Sound Blaster E1 (SB1600) USB HD Audio & Headphone Amp running on Windows 2008 R2 Server OS review.
It has been a while since I last posted anything on USB
sound card running on Windows 2008 R2 Server OS. I have been looking to purchase
another USB sound card so that I can replace the awful onboard sound card of my
laptop. Recent, I came across a new product from Creative, the Sound Blaster
E1. It is a rechargeable battery powered headphone amplifier that also comes with
an built-in USB sound card. It seems like an interesting product. I was aiming
to get the Creative X-Fi Go! but I decided to give the E1 a try.
So I placed an order for it online and received it in a
couple of days. The first thing that I did was to try it out on my Windows 2008
R2 server OS just out of curiosity and to find out whether it would be able to
run on server OS. The E1 was not officially supported on Windows 2008, but
there is no harm in trying it out.
The Sound Blaster E1 package did not include any driver
or software CD. I had to download the software from Creative’s website. Windows
2008 R2 does not have any stock driver that would be able to work with E1’s
built-in sound card. You have to download and install the drivers.
Here’s the link to the software. It also includes the
drivers for the E1.
Download “Sound Blaster E1 Software Pack for Windows” .
After you have downloaded the E1 software, the first to
install would be the driver which is in “Sound Blaster E1 Software Pack for
Windows”.
I discovered that the installation file would fail if I
just simply double-click on the file.
If it worked for you, that’s great. But if you encounter
the same issue as I did, here’s how to work around the error.
To overcome the CRC issue, extract the self-extracting
installation file into a folder and run the “setup.exe” from there. This will resolve the CRC error. You can
choose to winrar or winzip, either one of these will be able to open up the
file. However I am not sure if there is
any real issue with the file CRC. Since I had been able to install the driver,
I can assume that the CRC might be a false positive error.
Next, follow through and complete the installation.
Do remember to switch on the E1 by toggling the power
switch to the ON position. I found that to use its built-in sound card feature,
the E1 needs to be switched on.
If everything goes well, Windows should be able to detect
the E1.
You will get this error message if you switch off the E1
while it is connected to your USB port.
Here's how the E1 control panel looks like.
You can adjust the equalizer, SBX Pro settings and other voice or mic related settings from this control panel.
I was hoping that the settings of EQ or SBX Pro Studio could be used to improve the audio output of E1 when it is used as a headphone amplifier, looks like I am going to be disappointed. The audio profile setting that you have configured in the control panel does not get propagating into the E1. The setting applies to the E1 only when it is connected to the computer.
There are some things that you should take note of while using the E1. When the audio input 3.5mm jack is connected to a cable on the E1, the audio output would be cut off. The software that is playing back the audio to the E1 would continue, but the audio would be muted on both the 3.5mm audio out.
When used as a headphone amplifier, I noticed that when the micro USB cable is plugged into E1’s USB port (and charging the E1 at the same time), there would be a high pitch noise being heard in the audio output. I’m assuming this is common to all E1. To enjoy a noise free audio output, remember to disconnect the E1 from the USB port. You can leave the USB cable connected to the micro USB port on the E1. It does not impact the audio output quality.
Conclusion:
When I compared the sound card audio qualities, the E1 is not as good as my existing X-Fi pro surround 5.1 sound card. So, if you want is a pure desktop sound card, the X-Fi pro surround 5.1 sound card is a better choice over E1. But if you are able to pair a good earphone or headphone with the E1, the sound card audio quality in my opinion is good for above average use. For myself, I found that one of my Philips earphone paired quite well with the E1.
As for using it as a Headphone amplifier, I can’t really give any good feedback on it as I did not use this feature that regularly. What I can say about the amplifier is that the audio reproduction is quite close to the original source. When I had my X-Fi pro surround 5.1 sound card output connected to E1 with the bass level turned up to near distortion level, the E1 could still manage to handle it relatively well.
As for the built in mic function, I have no use for it and did not test it out.
If you are interested in any of the sound blaster sound card that I have mentioned in this article, here’s the link to purchase one for yourself:
I was hoping that the settings of EQ or SBX Pro Studio could be used to improve the audio output of E1 when it is used as a headphone amplifier, looks like I am going to be disappointed. The audio profile setting that you have configured in the control panel does not get propagating into the E1. The setting applies to the E1 only when it is connected to the computer.
There are some things that you should take note of while using the E1. When the audio input 3.5mm jack is connected to a cable on the E1, the audio output would be cut off. The software that is playing back the audio to the E1 would continue, but the audio would be muted on both the 3.5mm audio out.
When used as a headphone amplifier, I noticed that when the micro USB cable is plugged into E1’s USB port (and charging the E1 at the same time), there would be a high pitch noise being heard in the audio output. I’m assuming this is common to all E1. To enjoy a noise free audio output, remember to disconnect the E1 from the USB port. You can leave the USB cable connected to the micro USB port on the E1. It does not impact the audio output quality.
Conclusion:
When I compared the sound card audio qualities, the E1 is not as good as my existing X-Fi pro surround 5.1 sound card. So, if you want is a pure desktop sound card, the X-Fi pro surround 5.1 sound card is a better choice over E1. But if you are able to pair a good earphone or headphone with the E1, the sound card audio quality in my opinion is good for above average use. For myself, I found that one of my Philips earphone paired quite well with the E1.
As for using it as a Headphone amplifier, I can’t really give any good feedback on it as I did not use this feature that regularly. What I can say about the amplifier is that the audio reproduction is quite close to the original source. When I had my X-Fi pro surround 5.1 sound card output connected to E1 with the bass level turned up to near distortion level, the E1 could still manage to handle it relatively well.
As for the built in mic function, I have no use for it and did not test it out.
If you are interested in any of the sound blaster sound card that I have mentioned in this article, here’s the link to purchase one for yourself:
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