Hi,
What output plugin you use?

EDIT: Reading https://www.reddit.com/r/SoundBlasterOfficial/comments/q0h2sb/sound_blasterx_ae5_plus_is_direct_mode_the_way_to/ Looks like Direct Mode is internally something like ASIO/WASAPI Exclusive mode to bypass application sound quality and just put RAW sound out.

EDIT: I would need to test but I doubt (personally) it will improve quality. Also I have used SB cards for past 25 years and bit lost confidence in them over time. Too many additional complication that sounds more like marketing than actual facts behind it. Again it is my own personal experience.

Updating to latest version of 4 didn't solve the problem.

Please be aware that you're using an old release of MediaMonkey. The current release is MediaMonkey 5.0.3 and the latest MediaMonkey 4 release was 4.1.31: https://www.mediamonkey.com/support/knowledge-base/mediamonkey-general/download-mediamonkey/

Windows 10, MM build 4.1.19.1859
Sound Blaster X AE-5 w/ latest drivers (6.0.105.64)

Experiencing odd behavior in direct mode.

MM will not begin playback when I set playback to "direct mode" in SB Connect. Instead, the progress bar for the playback gets stuck and never moves with no sound. If, however, I turn direct mode off, I can restart MM and playback works fine. I can then switch to direct mode and playback will resume normally. But if I close MM and reopen, no playback until I turn direct mode off again.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks