SOUND BLASTER COMMAND

Once again, the main tab of the Sound Blaster Command software is nothing less than overcrowded with a plethora of available settings.

The SBX Profiles tab allows the end user to quickly scroll through all 24 available profiles all of which can be modified by the gauges at the bottom.

Inside the equalizer tab Creative has placed the bass and treble sliders and of course the equalizer with a grand total of 36 available presets (some are the same as in the SBX profiles tab).

The playback tab is where you really take control of things since from here you can choose your speaker configuration (stereo/2.1/4.0/4.1/5.1 surround) and the size of your speakers (desktop/bookshelf/tower/custom), calibrate the speakers based on their position/distance, enable direct mode (ideal mode especially for listening to music), use one of the 7 available filters and set the desired audio quality (32-bit/96kHz for 5.1 surround analog, 24-bit/96kHz for optical and 32-bit/384kHz for analog direct). Everything related to recording is placed in the recording tab but unlike in the case of the Sound Blaster AE-9 this option is not available with the AE-5 Plus if you don't have a microphone plugged in.

For FPS gamers (especially multiplayer ones) the scout mode may actually come in handy since it does enhance effects like footsteps and weapon fire.

If you happen to be using the S/PDIF output with an A/V amplifier then you can use the Dolby enhancements found in the encoder tab.

Just like with the Windows volume mixer the mixer tab allows you to adjust the volume of both outputs and the input.

One thing the Sound Blaster AE-9 lacked was the lighting tab and so from here not only can you pick one of the 9 available effects for either the onboard LEDs and the external RGB LED strip but you can also control their "motion" and speed.

Finally, you can check for software updates, enable/disable the software from starting with Windows and reset the software to its factory settings from the settings tab.