[InFn-0]

So, what do you think guys?

Quote:

Creative Releases Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD and X-Fi HD Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD Creative, well-known for its Sound Blaster sound cards, has unveiled the Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD and Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD. Sound Blaster X-Fi HD First looks indicate both are fully compatible with Windows Vista/ 7 and feature audio playback up to 24-bit/96kHz for speaker outputs. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD is a PCI-e card that features replaceable Op-amps, EAX® 5.0, Dolby Digital and DTS encoding whilst the Sound Blaster X-Fi HD is an USB-bus powered soundcard that doesn’t require an external power supply. Availability has not been announced yet but it is believed that the Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD and X-Fi HD will cost around 190€ and 90€ respectively. Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD Features: RCA Line Out for audio playback up to 122dB, 24-bit/96kHz Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) RCA Line Input for recording up to 118dB, 24-bit 96kHZ Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC) 0.001% Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N) Headphone output for audio listening up to 115dB 33 Ohms, and 117dB, 330 Ohms, at 24bit/96kHz Replaceable Op-amps Hardware-accelerated 3D positional audio and EAX® 5.0 effects that provide a truly immersive experience with headphones and speakers Dolby Digital and DTS encoding enables one-step single-cable connection to home entertainment systems TOS-link optical-in/out 1/8” microphone-in 1/8” headphone jack Creative ALchemy™ to restore EAX and surround sound that is otherwise lost in DirectSound game titles running under Windows Vista and Windows 7 ASIO recording support with latency as low as one millisecond with minimal CPU load Works with Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD USB Features: RCA Line Out for audio playback up to 114dB, 24-bit/96kHz Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) RCA/Phono Line Input for recording up to 108dB, 24-bit 96kHZ Analog-to-Digital Converters TOS-link optical-in/out Gold-plated 1/4” microphone-in Gold-plated 1/4” headphone jack USB-bus powered, no external power supply required Creative ALchemy to restore EAX and surround sound that is otherwise lost in DirectSound game titles running under Windows Vista and Windows 7 Works with Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems

Source : http://vr-zone.com/articles/creative...i-hd/8311.html

 

[Kurotetsu]

Is the Sound Blaster X-Fi HD customizable as well (as in replaceable op-amps)? Also, do they both support OpenAL in hardware? The PCI-E card probably does, but does the USB version have hardware support as well?

 

[InFn-0]

No idea mate, lets hope the gurus come here and let us know their impressions.

 

[mangamonster]

Some new details on the dac and op amps for the x-fi titanium HD. Very neat to say the least
 
Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/vr-zone-exclusive-creative-sound-blaster-x-fi-titanium-hd-previewed/9020-1.html
 

 
"The Burr-Brown PCM1794 by Texas Instruments is a 24-bit 192KHz delta-sigma stereo Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC).
The very same PCM1794 DAC can be found on high-end CD players such as Cary Audio Design's CD 306 and Halcro's EC800."
 
 

 
"Pictured above are a pair of National LME49710 high performance, high fidelity op-amps.
The signal from the pair of JRC 2114D op-amps are fed into the Nationals, which do the job of differential to single-ended conversion.
Four metallized polyester film capacitors are situated beside the pair of LME49710 op-amps."
 
 
I'd like to read a review from one of our own when it's released. Some nice hardware in there.

 

[leeperry]

ouh, they mean business this time! two single opamps instead of a dual, and I think the PCM1794 datasheet advises to use LT1028?
 
too bad they will only provide automatic bitmatch over ASIO as usual...not doing it forr KS/WASAPI is a terrible mistake IMHO.

 

[SHADYMILKMAN]

release date, and price? there was no information in that preview.

 

[mangamonster]

I dunno. Didn't see anything on the creative website or forums either about release dates.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

ouh, they mean business this time! two single opamps instead of a dual, and I think the PCM1794 datasheet advises to use LT1028?
 
too bad they will only provide automatic bitmatch over ASIO as usual...not doing it forr KS/WASAPI is a terrible mistake IMHO.

Looks like some great hardware, though.  Automatic bit-matching isn't a required feature for those of us who mostly listen to CD music anyway.  Would be really nice if available, especially on WASAPI.

 

[Bojamijams]

It sucks that we have to choose between crappy creative drivers or almost never released asus drivers on top of choosing a sound card
 

 

[Steve-o27]

Ohh how I love Creative... making EMI shields out of plastic lol.

 

[[L]es]

2 channel only.. maybe before when i had my studio setup but i've moved on to ht.

 

[leeperry]

 

Ohh how I love Creative... making EMI shields out of plastic lol.

It's been proven that the metal shields are just a gimmick...RMAA measurement are identical either way, and all they do is cooking the components. Actually I think Creative decided to put covers to lower the RMA rates, so ppl don't damage  their cards as easily.
 

Looks like some great hardware, though.  Automatic bit-matching isn't a required feature for those of us who mostly listen to CD music anyway.  Would be really nice if available, especially on WASAPI.

well, the issue is rather simple...if you only bit-match ASIO, you will play some audio in ASIO and the masterclock will be automatically set to 44.1....but once you play movies in DS/KS/WASAPI(possibly using Reclock), it'll be stuck on 44.1, so your movies will be downsampled from 48...this is not good.
 
any non-dumb driver will automatically bit-match any kind of audio renderer, like VIA/Dogbert's CMI8768 GPL drivers etc etc...it's here to forbid unnecessary resampling.

 

[Steve-o27]

Yeah, you may have a solid point there... I saw a couple of Creative cards that got damaged due to bad handling... Anyway, I'm eagerly waiting a review!!

 
Quote:

 
It's been proven that the metal shields are just a gimmick...RMAA measurement are identical either way, and all they do is cooking the components. Actually I think Creative decided to put covers to lower the RMA rates, so ppl don't damage  their cards as easily.
 

 

[chinesekiwi]

PR specs tell me nothing tbh. Nothing. No info of DAC used, no info on opamps used.....
 
EDIT: Saw post. Looks interesting.

 

[ketonet]

From the press release:

"Pricing and Availability
The Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD and Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD will be available at The CREATIVE Stores at International Business Park and Marina Square, the online store at sg.store.creative.com and authorised dealers in Singapore from March 2010 onwards at the suggested retail prices of S$299.00 and S$149.00 respectively."