Creative X-FI HD USB revealed - Page 3

as someone who has tried this product or are you just saying the headrooms better beacuse they say it's better?

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhiteCrow 

wow.......is this a good DAC? I am just not ready to drop 300 on a new dac as I just dropped 500 on mah RS-2's. If it comes to it i may just bite the bullet and save up for a headroom dac*not the 1000$ one*

You do realize that the X-Fi HD USB costs less than $100, right?

 Is it possible to feed the power from two separate sources? I bet that if the soundcard is connected to a pc, and at the same time to a gaming console, and then turning off the pc, the power isnt cut to the soundcard. This should prevent the reset of the sound card and the mute of the spdif channel that is muted by default, right? And making it possible to use the sound card without beeing connected to a pc.

 Or even better, could the sound card be modded to have the spdif-in turned on by default?

 I know i might be saying lots of bull without fully understanding how all of this works, but i refuse to belive that i cannot use it like i used my extigy.

I have a question for anyone who owns the Creative X-fi HD..

I am thinking of buying the creative x-fi hd. However I am a bit worried whether my computer has a good enough processor for this.. I see Creative specify that you need a 2.2 GHz or faster processor.. I have a computer with a dual-core 1,3 (yeah) GHz CULV processor..

I guess the 2.2 GHz are required for lossless music, and perhaps also using some of the sofware for equalizer etc.. I will be playing mostly 320 kbps mp3, so do you think my computer will manage? In your experience, does this unit demand a lot of computer power?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roller 

You do realize that the X-Fi HD USB costs less than $100, right?

...I was talking about getting the headroom DAC earlier in the thread, is why i asked if this was a good DAC or if I should wait and buy the Headroom.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pettervo 

I have a question for anyone who owns the Creative X-fi HD..

 

I am thinking of buying the creative x-fi hd. However I am a bit worried whether my computer has a good enough processor for this.. I see Creative specify that you need a 2.2 GHz or faster processor.. I have a computer with a dual-core 1,3 (yeah) GHz CULV processor..

 

I guess the 2.2 GHz are required for lossless music, and perhaps also using some of the sofware for equalizer etc.. I will be playing mostly 320 kbps mp3, so do you think my computer will manage? In your experience, does this unit demand a lot of computer power?

From this specific sound card i cannot say for sure, but using specs below the minimum and for high bit rates, i'm pretty sure you will have some sort of problems, like digital "clicks".

Also bare in mind that this card beeing an usb card, will require more from the pc than a regular one connected through pci or pci-x.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhiteCrow 

...I was talking about getting the headroom DAC earlier in the thread, is why i asked if this was a good DAC or if I should wait and buy the Headroom.
 

 

My bad, I didn't follow your line of thought.

@Pettervo: From the description of your CPU, I assume it's a C2D CULV. While having a low clock rate, it should perform acceptably with any audio format, be it mp3 @ 320kbps or any lossless format.

The requirements Creative states are usually to be taken in account for when using the soundcard along with general computer usage. Consider the following: unlike HD video, HD audio doesn't require a lot of bandwidth, and you should be able to have smooth playback on even the highest output formats available, as long as you don't push the computer to do heavy tasks while listening to music. From my experience, having higher sample rates is more taxing on the CPU than higher bit depths, so that's also something you should keep in mind.

After all, 24/96 playback was feasible enough over a decade ago, with under 1GHz single core CPUs

All I am telling is about the sound what I think is most important factor for any audiophile. I found it to be harsh but as well as detailed. One have to take an interval at least once after 30 minutes because of the headache. There is no question that it is detailed but that does not necessarily means it is a product for audiophiles. But Creative made a good try but its nearly (not totally) a failure. If u want to use it for long sessions then stay far away from this one. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by srisaikat 

All I am telling is about the sound what I think is most important factor for any audiophile. I found it to be harsh but as well as detailed. One have to take an interval at least once after 30 minutes because of the headache. There is no question that it is detailed but that does not necessarily means it is a product for audiophiles. But Creative made a good try but its nearly (not totally) a failure. If u want to use it for long sessions then stay far away from this one. 

maybe you should leave it on for some time, new equipment need some time to burn in,
 

I've enjoyed my X-FI HD for about a year now, using it as a DAC, ADC, and as an USB to S/PDIF interface. The only function I've not experimented with is S/PDIF to USB. So far, I cannot imagine an interface that could sound better, since, comparing source material processed with it to SACD or vinyl direct, I cannot distinguish that SACD or vinyl  sounds better. What more could one want?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by srisaikat 

All I am telling is about the sound what I think is most important factor for any audiophile. I found it to be harsh but as well as detailed. One have to take an interval at least once after 30 minutes because of the headache. There is no question that it is detailed but that does not necessarily means it is a product for audiophiles. But Creative made a good try but its nearly (not totally) a failure. If u want to use it for long sessions then stay far away from this one. 

Any info available regarding phono connection impedance/capacitance?

jiiteepee

So this card doesn't have CMSS-3D right? How does THX Tru Studio compare for 3d positional HRTFs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrillhaus 

So this card doesn't have CMSS-3D right? How does THX Tru Studio compare for 3d positional HRTFs?

Yes it does not, for gaming theres EAX and for movies, you can use ffdshow Audio Processor which is a full featured DSP if your using MPC-HC and for music you can use VST plugins with foobar/whatever music player. THX Tru Studio is something I never use cus it does not work with ASIO besides theres better alternatives whether your using foobar/ media players besides Itunes.

Could those of you with the X-Fi HD USB check out my other thread and tell me if you get clipping listening to the file?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/573056/do-you-all-get-distortion-listening-to-this

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrillhaus 

Could those of you with the X-Fi HD USB check out my other thread and tell me if you get clipping listening to the file?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/573056/do-you-all-get-distortion-listening-to-this

Nope, nothing =P