X-Fi , is it really worth the money??

Which should I go for?

  • X-FI

    Votes: 18 69.2%
  • Audigy 2+

    Votes: 8 30.8%

  • Total voters
    26

MysticDee

Distinguished
Feb 23, 2006
30
0
18,530
Im currently running creative megaworks 550 5.1 set. The reason im posting this is that resently ive gotten a lil annoyed with the sound that my onboard realtek sound processor is pumping out.

Im sure quite a few people have bought into the X-FI that creative has come out with. Personally im still a lil sceptical, I dont get how a sound card can apparently increase the fidelity of the original recording.

Any information from current users would be greatly appreciated, another question, are there any X-FI cards that have the co-axial / optical ouputs on the back plate of the card rather than on the front panel(dont like wires hanging out of the front of my machine).
 

JonathanDeane

Distinguished
Mar 28, 2006
1,469
0
19,310
I dont think the X-Fi actualy makes MP3's better they just sound better when played through it :) I dont know about wires out the back of the card becouse on mine (I got the Fatil1ty thing) there is only mic speaker and some thing that looks like an old joystick connector (probably something can be added on like a box) on the front box is all kinds of connectors :)
 

Bluefinger

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2006
531
0
18,980
Audigy 2 is good, but X-Fi is excellent. May be pricy, but it really shines with DVDs and games. MP3s are improved, but then again, if you are only going to use an X-Fi to listen to music, then the cheapest one would suffice.
 

Heyyou27

Splendid
Jan 4, 2006
5,164
0
25,780
There is really no reason to get anything but the Xtreme music, besides the extra goodies. Game performance and sound quality is no different. The "64MB of XRAM" is a marketing ploy.
 

Rabidpeanut

Distinguished
Dec 14, 2005
922
0
18,980
When you are buying sound getting the best package is pointless, your ears are not capable of hearing the quality these speakers put out, your dog can, but you are not buy this system for him now are you? Just get something good that supports all games, so you get all the effects you want, and use some earphones, i think you get '5.1' ones, not sure how they work but you lose less quality. Xi fi is *very* nice but i don't think it is really worth the money.
 

MafiaAce

Distinguished
Apr 16, 2006
37
0
18,530
If you do want good sound quality and are annoyed by the quality of the mobo sound then you should definately go wtih the X-Fi.

It is noticeabley better than the Audigy2 and has some nice software features such as EAX 5.0 for gaming, the 24-bit crystalizer for music quality, and the CMSS headphone features which makes your 2 channel headphone sound like a surround set (this actually works quite well and its amazing that you can game with headphones and hear guys coming behind you with only a standard 2.0 set).

The XtremeMusic is definately the way to go, its only a little above $100 and you might as well get this because it will not cost too much more than the audigy2, you might as well get the best.
 

Bluefinger

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2006
531
0
18,980
There is really no reason to get anything but the Xtreme music, besides the extra goodies. Game performance and sound quality is no different. The "64MB of XRAM" is a marketing ploy.

I think the XRAM is a bit pointless, and I agree with you, the only real reason to get the more expensive options of the X-Fi is the extra bits. But hey, I have an X-Fi XtremeMusic, and owned an Audigy 2 previously, so I've heard the jump in quality between the two and mobo sound. Either way, he can't really go wrong.
 

fteoOpty64

Distinguished
Apr 15, 2006
22
0
18,510
Yo Chuck,

I have the Klipsch 2.1 Pro Media speakers as well. Some "kick ass" sound that sometimes humiliates my audiophile gear of classical CD transport, DAC, amp combo. Those take time to warmup.

Mind you I get already very good sound from ITunes client player and my on-board Realtek AC850 sound. Also considering Xfi Extreme Music but wanted to know how much "extra" for the money spent. While I agree that no matter how good a quality your kit is, no one cannot get better than the original recording. Well, thats true. But one can "cheat", I call it equalization. The iTunes equilizer (full manual) is so good that I can tune most music to suit my tastes.

This is the same reason, I dtiched my iPod for an iRiver becuase the iRiver after manual equalization is near perfect for my taste.

So my assessment will be currently tweaked iTunes with ProMedia is already very sweet. With Xfi, how much more ?. If 7% or more I will go for it.
 

Chil

Distinguished
Feb 20, 2006
192
0
18,680
X-Fi definately has better quality sound, but if you are a gamer, then an Audigy 2 should be fine. I don't see why you need EAX 5 or CMSS, when I've been able to pinpoint enemies since EAX 1 using a Soundblaster Live. Maybe it's because I play older games, because my PC can't handle new ones. Either way, $120 is overkill just for sound in my opinion. However, if that price seems acceptable, go for it.
 

fteoOpty64

Distinguished
Apr 15, 2006
22
0
18,510
I found that the Audigy NX USB2 which actually might save me the slot space in the PCI may be an alternative. (I used SFF case so internal space is premium). In my area thats $150 and it comes with a remote!. It has 24-bit playback and recording capability. I think the sound quality maybe within 5% of the X-Fi Music extreme card ?.

Any one tried the Audugy NX external sound. My use was to improve music quality solely. Not a gamer at all. Thanks.
 

Hydrocron

Distinguished
Mar 7, 2006
5
0
18,510
Im currently running creative megaworks 550 5.1 set. The reason im posting this is that resently ive gotten a lil annoyed with the sound that my onboard realtek sound processor is pumping out.

Im sure quite a few people have bought into the X-FI that creative has come out with. Personally im still a lil sceptical, I dont get how a sound card can apparently increase the fidelity of the original recording.

Any information from current users would be greatly appreciated, another question, are there any X-FI cards that have the co-axial / optical ouputs on the back plate of the card rather than on the front panel(dont like wires hanging out of the front of my machine).

Go with the X-Fi for sure. You already have some Pimp speakers so you should send them the best signal you can. I recently upgraded from the Audigy 2 to the X-Fi and i'm very pleased with the sound. The 24 bit Crystalizer option upconverts all sounds to 24 bit and expands the dynamic range. It seems the highs and lows get clearer with this option turned on for both games and music. There is a multi port on the sound card the gives you a Coax Digital out, or a mic in or aux in. It also uses the least amount of CPU in game then any sound card i have used. I just crank all the sound setting in BF2 and don't take a FPS hit.
 

rodney_ws

Splendid
Dec 29, 2005
3,819
0
22,810
My X-Fi was $89 after a $20 rebate... kinda hard to beat that price. I had a SB Live so it was definitely time for an upgrade... at that price, an Audigy was NOT considered an option. Had I already owned an Audigy 2 or higher, I'd have passed on the X-Fi.
 

sojrner

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2006
1,733
0
19,790
actually, the xfi can make mp3's sound better. It uses a reverse algorithm to "undo" the mp3 compression. It is not as good as the original version, but does a good job of getting closer to the original. Imagine an algebra equation. w/ a little work you can figure out what the "x" is that is missing. An mp3 is essentally taking sound and removing the "x". the xfi just tries to figure out the "x" and put it back in.

Oversimplification i know, especially when the missing x is totally unknown, and we are talking an equation that has multiple variables. But that is the idea.

search up the review here on tom's. They have a great take on the card and give a good idea of what it is capable of. Once coders start finding out how to leverage it we will see it really strut its stuff.

One more thing: headphones just can't be beat on it. If you use headphones at all get the xfi! you will love it.
 

SciFiMan

Distinguished
Apr 19, 2006
385
0
18,790
On a side note, I'm wondering if I should get my son a X-Fi ExtremeMusic card. He has good quality 2.1 speakers and with his older nForce2 mobo he gets positional sound when playing BF2 for instance. And even with headphones he can hear sounds left, right, behind for the most part. However, he now is big into his iPod and is practicing bass guitar. Will X-Fi benefit him?
 

sojrner

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2006
1,733
0
19,790
if you got the higher end version w/ the front box that has the ports for sound recording (instruments and such) then ya. Otherwise the soundstorm chip on that nforce is pretty dang good and if you have no problems w/ it and dont want to spring for the more expensive xfi then it wont help really w/ the guitar.
 

bweir

Distinguished
Feb 22, 2006
179
0
18,680
I keep hearing people say that X-Fi is good if you are upgrading from onboard sound, or from and older, cheaper version of the Audigy series.

Some of the big differences are the new software package from Creative, which has to be a nice improvement over the Audigy2 software, and the fact that the X-Fi card takes more of a load of the CPU than the A2.

I also agree with the other posters, if you do go with the X-Fi, don't buy into the marketing schtick about the "high-end" versions, the $100 X-Fi card is just as good, just without a garish 3.5" connector bay.

Personally, I'm not going to buy another Creative card until they smarten up and put an Optical connector on the back of the card. No reason why they couldn't have done it with the X-Fi, instead of having to settle for a thick cable sticking out of the front of the PC when connected with the 3.5" bay.