Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - how good ?

TALON1973

TALON1973

TALON1973

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ive just ordered this card . but i'm having doubts allready. just how much better is it than on-board sound ?

also when it comes to music how good is it when i use an " EXCELLENT " set of headphones ?

ive got Sennheiser HD600 headphones :cool: so i'm really hoping this card is worth the money.

any hi-fi lovers reading this section ? ive got a deadicated headphone amp that i use in another room . how will this soundcard compare to it when i plug my headphones into it ?
 
hehe...onboard sound IMO Sux.

I think you will be impressed with its performace. If you bought it from here....if you dont like it or dont feal its worth the money...send it back in a week and get full refund.
 
TALON1973 said:
ive just ordered this card . but i'm having doubts allready. just how much better is it than on-board sound ?

also when it comes to music how good is it when i use an " EXCELLENT " set of headphones ?

ive got Sennheiser HD600 headphones :cool: so i'm really hoping this card is worth the money.

any hi-fi lovers reading this section ? ive got a deadicated headphone amp that i use in another room . how will this soundcard compare to it when i plug my headphones into it ?
Click to expand...

Should have gone for another card :p
 
Not great sound quality. More suited for gaming support (EAX etc) Should have gone M-Audio or EMU 0404 card. :)

You could have two soundcards in the machine, Creative for gaming, M-Audio for Hi-Fi.
 
Meh, I use the Elite Pro (on par with the EMU 1212), so I am not tried the other X-Fi line so far. There may be better music card, but frankly, it is not a bad choice, and you can rest assured that you have something very versatile there. I doubt that it's poor for music, and it definitely excels for movies/games.

I am a little confused about your dedicated amp vs sound card question though. Normally you plug an amp to a source (i.e. soundcard). An amp alone isn't a source and can not be compared to a source.
 
TooNice said:
Meh, I use the Elite Pro (on par with the EMU 1212), so I am not tried the other X-Fi line so far. There may be better music card, but frankly, it is not a bad choice, and you can rest assured that you have something very versatile there. I doubt that it's poor for music, and it definitely excels for movies/games.

I am a little confused about your dedicated amp vs sound card question though. Normally you plug an amp to a source (i.e. soundcard). An amp alone isn't a source and can not be compared to a source.
Click to expand...


probably a fair point. the source in question was a nad 521bee cd player. somehow can ee the dvd rom drive in my pc being a better spinner than the nad :rolleyes:

but if you could hook up the x-fi up to the nad what would the sound be like ???? dont think its possible but would be interesting
 
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Got the XFi Music card, love it to bits, one problem, I use digital speakers (GD580 Inspire) and I also use a mic...the digital port doubles up as the mic port...terrible design if you ask me, its not an issue with the other models because they give you a front panel.

Sound quality wise, fantastic, supports games just as well as the others bar the fact it doesnt have any x-ram or whatever they're calling it.
 
I have an X-fi Xtreme and BF2 'Ultra high' with Medusa 5.1 Surroundsound is fantastic, CSS is cool too but COD2 sounds worse (summit not set right, I don't think it's the card) but it flicks from sounding like surround to 2D, re-installed game but still the same, still trying to pin point the problem, but I'm very happy with the card other than that, music sounds crisp...!!!!!
 
squiffy said:
Not great sound quality. More suited for gaming support (EAX etc) Should have gone M-Audio or EMU 0404 card. :)

You could have two soundcards in the machine, Creative for gaming, M-Audio for Hi-Fi.
Click to expand...

Still a huge improvement over on-board tho. I went from on-board to a SB Live and it was a nice upgrade, then from the SB Live to an X-Fi and that was better still. I also use Sennheisers with my X-Fi and the sound quality is fantastic - it also rocks for movies and games. A much better all-rounder than an M-Audio card, IMO.
 
Sorry to jump in, but would going from onboard Realtek AC97 audio to an X-Fi Xtreme Music card make games (e.g. BF2) run a bit faster?

I only have an Altec Lansing £12 headset/mic, and no speakers, so I probably won't get any major sound difference. I might get a new headset but I can't exactly afford high-end stuff right now :(

Is the card worth the money? (OEM £58)
 
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