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Helpful ReplyQuestion about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10

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Greyze
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2020/11/13 03:10:57 (permalink)
Hi all
 
I'm currently using a Sound Blaster ZxR and I actually love it, but unfortunately I've run into some major driver issues recently and I'm planning on giving up on it. I know the Nu Audio Pro is missing some features but it seems like it's still a great sound card, especially for the games I play (R6 Siege, Apex etc..).
 
My Creative driver issues are related to my motherboard being an X570. What I want to know is if the Nu Audio Pro is currently suffering from any issues in machines thats similar to my setup.
Basically if I can do things like; play a game, alt-tab a game and do Discord screen sharing without the audio screwing up I will be happy.
 
Specs:
Windows 10 20H2
X570 Motherboard
Ryzen 3950X
32GB 3600Mhz RAM (XMP enabled)
RTX 3080
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    BizSAR
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/14 18:15:36 (permalink)
    If it works well on your motherboard, you'll enjoy the upgrade. I went from a ZxR to the NU Audio Pro and love it.

    ~BizSAR


     
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    Greyze
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/15 02:33:33 (permalink)
    Thats what i'm hoping someone will answer with. I've had some frustrating bugs being on Win10 20H2 and an X570 mobo. This stuff is just too new I guess. Would be great if anyone has this mobo can chime in with their Nu Audio experience (basically if it works fine then i'm sold already).
     
    BizSAR can you tell me about your experience moving from the ZxR to Nu Audio?
    What improvements did you get in gaming and music?
    How did you move on from SBX Pro Studio? I've used it for so many years now, when I disable the Crystalizer everything sounds rubbish.
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    BizSAR
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/16 12:49:49 (permalink)
    Greyze
    can you tell me about your experience moving from the ZxR to Nu Audio?
    What improvements did you get in gaming and music?
    How did you move on from SBX Pro Studio? I've used it for so many years now, when I disable the Crystalizer everything sounds rubbish.



    I didn't miss the ZxR a whole lot. I do miss some of the granularity in features the Creative cards have, but games and music sound richer/fuller with the NU Audio Pro. The EVGA card does have voice clarity and treble boost, the latter of which seems to act much like the crystallizer of old. I really didn't use the crystallizer much though. 
    Best of luck with the mobo! You could contact EVGA directly to ask about compatibility.

    ~BizSAR


     
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    kozad
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/20 20:30:30 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby Greyze 2020/11/21 02:20:09
     
    I am using the first generation Nu Audio on my X570 paired with a 3900X - haven't had any issues on this particular board (Aorus Master) although my low end X570 MSI board gave me all sorta of hell - the NIC and Nu Audio had some sort of conflict that caused audio stutter. When they say, "You get what you pay for" it's true. No more cheap motherboards for me, haha. Prior to using the Nu Audio, I was using a Creative AE-5. Great card, but I feel the Nu Audio has better audio over all.

     Ryzen 9 3900X - 32GB 3600 - X570 Aorus Master - GTX 1080 Ti - Nu Audio - Blue Yeti 
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    Greyze
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/21 02:48:35 (permalink)
    Thanks for the info. That helps alot! I'm using the X570 Aorus Pro so it's pretty similar to yours, same NIC too so hopefully no issues for me. some followups if you don't mind;
     
    • What made you ditch the AE-5 for Nu Audio?
    • Creative cards have "SBX Pro Studio" or "BlasterX Acoustic Engine" in the newer devices I think, features like the Crystalizer to improve audio clarity. Did you use this? Are you still satisfied with Nu Audio even though its not on those devices?
     
    Nu and Creative are practically tied for best choice atm so i'm trying to pick any detail to convince me to buy the Nu Audio Pro. It costs £300 in the UK so I want to be sure :)
    Though admitidly I may just cave and get it anyway. This X570 bug I have with the Creative ZxR is just too much of a pain in the ass and it apparently affects the AE-7 and AE-9 too..
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    Vivicector
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/25 07:10:09 (permalink)
    Greyze
    • Creative cards have "SBX Pro Studio" or "BlasterX Acoustic Engine" in the newer devices I think, features like the Crystalizer to improve audio clarity. Did you use this? Are you still satisfied with Nu Audio even though its not on those devices?


    I may leave a comment on this part. SBX Pro Studio sounds terrible. Its a 7.1 emulation, virtual surround system. One of the worst. It is strange since their previous technology CSS3D used in Creative RX is miles better. The Nahimic Virtual 7.1 gives much better positioning, even if making the sound very distorted. However, the Windows built-in solution Win Sonic is better and you may install the Dolby Atmos of HP or DTS:X software for proper sound positioning in games. They are better then ANY sound card offers. You may find The comparisons in Youtube, test then with your headphones.
    Crystalizer is a weird complex peak-increasing algorithm that can easily ruin and distort the music completely changing its sound. I would never recommend it. The idea behind it sounds right, but... you can't uncompress properly what was once compressed. You can only add more distortions. May be some day music will be released as a number of instrument tracks that will be mastered on the go by neural network AI according to your own tasted. I do hope so)  
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    Greyze
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/25 07:59:01 (permalink)
    Whoa quite a scathing comment on SBX Pro Studio! You seem to have quite a bit of knowledge in this domain so your opinion would be perfect for this thread.
     
    I've only ever had Creative sound cards and have used SBX through them all (and other iterations). I've always found it fantastic for improving my type of music and many games so obviously I can't agree. But since i've never had anything else your comment has given me hope I may genuinely get a better audio experience if I upgrade. You see if I did get a Nu Audio Pro, I fully expected to trade away all the great things I currently have for just marginally better audio quality and no driver bugs.
     
    As for Virtual surround:
    I was happy with CMSS-3D on my old X-Fi card and I don't have problems with the SBX Pro Studio successor. R6 Siege is the most "audio dependent" game I have and right now I have absolutely no problems pinpointing enemies, traps, gadgets etc. To be honest I can't imagine things getting better than this and you are saying Nahimic is even better??
    Can't deny I'm pretty skeptical of it being better since you said it actually makes sound distorted. So far from googling I'm reading mixed opinions on what people believe is best.
    Also to my knowledge Dolby Atmos only works if games support it so that doesn't really help me.
     
    Whats your setup by the way? are these your experiences from owning a Nu Audio Pro, or is this from what you've researched?
     
    Tyvm
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    Vivicector
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/25 08:14:36 (permalink)
    Greyze
    Whoa quite a scathing comment on SBX Pro Studio! You seem to have quite a bit of knowledge in this domain so your opinion would be perfect for this thread.
     
    I've only ever had Creative sound cards and have used SBX through them all (and other iterations). I've always found it fantastic for improving my type of music and many games so obviously I can't agree. But since i've never had anything else your comment has given me hope I may genuinely get a better audio experience if I upgrade. You see if I did get a Nu Audio Pro, I fully expected to trade away all the great things I currently have for just marginally better audio quality and no driver bugs.
     
    As for Virtual surround:
    I was happy with CMSS-3D on my old X-Fi card and I don't have problems with the SBX Pro Studio successor. R6 Siege is the most "audio dependent" game I have and right now I have absolutely no problems pinpointing enemies, traps, gadgets etc. To be honest I can't imagine things getting better than this and you are saying Nahimic is even better??
    Can't deny I'm pretty skeptical of it being better since you said it actually makes sound distorted. So far from googling I'm reading mixed opinions on what people believe is best.
    Also to my knowledge Dolby Atmos only works if games support it so that doesn't really help me.
     
    Whats your setup by the way? are these your experiences from owning a Nu Audio Pro, or is this from what you've researched?
     
    Tyvm


    Nahimic isn't really better. Its more pronounced, adds more sound cues that helps find the sound source. But they are very IN YO FACE style. I got tired of it. All in all, built-in spatial sound in Win10 is the best way to go. Since it is not emulating the speaker positions. Its emulating the SOUND positions in the game environment. You will be surprised how many games support it. Its an Win10 Interface that gets some sound data from game and lets 3rd party sound engine (like Dolby, DTS:X, Sonic) do the job. Check Youtube. You can easily hear the effects in the recording. Also, easy to test on Win10 by yourself.
    However mind that the binaural sound engines are based on some "general" ear model. The ears are all different so some models may work better for some people then the others. Its VERY personal. For me, SBX just don't work rly.
    If the devs really cared for the sound quality they would have introduced parametric EQ in conjunction with room auto-EQ feature based on mic-recorded sound reflections in your rooms. None so far in home products.   
     
    I own the Nu Audio Pro, with Dynaudio LYD7 and AKG K701 (together with a glued mic). I don't have much experience with sound cards and to my feelings there is not much difference between their sound quality when you rule out onboard cards and generally bad ones.
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    Greyze
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/25 08:23:31 (permalink)
    I will go through some more material for comparisons on the virtual stuff. Thanks for your input!

    Curious then, you said the Nahimic was better even though it can add distortion to the audio. Do you mean like, noise? static/Crackling?
    How did you become "tired of it"? Was it overwhelming to listen to in some games? (which games btw)
    Does this mean you don't use the Nu Audio features anymore and instead just enabled "Windows Sonic for Headphones" in the sound control panel?
     
    Thanks again
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    Vivicector
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/25 09:21:41 (permalink)
    Nahimic adds a very distinct sound ecoes and tone changes when the sound translates from one virtual speaker to another. So its really easy to tell if the sound is coming from side or rear or front. But it doesn't come naturally like you just feel the sound is here. You simply know the tone changes mean this or that. At the same time, the Spatial sound engines feel more smooth and natural, the sound profile doesn't change that much.
    Of all the other features, the compressor may be useful to make quite sounds more loud. However its a double edged sword since the reduced dynamic range makes it harder to feel the distance of sound and also makes a mess when many sounds are present. In Hunt Showdown e.g. its easier to hear footsteps in the forest and harder to miss some longer range death cries, but when it comes to a firefight, you can get lost in all the loud sounds around you.
     
    Currently I am using it as a 32 bit DAC, yes. The mic in noise reduction is quite good though.
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    Greyze
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/25 14:04:20 (permalink)
    Just came across this from your ssuggestion: Edit: annoying.. not allowed to link youtube vids. watch?v=Ej9GMWItvrQ
     
    I'm sure you can tweak it well enough but damn Nahimic sounds aweful there. Completely overwhelmed with bass and reverb
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    Greyze
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    Re: Question about Nu Audio Pro with an X570 mobo / Latest Windows 10 2020/11/25 14:11:59 (permalink)
    I think I understand what you mean about Nahimic being aggressive. Found this excellent video ( watch?v=xPKfuyqb-ow ), demoing various surrounds and the Nahimic was definitely "in your face" as you said. I don't think I could handle my several hour Siege sessions with it enabled.
     
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