Massive Sack of X-Fi Fail - anyone got a suggestion?

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rjk

rjk

rjk

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hi guys,

after wading in on £200+ worth of soundcard and headset

Sennheiser PC350
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium - Fatal1ty Professional Series 7.1 Sound Card

it appears that for some unknown reason, creative decided to limit mic sensitivity/volume to roughly the same sound level as a frightened emo child

i am not blaming the headset. it works fine using onboard sound.

where is my mic boost option?
why are my teammates struggling to hear me in both Vent and Steam chat when i am physically screaming down my mic

this is not a pleasent experience, and certainly not the kind of performance i would expect from what is supposed to be a 'premium' product

Creative Forums said:
If this Fatal1ity dude ever used this combination in ANY game, FPS games most likely..... he would get totally owned by a mob of rabid newbies because someone simply forgot to program in the "advanced" feature button that contains the 20 db mic boost option under the "recording control mixer".
Click to expand...

that post is from 08-07-2008
it hardly instills confidence in the product or the driver support for it

on a side note, the quality of audio is amazing, a marked improvement from my logitech G35 headset

however, it would be nice if people could hear me

anyone got any suggestions? or would a swap for the Xonar ST / STX be advised
 
With my X-fi there's a 20db mic boost option in the sound options from control panel. Go to recording, select the mic, press properties, then on the 'cutom' tab there is the sole option below for this.

Only a mic level is available through creative console launcher, it's not on the creative control panel, though it's probably the same as the windows mic level, haven't tested it.
 
Never had a problem with my Xfi other than drivers .. its sat on a shelf right now ..
Xonar took its place and still not toatlly happy with it tbh..Mike issues ..
gonna try the xfi that came with my rampage 2 next ... see how that fairs :rolleyes:
 
Good Luck rjkoneill.
I had this issue when moving from XP to Vista. XP had full support, full driver support, mic boost the lot. After numerous support emails to Creative, they basically tried to claim that the card doesn't have the facility. This was around the time where the youppax drivers reigned supreme. It had all the options even the ones that creative claimed were impossible. Last time I ever use creative. The driver support still continues to be a joke!
 
the mic is now loud enough and can be heard if i play 'line in' through the headphones
in fact the quality and clarity is brilliant

however

if i do a mic test or go into vent

there is loads of feedback

what a truly awful product i have purchased :(
 
Not sure I'd ever pay that much for an X-fi anyway. They're good up to a point, then, depending on use, you're usually better of with a high end xonar or going down the more audio-creation related route such as m-audio products. The x-fi series beyond the xtremegamer seem overpriced for what they are, and I can't imagine them getting much better sonically as you pay more.
 
Never had this problem with mine in XP or Win 7 64bit with any headset/mic - its good level and very clear without even needing the 20db option (which is there for me). Vista/Win7 have a habit of messing with volume levels when "voip" is detected so make sure this isn't causing problems tho think thats mainly audio out not recording levels.

Have you tried with another mic?
 
Last edited:
problem solved now

had to get the daniel_K pack and use that

works perfectly with very crisp sound defenition on all music

was thinking of modding the senns to get the bass sorted

the mic is now how it should be

shame i had to download drivers from an enthusiast rather than the supplier just to get their product working
 
There for gaming and bass is not best for games, i have two different set, i have Sennheiser PC 166 for gaming atm and Sennheiser HD 25 SP for music.

How are the PC 350's? are they comfortable and well built (strong)?
 
rjkoneill said:
problem solved now

<snip>

shame i had to download drivers from an enthusiast rather than the supplier just to get their product working
Click to expand...

Good to hear. And to think they were threatening himwith legal action at one point!

It took DK drivers to get CMSS-3D working properly in W7 on my Prelude. I'm very grateful to the guy.
 
Uriel said:
Good to hear. And to think they were threatening himwith legal action at one point!

It took DK drivers to get CMSS-3D working properly in W7 on my Prelude. I'm very grateful to the guy.
Click to expand...

i know - i read about it when it happened :p

its such a shame that their own drivers werent good enough

look how unimpressed he looks...
vtc_278395_1.jpg

"muah ha ha, my soundcard doesnt work but now all your money is belong to me!"

in reference to the senns

the headset is brilliant

sound quality is great - they are very light and comfortable and the built quality is excellent

they are a premium product
i think creative should take note...
 
I have the above soundcard running in win7 64 bit and i too do not have any issues with people hearing me at all. Must have been some dodgy driver install. Although DanielK's packs are very good, i havn't a use for them.
 
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