Creative's Sound BlasterX AE-5 Pure Edition sound card looks stunning in white

Creative has announced the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition PCIe sound card, a limited edition model clad in a sleek, metallic white finish and customisable RGB LED lighting strips.

Based on the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus, it uses the same Sound Core 3D audio processor as the rest of the AE series, but pairs that with the ESS Sabre Ultra DAC from the original AE-5, which supports up to 32-bit/384kHz playback.

The Pure Edition boasts stunning looks, and its pearlescent white body is a marked departure from the stealthy black of the regular AE-5 Plus. This is one card that you'll probably want to mount vertically to show off. It also supports Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect encoding, so you'll have more surround sound delivery options when connecting external audio devices.

Elsewhere, the sound card utilises Xamp, Creative's custom-designed discrete headphone bi-amplifier for high impedance headphones. According to Creative, each headphone channel is individually amplified, so you get improved audio fidelity on each side, regardless of demand. In comparison, your average headphone amplifier amplifies both left and right channels at the same time. 

The lighting effects can be controlled using Creative's Sound Blaster Command software. The Sound Blaster Acoustic Engine is also available through the latter, and it offers a suite of audio processing technologies that apply various 3D surround sound effects to suit whatever you're listening to. 

The Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition is available from Creative's online store at S$259, but it is going at a discounted price of S$219 now. 

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