Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty Sound Card $199

[jdopple]

Yeah, the onboard sound in not BAD, but it does not hold up well against the card solutions. Not by a longshot.

 

[Skiguy411]

Originally posted by: MrBaseball
I called today and they said it would ship in 1-2 weeks.

WTF? They said that last week. I should have just went for the music edition at best buy.

 

[cheapherk]

And here's the latest for those of you who preordered the Fata1ity (I had an answer within a half hour)-

Dear William:

Thank you for choosing Creative Labs. I've been told the X-Fi cards
will start shipping the week of Sept. 26th. Sometimes the new products
will be at retailers before we are able to ship them due to prior
commitments made to them by the marketing dept. I do fully expect that
these cards that are pre-ordered will start shipping soon.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: MrBaseball
I called today and they said it would ship in 1-2 weeks.

Wait, is that for everything? I just ordered an X-Fi XtremeMusic from CL Sunday night(I had an Audigy1 claim discount to use) and they still haven't moved it past "pending" after today even though it's in stock. What exactly is going on?

 

[MrBaseball]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: MrBaseball
I called today and they said it would ship in 1-2 weeks.

Wait, is that for everything? I just ordered an X-Fi XtremeMusic from CL Sunday night(I had an Audigy1 claim discount to use) and they still haven't moved it past "pending" after today even though it's in stock. What exactly is going on?

That was for the X-Fi Fatal1ty that I pre-ordered.

 

[cheapherk]

AHHH- if my Fatal1ty preorder doesn't ship from Creative by Friday, I'm just going to have to go to BestBuy and get the Platinum version. Sucks- I don't think I'll be able to get the Fatal1ty for $199 anytime soon.

 

[Maus]

Originally posted by: Steve GuilliotI suppose the "audiophiles" out there would disagree with me. Well don't, otherwise I'll sneak around and oxygenate your $100 speaker cables. Save your money and buy a faster proc, better screen, or faster video card. That's what a real gamer would do.

The concept of an "audiophile" approaching Creative cards amuses me greatly

I suppose it's good for the "green markers improve my CD sound, I don't know how it works it just does" market.

Originally posted by: bob4432
no, personally i think all of the fatal1ty stuff is just overpriced regular items that might have a different color pcb or some weird/different hsf combos. total joke.

Yeah, even if I was interested I'd not buy it simply because it's endorsed by that joker.

 

[MrBaseball]

my order status has changed to "Pending".

 

[argoldst]

ordered from newegg and am playing with my fatality now

 

[sapiens74]

Originally posted by: MrBaseball
my order status has changed to "Pending".

me too

 

[cheapherk]

Originally posted by: MrBaseball
my order status has changed to "Pending".

My credit card was charged today for the Quakecon preorder. Won't be long now!

Originally posted by: argoldst
ordered from newegg and am playing with my fatality now

Maybe so, but remember we saved a whopping $80 ($199) compared to what you paid ($279) at newegg

 

[mindless1]

Unfortunately none of the things this card does, have anything to do with sound quality.

It does do a few digital tricks that (depending on personal preference) some might find sound better, or worse. It's all a gimmik though if you're not into gaming.

This is not a good card for headphone use, as it has unbuffered output. Not so great for any analog out actually as it uses poor 'lytics on output stage.

Basically the card does not have the prerequisite parts to result in good sound, so instead they're trying to overwhelm you with features, digital logic which can only change the sound, not aid to reproduce it.

Definitely not an audiophile card by any stretch. More like a card for a rich gamer who aspires to do consumer grade audio work too.

 

[amd4life]

soo is the top end the model if you are mostly a music listener? im want a new sound card with mic outputs

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: amd4life
soo is the top end the model if you are mostly a music listener? im want a new sound card with mic outputs

No, it is mainly for audio creation.

 

[Skiguy411]

Alright so mine shipped yesterday. UPS is saying it will take another full week just to get here! Sheesh....I should have just got the xtreme music edition at best buy.

 

[MrBaseball]

Mine shipped Scheduled to be here on Oct 5th.

 

[ozone13]

Got an email stating mine shipped as well. Finally.

 

[cooliodealio]

Is this better than an Audigy 2 ZS?

 

[cyrax78]

Originally posted by: cooliodealio
Is this better than an Audigy 2 ZS?

You're kidding right? Not only does this use the new xi-fi chipset, it is also one of the higher end models.

 

[cooliodealio]

Originally posted by: cyrax78

Originally posted by: cooliodealio
Is this better than an Audigy 2 ZS?

You're kidding right? Not only does this use the new xi-fi chipset, it is also one of the higher end models.

No, I'm not kidding. Is the X-Fi Music version substantially better than the Audigy 2 ZS?

 

[ozone13]

Have you read this whole thread?

Check out this review.

 

[cheapherk]

Originally posted by: ozone13
Have you read this whole thread?

Check out this review.

Don't forget- this thread was started because of an awesome preorder offer for the Fatal1ty for $199 ($80 cheaper than retail). Most people who would buy an X-Fi are more than just casual gamers & music listeners anyway.

My Fatal1ty will be here early next week!!!

 

[cooliodealio]

Originally posted by: cooliodealio

Originally posted by: cyrax78

Originally posted by: cooliodealio
Is this better than an Audigy 2 ZS?

You're kidding right? Not only does this use the new xi-fi chipset, it is also one of the higher end models.

No, I'm not kidding. Is the X-Fi Music version substantially better than the Audigy 2 ZS?

I still haven't got a straight answer to this question. The only answer I've seen is that this thread is about the X-Fi. I know that. But I want to know if the X-Fi Music version substantially better than the Audigy 2 ZS?

 

[cheapherk]

Read here.

 

[whatmeworry]

Originally posted by: cheapherk
Read here.

From the above article:

"So where does that leave Audigy 2 ZS owners? If you use speakers, the differences are probably too subtle to make the upgrade worthwhile. With headphones, however, an upgrade yields noticeably improved sound. Also in the X-Fi?s favor is the ability play up to 128 audio streams in such games as Battlefield 2 at the highest quality setting. That might sound like overkill, but on a 64-person server, the game will generate more than the 64 audio streams the 2 ZS is capable of."