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Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Reviews

The X-Fi is Creative’s latest offering. X-Fi stands for eXtreme Fidelity sound, and this is made possible by the use of a Cirrus Logic 24-bit DAC and an audiophile-grade SNR ratio of 116 db. Its USP is a really fast audio processor with 51 million transistors capable of delivering over 30,000 MIPS of processing speed, making it 24 times more powerful than its predecessor from the Audigy series. This power is harnessed in Creative’s proprietary 24-bit Crystallizer, which essentially up-samples audio to 24-bit/ 96 kHz to improve sound quality. This is a godsend for MP3, and while we were testing, we found that the card fished out more details from our test MP3 collection than did the Audigy 2 card. The X-Fi Elite Pro we received for preview was fully-loaded with a well-designed ergonomic remote and an external I/O module, housing every possible interconnect any audiophile would wish for. This is interfaced with the sound card using a special 26-pin cable called the AD link. The components used on the cards are of premium quality, which is evident from the clicking sound that the high grade relays make when changing modes. The 400 MHz processor along with other processing elements like the DAC, SRC (Sample Rate Converter), filter, mixer, etc., allows a staggering 4,096 audio channels, and up to eight simultaneous real-time effects. This, paired with ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output), translates into zero processor overhead for frequency conversion. This is a welcome inclusion, as Creative was facing a lot of flak from audiophiles because the older Audigy line of cards resampled all frequencies by default into 48 kHz. The X-Fi, however, sports true hardware 24-bit 96 kHz audio playback for up to 7.1 discrete channels and 192 kHz for digital stereo playback. This card is especially a boon for gamers due to the onboard 64 MB X-Ram, which allows an audio buffer for storing uncompressed audio samples reducing quality loss and consequent CPU overhead. Desktop audio professionals, too, have a lot to be thankful for, with 96/24 audio mastering and editing quality, along with 24-bit sound fonts and the 3D Midi feature, with the ability to interface midi devices with the card. Our verdict: in terms of audio quality, the Creative X-Fi’s onboard DAC and Dolby and DTS decoders are capable of providing a high- quality movie experience. The sheer quality, power, and real- time audio editing will appeal to gamers, home theatre enthusiasts and audio professionals alike. Quite simply, this is the best piece of computer audio hardware you can buy right now.
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