[Joey_V]

Are the DACs on the XFi better than the DACs on the Audigy 2zs? Also, does the XFi still do the notoriously hated "resampling" that the Audigy 2zs (and all other audigies) were infamous for?

Thanks,
Joey

 

[Razoramus]

From what I've read on here, it seems the opamps and DACs on the X-Fi (except the elite pro version) are the same ones on the Audigy2 cards, the resampling is still done but it's not bad while the Audigy2 resampling is horrendous. Also the DACs are actually decent but the opamps are subpar.

 

[Audiophiliac]

X-Fi's sampling rate is selectable, from 44.1 - 96kHz.

 

[jiiteepee]

Seems, only the ADC located on Elite Pro's PCI card has been replaced with much better one when compared to previous 'flag ship' model and same improvement to other models too - SigmaTel changed to Wolfson.

1=A, 2<>B, 3=C, 4=D, 5=E, 6<>F

X-Fi The Elite Pro DSP/DAC/ADC information

DSP CA20K1-PAG

PCI:
#1 Cirrus Logic CS4398 D/A converters (192 kHz, 120 dB) and an
#2 AKM AK5394 A/D converter (192 kHz, 123 dB).
RACK:
#3 TI Burr-Brown PCM1804 A/D converters (192 kHz, 111 dB).
#4 for the headphone jack there's a Cirrus Logic CS4392 D/A converter (192 kHz, 114 dB).

X-Fi Other's (PCI)

#5 Cirrus Logic CS4382 D/A converters (192 kHz, 114 dB) and a
#6 Wolfson WM8775 circuit that includes a mixer for four analog sources and an A/D converter (96 kHz, 102 dB).

AUDIGY 4 Pro DSP/DAC/ADC information

DSP E-MU CA10200 ICT DSP

PCI:
#A 4 x CS4398 (D/A)
#B SigmaTel STAC9750 (A/D) (Full duplex stereo 18-bit ADCs and 20-bit DACs)

RACK:
#C TI/BB PCM1804 (A/D)
#D CS 4392 (headphone port)

AUDIGY 2 Zs DSP/DAC/ADC information
DSP CA0102-ICT
PCI:
#E DAC CS4382-KQ
#F ACD Philips UDA1361T 24bit/96khz/100dB ADC

 

[marvin]

The X-Fi has three modes. Two do resampling, one does not.

The problem with the Audigy's resampling wasn't that it was doing the resampling, it's that they used a really crappy algorithm in the DSP to do it, which resulted in the sound degradation reported for those cards. The X-Fi has a better DSP and a better resampling algorithm, so it gets better performance than the Audigy 2 even when in the resampling modes.

Any X-Fi will sound much better than the Audigy 1/2, but only the Elite Pro has the DAC and output stage to compete with the EMU cards.

 

[Sycraft]

The actual DAC is the same as the Audigy 2, it's an 8 channel Cirrus Logic unit that's pretty good, all things considered. The Elite Pro unit has 4 seperate higher end stereo ones instead.

The resampling is there in Game and Entertainment mode, however it's resampling engine is top notch. It adds essentially no noise or distortion (I believe the actual THD+N it adds is -136dB). The quality is just great. Also, if you don't want it to resample, it doesn't in Audio creation mode. In Audio creation mode you set the sample rate to 44.1, 48, 88.2, or 96kHz and it does no resampling.

 

[Tachikoma]

Has anyone modded their x-fi opamps yet? >_>