i have sounblaster z combined with yamaha avr...no issues with bass under 40hz
btw older creative card had THX logo, later on they renamed it to SBX logo
while hardware is same (THX licences have razer now, creative didnt felt need to pay extra for something which nobody uses/cares about)
around x-fi recon3d era it changed
any later models are SBX only (not THX)
it should sound similar while being cheaper (same hardware, reduced cost on licences)