Creative Sound Blaster G3 Portable Gaming USB DAC AMP Review

Hey what’s up people? I am Ryan with ExtremeHW. Today we are gonna look at a little device from our friends over at Creative. They kindly sent over their SoundBlaster G3, which is a portable gaming USB DAC amp. So let’s see what this little guy can do.

Packaging & Contents

Creative also included an optical cable at 3.28 feet, a USB C to USB A adapter, and an Audio Survival Guide.

Creative SoundBlaster G3 Specs & Compatibility

So kicking things off I ask myself, is it really necessary to buy a device like the Sound Blaster G3 for your computer or gaming console, which the G3 is compatible with both the PS4 and PS5, as well as the Nintendo Switch. Oh it also works for Mac, but we don’t care about that right? 😀

The Device

So what does the G3 bring to the table? For starters, the G3 is an incredibly simple device that aims to do audio relatively well. Having just looked at Creative’s Sound Blaster GC7, the G3 seems to be a more compact version.

The USB type C connection ensures compatibility for the various aforementioned devices, as well as a Type C to Type A adapter for those devices that don’t have a type C connection.

The main unit itself is made out of plastic, which doesn’t have the most high end feel to it. Although it’s solidly built enough that I wouldn’t really worry about it. The button on top, which toggles the EQ or Footstep Enhancer, does have a nice tactile click when pressed.

On the sides of the G3 is a toggle switch for Volume and Mix control, of which you can control the mix volume of the in-game audio to your voice audio. On the other side are the microphone controls, mic mute and mic volume. The bottom consists of three inputs, a 3.5mm mic input, an optical line in, and a 3.5mm headset output.

Inside, the G3 is able to output 24-bit audio at 96kHz, with high and low gains, as well as being able to drive 16 to 300ohm headphones. Having a limit of 100db for the dynamic range, I didn’t really expect the G3 to be as loud as other audio devices. I did however have a good experience listening to music via the Spotify App on my Windows 10 machine, which was set to the High Quality preset setting in the Spotify app.

Adding in the software side of things, Creative’s Sound Blaster Command application, the G3 gets better with tons more customization, even from an Android or iOS device via Bluetooth. Giving you the ability to adjust the EQ to your specific liking or enabling the custom EQ profile “Footstep Enhancer” while in game to hear your enemies is that much easier. I should also mention Scout Mode, which is “Designed to help you hear beyond what you see like footsteps, speech, and weaponry handling acoustic characteristics without involving the use of explicit frequency shaping for a complete gaming experience.” Scout Mode can also be assigned a hotkey to be enabled or disabled via the Command app.

So is the G3 worth the money that Creative wants for it? Well if you are looking for a low cost solution for your game console, it is easy to set up and does what Creative says it does. But what about PC gaming? Are there better options out there? Abso friggin lutely, however most of those are more difficult to set up and don’t work with game consoles. With that said I can safely award the Creative SoundBlaster G3 the “Recommended” award.

If you want to buy the Creative Labs Sound Blaster G3, it’s available on Creative’s online US and UK stores for $49.99 or £39.99 respectively. The G3 is also available on Amazon US for $49.99 as well.

Alright peeps, that is gonna conclude my look at Creative’s SoundBlaster G3 Portable USB DAC AMP. If you liked this and thought it was informative, please hit those like and subscribe buttons to help us grow.

Once again, I am Ryan with ExtremeHW, and I will see you in the next one.

Pro's	Con's
Offers subjectively better quality audio over onboard audio as well as additional features.	Chunky design when compared to the SXFI AMP.
Very easy to setup.
Works with a variety of consoles.