Creative SXFI Products

[Uriel]

Big reductions with the manufacturer on SXFI Amp usb dac and SXFI Air headphones at the moment (both about 1/3 launch cost). Thought I'd give a type of headphone surround virtualisation I'd not tried a go at the price so I have one of the former on its way. Never tried personalised HRTF headphone virtualisation before.

Sadly it looks like in-ear microphone based personalisation still isn't available for us mere mortals (seems you either need to work for Creative or live in Singapore for that), which was what blew people away at trade shows over the last few years, but I gather the HRTF personalisation via photos and Android app has got on to it's 3rd revision and it's been getting some very good feedback recently.

I'm still quite a fan of Dolby Headphone (the earlier rooms 1, 2 and 3 version) and the Dolby Atmos virtualisation that Windows provides now isn't quite as convincing to me. Not at all enamoured by Creative SBX Studio and I never found CMSS-3D Headphone that impressive.

My best gaming audio setup was probably 4 channel CMSS-3D from an Auzentech X-Fi Prelude (and later X-fi XtremeMusic after Auzentech went bust and stopped updating drivers), either sent to 4 speakers or processed externally with Dolby Headphone using a Victor SU-DH1. If you kept to 4 channels it still had MacroFX and Elevation filter for object based 3d sound (like an early version of Dolby Atmos). Running 5.1 or higher killed those features. My gosh, we've regressed, mostly thanks to Microsoft.

 

[Rroff]

Sadly audio has been regressing in feature support since about the time Creative killed off Aureal.

I find the AE-5 with SBX Studio passable but nothing special but we seem a long way from the trajectory things were starting to take at the turn of the millennium. I remember having excitement seeing games starting to embrace multi-channel hardware accelerated audio and physically simulated sound then it all died off.

Thanks Creative, thanks Microsoft... for nothing.

 

[Uriel]

Well, I've got this set up now. Ran through the ear and face photos using the android app (use in android seems very limited though). At least on my phone (Redmi Note 9s) apps like Netflix don't produce surround sound, so it's basically simulating 2 front speakers there. Using it in Windows after the initial setup works very well though, and I quickly settled on using it in 7.1 mode, with a little music and Netflix. No games yet.

A few hours in and this is the most directionally and spatially convincing virtual surround sound I've tried over stereo headphones. I ditched the Aurvana Trio LS pretty quickly (they're not that impressive, lacking treble) though and switched to my Goldring DR150s. SXFi reminds me of DH3 spatially (as per a Xonar D2 or Victor SU-DH1) but without the unnecessary room reflections. I might try re-taking the photos for a new calibration / personalisation because the frontal audio image sounds very slightly off to the left in terms of direction but it's not bad by any means. Prior to this the only convincing 'frontal audio image' from a virtualised surround via headphones came with Dolby Headphone for me. CMSS-3D Headphone never did it. SBX Pro-studio never managed it. I did get a good sense of side and rear with those but it never sounded like the 'on screen' action was really in front of me. It works for me with SXfi. As with the effect I experienced with Dolby Headphone, SXFi is another alternative that genuinely brings me the illusion of listening to speakers instead of headphones. For people who've tried SXFi before, remember the personalisation is on it's 3rd iteration so it might be worth trying again.

Done a bit of switching between the Windows version of Dolby Atmos headphone and SXFi, even with Atmos soundtracks in Netflix (mainly 6 Underground). There is a much clearer sense of distance with SXFi for me. Both work for direction in my case. Just a side note on Netflix - I've never really been convinced that Dolby Atmos headphone in windows allows an Atmos soundtrack in the Windows 10 Netflix app. When it comes to selecting an audio track - Netflix just gives 2.0 and 5.1 options. Hence I believe what the Netflix app is doing is mapping a 5.1 mix to Dolby Atmos headphone (so not allowing object based audio). As such the only genuine 'atmos content' I'm aware of for Windows Dolby Headphone are games with truly 3d audio rather than a 5.1 or 7.1 mix. Not got around to testing at the moment.

I'm intrigued to move on to some more demanding headphones like my HD600s to see how it copes as an amp - but so far, so good. On the Goldring DR150s mid 20% ish volume is as high as I'm ever likely to go.

My experience so far makes me wonder how the implementation in the Creative SXfi Carrier soundbar might be. You have an atmos-certified soundbar with the SXFi headphone tech built in there. Hence, if connected by HDMI, I think they might have fully a working atmos implementation with object based 3d headphone audio there. Could perhaps be a 'poor man's Smyth Realiser A16 (I'm not suggesting it's that good though!).

What would be a very handy product for the PC would be a HDMI based atmos-capable (for genuine 3d object based Headphone Audio rather than just simulated speakers) audio-extractor headphone amp with this technology, that would then pass the video on to a monitor or TV. Of course that would be perfect for the Xbox Series consoles too.

 

[V F]

Sadly audio has been regressing in feature support since about the time Creative killed off Aureal.

I find the AE-5 with SBX Studio passable but nothing special but we seem a long way from the trajectory things were starting to take at the turn of the millennium. I remember having excitement seeing games starting to embrace multi-channel hardware accelerated audio and physically simulated sound then it all died off.

Thanks Creative, thanks Microsoft... for nothing.

Very few chase Creative these days unlike the old days. So many stay away from Creative and their sound cards. Me included due to their drivers. I think my next investment is going to be a really good DAC and AMP.

 

[Uriel]

The SXFi Amp is a USB DAC / Amp (hence no Creative Drivers to contend with) that will operate in 2, 6 or 8 channel modes.

The SXFi programmable DSP is actually optional and can be switched on or off at the touch of a button. It also has a 10 band eq built in that's app controlled and not driver dependent.

As a DAC / amp it reviewed pretty well at its original RRP of £150 ish in 2019. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...tive-sxfi-amp-review-headphone-adapter.21636/ They can now be had for £50.

 

[Uriel]

Something I wasn't anticipating here is how much of an enormous difference selecting a headphones in the SXFi app that closely match what you're listening with.

Select the wrong headphones in app with SXFi enabled and it sounds awful.

The generic headphone works well with my Goldring DR150s. The generic in-ear setting works OK with my Audio-technica ATH-ANC33iS but the Shure SE846 is far better. Both are quite detailed IEMs so the match kind of makes sense.

 

[Uriel]

I think at the moment I probably wouldn't buy an internal soundcard.

For home cinema the best option is just HDMI from an NVIDIA or AMD graphics card to a receiver or soundbar.

Headphone wise - a USB connected DAC / Amp is a decent option. This Creative SXFi Amp is one of the cheaper ones worth considering for headphones. If you want virtual surround over headphones it does a decent job but even when that is switched off it's decent enough. If more connectivity is needed the Soundblaster X3 and X4 have the same headphone virtualization tech built in, as does the Soundblaster GC7.

 

[Uriel]

Happy accident... I've taken to watching Netflix on a windows tablet while on my cross trainer. As such I wanted something robust and sweatproof and remembered I had some JVC HA-EC10-B unused lying around. These are a pretty cheap iem (like £8-9 cheap) with over ear hooks.

Just tried them with the SXFi amp and my phone and tried some different headphone models. I'm simply stunned by what the SXFi amp does for the soundstage. Many of the headphone profiles don't work that well but for some reason the HD650 profile hits the jackpot.

The packaging claims these JVCs go down to 10hz (!) and - my gosh, the way the SXFi algorithm lifts the bass on these out of my head and in front of me is just incredible, bordering on miraculous) for the price (of both - but especially the IEMs). Perhaps the treble and mids can seem a little veiled but it's by no means muddy. Without the SXFi amp processing the JVCs are not bad for a cheap headphone but nothing terribly special.

I was very satisfied with the results from my Goldring DR150s but not so much with the IEMs I've tried - Sennheiser ie8 and Audio-technica ANC23, plus Creative's own Aurvana Trio LS.

I think what's happened is that the DSP has less to do in correcting the trickery that manufacturers use to play with the headstage like angled drivers and reflectors present on the other items I've tried. The Goldring DR150, HD650 and these cheap JVC sports IEMs are all as simple as it comes in that respect.

I'm going to have a play with these IEMs and the Dolby Atmos virtualization in Windows now...

Edit: Had a play with SXFi, JVCs and Saving Private Ryan on Netflix. Just astonishing synergy really. Going to have to dig out some more of my headphones that have a 'neutral' headstage. That seems to be where the SXFi processing really seems to shine.

 

[EsaT]

Something I wasn't anticipating here is how much of an enormous difference selecting a headphones in the SXFi app that closely match what you're listening with.

Select the wrong headphones in app with SXFi enabled and it sounds awful.

That's natural result of some (well lots) headphones having all the way from bad to total garbage accuracy, even completely destroying binaural cues created by any HRTF.
So to keep up binaural cues working with those crap accuracy headphones, opposite distortions have to be processed into signal.
And obviously after that signal sounds garbage from headphones with good accuracy. (or different type "inaccuracy")

I'm going to have a play with these IEMs and the Dolby Atmos virtualization in Windows now...

For generic/fixed HRTF you'll want good accuracy having headphones.

 

[Uriel]

Well, with Atmos headphone the JVCs can certainly manage direction but not so much distance. Reminds me a bit of using multi-driver surround sound headphones like the Speedlink Medusas. By comparison SXFi is much more expansive.

 

[Uriel]

Another decent combination: my Senn ie6 IEMs with the HD800 headphone setting. These capture a lot of detail that the JVCs miss. There is huge depth and transparency to the soundstage with this combination. A real impression of 3d space.

 

[Uriel]

OK - Settled on pairing the Senn ie6 with the Sony MDR-Z7 model in app. The directionality and three dimensional depth of soundstage this produces is quite scary, and it seems to much reduce artificial sounding simulated room reflections I was getting in other headphone models.

As such, I'm intrigued as to what speakers and listening room are being modelled (can't find any information from Creative). Something I've never had happen before on headphones with stereo source material is I hear vocals coming from a higher elevation than guitars and bass (and it's a 3d soundstage out in front of me). Rather than just the tone itself representing a psychoacoustic elevation effect, I think what's actually going on is that floor-standing speakers with tweeters at the top and woofers lower down are being modelled by the SXFI DSP. I didn't notice this effect with the JVCs - and I put it down to the ie6 being significantly more detailed. The remote bass effect is just as good but there is very little of the veiled element of higher frequency sounds that I noticed with the cheaper IEMs.

Also this is probably the most natural-sounding pairing I've come across for various Netflix soundtracks (having tried most of my headphone collection now). I am getting something that sounds like elevation effects in soundtracks labelled Atmos - however - Netflix labels the soundtracks as Atmos in the summary screen but if I select soundtrack options while watching I'm listening in English 5.1 mode. I'm genuinely not sure what is going on here. I think that's just that many 5.1 mixes have deliberately recorded elevation cues and it works well with this DSP / IEM combo (possibly better than if it was a physical speaker 5.1 set with no dedicated height speakers handling an atmos soundtrack). I wasn't aware a Windows PC could handle multichannel atmos directly - just via headphones or put out by HDMI to a receiver- and Spatial Sound is definitely turned off. Puzzling but it sounds good anyway.

Edit: As recommended by WhatHiFi for testing speaker bass:

what this combo does with this track is just obscene. No way would I sneak any kind of speaker system into the house that could pull this off to the extent the SXFi amp does.

 

[Grim5]

Lol, if you want to really test bass:

This should hit like a truck if you have good bass

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nxg4C365LbQ

 

[michty_me]

I've been contemplating getting rid of my G3 and getting an SXFI amp dongle for my laptop. I think the G3 is struggling with harder to drive headphones.
I've noticed the SXFI amp is currently £39 reduced from £139 so quite tempted.

 

[Purgatory]

I've been contemplating getting rid of my G3 and getting an SXFI amp dongle for my laptop. I think the G3 is struggling with harder to drive headphones.
I've noticed the SXFI amp is currently £39 reduced from £139 so quite tempted.

The SXFI amp is junk don't waste your money on it, it's not even worth £5 or even free as it messes up the sound and the effect is terrible and it sounds better with it off and even when off it sounds worse than just using the headphones jack on the device or a usb to headphone adaptor. Also shocked they can even call it an amp as the power output is terrible on it and will not drive any good headphones as they want you to use it with their junk headphones that use hardly any power and sound rubbish. Real headphones need real amps not these fake toys.

Get yourself one of these :-

iFi Audio hip-dac2 :- https://ifi-audio.com/products/hip-dac2/

or if you want bluetooth support too this one :-

​

iFi GO blu :- https://ifi-audio.com/products/go-blu/


They both can be found for about the same price so shop around (currently both can be had for £179). Also the hip dac2 has higher power so can run louder on more demanding headphones than the GO blu, but the Go blu's main advantage is the bluetooth support too. For your use the laptop I would get the hip dac 2 as you state you need something to drive them harder. These are both portable options too and can be used with your phone or other devices too. Also both support balanced and none balanced headphone out.

I have listened to both and own the Ifi XDSD Gryphon as an amp/dac for my laptop, tablets, phones and other devices but this is expensive (£600) and only worth it if you want to connect many different devices and has a higher powered amp inside too than both above but this is ear bleeding loud at max and really used to also run balanced Iloud active MTM speakers too from the laptop when I don't want to use headphones :- https://ifi-audio.com/products/xdsd-gryphon/ .


Really your best option that is sensibly priced for a good amp/dac is the hip dac 2 or if you can find a cheap hip dac version 1 that are currently only £10 cheaper than the V2 and in blue colour, at the power the hip dac 2 has or if you want even more power this is the only other option at a sensible price google " Xduoo XD05 Plus Portable DAC Headphone Amplifier XMOS XU208 AK4493EQ USB/Optical/Coaxial DSD256 32bit/384kHz Audio Decoder Lossless Portable MP3 Music" it is £220 with a double the power amp inside of the hip dac 2. This version is none balanced out for headphones only and no bluetooth.

If you want the version that does balanced and none balanced out and bluetooth then that's £430 ( google " XDUOO XD05 BAL DAC HD Bluetooth ES90382 Portable AMP Decoder 4.4 Balanced USB DSD512 32Bit / 768kHZ Headphone Amplifier " ) this was the one I was going to get before the Gryphon as it was £170 cheaper and does everything almost the Gryphon does, I may still pick one up to test at some point but for now happy with the Gryphon.


Reality is the best buy is the hip dac 2 for your use and should give you enough power to drive your headphones loud enough for you to loose your hearing early. Honestly not many other options sadly that sound good and have enough power to run hard to run headphones. The hip dac 2 is the clear winner currently for value, features, power and sound quality.


If you get the SXFI amp you will end up wasting time and £40 for junk that you will return for sure.

Just a note too what headphones are you using ? Also you will find running them on a balanced dac/amp with higher power they will sound cleaner and more punch than running unbalanced (3.5mm socket) for sure, so you may need to get a 4.4mm balanced adaptor to 3.5mm unbalanced or a new balanced cable with 4.4mm end for your headphones if it can be removed from your headphones, if not an adaptor cable or plug type will do the job.

 

[michty_me]

Hi, Thanks for the detailed response, Its a good read!
I currently have with me some HD560s which aren't hard to drive at all. However, I do also have some DT990 250Ohm, K702 and some Beyerdynamic T1.Gen2 600Ohm headphones that I use.
It will only be used on a laptop for gaming and music mainly. I don't require bluetooth and don't require it to have a battery either. Actually, I would probably prefer one without a battery. This is due to having to travel offshore so they get a bit funny with items with batteries in them. (Not allowed airpod type earphones due to the charging case etc)

 

[michty_me]

The SXFI amp is junk don't waste your money on it, it's not even worth £5 or even free as it messes up the sound and the effect is terrible and it sounds better with it off and even when off it sounds worse than just using the headphones jack on the device or a usb to headphone adaptor. Also shocked they can even call it an amp as the power output is terrible on it and will not drive any good headphones as they want you to use it with their junk headphones that use hardly any power and sound rubbish. Real headphones need real amps not these fake toys.

Get yourself one of these :-

iFi Audio hip-dac2 :- https://ifi-audio.com/products/hip-dac2/

or if you want bluetooth support too this one :-

​

iFi GO blu :- https://ifi-audio.com/products/go-blu/


They both can be found for about the same price so shop around (currently both can be had for £179). Also the hip dac2 has higher power so can run louder on more demanding headphones than the GO blu, but the Go blu's main advantage is the bluetooth support too. For your use the laptop I would get the hip dac 2 as you state you need something to drive them harder. These are both portable options too and can be used with your phone or other devices too. Also both support balanced and none balanced headphone out.

I have listened to both and own the Ifi XDSD Gryphon as an amp/dac for my laptop, tablets, phones and other devices but this is expensive (£600) and only worth it if you want to connect many different devices and has a higher powered amp inside too than both above but this is ear bleeding loud at max and really used to also run balanced Iloud active MTM speakers too from the laptop when I don't want to use headphones :- https://ifi-audio.com/products/xdsd-gryphon/ .


Really your best option that is sensibly priced for a good amp/dac is the hip dac 2 or if you can find a cheap hip dac version 1 that are currently only £10 cheaper than the V2 and in blue colour, at the power the hip dac 2 has or if you want even more power this is the only other option at a sensible price google " Xduoo XD05 Plus Portable DAC Headphone Amplifier XMOS XU208 AK4493EQ USB/Optical/Coaxial DSD256 32bit/384kHz Audio Decoder Lossless Portable MP3 Music" it is £220 with a double the power amp inside of the hip dac 2. This version is none balanced out for headphones only and no bluetooth.

If you want the version that does balanced and none balanced out and bluetooth then that's £430 ( google " XDUOO XD05 BAL DAC HD Bluetooth ES90382 Portable AMP Decoder 4.4 Balanced USB DSD512 32Bit / 768kHZ Headphone Amplifier " ) this was the one I was going to get before the Gryphon as it was £170 cheaper and does everything almost the Gryphon does, I may still pick one up to test at some point but for now happy with the Gryphon.


Reality is the best buy is the hip dac 2 for your use and should give you enough power to drive your headphones loud enough for you to loose your hearing early. Honestly not many other options sadly that sound good and have enough power to run hard to run headphones. The hip dac 2 is the clear winner currently for value, features, power and sound quality.


If you get the SXFI amp you will end up wasting time and £40 for junk that you will return for sure.

Just a note too what headphones are you using ? Also you will find running them on a balanced dac/amp with higher power they will sound cleaner and more punch than running unbalanced (3.5mm socket) for sure, so you may need to get a 4.4mm balanced adaptor to 3.5mm unbalanced or a new balanced cable with 4.4mm end for your headphones if it can be removed from your headphones, if not an adaptor cable or plug type will do the job.

Ok following on from this, If I were to use the hipdac on a laptop, Do I need to use two USB ports to run it? It seems a little unclear. It looks like the USB-C is for power/charging and the USB-A for data only. If so, No use to me unfortunately. I would be better to get another G6 to run off a single USB. Thanks for the suggestion though. I really liked the look of that kit!

 

[Purgatory]

Ok following on from this, If I were to use the hipdac on a laptop, Do I need to use two USB ports to run it? It seems a little unclear. It looks like the USB-C is for power/charging and the USB-A for data only. If so, No use to me unfortunately. I would be better to get another G6 to run off a single USB. Thanks for the suggestion though. I really liked the look of that kit!

USB 3.0 Female Splitter Cable，USB3.0 Male to Dual USB 2.0 Female & USB3.0 Female Y Splitter Charger Cable 1 Male to 2 Female Power Cord Extension Hub Adapter for Car/Laptop/LED Etc £5.50​

​

USB 3.0 Female Splitter Cable，USB3.0 Male to Dual USB 2.0 Female & USB3.0 Female Y Splitter Charger Cable 1 Male to 2 Female Power Cord Extension Hub Adapter for Car/Laptop/LED Etc: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Shop USB 3.0 Female Splitter Cable，USB3.0 Male to Dual USB 2.0 Female & USB3.0 Female Y Splitter Charger Cable 1 Male to 2 Female Power Cord Extension Hub Adapter for Car/Laptop/LED Etc. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

This is all you need to get too or use any usb hub you may have. The idea is the two usb ports one sends power and one sends data to keep the sound cleaner that way. I would use that cable and plug into the laptop as it keeps the unit running and charged all time. A lot of usb dacs work this way and no getting around it unless you get the ifi gryphon for £600 and that allows now in a firmware update to use the data port to charge too if you pick that in the settings but default is the same as the hip dac two cables to keep it charged or you can use one cable and it runs off the battery for 8 hours and then needs recharging, but for laptop use both cables is the way to go.

With that cable the blue female end (USB 3) you connect the data cable usb A male to usb A female to the device and the black end (usb 2 power only) the power usb a cable to usb c to the device.

 

[michty_me]

USB 3.0 Female Splitter Cable，USB3.0 Male to Dual USB 2.0 Female & USB3.0 Female Y Splitter Charger Cable 1 Male to 2 Female Power Cord Extension Hub Adapter for Car/Laptop/LED Etc £5.50​

​

USB 3.0 Female Splitter Cable，USB3.0 Male to Dual USB 2.0 Female & USB3.0 Female Y Splitter Charger Cable 1 Male to 2 Female Power Cord Extension Hub Adapter for Car/Laptop/LED Etc: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Shop USB 3.0 Female Splitter Cable，USB3.0 Male to Dual USB 2.0 Female & USB3.0 Female Y Splitter Charger Cable 1 Male to 2 Female Power Cord Extension Hub Adapter for Car/Laptop/LED Etc. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

This is all you need to get too or use any usb hub you may have. The idea is the two usb ports one sends power and one sends data to keep the sound cleaner that way. I would use that cable and plug into the laptop as it keeps the unit running and charged all time. A lot of usb dacs work this way and no getting around it unless you get the ifi gryphon for £600 and that allows now in a firmware update to use the data port to charge too if you pick that in the settings but default is the same as the hip dac two cables to keep it charged or you can use one cable and it runs off the battery for 8 hours and then needs recharging, but for laptop use both cables is the way to go.

With that cable the blue female end (USB 3) you connect the data cable usb A male to usb A female to the device and the black end (usb 2 power only) the power usb a cable to usb c to the device.

Thanks, I'll look into that splitter cable. Although would need to see if I can get one with a USB-C splitter due to laptop port availability.
I'm sure I found a thread earlier that mentione dthat it runs with the battery removed which would be ideal for transporting to work too.

 

[Purgatory]

Thanks, I'll look into that splitter cable. Although would need to see if I can get one with a USB-C splitter due to laptop port availability.
I'm sure I found a thread earlier that mentione dthat it runs with the battery removed which would be ideal for transporting to work too.

You can get usb C to usb A female too. Removing the battery im not sure about and really no need if you have it powered and data cable the battery never gets hit after it's fully charged then.

For usb c y cable to usb A this one is all you need if you will stick the device to usb c on the laptop and comes in grey and black as you will see.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Splitter-Adapter-Converter-Extender-MacBook-Grey/dp/B0928M1D1P/ref=sr_1_3?crid=OV7UIMB7EAIN&keywords=usb-c+otg+splitter+y+cable%2Cc+to+dual+usb+2.0+adapter%2Cusbc&qid=1658174393&sprefix=usb+c+y+cable+to++usb+a%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-3

Many cables or little dongles like that. Even a 4 version from usb c to 4 usb a if you want more usb a ports of the c port :- https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09CYCGRR2/ref=emc_b_5_t