X-Fi is it really that good? N E 1 have it yet?

[slash]

Yeah I wanna know what you think of the X-Fi only if you have heard it and or own one. Is it really an improvement to the audigy2 series?

I am looking at buying one platinum x-fi am I wasting my money or?

[Crystallas]

anything is an improvement over the audigy2.

"X-Fi is it really that good? N E 1 have it yet? "
Nope! and Yes, I went after the promosing bait.

Ever since the XFi, its really been the talk of the sound world :roll:

[slash]

Hehehe uhm buthead heehe your getting that on my leg heheh
burn hehe burn heehe having a nuclear heehe meltdown hehehe burn ehehe
yea cool hehee cool heehee

The audigy2 does sound good still and yeah sure they will keep popping out new chips that have more capabilities and may improve on the quality a bit more, but is it worth the investment or wait til next year when maybe they will do dolby digital sound? That is if they ever get to that.

I have heard that it takes a lot of the load off the cpu making games play faster with eax enabled.

[Puffnstuff]

If you've got an audigy 2 and don't game I'd leave well enough alone. I've got an x-fi fatal1ty and apart from gaming I don't see that it's worth the $270 that I paid for it. I'm still tinkering with the settings, and there are many, however at this time I must say that I feel ripped off.

[wind_comm]

I just got my *base* x-fi card and after some minor installation difficulties all I have to say is;

it owns.

seriously, I can hear EVERYTHING in Counter-Strike. from up-dow,n distance left-right and forward-back. it's amazing. all it needs is an equalizer cause it's a little to bass-y for me in CS. (I use headphones. I had no idea cheapy headphones like that could ever be so clearly defined with their sound)

not to mention how good music and moves are.

[Puffnstuff]

Ok I've been using it more and I can hear more separation in music and the eax when playing cs:s is better than with the audigy. The instruments have more separation now than with my audigy2. It's a very different sound and it's taken some getting used to. In the beginning I had software installation woes but everything seems to be working fine now. I just orderd a pair of turtle beach 5.1 headphones\mike that plug directly into the sound card with the main speakers so I'm curious how they'll sound on it. I'm hoping to be more discreet with my late night gaming instead of shaking the pots and pans in the kitchen like I do now with my klipsch promedia 5.1's thundering.

[wind_comm]

the thing is, it makes generic headphones sound amazing. I don't know how 5.1 heacphones will be, but tell me.

[Puffnstuff]

Hey wind you should have an equalizer to adjust your sound in the console, even in gaming mode. As for the headphones they have splitters and plug into the same jacks as the speakers so they'll get the same feed instead of using the creative version of virtual surround over a 2 channel headphone.

[wind_comm]

wierd. my version of the drivers doesnt have an equalizer =\

I'm using just normal headdphones for gaming, not any 5.1 set so =P

[Puffnstuff]

Ok I've been listening to more stuff and I have to say that now I actually prefer the sound of the x-fi over my previous audigy2. When listening to music, especially when listening to the song "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream" by Dream Theater I can hear instruments that were not audible before and I'm really liking it now. As for the turtle beach headphones well I do like them but they don't have the channel separation that I was hoping for. The subs vibrating my head is an interesting sensation but it's still not on par with a good 5.1 speaker setup.

[wind_comm]

I really like the crystalizer cause the stuff that I knew was there but could never really hear, comes through more clearly. seriously I would not listen to it any other way if I had a choice.

[slash]

I use the spdif through, so my yamaha 5760 cleans up the seperation very very well. I am still way satisfied with this audigy2 and all the zs drivers which include some real nice updates. The media player has new looking skins and more funtionality. Creative has also solved the drivers issues with crackling and at times had to be reinstalled.

I am just going to let that x-fi drop in price and then maybe grab one....

[retherfordaehs]

Wow. You guys sound REALLY pleased with your cards. I was contemplating dropping down $400 for this guy:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6829102191

Now you guys have cemented that decision. ;-) All I need now is the $400. :(

[skrubol]

Ok I've been listening to more stuff and I have to say that now I actually prefer the sound of the x-fi over my previous audigy2. When listening to music, especially when listening to the song "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream" by Dream Theater I can hear instruments that were not audible before and I'm really liking it now. As for the turtle beach headphones well I do like them but they don't have the channel separation that I was hoping for. The subs vibrating my head is an interesting sensation but it's still not on par with a good 5.1 speaker setup.

Wasn't Audigy2 known for having poor music and DVD sound quality? I thought it was basically only really good for gaming.

[Puffnstuff]

My audigy2 sounded great but this x-fi sounds even better. It did just fine watching dolby movies and playing music but the x-fi is that much better sounding. I still think it costs too much though.

[slash]

Wow. You guys sound REALLY pleased with your cards. I was contemplating dropping down $400 for this guy:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6829102191

Now you guys have cemented that decision. ;-) All I need now is the $400. :(

No way would I drop 385$ on a sound card! :(

150$ I could deal with that....

[slash]

Wasn't Audigy2 known for having poor music and DVD sound quality? I thought it was basically only really good for gaming.

If you listen to music through a 5.1 computer desktop type speaker system perhaps it would sound like crap, in fact just aweful! I use to own a cambridge works 5.1 and after replacing it with a yamaha a/v reciever and the yamaha bp4500 speakers that cambridge crap shouldnt have even been on the market. I would never again buy a computer 5.1 sound system they suck!

Put that sound through a good a/v and it can just blow you away including watching movies.

[Puffnstuff]

Unless you've got a klipsch speaker system which is on another level. They sound better than many dedicated stereo systems. No other pc speaker system offers dual subs with the wattage and clarity that klipsch does.

[retherfordaehs]

Unless you've got a klipsch speaker system which is on another level. They sound better than many dedicated stereo systems. No other pc speaker system offers dual subs with the wattage and clarity that klipsch does.

Well, I've never once heard any PC speakers, even the better 5.1ch setups, that could compare in sound quality to a good A/V reciever. I have my computer hooked up to an RC 500watt A/V reciever and it sounds awesome- this is with the on-board SoundMax hunk-a-junk as well.

I'm imagining that if I had this system hooked up to a X-Fi audio board, I'd really be blown away. ;-)

As for wattage and volume, I'm pushing just under 1k watts. How many PC speakers can actually pump out at that wattage? I'm also running two 15" and two 12" subs. I'll take that combo over dual 10" subs or what not any day. :-D I'm also saving up for a new A/V reciever. One of the more expensive ones. I'd like to get Onkyo's top-of-their-line receiver that puts out 170x7. That is about all the wattage I need, and that would be over 1K total watts for my system as I have a dedicated 350watts for my subs. That'll soon be a dedicated 750watts as I'm
gonna' add a 400watt 10" sub to it.

The only thing that puzzles me, is why I ain't deaf yet??? ;-)

But wattage alone isn't the key factor. The setup also needs a good sound-to-noise ratio. I'd prefer pushing less watts at a great db than more watts at a lower db. If I can get a good match of high wattage and db (90+db range across the board), I'd be happy. Fortunately, the lowest db rating on a pair of my speakers is 88db across the board.

But you know what? You are definitly right about klipsch. I've almost bought some from them for several system builds I've done for friends. In fact, I just built my brother a new gaming rig and almost went with klipsch current top offering. But his neighbors wouldn't have liked me that much if I had. ;-) :-D :-D ;-)

[wind_comm]

...I <3 edifier...

for me its not about power, but...uhh...how realistic(?) the sound is. edifier is a great alternative to the normal pc speakers and they sound amazing. not to mention a good choice for all us poor people =(

[retherfordaehs]

...I <3 edifier...

for me its not about power, but...uhh...how realistic(?) the sound is. edifier is a great alternative to the normal pc speakers and they sound amazing. not to mention a good choice for all us poor people =(

After re-reading my post, kinda' does sound like I'm obsessed with wattage and what not. That wasn't my intent.

What I meant was I haven't heard anything sound as crisp, clean, and realistic from any PC speakers compared to a good A/V reciever. By going off about the wattage I was kind of referring to realism: explosions actualy cause intense vibrations through out my room (and the rest of the house ;-) ), I can hear people (or critters) sneaking around behind me, etc. Heck, it sounds so good that when playing a hunting game I almost get into it as much as I would an actual hunt. :-D :-D

I've never heard any pc speaker system that could do that. And I have heard some of the more expensive and popular speakers for PC.

But, even the most expensive PC speakers are cheaper than a decent A/V reciever when you factor in you have to purchase speakers to go with that A/V reciever. Lucky for me almost all my audio equipment was free. :cool:

[slash]

I couldnt agree more with retherfordaehs about a/v and surround sound speaker system. Just incredible sound!

To me the true fidelity of the sound isnt power and loud it is how real the system sounds from lows to highs and how true the instruments are replicated. I have almost always found that a system with a great amount of wattage sounds far better than one thats weak and cant produce a true instrument sound. The speakers must also be matched to the receiver.

[wind_comm]

I have no clue what the hell I'm doing around speakers but I live my edifiers as they are good enough for the average user and me who is starting to pick up a nastily expensive audiophile streak.

[slash]

I have no clue what the hell I'm doing around speakers but I live my edifiers as they are good enough for the average user and me who is starting to pick up a nastily expensive audiophile streak.

Yeah here is the edifiers doing the nasty!

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/loud ... ors-2.html

If it sounds ok to you enjoy!

[wind_comm]

thats probably a case of a bad review sample. or just an american screwing things over for a canadian company.