New Creative press-release about X-fi

JGSF · Aug 8, 2005, 02:56 PM

http://www.creative.com/press/releas....asp?pid=12163

Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
The Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro features professional-quality digital-to-analog converters (DACs) with 116dB SNR, plus an I/O module with a comprehensive selection of connectivity for audio creation with easy-to-use control knobs for the X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer, X-Fi CMSS- 3D (Creative Multi-Speaker Surround), 3DMIDI, and EAX. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro also features 64MB of on-board X-RAM-- audio memory dedicated to higher gaming audio quality and performance, in addition to a built-in pre-amp for direct recording, and high-impedance inputs for electric guitars. The "top of the line" Sound Blaster X-Fi solution, the Elite Pro includes all of the standard features, application software, power and performance capabilities of the entire family of Sound Blaster X-Fi cards (described below), in one ultimate solution.

Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS
Designed to meet the performance demands of the world's best-known professional gamer, Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty™ FPS sound card provides stunning 109dB SNR audio quality, accelerates gaming performance and includes 64MB of on-board X-RAM for high performance gaming. With support for EAX® ADVANCED HD™ 5.0, the latest version of the EAX Environmental Audio standard, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS card utilizes X-Fi CMSS 3D technology for stunning audio realism over headphones in LAN gaming. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS features a convenient front-facing internal drive bay for easy connectivity, plus the X-Fi IR remote to easily access and control all digital entertainment, and to control the X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer, X-Fi CMSS 3D, 3DMIDI and EAX. In addition to providing outstanding gaming performance, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS includes all of the standard features, application software, power and performance capabilities of the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum and Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music.

Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
The ideally versatile sound card to suit all digital entertainment experiences, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum sound card includes an internal drive bay with additional, convenient front-facing input/output connectivity for headphone listening, PC gaming and audio creation. Delivering 109dB SNR audio quality, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum includes the X-Fi IR remote, for easy access to the Entertainment Center software console, which enables access to music, movies and picture slide shows through a slick, streamlined interface. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum also includes all of the standard features, application software, power and performance capabilities of the Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music.

Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
The Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card harnesses the full power of the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor to upgrade any existing library of MP3 or any music files to the Xtreme Fidelity audio standard. With the X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity 24-bit Crystalizer, MP3 music and movies are converted to Xtreme Fidelity, which deliver an experience beyond the original CD or DVD recordings. With the included Creative MediaSource™ 3 software suite, users can easily SuperRip™ all their digital music permanently to Xtreme Fidelity. In addition, MediaSource 3 also allows users to further enhance their music content with single-click access to rich features like X-Fi CMSS-3D, Smart Cross-Fade and Smart Volume Management. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music sound card plays back audio with rich 109dB SNR quality.

bennetng · Aug 8, 2005, 03:54 PM

Creative should write something like...

Sound Blaster X-Fi kX Project
In order to fully utilize the power of the X-Fi processor, Creative Labs invited Eugene Gavrilov to design the "Really Useful Audio Creation Mode" which is similar to the interface of the current kX Project Driver. It provides 0.66ms ASIO latency, flexible signal routing, hundreds of DSP plugins including DSP Synths, complete MIDI automation and much more! So if you are really into Audio Creation, please forget about other versions of X-Fi and buy this one!

thomasabarnes · Aug 8, 2005, 04:55 PM

LOL bennetng!

Johnny1982:

Thx for the link and info.

JGSF · Aug 8, 2005, 05:41 PM

Eh eh... Found that press-release by accident...

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennetng

Creative should write something like...

Sound Blaster X-Fi kX Project
In order to fully utilize the power of the X-Fi processor, Creative Labs invited Eugene Gavrilov to design the "Really Useful Audio Creation Mode" which is similar to the interface of the current kX Project Driver. It provides 0.66ms ASIO latency, flexible signal routing, hundreds of DSP plugins including DSP Synths, complete MIDI automation and much more! So if you are really into Audio Creation, please forget about other versions of X-Fi and buy this one!

BAHAHAHAHA! So true...

Rogacz · Aug 8, 2005, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennetng

Creative should write something like...

Sound Blaster X-Fi kX Project
In order to fully utilize the power of the X-Fi processor, Creative Labs invited Eugene Gavrilov to design the "Really Useful Audio Creation Mode" which is similar to the interface of the current kX Project Driver. It provides 0.66ms ASIO latency, flexible signal routing, hundreds of DSP plugins including DSP Synths, complete MIDI automation and much more! So if you are really into Audio Creation, please forget about other versions of X-Fi and buy this one!

It can't be so...

Such a card would be PERFECT

JGSF · Aug 9, 2005, 05:34 PM

I have the feeling that the folks at Creative's forums know even less than us about it...

ursamtl · Aug 9, 2005, 05:53 PM

Tom's Hardware published an article in early July that gave some details about X-Fi. Although it didn't provide detailed test results or answer to many of the questions in this thread, it gave some first impressions of the demos.

germanjulian · Aug 9, 2005, 06:32 PM

Quote:

With the X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity 24-bit Crystalizer, MP3 music and movies are converted to Xtreme Fidelity, which deliver an experience beyond the original CD or DVD recordings.

NO NO NO... just that sentence makes me want to hit some manager at creative for being stupid... how can a mp3 sound better then a cd or dvd... dam impossible... and adding some EQ to it does not make it sound better.

And all that X-Fi for extreme and then adding XTREME after it right away ahhhhhhh and what crystalizer?? Huh?

ursamtl · Aug 9, 2005, 06:44 PM

Notice they didn't actually say that it "sounds better." They simply said it "delivers an experience beyond" CD or DVD. If you read the details about the Crystalizer, what it amounts to is a circuit that adds dynamic range expansion, especially to transients, with the view of counteracting the dynamic range compression that's done to fit sound into 16 bits. Therefore, if they expand the dynamic range "beyond" what's possible with a 16-bit CD or DVD (excluding 24-bit DVD sound of course), their statement isn't exactly false.

The remaining question of course is how well it works. It might sound like crap, but the initial reports from Tom's (as linked above) seem interesting.

**Eugene Gavrilov** · Aug 9, 2005, 09:22 PM

he-he

nice press-release
E.

igor_levicki · Aug 9, 2005, 10:05 PM

With the included Creative MediaSource™ 3 software suite, users can easily SuperRip™ all their digital music permanently to Xtreme Fidelity.

Uhoh, I wonder how will Microsoft DRM team (and later their lawyers) respond to the idea of ripping and recoding protected content?

About Crystalizer -- by simply expanding dynamic range to that of a higher bit depth you would get harsh sound. So some interpolation/dithering must be applied. In the end it will sound as good as you want it.

At least I am not buying that after using LOSSY compression the LOST part can be restored.

JGSF · Aug 10, 2005, 12:50 AM

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/7658/xfi9bf.jpg

Look what I found...

Rivera · Aug 10, 2005, 08:47 AM

Here's more info on the X-Fi cards and the soundboard layout.

http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-22364-2435-x-x-x

If these cards are this exellent, I can only imagine what E-MU Systems DAS will offer using this same technology. With the exclusion of gamers features, this card will be monster. Except that the DSP effects will still be running at 48Khz, but I dont mind if it does it at 24bits though. We'll just have to wait and see. I think I'll wait for E-MU to release their X-Fi related products before considering a purchase of these cards.

Rivera

**dj_stick** · Aug 10, 2005, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny1982

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/7658/xfi9bf.jpg

Look what I found...

mmm gold plated PCI plate? mmm anyway

/me thinks that fatal1ty fps card is a waste of money, platinum hardware will be the same, only diff will be the extra games bundled.

JGSF · Aug 10, 2005, 11:38 AM

Well, the fatal1ty also has that extra 64Mb of X-RAM, but from what I understand it's useless for musicians...

**dj_stick** · Aug 10, 2005, 11:44 AM

i'm sure it's expandable anyway…

JGSF · Aug 10, 2005, 11:47 AM

Probably, still there's one thing I'd like to be sure... Are those better DAC's of the Elite Pro version in the card itself or in the external IO module? I asked this same question in the Creative Forum...

germanjulian · Aug 10, 2005, 02:33 PM

sound very interesting now.... mhhh would be nice to have an amazing sound card.

Aug 8, 2005, 02:56 PM	#1
JGSF HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 452 Rep Power: 0	New Creative press-release about X-fi http://www.creative.com/press/releas....asp?pid=12163 Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro The Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro features professional-quality digital-to-analog converters (DACs) with 116dB SNR, plus an I/O module with a comprehensive selection of connectivity for audio creation with easy-to-use control knobs for the X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer, X-Fi CMSS- 3D (Creative Multi-Speaker Surround), 3DMIDI, and EAX. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro also features 64MB of on-board X-RAM-- audio memory dedicated to higher gaming audio quality and performance, in addition to a built-in pre-amp for direct recording, and high-impedance inputs for electric guitars. The "top of the line" Sound Blaster X-Fi solution, the Elite Pro includes all of the standard features, application software, power and performance capabilities of the entire family of Sound Blaster X-Fi cards (described below), in one ultimate solution. Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Designed to meet the performance demands of the world's best-known professional gamer, Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty™ FPS sound card provides stunning 109dB SNR audio quality, accelerates gaming performance and includes 64MB of on-board X-RAM for high performance gaming. With support for EAX® ADVANCED HD™ 5.0, the latest version of the EAX Environmental Audio standard, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS card utilizes X-Fi CMSS 3D technology for stunning audio realism over headphones in LAN gaming. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS features a convenient front-facing internal drive bay for easy connectivity, plus the X-Fi IR remote to easily access and control all digital entertainment, and to control the X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer, X-Fi CMSS 3D, 3DMIDI and EAX. In addition to providing outstanding gaming performance, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS includes all of the standard features, application software, power and performance capabilities of the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum and Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music. Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum The ideally versatile sound card to suit all digital entertainment experiences, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum sound card includes an internal drive bay with additional, convenient front-facing input/output connectivity for headphone listening, PC gaming and audio creation. Delivering 109dB SNR audio quality, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum includes the X-Fi IR remote, for easy access to the Entertainment Center software console, which enables access to music, movies and picture slide shows through a slick, streamlined interface. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum also includes all of the standard features, application software, power and performance capabilities of the Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music. Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic The Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card harnesses the full power of the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor to upgrade any existing library of MP3 or any music files to the Xtreme Fidelity audio standard. With the X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity 24-bit Crystalizer, MP3 music and movies are converted to Xtreme Fidelity, which deliver an experience beyond the original CD or DVD recordings. With the included Creative MediaSource™ 3 software suite, users can easily SuperRip™ all their digital music permanently to Xtreme Fidelity. In addition, MediaSource 3 also allows users to further enhance their music content with single-click access to rich features like X-Fi CMSS-3D, Smart Cross-Fade and Smart Volume Management. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music sound card plays back audio with rich 109dB SNR quality.

Aug 8, 2005, 04:55 PM	#3
thomasabarnes Long Time ***** Friend Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: USA Posts: 1,375 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	LOL bennetng! Johnny1982: Thx for the link and info. __________________ May a song always touch you in a positive way. SONAR X1D Expanded, Windows 7 Pro 64Bit, MOTU UltraLite MK3, 150 GB HDD, 250 GB HDD, 1 TB x2 HDD 7200 rpm My Music Production: Top 40, Contemporary Christian, Pop/Rock, Decent Rap, Inspirationals, and Children Songs

Aug 9, 2005, 10:05 PM	#11
igor_levicki Intel Black Belt Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Belgrade, Serbia Posts: 128 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	With the included Creative MediaSource™ 3 software suite, users can easily SuperRip™ all their digital music permanently to Xtreme Fidelity. Uhoh, I wonder how will Microsoft DRM team (and later their lawyers) respond to the idea of ripping and recoding protected content? About Crystalizer -- by simply expanding dynamic range to that of a higher bit depth you would get harsh sound. So some interpolation/dithering must be applied. In the end it will sound as good as you want it. At least I am not buying that after using LOSSY compression the LOST part can be restored. __________________ Regards, Igor Levicki -- Creative Audigy 2 ZS Retail (SB0350) kX 3538h Last edited by igor_levicki; Aug 9, 2005 at 10:19 PM.

Aug 10, 2005, 02:33 PM	#18
germanjulian Back in London Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London Posts: 1,797 Rep Power: 0	sound very interesting now.... mhhh would be nice to have an amazing sound card. __________________ /\|\ Asus P5W DH Deluxe, Intel C2D E6600, 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2, E-VGA GeForce 7800 GT, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music, 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA, Lian Li PC-V1100 Aluminum Case Black, etc. http://germanjulian.com /\|\

Aug 8, 2005, 03:54 PM	#2
bennetng DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 61 Rep Power: 0	Creative should write something like... Sound Blaster X-Fi kX Project In order to fully utilize the power of the X-Fi processor, Creative Labs invited Eugene Gavrilov to design the "Really Useful Audio Creation Mode" which is similar to the interface of the current kX Project Driver. It provides 0.66ms ASIO latency, flexible signal routing, hundreds of DSP plugins including DSP Synths, complete MIDI automation and much more! So if you are really into Audio Creation, please forget about other versions of X-Fi and buy this one!

Aug 9, 2005, 05:34 PM	Thread Starter #6
JGSF HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 452 Rep Power: 0	I have the feeling that the folks at Creative's forums know even less than us about it...

Aug 9, 2005, 05:53 PM	#7
ursamtl Montrealer Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 126 Rep Power: 0	Tom's Hardware published an article in early July that gave some details about X-Fi. Although it didn't provide detailed test results or answer to many of the questions in this thread, it gave some first impressions of the demos.

Aug 9, 2005, 06:44 PM	#9
ursamtl Montrealer Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 126 Rep Power: 0	Notice they didn't actually say that it "sounds better." They simply said it "delivers an experience beyond" CD or DVD. If you read the details about the Crystalizer, what it amounts to is a circuit that adds dynamic range expansion, especially to transients, with the view of counteracting the dynamic range compression that's done to fit sound into 16 bits. Therefore, if they expand the dynamic range "beyond" what's possible with a 16-bit CD or DVD (excluding 24-bit DVD sound of course), their statement isn't exactly false. The remaining question of course is how well it works. It might sound like crap, but the initial reports from Tom's (as linked above) seem interesting.

Aug 9, 2005, 09:22 PM	#10
Eugene Gavrilov kX Project Lead Programmer and Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3,119 Rep Power: 75	he-he nice press-release E.

Aug 10, 2005, 12:50 AM	Thread Starter #12
JGSF HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 452 Rep Power: 0	http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/7658/xfi9bf.jpg Look what I found...

Aug 10, 2005, 08:47 AM	#13
Rivera DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 64 Rep Power: 0	Here's more info on the X-Fi cards and the soundboard layout. http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-22364-2435-x-x-x If these cards are this exellent, I can only imagine what E-MU Systems DAS will offer using this same technology. With the exclusion of gamers features, this card will be monster. Except that the DSP effects will still be running at 48Khz, but I dont mind if it does it at 24bits though. We'll just have to wait and see. I think I'll wait for E-MU to release their X-Fi related products before considering a purchase of these cards. Rivera

Aug 10, 2005, 11:38 AM	Thread Starter #15
JGSF HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 452 Rep Power: 0	Well, the fatal1ty also has that extra 64Mb of X-RAM, but from what I understand it's useless for musicians...

Aug 10, 2005, 11:47 AM	Thread Starter #17
JGSF HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 452 Rep Power: 0	Probably, still there's one thing I'd like to be sure... Are those better DAC's of the Elite Pro version in the card itself or in the external IO module? I asked this same question in the Creative Forum...