I think a lot of the sound option for PC have moved towards USB DACs with a separate amp, that's what I switched too and it sounds great with no issues. It sounds better IMO than the Sound Blaster Zx ...
For the first time since the early 1990's, I no longer have a Creative Sound Blaster product in my PC. I removed my PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium and it's currently sitting on the table next to me.
Page 1: Creative Sound Blaster AE-9: A Do-It-All Audio Machine Page 2: Creative Sound Blaster AE-9: Hardware and Software Page 4: Creative Sound Blaster AE-9: Subjective Audio Performance in Games and ...