My experience with the X-Fi Elite Pro vs. EMU0404/A2ZS after 1.5 months - Page 3 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

zeth · 03-20-2006, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Svperstar

I am using a custom made mini to RCA adapter to hook the card up to my Gilmore Lite.

isnt there a possibility of quality loss? as I'd have to buy one, are there any recommendations or can i take any adapter/cable?

@jazzy: yep, i figured that out aswell =)

TooNice · 03-20-2006, 02:57 PM

I don't think I even need to explain how pleased I am with this card as it is considering that I went from an onboard sound card. Even the headphone out in the break out box is much better than the sound I have (perhaps the HF-1 has the advantage of being relatively easy to drive).

I'd like to use line out -> hornet -> HF-1, but it is a bit difficult right because I don't want to put my hornet on the floor.. and my sound card is mounted furthest from my GFX card at the bottom of the case. So I'll need to find a decent extension cable.. preferably one that is not too expensive (I have a generic one, that cable free with some cheapish headphones, but I wonder whether it would defeat the benefit of using the line out).

Anyway...

Can anyone give me some tip to get the most of my Elite Pro in Foobar?

I am using Kernel Streaming now, should I switch to ASIO? And what settings should I pick?

And aside from picking Audio Creation mode, the output in Foobar, is there anything else I need to pay attention to?

Cheers.

Svperstar · 03-21-2006, 03:30 AM

Originally Posted by zeth

isnt there a possibility of quality loss? as I'd have to buy one, are there any recommendations or can i take any adapter/cable?

@jazzy: yep, i figured that out aswell =)

I suppose there is the possibility but that is why I had an adapter made for me by a headfier instead of hooking up a bunch of RatShack crap. Personally I am a skeptical person by nature so I highly doubt these $500 interconnects do anything for sound but I do think there is such a thing as bad quality, so I put in a bit extra over the RatShack adapters.

maarek99 · 03-21-2006, 10:24 AM

I just tried the hd-650's with elite pro's breakout boxes headphone amp. Not that bad really. Bass was pretty low (maybe the hd650 benefits from it) and volume wouldn't go very high. But it was very clear, although a bit too much treble for my tastes.

JaGWiRE · 03-21-2006, 11:18 AM

Is it true that the x-fi platnium, fatal1ty and pro breakout boxes act as a decent amp (My buddy said they compare to ones for $100-200), but he may had been bsing me. I was looking at a card, but I'm not sure if the x-fi pro is worth $200 more then the platnium, considering they have ths same ports, just a different SNR, a bit of a ram difference (I don't game) and of course the breakout box which isn't a necessity to me.

hawat · 03-22-2006, 12:53 AM

Originally Posted by maarek99

I just tried the hd-650's with elite pro's breakout boxes headphone amp. Not that bad really. Bass was pretty low (maybe the hd650 benefits from it) and volume wouldn't go very high. But it was very clear, although a bit too much treble for my tastes.

i tried to put the 650 directly on the xfi pro box and the sound was good at 26-31 % of the volume.
The CD3000 only needs to be at 15-20% to sound as loud so i don t think the volume is an issue on this card.

Sycraft · 03-22-2006, 03:55 AM

Originally Posted by TooNice

Can anyone give me some tip to get the most of my Elite Pro in Foobar?

Depends on what you mean by "they most". If you mean the least modified sound, set it for aduio creation mode, bit matched playback, and use either ASIO or WDM KS, doesn't matter which they function the same. If you mean the best subjective sound, switch it to entertainment mode, use DirectSound, and fiddle around with CMMS and such. I think headphones mode with CMMS on sounds great.

Svperstar · 03-22-2006, 05:50 AM

Originally Posted by Sycraft

Depends on what you mean by "they most". If you mean the least modified sound, set it for aduio creation mode, bit matched playback, and use either ASIO or WDM KS, doesn't matter which they function the same. If you mean the best subjective sound, switch it to entertainment mode, use DirectSound, and fiddle around with CMMS and such. I think headphones mode with CMMS on sounds great.

Wait a sec, you mean CMMS when listening to music?

Hope you meant gaming :P

Skrying · 03-22-2006, 05:59 AM

CMMS can add to the fulliness of the sound. Just because its not "pure" doesnt mean it does not sound better to that person.

maarek99 · 03-22-2006, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by hawat

i tried to put the 650 directly on the xfi pro box and the sound was good at 26-31 % of the volume.

Well, that's weird. I have to keep it at 60-80%. And sometimes that's not enough. 26-31 and it's pretty darn quiet.