Review on 🎮 Experience Next-Level Gaming Audio with Creative Sound Blaster Z SE Internal PCI-e Sound Card and DAC by David Plunkett

When I switched on this card for the first time, the sight hurt me. The red LEDs in it are so bright. I bet if I took my computer outside at night the International Space Station would see it. It wouldn't be so bad if the rear end of the metal cover was covered, but it stays open and lets the red light bounce right in your face. See image. There is also no way to turn them off. I had to remove the cover and wrap both with black tape. Even then there is still light bleeding. A few weeks and so far so good. I use the Dolby Digital Live encoder and optical output on a Logitech Z906 and all my games play true 5.1 position audio which is exactly what I need. The downside of this feature is that the Windows volume doesn't seem to do anything. Whether the audio is muted or set to 100%, the output volume is the same, so you need to control the volume through the speakers/receiver. In general I like it. If you're looking for DDL/DTS encoding, you can't beat it at this price point. I haven't had any of the problems people describe with random channel changes. It seems to happen with overclocked processors, but mine is stock.