Creative X-Fi

[Some1ne]

So the $200 X-fi has a ~2-10% performance advantage, massive drivers, clumsy control panels, and slightly increased sound quality. All for a low low 3000% price increase.

I don't think the draw of the card is meant to be any sort of "performance" advantage. What you get for the price premium is mostly improved audio quality, and to most audiophiles, even a small increase in audio quality is easily worth $200 (or much, much more). I do agree that Creative's drivers have a history of sucking very much however.

They "forgot" to list the graph of CPU utilization of the Audigy 2...most likely because the Audigy 2 has much lower CPU utilization than the XiFi, by a factor of 2 or more. Sad isn't it?

Not really...like I said, the draw for most people is going to be the improved quality of the sound, not the fact that the new card uses X% less CPU cycles.

 

[LED]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
Why is everyone so up in arms about this product and Creative Labs? No one is making you buy their products. At least they come out with new products every once in a while even tho they dont have to as they have no immediate competition. And the fact that they have multiple versions on each version of card means they are giving customers options. They, imo, have been doing a great job for over 15 years. They arent bullying PC makers into using their cards or sound technology. They could have easily stayed with the SB Live! 5.1 and never came out with another sound card again as basically everyone seems to think they havent done anything "worthwhile" since that card. I, for one, am very interested in their new card and will most likely get one of the less costlier versions.

Lets see...I have an up to $62.50 settlement that states I can use it for any product off of Clabs site so I try once off of an advertisement that they allow me to but from e-bay which directed me to their site for purchase but would not allow my use of coupon so I call them and cancel...since have received to warning that they will give me a negative feed back which i've never ever had...Now last week they give a place for these new cards which sits in my shopping card for the next few weeks and is purchased once a gain from their site and it won't allow me to use their coup[on which somehow has been reduced to a measly 22.50. I call and ask then get into it with them and state that all who got this settlement should know the real deal and they tell me I'm threatening them and deflaming the company.
I got this settlement because the misinformed the public of the Audigy Cards after replacing the IRQ hog SBLIVe...no I'm not salty but my Jaws are tight towards them...

 

[Some1ne]

Call and threaten to report them to the Better Business Bureau, or whatever that thing is. That should get you your $40 back.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: tk109

Originally posted by: Acanthus
excactly my point, you *HAVE TO* install their friggin 12 control panels because they cant seem to code it all into one.

What does integrated sound cost nowadays? $3?

So the $200 X-fi has a ~2-10% performance advantage, massive drivers, clumsy control panels, and slightly increased sound quality. All for a low low 3000% price increase.

Worth it, totally worth it. Especially with glaringly obvious missing features for the kind of person that would WANT to spend this kind of money on sound (Dolby).

If you have no hands on experience with this why are you voicing such anger? It's very easy to use and athetically pleasing to look at to boot. None of the control panels have to be open at any time for the options to work either. I play music on winamp and close the console for the x-fi. All the settings stay set. Very easy simple and sounds amazing. Well worth the money. Look dont buy it and let us who have the money be happy with our new product. I'm enjoying all my songs over again like they were new.

Seriously....that part is true for sure. 24-bit sounds great.....or atleast much much better than it did with onboard sound or even the sblive! 24-bit (makes sense huh ).

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I just install the X-fi extreme music version (the cheap one with no front panel) here are my thoughts so far.

1. Definately improved audio quality over the Audigy2, WOW! just WOW!
2. The driver installation was trouble free, and works perfectly
3. The included software is a bit bloated, but the control panels are very intuitive and have many nice features.
4. Contrary to prior posts it does have Dolby, and DTS


My only beef is the lack of connections on the card for 2 CD/DVD players or any connections for on case headphone/microphone jacks. There is a 26pin connection for an optional control panel, which I'm sure has the the necessary pins to connect a second optical drive and headphone/microphone jacks. But they don't provide a pinout diagram
If I can't find a diagram it will just take a little trial and error, which is no biggie just a pain in the arse.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Nobody said it couldn't decode DD or DTS, but that is can't encode it. Can it?

 

[sharkeeper]

Wow no 1394.

That's gonna piss some folks off.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: sharkeeper
Wow no 1394.

That's gonna piss some folks off.

But according to the extremetech review: "Since the majority of motherboards and systems now have FireWire onboard, this isn't a major omission."

 

[swatX]

i am kinda skeptical of dropping 200$ on a sound card when i know i wont be using the I/O panel.

if only creative introduced a x-fi Gamers edition for like > 150$

 

[imported_Kensai]

Originally posted by: sharkeeper
Wow no 1394.

That's gonna piss some folks off.

Most people (with current systems) have onboard firewire.

 

[bfonnes]

Originally posted by: Some1ne

Didn't impress me from those two benchmarks they showed

http://www.tomshardware.com/consumer/20050818/creative_x-fi-21.html

I think the premise of that benchmark is flawed...who in their right mind would buy a sound card to try and increase their gaming FPS? That's what a new video card is for...the increase you'll see from any new sound card, even one that's "optimized" to improve FPS, pales in comparison to what a new graphics card will do.

ya, really, unless your sound card is still ISA, what good is it gonna do???

BFonnes

 

[CSMR]

Originally posted by: mattburk
Performance increases, are YOU NUTS?
HIFI guys do not spend $400 on a card because of 1 more fps or 1% less cpu usage. It's all about the SOUND.
That?s why we put 10k+ into our HT speaker systems. I think the key point to the card is increased fidelity.
I do hope it sends a digital signal out that an AVR can understand and decode. Does anyone know if that is supported?

The card is for people that want both presumably. Since you can get better for less if you just want fidelity.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Kensai

Originally posted by: sharkeeper
Wow no 1394.

That's gonna piss some folks off.

Most people (with current systems) have onboard firewire.

Really? I didn't think so.

 

[BFG10K]

Wow no 1394.

That's a deal-breaker for you is it? Tell me, how many 1394 devices do you have?

Honestly, this Creative bashing is getting tiresome.

What does integrated sound cost nowadays? $3?

So the $200 X-fi has a ~2-10% performance advantage, massive drivers, clumsy control panels, and slightly increased sound quality. All for a low low 3000% price increase.

That's a rather simpleton (and inaccurate) spin on things.

the Abit NF7 had very very good sound, off the charts for integrated. It also had clean drivers, very few bugs, and DD.

Oh pu-lease, nVidia's Soundstorm drivers were absolutely riddled with bugs. Multiple reviewers complained about sound drop-outs, crackling, popping (etc) in a wide range of games. Just look at each release note of the drivers to see the critical bugs that were being fixed in each release.

Of course it's far more popular to sweep that under the carpet and continue to bash Creative with "OMG bloated drivers!".

 

[Some1ne]

Really? I didn't think so.

I have onboard firewire...not that I've ever used it or plan to use it...but I have it.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: tk109

Originally posted by: Acanthus
excactly my point, you *HAVE TO* install their friggin 12 control panels because they cant seem to code it all into one.

What does integrated sound cost nowadays? $3?

So the $200 X-fi has a ~2-10% performance advantage, massive drivers, clumsy control panels, and slightly increased sound quality. All for a low low 3000% price increase.

Worth it, totally worth it. Especially with glaringly obvious missing features for the kind of person that would WANT to spend this kind of money on sound (Dolby).

If you have no hands on experience with this why are you voicing such anger? It's very easy to use and athetically pleasing to look at to boot. None of the control panels have to be open at any time for the options to work either. I play music on winamp and close the console for the x-fi. All the settings stay set. Very easy simple and sounds amazing. Well worth the money. Look dont buy it and let us who have the money be happy with our new product. I'm enjoying all my songs over again like they were new.

Seriously....that part is true for sure. 24-bit sounds great.....or atleast much much better than it did with onboard sound or even the sblive! 24-bit (makes sense huh ).

So youre saying the same song, on 24 bit, sounds better? becuase its upsampling, you cant get better sound from the same sample on higher bandwidth, it doesnt magically "make" the missing data.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Wow no 1394.

That's a deal-breaker for you is it? Tell me, how many 1394 devices do you have?

Honestly, this Creative bashing is getting tiresome.

What does integrated sound cost nowadays? $3?

So the $200 X-fi has a ~2-10% performance advantage, massive drivers, clumsy control panels, and slightly increased sound quality. All for a low low 3000% price increase.

That's a rather simpleton (and inaccurate) spin on things.

the Abit NF7 had very very good sound, off the charts for integrated. It also had clean drivers, very few bugs, and DD.

Oh pu-lease, nVidia's Soundstorm drivers were absolutely riddled with bugs. Multiple reviewers complained about sound drop-outs, crackling, popping (etc) in a wide range of games. Just look at each release note of the drivers to see the critical bugs that were being fixed in each release.

Of course it's far more popular to sweep that under the carpet and continue to bash Creative with "OMG bloated drivers!".

Im not doing it to be "popular", I love MS and Intel.

Creative is one of the worst companies in all of computing. Horrible business practices that lead them to no competition. Now they have stagnated the market and release these margainal upgrade steaming piles of sound cards for exhorbitant prices, and everyones drooling like they did something amazing.

Do you think nvidia or ati would get away with a card that has 5% more image quality, 5% more performance, and no DVI for a generation?

 

[jonmcguffin]

I never thought the integrated IEEE 1394 made a whole lot of sense anyhow. As far as I was concerned, it just took up space and if I wanted IEEE 1394, I'd buy a $20 add in card that would give me 3-4 internal connectors as well as 2-3 external connectors.

The Creative bashing is getting old, though I sympathise with the guy who's got the $65 coupon they aren't honoring. I've never been a huge fan of the company, but I respect their place in the marketplace and can certainly see no reason why their latest products should be bashed.

Jon

 

[BFG10K]

Creative is one of the worst companies in all of computing.

Creative supplies the best gaming cards in the business. If that's the "worst company in all of computing" then you need to check the definition of "worst" in your dictionary.

Horrible business practices that lead them to no competition

If other companies aren't making money how is that Creative's fault? Was nVidia's buyout of 3dfx a "horrible business practice"?

Now they have stagnated the market and release these margainal upgrade steaming piles of sound cards for exhorbitant prices, and everyones drooling like they did something amazing.

For gaming they are amazing because they're the best. They have the lowest CPU cycles and the highest level of compatibility around. If you actually stopped to play games with their cards you might start to understand this.

If you're happy with your POS average joe onboard solution that's great and all, but the rest of us want something better.

Do you think nvidia or ati would get away with a card that has 5% more image quality, 5% more performance, and no DVI for a generation?

So Creative should be shipping DVI on their sound cards too? Maybe you should take off that tin-foil hat of yours.

 

[sharkeeper]

That's a deal-breaker for you is it? Tell me, how many 1394 devices do you have?

Honestly, this Creative bashing is getting tiresome.

Creative bashing? Please. A lot of people use 1394. It's superior to USB (all variants) and if you have a comcorder you need it.

Many folks would call this an upgrade from A1/A2 and may be using the 1394 because they don't have this onboard and pci slots are becoming a rarity with dual slot video boards, etc. Why use an extra pci when you don't need to?

Just pointing out a difference between previous products.

The only CL product I own is the A2 notebook and it's excellent. Still no match for the professional 1394 devices I own and use and despite the claims of CL on this new X-Fi whatever, I'm sure its quality still falls short of the true professional grade devices used in studios every day.

Does that make it a POS? Of course not. The graphs on THG are impressive and for $399 at the flagship level, it's a bargain IMO. Let's hope for the folks that buy it and actually use those features the drivers are not a letdown like in previous products.

Since it's not married to the PCI bus, they hopefully will be releasing a USB version like the NX.

From a musician standpoint, 24bit soundfonts and 3D Midi mapping is very appealing. Compositions can go straight to DVD-A so anyone could audition on standard equipment. Now that is actually progress.

 

[BFG10K]

A lot of people use 1394.

I have no doubts people use 1394. The point is that given X-Fi has only just come out that suggests these people have been getting 1394 from elsewhere.

Many folks would call this an upgrade from A1/A2 and may be using the 1394 because they don't have this onboard and pci slots are becoming a rarity with dual slot video boards, etc

I highly doubt it's (m)any; more likely most of them have PCI or integrated mobo solutions.

Also in all of the Creative bashing I've seen I've never come across somebody who defended Creative on the basis of their 1394.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: Acanthus
another 200MB driver, bug ridden, resampling, hype machine from creative :thumbsup:

they really, really, need a competitor.

It was NVIDIA.

Their other Competitor is obsolencene, with Microsoft's new plans of phasing out hardware accelarted audio support for Viste/Longhorn and the fact that intergrated audio is getting better all the time (i.e. Aopen's 533 Tube Vacuume tube audio, DFI's Karajan, and Onkyo's kick ass sound card) this really gives them something to worry about. But yes they do need more compettion other than obsolence.

 

[ReliableData]

WOOTNESS!!!!!!!! I got an X-fi, swung by best buy for SC:CT, and they had teh extreme music one and the platinum. I picked up the platinum, and it is sweet, music and games sound better even on my 5.1 system. The remote is pretty cool too. I'll post a little review of it later on the forums.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Some1ne

Really? I didn't think so.

I have onboard firewire...not that I've ever used it or plan to use it...but I have it.

It makes a great instant high speed peer to peer network for when you do not have any infrastructure around. Just attach a cable and transfer at 400MB/s! Perfect for laptops.

 

[bfonnes]

Originally posted by: Acanthus

Im not doing it to be "popular", I love MS and Intel.

Creative is one of the worst companies in all of computing. Horrible business practices that lead them to no competition. Now they have stagnated the market and release these margainal upgrade steaming piles of sound cards for exhorbitant prices, and everyones drooling like they did something amazing.

Do you think nvidia or ati would get away with a card that has 5% more image quality, 5% more performance, and no DVI for a generation?

I've never had any problem with any Creative product. They have value editions that cost less... if you choose to throw your money away and buy a higher priced product, then that is your fault. Creative became the market leader, because they were better/more compatible than any other card at a time when a lot of other were putting out crap for more money that ppl who had no idea how to use a computer could not figure out how to make it work for their game, and sometimes it just plain wouldn't work no matter what you did. I wouldn't call that unfair business practices. People just wanted to play games, and their card worked because of better driver support. I know, because I did tech support. Getting a driver for a Yamaha sound card that worked for every game sucked. I remember when ATI used to suck. badly. Their directx support in the beginning was awful.
I bought my audigy 2 value edition sound card for $56 at newegg earlier this year, and I thought that was a good deal for a sound card. It's much better than what you used to be able to get at that price. If mainboard manufacturers wanted to put Creative chips in their mainboard chipsets, then their sound cards would probably cost $5-30 as well, cause they would make a hundred million of 'em. You should be more upset at the mainboard manufacturers that put crap on the board to begin with and make you buy a separate sound card to get quality.

BFonnes