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Preview: Creative’s new Sound Blaster Roar 2 and E-MU XM7 speakers

By Marcus Wong - 16 Mar 2015

The E-MU XM7, a perfect companion to the Sound Blaster X7

E-MU XM7

Three elements for musical pleasure - the Sound Blaster X7, E-MU XM7, and an audio source.

What Creative showed us next was a surprise: it's the E-MU XM7, a set of bookshelf speakers that perfectly complements the Sound Blaster X7. As we’ve covered here, the Sound Blaster X7 is a desktop USB DAC and audio amplifier that connects to your television, computer, sound system, and even portable devices (via Bluetooth) and pushes out quality audio.

A limited edition Sound Blaster X7 was also launched at CES this year, with an exclusive pearl white color and a 144W high-power adapter that makes the Sound Blaster X7 capable of feeding up to 100W, meaning it should quite easily be able to drive most passive speakers. The new E-MU XM7 speakers won’t quite require that much power as they only take 60W to power (meaning they will run fine even on the Sound Blaster X7’s regular power adapter), but it’s good to know how much more you can push the Sound Blaster X7 by just changing the adapter.

The E-MU XM7 in brown wood grain with metallic grey finish.

Made of solid wood, the E-MU XM7 has an understated design. You have a choice of a black wood grain or a brown wood grain with metallic grey finish. And of course, the option of leaving the speaker uncovered to expose the drivers and the wood finish.

We were told the speakers feature specially doped 1-inch high-efficiency silk dome tweeters for clear, detailed highs, and a custom-designed 5-inch woofer with oversized magnetic structure and shielding for tight bass response. They also come with 2.5 meters of high-quality oxygen-free copper speaker cables so you’ll be good to go straight out of the box.

Also, when paired with the Sound Blaster X7, you get three custom-tuned profile settings to help you get the speaker response that best fits your listening needs.

  • Energetic – This is the default mode, and is suitable for both movies and games.
  • Neutral – This is a more flat profile, and is suitable for reference and monitoring use.
  • Warm – This profile is recommended for music and easy listening as it brings richer bass.

 

The listening test

The E-MU XM7 in black with the speaker cover attached.

We were treated to a mix of tracks fed from the Sound Blaster X7 to the E-MU XM7, and we must say that pairing is really impressive considering the overall cost of the package. A recording of Desperado by Susan Wong showcased warm, smooth vocals, and a mid-sized sound stage. The piano accompaniment had a nice warm tone, and there was good texture in the notes.

Moving over to Royals by Lorde, we were again impressed by the depth in Lorde’s vocals, as well as the naturalness of the finger snaps that ran in the background throughout the piece. Royals was punctuated through the track by a deep booming bass beat, and the combination of the Sound Blaster X7 with the E-MU XM7 certainly didn’t disappoint.

Would it be a surprise if the last track we played was the live version of Hotel California by The Eagles? This piece was rendered with a great sense of energy, with a nice robust bass thump that helped to draw you into the piece. There was great separation between the guitars, bongo drums, and shakers. Oh, the combination also picked out bits of detail like the cheers from the crowd and image them around us.

At S$399, the E-MU XM7 speakers represent excellent value compared to some of the other offerings out there. To make it even better, Creative has announced a special promotional price of S$299 at this week’s IT Show (after deducting a $100 voucher), and exclusive packages of the E-MU XM7 with Sound Blaster X7 (Black) for S$499 and the E-MU XM7 with Sound Blaster X7 Limited Edition (White) for S$599.

Previous Sound Blaster X7 customers will also be allowed to purchase the E-MU XM7 at a special price of S$199 if they leave their email address with the staff at the booth or show their Sound Blaster X7 receipt for verification.

The E-MU XM7 will also be available at all authorized Creative retailers and Creative’s own e-shop from tomorrow.

Technical specifications of the E-MU XM7
Enclosure Wooden enclosed bookshelf
Configuration 2-way
Frequency range 50 Hz – 20 kHz
Speaker impedance 6 ohms
Maximum input power 60 W
Woofer 5” special combination diaphragm with oversized magnetic structure and shielding
Tweeter 1” silk dome tweeter
Dimensions (H x W x D) 298 x 174 x 232 mm
Weight (each) 4.35 kg
Color Brown wood grain with metallic grey finish or Black wood grain finish
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