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Creative Sound Blaster E3 USB DAC/Amp Combo

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Creative Sound Blaster E3 USB DAC/Amp Combo

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Product Description

Creative's getting into the personal audio realm in a very big way. Armed with a built-in mic, a mic-in/dual headphone-out combo, line-in, and Bluetooth with aptX support, the Sound Blaster E3 is an entry level swiss army knife amp/DAC combo that kicks sound quality up a notch so you get the most out of your music, movies, voice calls and gaming Read More

discussions150

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Graphidz

Apr 27, 2015

Any hope for the other Creative products to be on drop?

Danny_Liu

1106

Apr 27, 2015

GraphidzYeah! We're taking a close look at all of the Creative products that the community has been voting for. There's definitely going to be more to come.

Colman

Apr 28, 2015

Danny_LiuOh the X7 needs to be next please!

ronCYA

339

Apr 30, 2015

Comparison of size between E3 (left) and E5 (right) if you're interested:

koolpep

929

Apr 28, 2015

Since I am already in this drop (massdrop is addictive) let me check with the experts: I have the following use case: Gym - iPhone placed somewhere save (2-3 m away) - me having my headphones plugged into the E3 clipped to my gym wear listening to music via bluetooth from my iPhone. --- All I want is not to have my iPhone on me when I do my exercise (cables). If that works - I can use all my in-ears that I couldn't use before in the gym (cable too short, connector in the way, etc). would be fab, can someone confirm that his works?

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ronCYA

339

May 3, 2015

Sounds wise :)

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tmdals0213

May 5, 2015

thank you!!!

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Danny_Liu

1106

Apr 26, 2015

The E3 is dropping at the same time as the AKG K553! Coincidence? Probably not...
Our booth at Canjam was right next to Creative's, and they gave us an E3 to demo with the K553. The results impressed a ton of the people that stopped by to listen, so I knew we had to get it on the site.
Come with your expectations in check. This isn't some kind of god-slayer that competes with $1000 amp/DAC combos. But for this price? I honestly can't think of a better entry-level product that gives you the versatility the E3 provides.
So yeah! K553 + E3 pairing is Danny approved.

NyquistRate

Apr 27, 2015

Danny_LiuHow is the sound compared to the E17?

ArthurM

2684

Sep 2, 2015

Thanks again for joining this drop! With your help we were able to make it successful for the community. We've just submitted the group's order with the vendor for the Creative Sound Blaster E3 USB DAC/Amp Combo and they are working hard to prepare it for shipment.
As soon as the group's order is ready at the vendor's location, they will send the bulk shipment to our warehouse in New Jersey where we'll break it up into individual orders and ship them directly to you! The current estimated ship date from our warehouse is 9/9.
Rest assured that we will provide you all with updated information regarding the status of your order throughout the process. You can expect an update from us by the end of the day Pacific Time on 9/9.

MeteoImpact

Jun 2, 2015

Whoa, is this thing supposed to have a massive dip in frequency response between ~6-9khz? Just tried listening to a frequency sweep using it with my PC and the volume absolutely plummets in that range; makes everything sound like I'm listening to it through a long tube. Sounds pretty much the same connected as a USB DAC and when just used as an amp via 3.5mm input.
Also having some issues with my phone recognising it when plugged in; saw it at first, now it doesn't seem to find it any more.
Anyone else experiencing a similar issues (particularly with the sound signature)? Curious if it's supposed to sound this way or if mine's just borked.

ILikePizzaALot

Jun 26, 2015

MeteoImpactListening to beautiful times by Owl City, there is a lot of bass missing. Very disappointed!

sircod

Apr 27, 2015

Does that second headphone jack serve as headphone OR mic, or does it actually serve as a headset jack?

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siidheesh

May 7, 2016

Perhaps to accommodate sources which merge line out and mic into one output and to allow it to be used for either audio out and mic in. Though the E3 only uses one or the other and not both, sadly

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dcormier

Sep 7, 2016

I asked their support department for clarification. This is what they had to say:
"The E3 has two 3,5mm jacks to connect your headphone: one headphone out and one headphone out/mic in. Both jacks can handle 4-pole connectors but only the combined headphone/mic jack can handle audio and mic simultaneously. So in case you have a 4-pole TRRS connector (headphone with mic), you can just plug the device to the headphone/mic jack and you can have audio output and mic input. The other headphone jack only can handle audio, so the mic will not work."

Vote

m0arpheus

433

May 5, 2016

If I have a Soundblaster Z PCIE card installed in my gaming rig already (http://www.amazon.com/Blaster-Performance-Headphone-Forming-Microphone/dp/B009ISU33E/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1462482442&sr=1-3&keywords=soundblaster+pcie) purchasing this would not help at all, am I correct in making that assumption?

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Zelgiusthebrave

May 6, 2016

I wouldn't consider myself an "audiophile" either but I work in radio as an engineer so I know a lot of things and my ears have gotten trained to hearing a lot of different types of sounds that can be explained by different elements of a setup so that's where I learned/trained my ears. :p Plus the Schiit stack and the HD600s sound beautiful, and I've had the ability to try those k701s in the past and liked them too, fit a bit snug on my oversized head so I couldn't enjoy them for hours on end like the 600s though!

Vote

siidheesh

May 7, 2016

m0arpheusThis is a portable solution, you cant take your pcie card and desktop with you outside :) (easily, at least)

Vote

bakytn

May 3, 2016

Hi guys, I am new to this audiophile world. Would it work with smartphone to headphones connectivity? Or is it only from computers (PC, Mac)? Thanks!

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bakytn

May 3, 2016

yes thank you!

Vote

sangviro

May 5, 2016

bakytnI own a set of these myself, so I can tell you first-hand, these will definitely work with your smartphone (particularly Android smartphones). Furthermore, u can connect the E3 to your smartphone via USB cable, so you can technically get "lossless audio" straight from your smartphone. From my experience, these really improve the audio quality, regardless of whether it's from PC or a smartphone, especially in the low ends. That bass, mmm mmm!

solomon

Sep 23, 2015

Anyone who is wondering how well this amp works with a pair of AKG K7XX, I have to say I am quite impressed by the increased sound quality from my iPhone and computer. However to be fair I should mention that this is my first experience with a dac/amp.

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Recent Activity

AndyHercer

Any updates if this will come back? I would really like it as a christmas gift :D

dcormier

This is the ONLY small DAC/Amp I can find that ALSO has support for headphones with a mic and doesn't need a splitter or anything. Please bring it back.

dcormier

I asked their support department for clarification. This is what they had to say: "The E3 has two 3,5mm jacks to connect your headphone: one headphone out and one headphone out/mic in. Both jacks can handle 4-pole connectors but only the combined headphone/mic jack can handle audio and mic simultaneously. So in case you have a 4-pole TRRS connector (headphone with mic), you can just plug the device to the headphone/mic jack and you can have audio output and mic input. The other headphone jack only can handle audio, so the mic will not work."