DAC Chip: Undisclosed
PCM 24bit – 96khz, SNR: 93db, Power: Undisclosed, USB Type-A Male, 3.5mm SE (Microphone: YES)

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Listening Equipment: FOSTEX T40RP MK3, 7Hz Timeless, TForce Yuan Li, VE Duke Acid Edition, Shure KSE1500. Source: USB 2.0 Xiaomi Redmi 10, HiBy Player (USB Exclusive Mode)

LISTENING EQUIPMENT USED IMPARTED HUGE INFLUENCE TO SOUND IMPRESSIONS & RATING

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💚PROS

• Clean and clear neutral flat timbre, sparkly airy overtones
• Well controlled dynamics, full bodied with smooth airy presentation
• Great Micro and Macro details retrieval
• Neutral Mids, richly textured, natural toned Male/Female vocals
• Sparkly Treble with smooth decays, great extensions
• Smooth, mature Mid-Bass, tight, fast with crisp decays
• Sub-Bass with deep seismic response, mild decays.
• Realistic, crisp guitars, piano, percussions & instruments
• Very wide and spacious soundstage, great depth and layering
• Great holographic spatial imaging, sharp precise placement/layers
• Excellent speed and dexterity on complex passages and transients
• Super clean background, zero floor noises
• Clean layers and well-defined separation lines
• Flexible with any type of sources
• Good heat management, does not get hot easily
• Merciful on battery drain to the host

💔CONS

• Outright driving power fell short under 91db sensitivity
• USB A interface requiring USB C adapter to adapt for portable use
• No volume adjuster
• Require HiBy Player or UAPP to unlock full potential with USB Exclusive mode (bypass Android SRC) on Android phones

VERDICT

Creative Sound BlasterX G1. There’s only three cons that I observed from this unit. One, it lacks outright power (but somehow still able to drive FOSTEX T40RP MK3 with great fidelity at 90% loudness via HiBy USB Exclusive Mode). Two, it is big and clunky with that native Type A USB jack intended only for PC usage. Three, it has very minimal features on the dongle side as compared to ASUS ROG Clavis.

As already mentioned, this thing actually sounded great driving very stubborn magnetic planars. Both FOSTEX T40RP MK3 and 7Hz Timeless sounded awesome with great fidelity. Full ranged dynamics with great air and sense of spaciousness. Yes it may need 90% volume to get proper loudness on the T40RP MK3, but once that dialed in the sound is wholesome and refreshingly clean. I especially love the faithfully neutral and natural timbre which does not exhibit any coloration – so I can’t describe if this G1 being warm or bright – it simply just sounded correct. Then there’s the spacious and wide soundstage that can even make top #donglemadness performers blush. Excellent holographic imaging with precise layering and separation. I believe the G1 being natively tuned for 7.1 surround sound gaming experience made it so addictively pleasing for those wanting wide staging and great all round imaging. I would totally use G1 attached to my laptop for Gaming. The funny thing was, I found myself on repeat loop enjoying Sinne Eeg “Face The Music” album, one of the few Jazz masterpieces that offered excellent recording done with life-like studio imaging. This alone proved that the G1 is really something.

Another thing that I liked about this G1, how well the balance between each frequencies. All presented with great coherence. Mid-Bass and Sub-Bass clearly distinguishable, Mids with natural placing and tonality, Highs that sounded natural and not overly done with unrealistic shimmer and sparks. This is not an easy feat to accomplish. Yet my most demanding Headphone revealed that all to me. The synergy just mesmerizing.

Lastly perhaps the greatest Achilles heel for this G1 is how anemic it sounded like on stock Android system. HiBy Player or UAPP is needed to remove limitations (bypass Android SRC). Once limitations removed the G1 will not fail to satisfy. G1 will be more at home used with a Windows Laptop since Creative did provide proper driver and application to tune it further. All in all despite the Cons I am truly impressed with this one

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ($30)

Best Pairing: Easy to drive partners

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