Creative Technology Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
- Output Mode: 7.1 Channel Surround
- Card Interface: PCI
- Bit Depth: 24-bit
- Compatible Audio Standards: PCM AC-3 DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX ASIO 2 EAX
- Form Factor: Plug-In Module
- Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR): 109 dB
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Superb output, as one would expect from a Sound Blaster.
Pros
Amazing sound! Surround works brilliantly in games and DVD. Easy setup. Decent software suite.
Cons
No more standard inputs. No automatic mode switching.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Hate the lack of standard inputs. Love everything else about the card. Certainly recommend if you're looking for Xtremely good sound quality.
re: boxed, retail version.
Since you can get complete specs from Creative at
http://creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=14066, I'll just summarize:
As I've come to expect from the leader in soundcards, the result of this latest engineering effort is just remarkable! This 7.1 ultra-low-distortion (.004% THD), ultra high S/N (109dB) card works wonders with my older Inspire T7700 speakers, for everything from DVD surround to games to music. The card is THX-certified and surround setup is thorough, yet simple.
It also sounds great with mp3's and other music, of course.
The one thing I object to is the absence of standard inputs! Creative has substituted standard inputs with what they term a "FlexiJack". This is a single 3.5mm jack which works with mic, line or digital I/O signals (IF you buy their Digital I/O Module) -- but only one at a time, of course. It's rather annoying that you cannot simply leave your various gear plugged into the X-Fi cards. They take away the connectors I need, yet put a large connector on the thing which I'll likely never use -- the "AD_Link", which their X-Fi I/O Console plugs into. Creative's philosophy on this is, "Upgrade with our accessory console or suffer the FlexiJack!" For one thing, this serves to tick off us users who already have a good remote and don't want to pay for Creative's.
On the positive side, there's a suite of software bundled with the X-Fi XtremeMusic to keep you busy. Their staple, WaveStudio, is of course included. There's a nifty MediaSource Organizer and Player, though I still use Winamp for my mp3's. There's a batch audio converter, which is pretty cool. The included Smart Recorder has hiss and click/pop removal tools for cleaning up your tapes and LP's as you import them.
There are 3 separate modes with this card, with each optimized for specific kinds of programs, and you can configure each mode independently. There's no automatic switcher included, but you can download a utility called XFMC which does it for you. Find it at http://www.freewebs.com/spectra9/xfmc.html
The modes are:
1) Entertainment Mode -- this is for all your playback needs, from DVD to mp3. It makes the most of the CMSS-3D (virtual surround) and Crystalizer (automatic, realtime, on-chip remastering) functions.
2) Audio Creation Mode -- this is for recording, mixing and composing. Features include 24-bit SoundFont bank, ASIO, bit-matched recording and comprehensive signal routing.
3) Game Mode -- advanced 3D audio processing and the latest EAX effects. Truly, BF2, for example, does sound glorious with this card. As BF2 players know, there's even a special audio setting in BF2 just for the X-Fi series of cards!
About 5 months ago, this card cost me $75 at Circuit City after a rebate and a $25 gift card redemption. I just checked their website and they no longer sell this model, however.
Since you can get complete specs from Creative at
http://creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=14066, I'll just summarize:
As I've come to expect from the leader in soundcards, the result of this latest engineering effort is just remarkable! This 7.1 ultra-low-distortion (.004% THD), ultra high S/N (109dB) card works wonders with my older Inspire T7700 speakers, for everything from DVD surround to games to music. The card is THX-certified and surround setup is thorough, yet simple.
It also sounds great with mp3's and other music, of course.
The one thing I object to is the absence of standard inputs! Creative has substituted standard inputs with what they term a "FlexiJack". This is a single 3.5mm jack which works with mic, line or digital I/O signals (IF you buy their Digital I/O Module) -- but only one at a time, of course. It's rather annoying that you cannot simply leave your various gear plugged into the X-Fi cards. They take away the connectors I need, yet put a large connector on the thing which I'll likely never use -- the "AD_Link", which their X-Fi I/O Console plugs into. Creative's philosophy on this is, "Upgrade with our accessory console or suffer the FlexiJack!" For one thing, this serves to tick off us users who already have a good remote and don't want to pay for Creative's.
On the positive side, there's a suite of software bundled with the X-Fi XtremeMusic to keep you busy. Their staple, WaveStudio, is of course included. There's a nifty MediaSource Organizer and Player, though I still use Winamp for my mp3's. There's a batch audio converter, which is pretty cool. The included Smart Recorder has hiss and click/pop removal tools for cleaning up your tapes and LP's as you import them.
There are 3 separate modes with this card, with each optimized for specific kinds of programs, and you can configure each mode independently. There's no automatic switcher included, but you can download a utility called XFMC which does it for you. Find it at http://www.freewebs.com/spectra9/xfmc.html
The modes are:
1) Entertainment Mode -- this is for all your playback needs, from DVD to mp3. It makes the most of the CMSS-3D (virtual surround) and Crystalizer (automatic, realtime, on-chip remastering) functions.
2) Audio Creation Mode -- this is for recording, mixing and composing. Features include 24-bit SoundFont bank, ASIO, bit-matched recording and comprehensive signal routing.
3) Game Mode -- advanced 3D audio processing and the latest EAX effects. Truly, BF2, for example, does sound glorious with this card. As BF2 players know, there's even a special audio setting in BF2 just for the X-Fi series of cards!
About 5 months ago, this card cost me $75 at Circuit City after a rebate and a $25 gift card redemption. I just checked their website and they no longer sell this model, however.
