Creative Labs - Sound Blaster Zx Sound Card

Name: Creative Labs - Sound Blaster Zx Sound Card
Brand: Creative Labs
SKU: 8932693
Rating: 4.4 (81 reviews)

Model: SB1506

SKU: 8932693

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Other
- Assembly Required: false
- Sound Type Supported: Creative ALchemy|EAX 5.0 HD|Dolby Digital Live|DTS|SBX Pro Studio|Crystal Voice|3D Surround|Scout Mode
- Internal or External: Internal
- Interface Slot Type: PCI Express
- External Ports/Connectors: Line-in|Microphone-in|Headphones|Optical Toslink out|Optical Toslink in
- Digital Output: Yes
- Speaker Support: 5.1|2.1
- Number of Simultaneous Voices: 1024
- Included Software: Drivers for Windows 7 and 8 and Creative Software suite
- System Requirements: 2.2GHz or faster Intel® Core™2 Duo or AMD processor; Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit) or 8 (32- or 64-bit); 1GB RAM (128MB recommended); 600MB hard drive space; Intel®, AMD or compatible motherboard; available PCI Express (x1, x4 or x16) slot
- Additional System Requirements: Available CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
- UPC: 054651181083

Enhance your games and movies with this Creative Labs Sound Blaster Zx SB1506 sound card, which features Advanced Resolution HD audio for a high-quality soundscape. The PCI Express x1 interface offers easy connectivity.

116dB SNR: Provides ultraquiet, high-definition digital audio.
Advanced Resolution HD audio: Delivers crystal-clear sound.
Support for stereo speakers, 2.1 speaker systems, 5.1 speaker systems and headphones: Offers versatile compatibility.
SBX Pro Studio support: With a 360° true-to-life sound stage lets you enhance your games and movies with an immersive audio experience.
Crystal Voice support: Eliminates ambient noise and ensures echo-free communication.
ACM (Audio Control Module): Features a built-in beam-forming microphone and microphone/headphone inputs and outputs for flexible connectivity.
Headphone/speaker switching: Enables you to toggle between your headphones and a compatible speaker system with the flip of a switch on the control panel.
Connectors: Include 1 shared 1/8" line-in/microphone-in mini jack, one 1/8" headphone mini jack, 1 front-out 1/8" mini jack, 1 rear-out 1/8" mini jack, one 1/8" center/subwoofer mini jack, 1 optical Toslink out and 1 optical Toslink in.

Whats Included

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Zx Sound Card
Drivers for Windows 7 and 8
Creative Software suite
Sound Blaster ACM (Audio Control Module)
Optical cable, stereo 3.5mm-to-RCA cable
Owner's manual

Customers are saying

Customers find value in the exceptional sound quality that makes their floors and walls vibrate. Installation is a breeze, and the price point is attractive. Windows 10 compatibility and enhanced gaming experience are additional advantages. While some users encountered initial driver complications, these issues appear to be minor.

This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.

The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Pristine Sound Quality
In comparison to the integrated Realtek ALC898 of my Motherboard the differences are substantial and the ALC isn't bad. The Good: The sound stage has more dimension yet vocals are more centralized in both stereo and surround mode which shows it has better stereo separation and improved ambiance. String and digital bass have more texture and percussion has more impact while being a bit more taut. All bass tones are warmer and have improved harmonics. Mids are a bit airier, transient response is improved and subtle details are more pronounced or brought more into the foreground. High are more detailed with a little less harshness while maintaining sparkle. The bad: No Dolby decoding when connecting to the Optical Input which is find a major shortcoming for a device at this price point especially when you consider decoding was available from Creative Labs at the same price a few years ago. At the least pass-through should be an option since it would not require Dolby licensing. No simultaneous headphone/speaker output, you can switch between modes via software so obviously the switch is done by an IC so why not have a simultaneous options. I use Skype while listening to music but have to use integrated for headphones because of this oversight in development. Getting a little picky here but the red LED needs an on/off switch it is quite bright and is annoying to me as my system uses blue LEDs, I will be changing it after the warranty expires maybe sooner. The indifferent: I gave some of the control panel enhancements a brief audition but found them to be unnatural and/or overstated and now have them turned off as I prefer to let my Yamaha RX-A3010 and/or JRiver Media Center DSP handle all the processing duties. I ran through a battery of tests using my calibration software/equipment and everything I tested either met or exceeded the advertised specs. Creative site has an error for frequency response (100Hz-20KHz) I measured 10Hz-22KHz at +/-1db which is excellent ( indistinguishable). I have this sound card in 2 systems here are some details on what they feed. 1: Yamaha RX-A3010, Klipsch Icon KF-28 Front, KF-26 Surround, KC-25 Center, (2x) Klipsch Sub-12 2: 2 Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 sets configured/modified to be a 5.2 set (2 satellites for each of the front l/r and center channels and 1 satellite for each of the 2 surround channels)
Posted 11 years ago by thinklogically
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great choice if you need an add-in sound card
During some recent experiments attempting to recover data from a dead hard drive at work, I shorted out some USB ports. After rebooting, my motherboard's onboard sound was fried, so I needed an add-in sound solution for my work PC. Being a long-time Soundblaster user since 1993, I picked up the Sound Blaster Zx. The card installed easily and has been working flawlessly ever since. I really appreciate the separate volume and headphone/mic unit since the computer is in the floor and I alternate between speakers and headphones depending on the situation. I don't play games on this PC but I have the same card at home and it works great there as well for gaming purposes. You can get by using the motherboard's onboard audio, but there's no question that the Zx produces better quality sound. Modern games will work fine with either, but I've found that older games tend to work better with the Sound Blaster vs onboard. Worth it if you are interested in playing older games.
Posted 9 years ago by LordAlfred
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Very Good Performance
Going from an on board sound card to a separate sound card is like going from a receiver to separates. First, this sound card is well built and it comes with an external microphone and head phone jacks that you can control via a knob. This is an added benefits to be able to control the volume without either using your keyboard or mouse. The installation on my Dell 8900 was very easy. Just plug the board in, go to the mother board bios and disengage the on board sound card. Viola, you can now plug your speakers, head phones etc... to listen. The speakers I used is the Audioengine 5+, and the music coming out from it is wonderful. Bass are not boomy but tight. Highs are clean but not bright. I do not use the 5.1 channel and so do not have any review for that type of performance. Good card.
Posted 9 years ago by Htpham007