Soundblaster XtremeMusic (SB0460)

Scougar

Scougar

Scougar

Soldato
Joined
30 Jan 2007
Posts
15,520
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PA, USA (Orig UK)
So I just pulled an SB0460 out of an old PC in the garage (I didn't even know it was there) and thankfully I have some PCI slots still on my motherboard.

I honestly cannot remember even though I've had 3 or 4 previous X-Fi cards where this sits in the quality stakes?

I've had:

2 Xtreme Fatal1ty's
1 Elite Pro
1 XtremeMusic (Think)

And now this XtremeMusic.

I want to get it working with PAX drivers or whatever on Windows 10. I'm hoping the fidelity is better than the current onboard sound (Realtek HD on my Asus A88X-Pro.)

Advice, opinions?
 
Still up there with the better soundcards - though not quite top tier any more. You might find issues with crackling and/or random (though infrequent) instances where you get bursts of static then sound cutting out entirely until you switch audio modes (gaming, entertainment, etc.) and back again (or reboot).

While the stats on paper might not match some of the more recent top end Realtek HD onboards in reality the actual real world performance is close and IMO the X-Fi sounds better - most onboards can sound quite dull.

Had some issues drivers wise - had to install/uninstall/reinstall and update a bit from the creative site but once I got it going I've not had any real problems with the latest official creative drivers.

EDIT: If you are familiar with electronics and SMD soldering then they can be modified to produce some pretty good results.
 
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So you recommend the latest official drivers from creative compared to the PAX/Daniel K stuff?

p.s. Thanks Rroff.
 
I haven't tried the PAX/Daniel K stuff in awhile - since my latest build I just shoved the creative ones on and with a bit of fiddling they've just worked since so I've not been inclined to mess about further.
 
Great, much appreciated sir!

I've just downloaded the software pack from the 23rd of September, so hopefully it should be working OK.
 
Installed latest official drivers, seems to work. Haven't tried games yet. Was trying to work out how to use the front panel connectors on my nzxt s340, but it is a dissent connector. Boo hiss.

EDIT: Was playing music on Spotify (sounds MUCH clearer than with onboard, but that may be due to me plugging in via card and not the front panel), and got a DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION BSOD :(

No idea what it is caused by yet, but highly likely something to do with the x-fi. Will need to figure this out.
 
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Scougar said:
Installed latest official drivers, seems to work. Haven't tried games yet. Was trying to work out how to use the front panel connectors on my nzxt s340, but it is a dissent connector. Boo hiss.

EDIT: Was playing music on Spotify (sounds MUCH clearer than with onboard, but that may be due to me plugging in via card and not the front panel), and got a DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION BSOD :(

No idea what it is caused by yet, but highly likely something to do with the x-fi. Will need to figure this out.
Click to expand...

I was having major issues with this DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION, and I could have sworn it was the x-fi causing it. After a lot of faffing around... I rechecked the drivers for the TP-Link USB wireless adaptor. It turns out that during the "insider preview" that I decided to take part in again, the generic drivers (2015 realtek) had been installed again. I swapped these to the TP-Link versions (older 2014) and my machine stopped it's crashing. Whilst the X-fi might have been interferring in some way... it wasn't the fault of the card.
Very happy, and X-Fi working perfectly :)
 
I also found recently I had 2 of the Xtreme M's sat in a box so shoved one in a case with a Q6600 based system cobbled from spares and was very surprised it all worked well under Windows 10. I did use the PAX drivers.
 
I am seriously tempted to do the capacitor mod on this card, purely because it cost me nothing, and I really like to tinker lol.

Really would like to get a decent pci-e card at some point, or the uber expensive external sound blaster, but I'm probably fine with my amp and Polk speakers.
 
I've been semi-tempted with modding mine - replacing the big 470uf capacitor can apparently solve quite a few issues as they are known to go a bit funny quite quickly.

Timing crystal change can be beneficial but takes a bit more specialised knowledge to really do it properly :S

Semi tempted to get a spare one and mod it to use the AD8066 op amp for gaming purposes.
 
Not sure what's involved with doing those, but I would be up for doing it in almost tandem and seeing how we get on.

BTW, I always wondered why some x-fi's have heatsinks and others didn't?

EDIT: What is your likely full component upgrade list? I've not really looked at it much beyond I know I can replace capacitors (which is dead easy).
 
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Saw your message - been thinking about it but I'd probably source a second one to mod as I'd kind of be sad if I accidentally killed this one.

From what I've seen the various mods that can be done:

-The big power supply capacitor (mainly as the original ones are known to go bad) [often source of issues so one I would do]

-Op amps more to tweak the sound signature to taste than anything else [one I'd probably do]

-Timing crystal - apparently upgrading it can significantly improve distortion stats but its not a trivial upgrade. [I'm on the fence on this one as my knowledge isn't advanced enough to really understand what I'm doing]

-Power filtering capacitors to improve ripple/noise floor [maybe]

-Capacitors in the signal path to reduce sound degradation/distortion [maybe]

-Adding bypass capacitors to improve noise levels [maybe]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/589078/almis-x-fi-mod-hotrodding-sound-blaster-x-fi-models

EDIT: Dunno what your soldering experience is like but the SMD components like the op amps in SOIC 8 form are an absolute pain unless you have some flux, needle nose soldering iron and the right solder blend.
 
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Thanks for the link Rroff. Now I've got my interest going, I'm gonna start looking for a supplier for those parts. I'll focus on the capacitors, then move onto the op amps.
 
Capacitor wise I'm a big fan of the Panasonic FM series - though in some cases they can make the sound signature a little dry and clinical sounding - but really good ripple stats and noise filtering, etc. great for power supply conditioning, etc. but I would use them in the parts furthest removed from the audio signal.

Nichicon KW and FG series are another alternative for that kind of use - I find FGs good for anything nearer the audio itself (Availability and cost can be a bit of a negative with them though - I usually get mine from mouser but as they ship from the US not very cost effective unless you are buying a load of stuff at once).

Personally I consider the Elna Silmics over-rated but your mileage/perception might differ and stuff like "black gates" just way too expensive when you aren't going to really be tapping into their full potential.

Not very familiar with the topology of the Xtreme Music but I usually avoid aluminium electrolytics in the signal path itself so if there are any replacing them with good quality film caps would make quite a difference though might not be feasible if the op amps are setup for single supply as they might be used for ac coupling the headphones on the output.
 
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