The Creative Sound Blaster X3 is a desktop DAC/amp at $100. It delivers 45 mW into 32Ω and 21 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 254 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.
Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 443 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 99, only marginal on 11 and not enough power for 14. Power is published at 32Ω, 150Ω, 600Ω; the rest of the table is derived from those figures. Output impedance is not published. Output noise is not published, so the hiss estimate cannot be run.
This entry does not repeat the manufacturer's printed power figures. It uses 45 mW into 32Ω, 35 mW into 150Ω, 14 mW into 600Ω.
Creative publishes no milliwatt figure at all for the X3. What it does publish is an output voltage at a stated load, for each gain setting: “Low Gain: 32–149Ω (1.2V RMS @ 32Ω, 1.5V RMS @ 150Ω), High Gain: 150–600Ω (2.3V RMS @ 150Ω, 2.9V RMS @ 600Ω)”. Because the load is stated, those voltages give a power directly — 1.2 Vrms into 32Ω is 45 mW — and that is where the figures above come from. This is not the same thing as a published power rating, and it is not the same thing as working down from an unloaded voltage either: it is Creative's own number at Creative's own load, with one division done. The method is checked against the Sound Blaster X5, where Creative prints both the volts and the milliwatts and the two agree to the printed digit.
Derived rows hold output voltage steady, as an amplifier does (method).
Source: us.creative.com.
| Load | Power | Status | How it was arrived at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | 45 mW | Recomputed | worked out here from the voltage the manufacturer printed on the same line, because its own power figure does not follow from it |
| 150 Ω | 35 mW | Recomputed | worked out here from the voltage the manufacturer printed on the same line, because its own power figure does not follow from it |
| 300 Ω | 21 mW | Derived | worked out between two published loads, holding output voltage linear between them |
| 600 Ω | 14 mW | Recomputed | worked out here from the voltage the manufacturer printed on the same line, because its own power figure does not follow from it |
Easiest to hardest to drive, with headroom at a 100 dB SPL peak.
| Headphone | Impedance | Sensitivity | Needs | Headroom | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 114.0 dB/mW | 0.04 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable |
| 64 Audio U12t | 12.6 Ω | 108.0 dB/mW | 0.16 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable |
| Shure SE215 | 17 Ω | 107.0 dB/mW | 0.20 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| Moondrop Aria | 32 Ω | 107.1 dB/mW | 0.19 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-X 2021 | 20 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +17 dB | Comfortable |
| Truthear Hexa | 20.5 Ω | 103.1 dB/mW | 0.49 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | 18 Ω | 101.6 dB/mW | 0.69 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Sony MDR-7506 | 63 Ω | 106.0 dB/mW | 0.25 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze 99 Classics | 32 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Clear MG | 55 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable |
| Philips SHP9500 | 32 Ω | 101.0 dB | 0.79 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Utopia | 80 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze Empyrean | 32 Ω | 100.0 dB | 1.0 mW | +17 dB | Comfortable |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| Etymotic ER2SE | 15 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +9 dB | Enough |
| AKG K371 | 32 Ω | 99.1 dB/mW | 1.2 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50X | 38 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X | 48 Ω | 100.0 dB/mW | 1.0 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 101.0 dB/mW | 0.79 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Grado SR80x | 38 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +14 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 560S | 120 Ω | 100.8 dB/mW | 0.83 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Edition XS | 18 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +6 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN Arya Stealth | 32 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed | 13 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +3 dB | Marginal |
| Audeze LCD-5 | 14 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +3 dB | Marginal |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 102.0 dB/mW | 0.63 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 91.0 dB | 7.9 mW | +6 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN Sundara | 32 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +9 dB | Enough |
| Dan Clark Audio Stealth | 23 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 50 Ω | 92.0 dB/mW | 6.3 mW | +8 dB | Enough |
| AKG K702 | 62 Ω | 92.9 dB/mW | 5.1 mW | +8 dB | Enough |
| ZMF Verite Closed | 300 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 650 | 300 Ω | 97.8 dB/mW | 1.7 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 800S | 300 Ω | 96.8 dB/mW | 2.1 mW | +10 dB | Enough |
| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 96.0 dB | 2.5 mW | +10 dB | Enough |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +10 dB | Enough |
| ZMF Atrium | 300 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +9 dB | Enough |
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 50 Ω | 88.0 dB/mW | 16 mW | +4 dB | Enough |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 91.8 dB/mW | 6.6 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 83.0 dB | 50 mW | -1 dB | Not enough |
The manufacturer does not publish an output noise figure for this source, so there is no hiss estimate here. If you have a measured figure, the hiss calculator takes it.
The manufacturer does not publish an output impedance for this source. Without it, nothing here can say how this source will behave with a multi-driver in-ear.
With a measured figure, the checker works out the consequence.
| Source | Type | Price | Into 300 Ω | Output impedance | Output noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generic CX31993 dongles | USB dongle | $12 | 9.0 mW | 1.5 Ω unverified | 8 µV unverified |
| FiiO KA11 | USB dongle | $29 | 22 mW | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| Tanchjim Stargate II | USB dongle | $40 | 8.0 mW | not published | not published |
Of the 280 sources here, 27 do everything the Creative Sound Blaster X3 does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches. The cheapest of them is the Generic CX31993 dongles at $12, against this one’s $100 — $88 less, and a USB dongle rather than a desktop DAC/amp.
This counts the headphone output only; inputs, converters, the volume control and the build are outside it.
$75 · 150 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$143 · 520 mW into 32Ω · 1.2 Ω out
Compare →$170 · 100 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$176 · 460 mW into 32Ω · 1.0 Ω out
Compare →$199 · 1.2 W into 32Ω · 1.0 Ω out
Compare →$199 · 600 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →Compared with its closest rivals: vs Aiyima A2 Pro · vs Creative Sound Blaster X5 · vs FiiO K11.