Creative SoundBlaster X4 Review: Your New Gaming Buddy?

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Greetings mate and Welcome aboard!

Stuart Charles here, HomeStudioBasics.com helping YOU make sound decisions, so…

It’s hard to believe I last reviewed a Creative DAC in 2019, but alas, here we are discussing the X4; a somewhat new-ish product that the company was kind enough to send over for review.

Interestingly enough, the X4 resembles a mini JDS Element and is roughly the same size as an ATOM.

The difference, of course, is that the ATOM’s buttons and volume potentiometer are on the front rather than the top.

The X4 is also a rather complex unit with a lot going on, but it’s built very well and feels a lot more substantial than a SoundBlasterX G6. That’s not to say the G6 is cheap, it’s just a lot lighter and more nimble than your average bear.

It has some built-in rubber feet on the bottom and holds its position rather nicely on your desk or seated inside an entertainment center.

To be clear, both the G6 and X4 hold their positions well. The G6 has a uniform pad that covers the entire bottom area, while the X4 has 4 round pads. Neither move at all, and this is something I appreciate greatly when considering ultra-light DACs like the iFi Uno which move around and/or topple over if you so much as fart in the wrong direction.

Front Panel

The front of the X4 contains a 3.5mm microphone jack in addition to a 3.5mm headphone output, and the surface looks to be of the brushed aluminum variety.

The top of course houses the large volume knob, which admittedly feels pretty fun to play with.

Below that are 3 buttons: Audio Balance, Direct Mode, and the ever-controversial “Super X-Fi.”

Super X-Fi

I’ve been messing around with this button for a while and came to some interesting conclusions.

The button essentially has 4 settings. Hold to turn it off and enable Line-Out (Speaker) mode. Hold again to switch back to the modes.

Green setting

Surprisingly enough, this does provide a really nice sense of height, depth, width, and length. In other words, the Soundstage actually opens up quite considerably and, a lot of the time, it feels like you’re actually listening to speakers in an open-ish space.

I will say a lot of this depends on the track and how it was engineered, so certain recordings sound a lot more realistic and seem like they occupy an actual space while others don’t.

This concept is something I harp on endlessly in videos and articles because it’s incredibly important. The way the artist mixed and mastered the track will always be the first and most important aspect that determines how your music ultimately sounds.

That said, the green setting on the X4’s Super X-Fi feature, to me, will help showcase and bring to the forefront what’s already there, so in that sense it’s hugely invaluable for gamers and those watching film or TV.

For instance, I was watching “The Chosen” and “Jimi Hendrix: The Uncut Story” recently and kind of felt like both were coming through speakers in my living room. This is incredibly neat and, open headphones like the Arya or K702 only magnify the sentiment.

In addition, podcasts like “Dogman Encounters” on YouTube sound like they’re in the room with you. This is most noticeable the moment you press play, but does kind of taper a bit throughout the session. Please keep this in mind. It’s a great effect, but it kind of fades a little as your brain gets used to the stimuli.

A good example would be the opening of La Fille aux cheveux de lin, L.117 which sounds like it’s coming from my Yamaha HS7s at first.

Blue

The Blue setting, SXFI Battle Mode, is entirely uninspiring and bad sounding. I’m unsure of what I’d use this for, so if you know, please leave a comment down below!

Orange

This turns off SXFI.

All in all, I’m mostly satisfied with Super X-Fi and feel as though it adds quite considerably to the immersion factor given you’re in green mode.

Direct Mode

To the left is direct mode, and it too has multiple settings.

LED OFF: EQ Off
Green: EQ (Click here to download the App) for Super X-Fi (This is only available when Super-X Fi is enabled)
White: Mode 1 – Music
Purple: Mode 2 – Movies
Blue: Mode 3 – Footsteps Enhancer
Orange: Direct Mode (Press and hold)

Of all these modes, white (music mode) sounds fairly normal with a couple of cuts in the bloat/mud regions of the mid-bass. To be honest, this astounds me since it’s the correct way of EQing these regions, but that’s a discussion for other articles (Here and here most notably).

Purple (movie mode) follows a similar mid-bass tuning but sounds a bit smoother, and Blue (footsteps enhancer) is pretty awful in that it’s almost completely claustrophobic though I get the idea they were going for.

In other words, footsteps will stand out a bit more (no pun intended), but it comes at the expense of everything else. You can clearly see this in the app as everything around the presence regions is boosted while the other frequencies are cut.

Audio Balance

Press the Audio Balance button and it will turn red. Now you can adjust the microphone volume. You can also do this with the app and see it in real-time.

Press the button again to go back to blue, which adjusts the headphone volume.

There’s also Green/Orange/Cyan for Audio balance. Hold the audio balance button to enter in.

Now rotate the knob clockwise to increase the game’s audio level while reducing the chat’s volume. Turn the knob counterclockwise to increase the chat volume and decrease the audio.

Note: Audio Balance is available on PC, Mac, PS5, and PS4 only. An HDMI to Optical converter (not included) is required to access Audio Balance on the PS5.

White is for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connection. Please note that Bluetooth connection is reserved for device control and Super X-Fi profile upload only. Audio streaming is not available here, unfortunately.

Back Panel

The X4 is pretty versatile in that you can connect it to 2.1, 5.1, or 7.1 analog speakers via its outputs on the back. It also has a line/optical input (for use with a mobile device/DAP and an optical output in addition to the updated USB-C slot; a much-appreciated upgrade from the G6’s annoying micro connection.

While the X4 comes with an optical cable, you don’t need it for connection with a console as the unit utilizes a plug-and-play USB connection and is recognized immediately. I’m glad they kept this feature as it’s super easy to start gaming or watching films with my PS4 immediately.

Obviously, the USB slot also works with your PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, etc.

Sound

While we’re dancing around the subject, how does it sound?

I will say that even though I like the Super X-Fi feature for its speaker-like experience (“White Crayon” by Athletic Progression specifically sounds incredibly immersive), I think the quality of the signal itself can sound a bit distorted and not in line with the true character of the music if you so happen to be listening that way.

In other words, you may be simply turning it off unless you’re watching a film, TV show, or listening to a podcast since it doesn’t quite sound true to the source. The element of realism is there, but it can be kind of jagged and uneven.

Other than that, power output is great as I only need to listen at about 40% with a K702; a very inefficient headphone that needs a fair bit of juice to get pumpin’.

Creative App

Sound Mode

This contains A plethora of EQ options for specific games and whatnot in addition to the standard music mode, movie, and gaming mode (general).

Super X-Fi

After finagling with this, I’m a bit lukewarm on it. Essentially you’re downloading the app from the app store inside your phone, registering through email, creating a username/password, and then taking pictures of your right ear, head, and left ear with your phone. You can then log in from your PC as I did if you prefer to test and listen that way.

It’s way easier if you have someone to take the photos for you because it’s very finicky and not all that intuitive. After getting it to map everything, it supposedly personalizes the listening experience by tailoring everything to your specific head/ear shape, etc.

The result?

Meh. To me, this feature is a bit gimmicky, but your mileage may vary.

I personally don’t think it sounds any different from simply using the Super X-Fi button as is, but I suppose it’s kind of cool that you can choose a specific headphone from an extensive list. I have the K702 which is not on the list, but I chose the K701 as they’re incredibly similar.

To make sure that the head map was actually working, I adjusted the volume from the X4 to confirm. See below:

SmartComms Kit

VoiceDetect

Automatically mutes and unmutes the mic as you speak during a conference call.

NoiseClean-out

Reduce static background noises on outgoing audio during conference calls.

NoiseClean-in

Reduce static background noises on incoming audio during conference calls. Enable NoiseClean-in only when in online calls.

Toggle it on and then press the advanced button to show your options.

Scout Mode

This was an incredibly neat feature on the G6 and it works well here too. Essentially scout mode spaces the audio cues out and allows you to hear footsteps, speech, and weaponry handling a bit better.

Acoustic Engine

The Surround feature has a subtle effect but it’s in no way “unprecedented levels of audio realism” as they claim in the app. It does add a subtle to somewhat significant effect with certain tracks (“Dive” by Caribou as an example) but you may as well just use the Super X-Fi feature in my opinion.

Crystalizer is similar as it’s essentially just a volume increase in my opinion. There’s no extra layer of detail or anything.

The bass expander advertises a “dramatically improved sound experience by expanding the low-frequency tones.” This one actually sounds surprisingly decent.

Smart volume intelligently minimizes abrupt volume changes by automatically adjusting the loudness of your audio playback. I’m definitely keeping this one on for those incredibly volatile “quiet as a mouse” to “omg my ears are bleeding” classical compositions.

Dialog+ intelligently enhances voices in music and movies for a drastically clearer vocal range.

I tested this and it’s very very subtle. The crystalizer has a more significant effect on vocals in particular from say, a podcast or something similar.

EQ

The App works pretty well, as you can tailor the sound to your liking via the EQ feature. Cycling modes can be a bit tricky, so follow these steps:

Make sure the Super X-Fi is set to orange (Off).

Now press the middle button (Mode) to cycle through Mode 1 (Music), Mode 2 (Movies), and Mode 3 (Footsteps enhancer).

To set your own EQ profile, make sure the Super X-Fi is set to green. Now you can adjust as you see fit.

All in all, the app is a pretty cool add-on and for the price of the unit itself, is a pretty great value given all of the options you have.

I made a short video so you can see what it looks like:

Final Verdict

I think the X4 is a solid value since it’s around the same price as the G6 and has a boatload of extra features.

If you’re a gamer, I think this will make a nice complement to my G6 recommendation, but if you’re looking for an Amp/DAC specifically for music, I think a dedicated unit like the ATOM, K7, or K11 is likely a better overall purchase.

Is the unit a bit finicky at times? A little, but not nearly as much as people make it out to be on Amazon. For instance, the buttons sometimes don’t register a press and I have to press them again.

I am fully aware that some people may receive a lemon or have some other issues, but I think this is a solid unit overall and would recommend it for gaming. I will update this article if anything changes and/or I start to have actual problems. For now, it’s been running almost flawlessly.

If you need a hand in deciding on something for strictly music, let me know in the comments below!

Creative SoundBlaster X4

Price: Check Amazon!

SoundBlaster X4

USB-A To USB-C Cable

Optical Cable

User Manual

Registration Card

Button functions and LED indicators card

Specifications

Wireless Type: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
Maximum RF Output Power: 4dBm
Operation RF Range: 2402-2480 MHz
Input: 5V ⎓ 1A
Operating Temperature: 0-40° C

Well, that’s about it for today my friend. I hope you’ve enjoyed this Creative SoundBlaster X4 Review.

Questions? Comments? Requests? Did I miss the mark on something? Please leave them down below or Contact me!!

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