Pros: TPA6120A2 headphone amplifier driving capability (low and high gain modes), headphone and mic outputs, DAC functionalities, 24-bit/192kHz capability, SBX & Scout modes
Cons: Not portable (despite claims), requires USB power, software problems (incl drivers), hardware malfunction rate, price
Packaging & Accessories: 8/10
Build Quality: 7.5/10
Sound Quality: 7.5/10
Software: 7/10
Value: 7/10
My final Rating: 7/10
Review Date: March 2016
Review Price: £130
First of all I would like to thank Creative for sending me the Sound BlasterX G5 for review. It can be found for £130 directly on Creative’s website, and can be found on AmazonUK for around £140 and AmazonUSA for around $150.
The G5 is a slight variation over the E5, which over the G5 is aimed at those wanting a portable solution with its in-built lithium battery. Unfortunately, the G5 doesn’t have an in-built battery and has to be used with a power source, essentially limiting it to desktop-use only.
I actually received two G5’s as after about two weeks of use my first review sample completely stopped working. Essentially it started having some sort of problems with sound reproduction, with extremely loud high-pitched sounds coming out of the headphone jack. Later, I came back to it and noticed it was extremely overheating – at which point when I tried playing music through it, nothing played.
As the second one arrived, it worked flawlessly on my work PC, but then when I tried to use it with my home PC, wouldn’t recognise the new G5 – no matter if I did a full driver-sweep and a re-install. I’ll get into both points in their respective sections within my review.
Here’s my video review on the G5:
Let’s get into this written review!