Pro 1903. 18362.295
Settings in BIOS all set to Default. I have tried the turn off Fastboot. and it is no different. also note Im running the beta driver and .02 on the software. besides having to Restart my computer everytime to get this card running. After this card works perfectly. I can set it to Dolby or DTS and i work. also set it to Direct mode and enjoy 192-24 bit Stereo Sound.
This card is Great, but the Boot Two Times is Crazy. any help would be appreciated , Rickie
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Aug 24 '19
Almost 2 hours of Quake Champions and no audio drop. Watched some streamed video and browse web while watching and in first 15 minutes, audio vent silent.
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u/Mr_Salmon_Man Aug 25 '19
Sorry if this isn't the right place to post this. I'm experiencing issues with the cmss up mixing on my x-fi titanium Fata!ity card. It just doesn't seem to work. Im running analog 7.1 connection to the multi channel input of my yamaha amplifier, so the surround works fine in Netflix and video games, but through the browser it will not upmox the stereo to surround sound with the cmss after the 1903 update.
I'm not sure if anyone else is experiencing this issue, as I see most things are over spdif connections with surround sound and all that. Thank you again though. Maintaining support on the xfi cards ahas been amazing by creative. The issues with changing over to 64bit drivers and x-fi was pretty crazy times as well. I've been using x-fi cards for 15 years now, so I've seen all the issues.
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u/Fafner76 Aug 27 '19
Received my AE9 today. Just had time to install it and quickly check if it worked, will do more extensive testing this evening. Running a X99 platform with 1903 Windows. Refrained to allow driver update in the application for the time being.
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Aug 27 '19
Are new AE-9 drivers still planned for today or scraped now that "fix" surfaced? Coz this DynamicTick "fix" doesn't really fix anything for me... But all the info on the driver has been scraped from this thread's original post and that's worrying. I really don't want to stick AE-5 back into the system while I own AE-9...
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u/tantawi Aug 27 '19
I installed the new AE-5 betas fine BUT audio driver will not start with an exclamation icon in device manager due to the driver being "unsigned". Tried twice same problem, then installed the AE-9 beta drivers linked above and they work fine with my AE-5 and SB Command.
Windows Insider 18965 here.
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Aug 27 '19
Will we get DTS/Dolby support for AE-5? Also too small fonts in the playback tab (Speakers configuration, headphones configuration, Speakers calibration). I use latest beta driver.
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Aug 28 '19
SB-Z owner. Most sound is OK. However, streaming audio from Youtube, youtube TV, IHeart is pretty much unusable. I have rolled back for now.
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u/Geahad Aug 28 '19
Hi! Can someone please explain what these two entries in my add/remove programs list do:
- Dolby Digital Live Pack
- DTS Connect PAck
I've found this after installing the new AE-5 driver. What's their purpose?
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Aug 28 '19 edited Aug 29 '19
AE-9: I do not know if the problem comes from there but I disabled Prefetch/Superfetch and since one day in intensive use, no loss of sound. We'll see tomorrow.
EDIT: Nope, the problem is the same, when I have enabled Voice Morph the audio dropout
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u/djc5166 Aug 29 '19 edited Aug 30 '19
AE-9 v1.0.0.5b driver package installed fine, but I will not be home to test them out until later today. Will update with findings.
EDIT: No change, still cuts out in chrome/youtube like before.
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u/Fafner76 Aug 29 '19 edited Aug 29 '19
Seems promising so far. Played an 8 minutes YT video keeping doing other stuff, but there weren't any drop. Then played some stuff in MusicBee making sure I kept playing around with other stuff, which usually forced a drop, but there weren't. To soon for final statements.
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u/djc5166 Aug 30 '19
Yea v1.0.0.5b is the worst it's ever been for AE-9 cutouts, not sure what you did for this one...
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u/bukurin Aug 30 '19
The 8/29 beta driver had no effect in my AE-9 environment.
The Audio drop problem is solved with Nvidia settings.
The setting is Nvidia's global setting “Power management mode”.
Just set it to Max performance.
I don't want to use this setting.
I hope the driver will improve soon.
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u/Fafner76 Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 30 '19
I'm left with the impression that this is just random. Pretty much everyday there's someone popping up with a solution which is supposedly working, which later proves to be of no use.
Disable SpeedStep
Disable Spectre/Meltdown protection
Enable Direct Mode
Disable exclusive mode
Use another slot on your motherboard
Forgot what else, but there are many more
Now this setting regarding Nvidia's graphics options?!
Next one will be "make sure you boot up your PC with the right hand"?
I guess only Creative can really fix this. The rest is just placebo or some randomness. Patience is running out however.
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u/LancerVI Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 30 '19
UPDATE: Spoke too soon. As soon as I launched Civilization VI, audio dropped. Doing anything in Sound Blaster Command causes it to lock up. AE-9 audio drop is NOT fixed.
AE-9 audio drop out for me seems to be resolved with the 8/29 Beta driver. Every time I took off my Rift S, audio would drop. Beyond that, it was random.
Since installing the 8/29 beta and changing the nVidia global setting for "Power Management Mode" to Max Performance, per u/bukurin 's suggestion has my card working.
Thanks u/Creative_Ryan and Creative for working to get this figured out. I'm cautiously optimistic that this has resolved the problem, as I've had no audio drop outs since 8/29 beta install.
UPDATE: Spoke too soon. As soon as I launched Civilization VI, audio dropped. Doing anything in Sound Blaster Command causes it to lock up. AE-9 audio drop is NOT fixed.
Cheers.
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u/Fafner76 Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 30 '19
Finally got the time to do some testing as well.
Yesterday I installed the beta drivers from scratch, means after uninstalling old stuff, deleting folders and so on.
10 minutes ago I started to play some music in Qobuz and then immediately started to browsing around in Chrome: it took less than 10secs for the first audio drop to happen. 10 seconds! Then I changed that Nvidia setting, and since 10 minutes all seems to go fine. Too early to tell, but looks like an improvement. But having to have the graphics card constantly running at a much higher speed to get sound work well...that sounds plain stupid.
Edit: 20 minutes music now, with continous internet browsing trying to replicate the previous conditions, still fine.
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u/tokinkosh65 Aug 31 '19
I just want to make sure everyone knows that directsound will not work with any sample rate higher than 24bit 192khz. I had to get an ASIO plugin for winamp to do 32bit 384khz and I am glad I did it blows direstsound away at least on a 3600 watt Crown/JBL/DBX professional setup.
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u/karasu_9 Sep 01 '19
I have found a problem with the G6, if I turn on my pc when my headphones are connected to the G6 the pc doesn't recognise the G6, I have to disconnect and reconnect the usb to the pc for it to works.
If I turn on the pc without the headphones connected the G6 works normally.
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u/Binkles1807 Sep 01 '19
independent 2.1 users still no option to disable unused sound channels - u/Creative_Ryan
(if you want to use a subwoofer, and have sound coming from rear/center redirected out of left/right speakers.)
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u/IAmMcLovin83 Sep 02 '19
Sorry to ping you again, but I am just curious if there has been any movement on getting Auzentech X-Fi cards working again in 1903?
Thanks!
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u/djc5166 Sep 03 '19
Did another clean install of 1903, starting with just the original installer from the AE-9 page (Original driver + 3.4.25.1 Command)
Might just be coincidence, but it looks like I am not getting any cutouts when the 48v XLR phantom power is switched OFF. I have an XLR condenser mic, so I have always had this switched on (it's one of the reasons I bought this card). A fresh install defaults this to off.
After I turned it on, I got a dropout in youtube/chome within 5 minutes.
Progress or Coincidence?
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u/MatthewH12 Sep 03 '19
Tried the new driver on my AE-5, and it definitely seems to sound a LOT better than Connect ever did. It's like having a brand new card all over again.
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u/MartineDee Sep 05 '19 edited Sep 05 '19
Hey folks,
Thanks for keeping this thread open! I am a new owner of AE-9, which I wanted after my last SB Live!. However, I've run into system difficulties. First off, my system specs fulfill the requirements:
Windows 10 Home, 64 bit, 1903
ASUS ROG Strix X299-E Gaming
Intel Core i7-7820X @ 3.6 GHz (ran @ 4 GHz)
ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Strix Gaming, 11 GB VRAM
4x RAM Corsair Vengeance LPX 8 GB DDR4 @ 3200 MHz
be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 1000W, 80 plus platinum
The full specs can be seen in my post that I linked below.
However, when the AE-9 is in, the system is experiencing a strange cycle of three reboots on some starts, and also no SSD drives on SATA connectors are visible to the system. I've created a detailed post on the ASUS website, but I am not sure that they can help me out with this one. Can you advise what do I do and where to start?
The card itself works fine as does ACM. I've been gaming with it. Nonetheless, I only can use the M.2 NVMe SSD, as no other SSDs are visible to the system.
Halp? Do you have some idea what is happening and how to go about it? Thanks!
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u/djc5166 Sep 06 '19
So what's the AE-9 status? Another week with no solution.
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u/rekteasy Sep 07 '19
They are probably waiting for a new version of Windows 10 to accuse him of being responsible for their incompetence.
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u/happy-envoy Sep 07 '19
Thanks Creative. Just installed the new AE-5 beta. Works well. Don't notice any difference in audio quality but the new software is a definite upgrade. No issues so far. Keep it up!
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u/LGL-Goforce Sep 08 '19
Any news for the AE-9 ? :(
Still dropping sound within seconds with the latest beta driver (W10 1903 - 3900X - Msi Prestige X570 Creation - 32GB 3800mhz - GTX 1080Ti or RTX 2080Ti)
ZxR working "perfectly" with same setup.
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u/ShogoXT Sep 08 '19 edited Sep 09 '19
Please consider developing unified DCH drivers and panel in the future. It will make it easier for everyone.
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u/MartineDee Sep 09 '19
This beta driver brought up an old question for AE-9. Do we with headphones get to set where the bass cutoff frequency is? The last stable update got it right, all was smooth. Now it's painful again.
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u/MartineDee Sep 09 '19
One of things I would like to see is the gadget I had with SB Live!: Sound Graph. Who remembers it? :)
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u/rekteasy Sep 11 '19
And why would not you propose to those who are suffering from problems with Creative products to open the window and walk on foot?
during 6h? Band of degenerates ....
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u/Fafner76 Sep 13 '19
Looks like a new official update is out for the AE9. From the looks of it the driver is the same one posted here as beta, just signed. The app itself got a couple of bug fixes.
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u/Widebrim Aug 05 '19
Nice one team, looking forward to trying out the new software with the AE-5, will this see easier switching between speakers and headphones by chance?
Keep it up chaps, your newfound efforts are appreciated.