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Creative X-Fi

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The Boston Dangler

The Boston Dangler

Lifer
Mar 10, 2005
14,647
2
0
Originally posted by: bozack
I still want to see more reviews of this before I commit to anything...the prices they are asking are insane for this card and most of the reviews seem of the pole smoking variety.
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bingo. they figure vid cards fetch like $400, why not them? a few pole smoking reviews and you've got your suckers.
 
B

bozack

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2000
7,913
12
81
Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

bingo. they figure vid cards fetch like $400, why not them? a few pole smoking reviews and you've got your suckers.
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maybe I am a cynic however I just cannot fathom that great of a jump in quality/performance from creative...almost seems like an oxymoron.

I have no problem paying the $40 or so they are asking for their ZS card but the bare min X-Fi is $140!!! and no option of a value card...talk about getting bent over!

All I want is something that sounds a bit nicer than onboard for my games, thats it.

I guess the only thing to do is hold out for anands review and get by on onboard however even if it does score well I will have a really darn hard time forking over for that as I doubt I will notice that much of a difference as my hearing sucks.

The current reviews seem like paid advertisements though for the most part.
 
The Boston Dangler

The Boston Dangler

Lifer
Mar 10, 2005
14,647
2
0
If I had to recommend a Creative product at gunpoint, it would be the A2ZS. Skip the Value model (it's stripped), and all other packages (bundled rip-offs). Otherwise, I like the Mystique. The A2ZS will give you decent sound, and a 15ish percent bump in framerate for 3D games. The Mystique uses slightly more CPU, giving a 10ish percent bump over on-board audio. Plus, it has a cooler name :p
 
Googer

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: BouZouki
I have an Audigy 2 ZS.

I am interested in the cheapest X-Fi model,

No gaming, I dont need fps jumps, I just want to know if this card is worth the jump.

All I care about is the sound and the features, and good features.

Stero surround is a good feature, CMSS sucks.

Klipsch 5.1 Ultras,
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No it is not worth the upgrade. Wait till X-FI 2.0 comes out then upgrade. By then the cheapest card should have some kind memory. The sonic performance between the X-FI and Currnet audigy cards is about the same.
 
A

Accord99

Platinum Member
Jul 2, 2001
2,259
172
106
Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

N.B. This digital socket on the Sound Blaster cards doubles as the digital coax output. If you don't have digital DIN, you can use a mono or stereo mini-jack > RCA converter to connect to the coax input on your speakers, as the front R/L or AC3/DTS signals are sent through the tip of the plug.
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Yes, in other words it just works like every other SPDIF output. You get either 2 channel uncompressed PCM, or surround audio via pre-encoded DD/DTS. The only difference is the soundcard can output 3 sets of SPDIF signals for 5.1 uncompressed digital audio, but this only supported by some multimedia speaker systems and a few high-end receivers.

 
The Boston Dangler

The Boston Dangler

Lifer
Mar 10, 2005
14,647
2
0
Originally posted by: Accord99
Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

N.B. This digital socket on the Sound Blaster cards doubles as the digital coax output. If you don't have digital DIN, you can use a mono or stereo mini-jack > RCA converter to connect to the coax input on your speakers, as the front R/L or AC3/DTS signals are sent through the tip of the plug.
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Yes, in other words it just works like every other SPDIF output. You get either 2 channel uncompressed PCM, or surround audio via pre-encoded DD/DTS. The only difference is the soundcard can output 3 sets of SPDIF signals for 5.1 uncompressed digital audio, but this only supported by some multimedia speaker systems and a few high-end receivers.
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Ummm...no. Read the whole thing, not just the parts you like. The Digital Out located on the card is not SPDIF.

I have disproved every point you have tried to make, I am done arguing. Thanks for playing.
 
A

Accord99

Platinum Member
Jul 2, 2001
2,259
172
106
Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
Ummm...no. Read the whole thing, not just the parts you like. The Digital Out located on the card is not SPDIF.
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SPDIF is a protocol for sending digital audio data. The Creative digital output supports it, otherwise receivers would not automatically recognize the data coming in from the soundcard.

I have disproved every point you have tried to make, I am done arguing. Thanks for playing.
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Actually, it's the other way around. I disproved your notion that the Mystique makes for the best soundcard for audiophiles and HTPC.
 
J

jonmcguffin

Member
Aug 18, 2005
51
0
0
Originally posted by: amking
how much will the fatality one cost?
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My goodness, the question to this is sprawled all over the Creative site, it's in every single review of this product on the net and mentioned a time or two within this thread.
 
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jonmcguffin

Member
Aug 18, 2005
51
0
0
Could somebody here who DOES consider themselves and audiophile please tell me then what the best sound card to get right now?

I've been in search for the "best" card for the money for a long long time now. My most recent venture was the M-Audio Revoluion 7.1 card. Bought that about a year and a half ago and although the sound quality seemed alright, the card would make popping noises occasionally. Moved it to a different slot, to a different computer, same thing. That was quite frustrating. I finally ended up just sucking it up and buying an Audigy 2 ZS. I'm relatively happy with the card but I"m still in search of something that offers up more.
 
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amking

Member
May 22, 2005
110
0
0
Originally posted by: jonmcguffin
Originally posted by: amking
how much will the fatality one cost?
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My goodness, the question to this is sprawled all over the Creative site, it's in every single review of this product on the net and mentioned a time or two within this thread.
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blah.

 
P

Pariah

Elite Member
Apr 16, 2000
7,357
20
81
Depends on your usage jonmcguffin. If you're at all interesting in gaming, it's the X-Fi bar none by a mile. If you have no interest in gaming and just want the highest quality stereo output for music, you'll be looking at something like the LynxTWO which is true audiophile grade and will run you about $1000. If you're on a more constrained budget (sub $200), then the lowend X-Fi appears to be the at the top of the heap right now going by the numbers (the tested numbers, not the spec sheets), especially if you want DVD-A capability as Creative is still the only PC solution. Something in the same range that doesn't have all the bells and whistles the X-Fi has, would be the E-MU 1212, which ironically enough, is a Creative subsidary and the company largely responsible for the development of the X-Fi architecture.
 
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TomKazansky

Golden Member
Sep 18, 2004
1,401
0
0
very interesting - i won't judge until i actually hear the differences. Even if it takes a few fps away from my games.

anything is better than bose, seriously.
 
Googer

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: blurredvision
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: Stangs55
Originally posted by: Googer
The Platinum Card has better DAC's (if I recall correctly). I have the Basic ZS Version and It seems to funtion fine.
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No. The Elite Pro is the only version w/the higher quality components.
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I thought he was talking about the Audigy ZS Line.

For the X-FI the differance is the Fatality and higher cards have the 64mb of ram on board for games.
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The XtremeMusic version comes with just the card.
The Platinum version comes with the card, the I/O box, the remote, and some extra software over the basic version.
The Fatality version comes with the card with 64MB of X-Ram on it, the I/O box, the remote, and the same software that comes with the Platinum version.
The Pro version comes with the card with 64MB of X-Ram, but with better quality DAC's, the remote, an external, more advanced I/O box, and even more software over all other versions.
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Thanks, I knew the differances but cannot remember the names of each line. Creative's naming is as confusing as AMD's (not as bad though)
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
45
91
Originally posted by: infestedgh0st
very interesting - i won't judge until i actually hear the differences. Even if it takes a few fps away from my games.

anything is better than bose, seriously.
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Well, several bose sets I've seen have come with pretty nice receivers though which is what we'd be closest to compare to. HK AVR 635?
 
W

w00t

Diamond Member
Nov 5, 2004
5,545
0
0
i dont know why this is sucha big deal its s soundcard my sound is fine. i dont even like speakers or desire to get some.
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
45
91
Originally posted by: w00t
i dont know why this is sucha big deal its s soundcard my sound is fine. i dont even like speakers or desire to get some.
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I think the majority of the population would say the same thing about most of your computer components too. Integrated sound is good enough for the vast majority of people out there. :)
X-Fi certainly has a market is catering to.
 
B

bozack

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2000
7,913
12
81
Pariah do you care to quantify your statement of:

If you're at all interesting in gaming, it's the X-Fi bar none by a mile.
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I mean I read the reviews, looked at the charts and while there is a notable performance improvement with the X-FI is it really enough to justify the IMHO massive price differential between the older Audigy cards and or whatever else is out there??

The Audigy 2 ZS was one of Creatives Mid range cards and even in its hayday you were looking at about $120-$130 street with good deals comming in around $80-90 and the only difference between this card and their top of the line unit was the lack of the front IO port bus and remote or whatever...

Now with the X-FI you are looking at a lowend of $140-$150 which doesn't even offer the onboard memory that the ridiculously price Fatal1ty board offers and is about three or four times more expensive than the A2 ZS after rebate....

is the low end X-Fi really worth 3X that of the ZS in terms of performance and sound for games??

Personally I can barely come to terms with these prices for video cards let alone a sound card, the "gamers choice" Fatal1ty board seems absolutely loco at almost $300 big ones.

The way I see it, and this comes back to Y0yo's comment with:

"X-Fi certainly has a market is catering to."
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In that Creative seem to be now catering to the crowd that cares little for "value" and has no regard for money but yet is willing to pay out the wazoo for what I would consider minimal performance gains...so sure if the utmost in performance with absolutely no regard for cost is your ultimate goal then the X-FI seems like the ideal choice, but for those of us who don't live in Knot's landing and actually have reservations about spending crazy money on components for slight performance gains is the X-Fi something worth trying to justify or is it just more hype that makes a difference but nothing notable.

Thanks

Please correct me if I am wrong in this assessment.

 
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