Creative Sound Blaster GC7 Review

For some people, actually, quite a lot of people, the onboard audio on your motherboard is good enough. That’s a pretty reasonable thing these days though, as onboard audio has come on a long way, and some high-end motherboards have incredible audio hardware as standard. However, you may be limited in terms of controls and input/outputs. Creative has been making internal and external audio solutions for a very long time now, and the Creative Sound Blaster GC7 is the latest evolution of this. Over the last 10 years, I’ve played around with a massive range from Creative, such as the monstrous X7 Desktop DAC, to the more compact and modern X3, and plenty more in-between!

Creative Sound Blaster GC7

The new GC7 looks set to be more than just a humble AMP and DAC, as it features lots of fancy built-in controls, giving you a tactile interface that’s also visually appealing; no doubt both aspects of this will appeal to gamers and streamers alike. So while it promises audiophile grade processing to improve you movies, music and games, it also have programmable controls to allow you to mix profiles, settings, levels and much more on the fly, which is obviously more tailored towards your gaming.

However, it’s also equipped with the latest and greatest Creative technologies, including my own personal favourite, Super X-Fi, or SXFI if you want it written even shorter. There’s also SXFI BATTLE MODE, Scout Mode too. If that’s not enough, it’s running through an AKM4377 DAC, a dual-DSP system that has a suite of Dolby Processing, and so much more.

Features

• ON-THE-FLY CONTROLS WITH PROGRAMMABLE BUTTONS | The Sound Blaster GC7 is ergonomically designed with simple and intuitive one-handed controls for quick adjustments on the fly. It also comes with 4 fully programmable buttons that you can customize with your favourite audio profiles, or program your own macros for some quick manoeuvres during a live stream. You can even customize it further with your preferred RGB lighting colours to match the device colours with the rest of your setup
• DUAL DSP WITH INCREDIBLE AUDIO PROCESSING | Equipped with both Super X-Fi and Sound Blaster audio technologies, the Sound Blaster GC7 offers you top-tier audio processing capabilities. Immerse in the hyper-realistic audio holography from Super X-Fi that recreates the soundstage of a multi-speaker system in your headphones; or experience Sound Blaster’s full suite of audio enhancements that has been fine-tuned over 30 years, and customize your audio to your liking for both speakers and headphones.
• HUNT DOWN YOUR ENEMIES | Sound Blaster GC7 comes with both SXFI BATTLE Mode and Scout Mode, so you can choose the best weapon for your gameplay. BATTLE Mode makes perfect use of Super X-Fi technology to bring you realistic audio cues with both direction and distance, allowing you to pinpoint the exact position of a sound source. Scout Mode focuses on detection—enhancing audio cues and bringing them closer to your ears so you can pick up the faintest sounds made by your enemies instantly.
• BALANCE GAME AND CHAT AUDIO | Increase your chat volume during the strategy meeting on discord, then turn it back down to focus on the game without leaving your game screen! Simply turn the GameVoice Mix control knob to adjust the game and chat volume when you need to! The Sound Blaster GC7 is angled at the perfect position to facilitate one-handed control from any gaming setup, so you can make adjustments without even looking away from your screen.
• AUDIOPHILE-CLASS DAC FOR PRISTINE AUDIO | At the core of the Sound Blaster GC7 is the AKM4377 Audiophile-class DAC which offers lower noise floor, lower distortion, and more distinct individual sound effects. Stream at up to 24-bit / 192 kHz PCM playback and enjoy high-quality audio regardless of which source you’re using. On top of the solid audio playback, you can also indulge yourself in a cinematic experience with up to 7.1 virtual surround on both headphones and speakers and Dolby Audio.

There’s a pretty comprehensive input and output setup too, ensuring you can connect to a wide range of consoles and systems easily enough. Of course, that includes mixing channels, as this is half DJ equipment smushed into a home cinema amplifier… this pleases me greatly.

What Creative Had to Say

“The best gameplay involves intuitive controls that support split-second decisions made while in the game. As the first in its series of premium gaming audio solutions for experienced gamers, Sound Blaster GC7 hands you the winning formula to conquer any game—the access to a plethora of programmable controls built directly on the device for quick switches when gaming.

Designed with convenience in mind, you can make on-the-fly adjustments to your game and chat volume mix with GameVoice Mix, tweak your audio and microphone settings, and switch quickly between different sound modes—all with just a button press.

And that’s definitely not all! Armed with both Sound Blaster’s audio processing expertise and our award-winning Super X-Fi Headphone Holography, the Sound Blaster GC7 is powered by a dual-DSP system to provide you with an edge over your opponents using superior battle tools like the Scout Mode and SXFI BATTLE Mode”

Launch Trailer