Creative have been making sound cards since 1989 when their first Sound Blaster card was released. Since then they have gone on to be synonymous with the term sound card and are the first company that comes to mind when thinking of such a product. To date, over 400 million Sound Blaster cards have been sold worldwide. Creative are looking to revolutionise the market yet again with the release of two new Sound Blaster cards, the AE-9 and the AE-7.
“The Sound Blaster philosophy is simple yet demanding. With every new product, we aim to break new ground in four key areas: technology, performance, function and platform. In our 30th year, we will make greater strides than ever before in redefining the Sound Blaster experience. The AE series, which represents our biggest leap in PCI-e sound card innovation yet, is just the beginning. Later this quarter, we will be introducing our latest addition to the ‘X’ series of multi-channel audio external sound cards; it will be the first Sound Blaster product featuring Super X-Fi, our game-changing and award-winning headphone holography technology. And in the next quarter, we will unveil our latest products under the ‘G’ banner of gaming-focused sound cards with better console compatibility and ease of use than before. Simply put, Sound Blaster makes great sound, and never stops making it sound greater,” said Sim Wong Hoo, CEO of Creative.
The Sound Blaster AE-9 is the new flagship PCI-e sound card. It uses audiophile-grade components such as the top-of-the-range ESS 9038 SABRE-class reference DAC that delivers up to 129 dB DNR, PCM 32-bit 384 kHz sampling, DSD64 playback of lossless audio with ultra-low distortion and jitter elimination, and boasts Nichicon Fine-Gold capacitors, WIMA film/foil audio capacitors and swappable op-amps.
What really makes Sound Blaster AE-9 stand out against the competition is its CleanLine Technology, a new breakthrough in filtering a microphone path for clear and uncompromised voice communication. This latest technology features specially-designed circuitry and components which eliminates voltage rail issues and isolates unwanted noise caused by power supply ripple from high-performance GPUs. Sound Blaster AE-9 is the first ever to integrate this technology in its core, allowing users to forgo the need for a desktop mixer while still enjoying the benefits of having one.
The AE-7 is the next in class sound card, it has a lesser spec to the AE-9 but is still a very powerful card in its own right. It is equipped with a hi-res ESS SABRE-class 9018 DAC that boasts up to 127 dB DNR, with 32-bit 384 kHz sampling and DSD64 playback. Audio clarity is the order of the day, with a THD of 0.0001% which represents an upgrade over its predecessor Sound BlasterX AE-5, and also the competition. At its price point, Sound Blaster AE-7 presents an excellent value proposition.
As a gesture of appreciation for their support over the last 30 years, Creative is offering an exclusive promotion to its fans – the opportunity to upgrade from their old sound cards with an attractive 15% discount off the latest Sound Blaster products. This promotion will be valid for all upcoming Sound Blaster products launched between now and the end of the year. For more information, visit creative.com/upgrade.
The AE-9 will retail at £299.99 and the AE-7 at £199.99. Both cards are available to pre-order now at creative.com/SBAE9 and creative.com/SBAE7.
