• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Creative Announces a Game Changer with Sound Blaster Recon3D for PC/Mac, Xbox360, PS3

Is audio card/device an important component in your gaming PC?

  • Yes, a good audio device is important in a gaming PC

    Votes: 26 76.5%
  • No, I count on a good pair of headphones to make up for onboard audio

    Votes: 8 23.5%

  • Total voters
    34

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,274 (7.69/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
Creative Technology Ltd today announced the Sound Blaster Recon3D, the USB audio device that provides unprecedented cross-platform audio immersion and realism and voice clarity for the Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Mac.

The Sound Blaster Recon3D comes in a compact size similar to a gaming mouse and easily connects to an Xbox 360, PS3, PC or Mac via USB. It dramatically improves the audio playback quality and experience with THX TruStudio Pro, a suite of audio enhancements developed by the collaborative expertise of Creative and THX audio engineers. The Sound Blaster Recon3D features Dolby Digital enabled via the optical input to provide full 5.1 surround decoding, which combines with THX TruStudio Pro Surround to deliver stunning accuracy and positional audio playback over a gaming headset and an amazing virtual multi-speaker movie listening experience over headphones. In addition, for voice communications, the Sound Blaster Recon3D improves voice quality with CrystalVoice processing, which implements innovative technologies that are specially designed to deliver crystal clear vocal fidelity in multiplayer games, online chats and video conferencing.



The outstanding audio and voice performance of the Sound Blaster Recon3D is made possible by the power of the integrated Sound Core3D processor, Creative's recently introduced Quartet DSP with four independent processor cores. Engineered for low power consumption and high performance, Sound Core3D is Creative's first sound and voice processor to integrate a four-core high-performance digital signal processor (DSP) and high-quality HD audio digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) on one chip.
"We designed the Sound Blaster Recon3D to enable seamless audio enhancement for all platforms - whether it's a console gaming system or a Mac or PC, Sound Blaster Recon3D provides the best audio experience and voice communications available," said Ryan Schlieper, product marketing manager for audio and gaming at Creative Labs, Inc. "We've been able to accomplish this based upon our heritage of designing and selling more than 400 million sound cards. This simple-to-use solution leverages the evolution of our audio engineering expertise, the Sound Core3D, resulting in the Sound Blaster Recon3D, which enables all gamers to experience dramatically improved sound quality, regardless of platform or content."

The Sound Blaster Recon3D features dedicated controls for instant access to Volume, Mic Boost, and THX TruStudio Pro audio enhancement settings. It also introduces Scout Mode, which enables users to accurately pinpoint targets in FPS games, allowing them to hear their enemies before their enemies hear them, similar to sending out a "Recon-naissance" team to "Recon" on the enemies in the military.

To bring out the best audio performance in any gaming headset, the Sound Blaster Recon3D includes a premium Headphone/Mic preamp. Connectivity options include Micro USB, Stereo Mic In/Headphone/Line out, plus Aux In or Optical In with Dolby Digital Decoding for headphone surround sound.

The Sound Blaster Recon3D works with a Xbox 360, PS3, PC or Mac without requiring the user to install drivers, so it's ideal for portable use in a gaming tournament or LAN party or at a friend's house. As an added feature, users can install the included software on their PC or Mac and set up their own audio profile using THX TruStudio Pro settings. These can then be saved on the Sound Blaster Recon3D for use with an Xbox 360 or PS3. The included software also enables an additional advanced audio toolbox of algorithms, such as a 10-band graphic EQ, bass management, and speaker configuration for use on the PC or Mac.

THX TruStudio Pro includes:
  • The THX TruStudio Pro Crystalizer enhances in-game sound, music and movies by restoring low and high end frequency curves lost to compression
  • THX TruStudio Pro Surround delivers a 360 degree surround sound gaming experience so gamers can hear sounds clearly from the front, back, above and below
  • THX TruStudio Pro Smart Volume addresses the problem of abrupt volume level changes in games, music and movies by intelligently applying gain and attenuation to deliver consistent volume levels
  • THX TruStudio Pro Dialog Plus enhances voices in games and movies for clearer dialog, allowing listener to hear the dialog over the rest of sound track and over ambient noise in the listening environment
  • THX TruStudio Pro Bass fills in the missing low frequency tones and give the extra impact for a better entertainment experience.
CrystalVoice is comprised of:
  • Acoustic Echo Cancellation - Eliminates echoes and enables whoever is speaking to listen to the other party clearly. Echoes are a common problem present in voice communication systems that disrupts conversations by making it difficult to hear the other party
  • Noise Reduction - Enables who is speaking to be heard clearly over background noise by constantly monitoring the environment and eliminate the unwanted noise that interferes with the conversation
  • Smart Volume - Automatically adjusts the loudness of a voice to maintain a consistent volume level. This makes it convenient for the speaker to converse normally, regardless of whether the speaker is close to or far away from the microphone
  • FX - Enables alteration of voice with a variety of effects, which can be used to enhance the tone of a voice, create interesting accents, or enable someone to sound like a completely different person
Sound Blaster Recon Omega
The Sound Blaster Recon3D is upgradeable with the optional TacticLink wireless card, so gamers can pair the Sound Blaster Recon3D with the Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega Headset for wireless audio and communications on all platforms. Creative will introduce the Sound Blaster Recon3D and the Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega headset packaged together in a special bundle later this year that will include the TacticLink wireless card, providing games with a cross-platform wireless audio experience.

In addition to its multiple uses for gaming, the Sound Blaster Recon3D is so versatile that it can also be used for high-quality audio playback for music and movies. It streams audio from movies such as those played from the Netflix application on the PS3 and Xbox 360, while improving the audio quality and experience.

The Sound Blaster Recon3D is slated for availability in October for US $129.99.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
2,723 (0.45/day)
Processor i5-7600k
Motherboard ASRock Z170 Pro4
Cooling CM Hyper 212 EVO w/ AC MX-4
Memory 2x8GB DDR4 2400 Corsair LPX Vengeance 15-15-15-36
Video Card(s) MSI Twin Frozr 1070ti
Storage 240GB Corsair Force GT
Display(s) 23' Dell AW2310
Case Corsair 550D
Power Supply Seasonic SS-760XP2 Platinum
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Something tells me because of their shitty driver support when Vista/7 came along, Creative has had somewhat of a bad reputation and I don't think this product won't sell too well. I still own my X-Fi because I've never had any driver problems, but I've heard way too many bad stories of incompatibility and other things. The fact that this supports consoles is a HUGE plus and I think that is it's only saving grace.
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2008
Messages
697 (0.12/day)
Location
Zagreb, Croatia
Processor C2D E8400@3.9GHz (488x8, 1.4v :( )
Motherboard Abit IP35-E
Cooling Thermaltake Sonic Tower+120mm fan
Memory 2GB kingmax ddr1066@976MHz 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s) Radeon X1800GTO @700/1400MHz with Accelero S1+Glacialtech fancard
Storage 2xSeagate Barracuda 7200.10 160GB
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster 793s... just you laugh...
Case some Aplus case
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC888
Power Supply Chieftec 450W
Software Win7 x64
It also introduces Scout Mode, which enables users to accurately pinpoint targets in FPS games, allowing them to hear their enemies before their enemies hear them, similar to sending out a “Recon-naissance” team to “Recon” on the enemies in the military.

:laugh:

sorry about the troll post but this is f****** ridiculous.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2010
Messages
1,850 (0.36/day)
System Name Eldritch
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 5800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF X570 Pro Wifi
Cooling Satan's butthole after going to Taco Bell
Memory 64 GB G.Skill TridentZ
Video Card(s) Vega 56
Storage 6*8TB Western Digital Blues in RAID 6, 2*512 GB Samsung 960 Pros
Display(s) Acer CB281HK
Case Phanteks Enthoo Pro PH-ES614P_BK
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar DX
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 750 G2
Mouse Razer Viper 8K
Software Debian Bullseye
Will somebody please tell me what the fuck this is?
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2009
Messages
5,614 (1.07/day)
Location
San Diego, CA
System Name White Boy
Processor Core i7 3770k @4.6 Ghz
Motherboard ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe
Cooling CORSAIR H100
Memory CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB @ 2177
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 CLASSIEFIED @ 1250 Core
Storage 2 Samsung 830 256 GB (Raid 0) 1 Hitachi 4 TB
Display(s) 1 Dell 30U11 30"
Case BIT FENIX Prodigy
Audio Device(s) none
Power Supply SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W Modular
Software Windows Pro 7 64 bit || Ubuntu 64 Bit
Benchmark Scores 2017 Unigine Heaven :: P37239 3D Mark Vantage
does it use bluetooth if it does it;s a deal breaker.
 

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,274 (7.69/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
does it use bluetooth if it does it;s a deal breaker.

There are two ways of connecting it:
  • To a PC or Mac using USB, where it acts like a USB sound card,
  • To a PC, Mac, Xbox360 or PS3 by analog audio jacks, where it acts like an Amp/reprocessor
So it has a USB (input), 3.5 mm headphone and mic inputs, 3.5 mm headphone and mic outputs.
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2009
Messages
5,614 (1.07/day)
Location
San Diego, CA
System Name White Boy
Processor Core i7 3770k @4.6 Ghz
Motherboard ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe
Cooling CORSAIR H100
Memory CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB @ 2177
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 CLASSIEFIED @ 1250 Core
Storage 2 Samsung 830 256 GB (Raid 0) 1 Hitachi 4 TB
Display(s) 1 Dell 30U11 30"
Case BIT FENIX Prodigy
Audio Device(s) none
Power Supply SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W Modular
Software Windows Pro 7 64 bit || Ubuntu 64 Bit
Benchmark Scores 2017 Unigine Heaven :: P37239 3D Mark Vantage
There are two ways of connecting it:
  • To a PC or Mac using USB, where it acts like a USB sound card,
  • To a PC, Mac, Xbox360 or PS3 by analog audio jacks, where it acts like an Amp/reprocessor
So it has a USB (input), 3.5 mm headphone and mic inputs, 3.5 mm headphone and mic outputs.

USB. . . that's even worse :banghead:
 
Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
274 (0.04/day)
Might I ask, how should it connect?

It's really just a glorified USB audio thing. But it sounds like it has some extra DSP processing which could possibly be neat. Lots of bullshit in that PR though! The ridiculous naming of the features is obviously designed to attract idiots, which I find annoying.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
3,275 (0.46/day)
Location
Sunny California
Processor Intel Core i9 13900KF
Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero EVA Edition
Cooling Asus Ryujin II 360 EVA Edition
Memory 4x16GBs DDR5 6800MHz G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo Series
Video Card(s) Zotac RTX 4090 AMP Extreme Airo
Storage 2TB Samsung 980 Pro OS - 4TB Nextorage G Series Games - 8TBs WD Black Storage
Display(s) LG C2 OLED 42" 4K 120Hz HDR G-Sync enabled TV
Case Asus ROG Helios EVA Edition
Audio Device(s) Denon AVR-S910W - 7.1 Klipsch Dolby ATMOS Speaker Setup - Audeze Maxwell
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 1300W
Mouse Asus ROG Keris EVA Edition - Asus ROG Scabbard II EVA Edition
Keyboard Asus ROG Strix Scope EVA Edition
VR HMD Samsung Odyssey VR
Software Windows 11 Pro 64bit
I know this is an old news post, but I'm really interested in getting the USB ver. of this card, seeing that I ran out of PCIe slots in my board, so I was hoping any of you guys could help me with a question.

My question is: Does the USB ver. have any sort of optical out I can use to connect my speakers to?

Dunno why Creative didn't include at least a mini HDMI out for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD output on any of these cards, but I cannot even find a reference to an optical out for the USB version, and I simply cannot get the PCIe version, can any of you guys help me answer this question? Otherwise, I'll go for a good old USB X-Fi with optical out. :(

Any input will be greatly appreciated.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
590 (0.12/day)
Location
Latvia
System Name Zen2600
Processor Ryzen 2600
Motherboard MSI B450-A Pro MAX
Cooling Captain120EX
Memory 2x8 GB Patriot Viper Steel 360000 @3400MHz [18-19-19-39-80] DDR4
Video Card(s) Sapphire RX5700XT Nitro+ @stock
Storage WD Black 500GB NVME
Display(s) LG 32GK850F
Case NZXT H440 EnvyUS
Audio Device(s) Custom HP AMP + Sennheiser HD380
Power Supply Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 650w
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard ElE Game1
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
My question is: Does the USB ver. have any sort of optical out I can use to connect my speakers to?

Looks like only optical connection it has, is optical-in.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
3,275 (0.46/day)
Location
Sunny California
Processor Intel Core i9 13900KF
Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero EVA Edition
Cooling Asus Ryujin II 360 EVA Edition
Memory 4x16GBs DDR5 6800MHz G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo Series
Video Card(s) Zotac RTX 4090 AMP Extreme Airo
Storage 2TB Samsung 980 Pro OS - 4TB Nextorage G Series Games - 8TBs WD Black Storage
Display(s) LG C2 OLED 42" 4K 120Hz HDR G-Sync enabled TV
Case Asus ROG Helios EVA Edition
Audio Device(s) Denon AVR-S910W - 7.1 Klipsch Dolby ATMOS Speaker Setup - Audeze Maxwell
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 1300W
Mouse Asus ROG Keris EVA Edition - Asus ROG Scabbard II EVA Edition
Keyboard Asus ROG Strix Scope EVA Edition
VR HMD Samsung Odyssey VR
Software Windows 11 Pro 64bit
Looks like only optical connection it has, is optical-in.

Yes, that's all I could find too, this seems like nothing more than a glorified headphone amplifier+DAC :( I'm really hoping this S/PDIF connector works as an I/O port of sorts, able to output at least optical 5.1 for a nice set of speakers or a decent receiver, but it looks like the 3.5mm stereo jack is the only output you get :(

I know this card won't come out until next month, but I hope any of you guys have a better idea of what to expect from it :)
 
Top