If you are a gamer that enjoys high-fidelity audio and have invested some money in a good studio headphone purchase then you realize how important it is to pair your high-quality headphones with an appropriate Amp/DAC.
Most normal gamer-oriented headphones/headsets are easy to drive with impedance levels of 32 Ohms. On the other hand, studio-level headphones like DT 990 Pro need a lot more juice to sound as good as they should.
So what do you do if you want gamer features and good sound? You get the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 and here is why.
The Creative Sound BlasterX G6 has a fully plastic construction, although at first glance you would expect some metal shroud because of the coloring and texture of the Amp/DAC. This fact is not necessarily a downside because it allows the ADC (Amp/DAC combo) to be quite light.
The G6 is also extremely compact and was quite shockingly small when I took it out of the box for the first time. I did not expect a whole ADC to fit in the palm of my hand.
Even though the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 is marketed as a gaming ADC its aesthetics are fairly tame and clean with a LED ring around the volume knob and on the top of the unit.
The colors can be adjusted and when set to something neutral like white (in my case) it looks fairly professional.
Although the construction is once again all plastic and somewhat underwhelming, the volume knob on the unit feels nice and sturdy, with smooth glides when turning it. It has just enough resistance to let you stop at the volume level you want, without feeling like a chore to move it.
On the front, you have a 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack and on the back, you have a USB port, line in and out connectors.
This is important to mention because this ADC is not only usable with PCs but also with consoles therefore it covers a wider range of gamers it can satisfy.
Overall the tiny little grey plastic box might seem unimpressive at the start, but to pass a fair judgment you need to listen to it first, and boy oh boy does it pack a punch for its size.
The Creative Sound BlasterX G6 might be small, but it is truly mighty. This ADC works with PC, PS4, Xbox One, and even the Nintendo Switch BUT it can power up to 600 Ohm headphones just from a USB connection.
It can support an audio quality of 130dB DNR and the DAC inside works up to 32-bit/384Khz.
To say that this little guy is a good piece of gaming tech is a huge understatement for how well it performs in terms of sound quality.
For the price range it competes in, it can go head to head with audiophile-oriented ADCs like the FiiO K5 PRO and trade blows with it evenly, making it a truly great option.
After listening to the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 connected to my Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pros, I can clearly state that the headphones sound great when paired with this gaming ADC!
Most of my usage up to this point and after the review has been in Direct Mode, which disables all DSP inside the unit and uses it purely as an Amp Dac combo.
The cool part about the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 is that since it is a gamer-oriented product it has A LOT of other features packed in.
Aside from the main ability to act as a capable ADC the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 also has two other modes that are accessible through a physical button on the side of the unit.
You have the SBX mode which activates the surround sound options for the ADC and also the scout mode. Scout mode is a form of EQ that strips all low-end sound from your audio in order to make it easier to identify steps in games.
To go back to Direct Mode, which is just the pure ADC with no sound engine effects, you need to hold down the Scout mode button for a couple of seconds until the LED ring around it starts flashing.
A very useful feature for gamers using headsets is also the fact that you can plug your mic into the ADC and benefit from it sounding louder and crisper.
Since the G6 uses X-Amp technology, which means your headphones and your mic input get a dedicated Amp inside the G6 you don’t have to worry that your mic will make your headphones sound worse.
Another neat feature of the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 is the fact that the previously mentioned volume knob actually controls digital volume from your Windows as well so you do not have to adjust the sound levels of both windows and the ADC.
These are the main features of the Creative Sound BlasterX G6, but this is not the full extent to which this tiny ADC can flex its muscles.
Besides the base features the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 has, it also comes with software that you can install and use for further customization.
You can customize the way your SBX profile sounds, you can change the LED lights colors, and even apply a pretty basic universal EQ.
Personally, I would not recommend using the EQ from the G6 software since it is quite limited in what it can do. You should definitely use this more advanced method to EQ your ADC+headphones combo for better results.
I personally do not use the software since I prefer the natural sound of my DT 990 Pros and the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 coupled together. Even for gaming (Valorant, CS:GO, Apex Legends) I still only use the Direct Mode with no audio enhancements for clearer audio quality.
The Creative Sound BlasterX G6 is an extremely potent Amp/DAC combo that not only has a lot of power packed into a small form factor but also has a lot of neat, gaming features that can be accessed through hardware buttons or the software that presents extensive options.
This tiny unit rivals competitively priced (~150$) audiophile-oriented ADCs while also offering a lot of extra features the competition lacks. Overall a great product!
The Creative Sound BlasterX G6 Amp/DAC combo comes in a small form factor that you can carry around easily while also providing you with enough juice to power 600 Ohm headphones. The extra features that it comes equipped with might not be for everybody, but I would rather have the option to change things than no options at all!