Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro Surround 5.1 Pro USB running on Windows Server 2008.
Are you considering getting a Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro Surround 5.1 Pro USB sound card (with THX SB1095) for your Windows Server 2008/R2 server box and wondering would it work? On the official Creative Site for Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro Surround 5.1 Pro USB sound card, it did not include any drivers for the Windows Server 2008/R2 OS.
I did a quick check to see if it would work by plugging it into a Windows Server 2008/R2 server box. The Sound Blaster USB card was quickly detected and stock drivers were being installed. The blue LED on the front panel of the sound blaster USB card lighted up indicating that it is ready.
However, only the basic volume controls are available. The audio output sounded like playing back from a CD deck (without any audio enhancement from EQ or Bass/Treble adjustments). The Bass department was lacking considerably to my taste. I had to have access to the equalizer and other audio controls to “enhance” the audio output to my taste.
The next thing I did was to attempt to install the driver from the CD that came with the sound card. I inserted the CD and ran “setup.exe”. Surprisingly, it manage to run. My guess is that the windows 7 drivers might have worked in Windows Server 2008/R2. Btw, my driver CD did not contain the latest Windows 8 driver, but that is not a big issue.
I’ve decided to select only 3 items to install,”Creative Audio Control Panel”, “Entertainment Console” and “Audio Driver” as I wanted only the essential software to be installed.
If you see this message, just click on “Install” to continue.
And finally, the installation is complete.
If you do not want to reboot your server box after the installation, you can simply unplug the sound blaster usb card and reinsert the USB connection. The Sound Blaster USB card would get detected and becomes available for use. The Sound Blaster USB card and “Entertainment Console” worked flawlessly after that. It is however still a good idea to reboot the server box after the installation.
Now I can have High Fidelity audio on my server box! Yeah!!
Some quick spec for Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro Surround 5.1 Pro USB sound card (with THX SB1095).
Connectivity - USB 2.0, Volume Control(digital), Mic In/Line In, Headphone/Front Left & Right Speaker Output, Center/Sub Output, Rear Left & Right Speaker Output and Optical Digital Output.
Package contains - Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro Surround 5.1 Pro USB sound card (with THX SB1095), USB Cable, Stereo RCA to mini jack adapter, Quick Start Leaflet and Installation CD.
Here’s the driver support page if you are looking for Windows 8 driver for the Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro Surround 5.1 Pro USB sound card (with THX SB1095).
Conclusion:
The Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro Surround 5.1 Pro USB sound card (with THX SB1095) works on Windows Server 2008/R2 with the existing driver CD that came the sound card.
It’s time to put some High Fidelity audio into your server box.
The sound quality from the Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro Surround 5.1 Pro USB sound card is worlds apart as compared to the cheap USB sound card that I have blogged about in my previous post.
Don’t hesitate anymore, get one today.
That’s it. Have Fun!
Great info!
ReplyDeleteGreat info!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Hope you find it useful. :)
ReplyDeleteI am not able to get sound from this card on my Server 2008 R2. The drivers installed successfully, the devicemanager says everything works fine.
ReplyDeleteBut there is no audio device in the audio control. And no creative application starts, all of it says no creative product found, but the auto-updater found the device and refresh the driver well.
Don't you have some idea what should i try?
Attila Kemény,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds a little weird that the driver installs correctly but the creative application does not see the device.
Maybe you can try uninstalling all the creative application, unplug the device, reboot the machine, plug in the device and let the OS detect and install the stock drivers. If the stock driver is able to work(playback something to check), then proceed with installation of the creative application.
I've also posted some simple troubleshoot checks that hopefully might be of some help.
http://bartman88.blogspot.com/2012/12/troubleshooting-sound-blaster-x-fi-pro.html
Very usefull info! i see the article is of 2012, but the audio soundboard can also accept input from external source into the line input?
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Yes. This SB USB sound card is able to accept Line input. Although i do not use this feature, I've personally tested it in the past. But i could not get the Line input to be routed through the equalizer. Maybe it is not possible at all.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps. :)
Hi Bartman, do you think will works on Windows Server 2012 R2? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Elmoht, I have tested it out and it works on Windows Server 2012 R2. You can check out the test results in this post: http://bartman88.blogspot.com/2016/06/will-the-creative-sound-blaster-x-fi-pro-run-on-windows-server-2012-r2.html
ReplyDeleteHope this helps.
bartman ,
ReplyDeleteAny recommendation on equalizer setting to produce a strong base for windows 10 tablets ?
This is the equalizer setting that i am currently configured for my headphone.
ReplyDeleteLevel 21.1db 11db -16.3db -13db -13db -13db -13db -13db -13db -13db 7.7db
Freq 31Hz 62Hz 125Hz 250Hz 500Hz 1Khz 2Khz 4Khz 8Khz 16Khz Level
Different earphone or headphone will react differently to the above settings.
If the bass is too strong for your liking, just re-adjust the 62hz band level to your desired setting.
Hope this helps.