Creative Super X-Fi review: A ‘holographic audio’ eargasm - brownobts1945

Hardly a things in technology are guaranteed to bring you actual joy, but Original's Super X-Fi evenhanded power qualify for that list.

In short, the Comprehensive X-Fi distills decades of sound work on into a tiny, outboard dongle no bigger than a USB thumb drive that transforms smartphone, laptop computer, or PC audio with "holographic audio," according the companion.

While that sounds like a lot of unneeded ad replicate, we have to admit that after weeks of victimization the Super X-Fi, the fellowship is on to something. We'd almost believe Fictive's claim that information technology has found the "holy grail" of audio, but we'atomic number 75 disinclined to callback the Quest Knights just yet.

Gordon Mah Ung

The Tiptop X-Fi (satisfactory) is the sized of a finger but offers long more in advance audio than the Google Pixel 2XL audio dongle (v1) on the left.

Getting started with the Super X-Fi

The Comprehensive X-Fi features a USB-C port on extraordinary end, a standard 3.5mm analog jack happening the other, and features volume, shambling, and a single master button on its surface. A tiny LED changes tell from immature to orangish to let you love if it's busy Oregon not.

To get started with the Super X-Fi, you first download an Android app though the GooglePlay store. You then take pictures of your head which is analyzed by Creative to nibble the perfect audio profile for your specific head shape.

This is essential because so much of how we hear sound is determined away the timing differences of audio frequency arriving in our ears, and the shape of our head and earlobes plays a large part of it.

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The Ace X-Fi app scans your head to determine what is optimimal for you.

Besides profiling for your head, you likewise pick from a set of listed approved headphones in the app, operating theater primed information technology to "generic" for either headphone or in-ear. The phone profiles are fine tuned by Creative to make the just about of each pair's sonic characteristics and fit style.

Fanciful actually has an even more optimized approach for mapping that uses in-ear microphones to on the button model audio for your head while relative frequency sweeps are pass on a surround system. Obviously, this ISN't something that's currently practicable for your average consumer. But we can say that in demonstrations of the Super X-Fi mapped exploitation the in-ear microphones, we had a tough time distinguishing the Super X-Fi from a decently high-end Dolby Atmos system.

For straight off, the head scans using a earphone camera are the following best thing.

Having that unnecessary information is how Ingenious distinguishes the Super X-Fi from all other spatialized audio solutions. Creative expects its algorithms to get even improve still as information technology adds much scans to its growing database.

Gordon Mah Ung

On one end is a USB-C porthole, and connected the other is a 3.5mm sea do, which many companies have banned from phones.

Inside the Tops X-Fi

Crack open the Super X-Fi and you'll obtain an AK4377. That's a 32-flake, 768KHz digital analog converter from acclaimed audio company Asahi Kasei Microdevices. The other chip is Creative's Super X-Fi chip. The company is pretty secretive about what the Super X-Fi does exactly but we'd guess it relies on such technologies as Creative's Crystalizer, CMSS, and dozens of other audio patents the company has in its warfare bureau.

Yes, true audiophiles who pursue the highest-resolution FLAC or DSD files will scoff at Creative's bag of audio techniques as gimmicks or magic tricks, but in our listening experience, the Tiptop X-Fi was zip squat of phenomenal.

Superintendent X-Fi and music

With stereo content over a good set of headphones or in-ear earphones, nearly music is rendered as if a singer or dance orchestra is inside your skull. In fact, we're so usual to this John Malkovich feeling that switching on the Large X-Fi may throw you off for a second or ternary.

If you keep listening though, you'll eventually see you'atomic number 75 just non used to the uninjured of a band in front of your head, where they would be if they were performing for you.

If we were writing Ingenious marketing lines, it would be easy to say that the Super X-Fi is ilk having a person-to-person audition by musicians.

Using whatever wizardry Creative has summoned from its library, there were times when the difference was stunning. It had us comb through our collection for many music to re-experience.

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With the Super X-Fi in Windows, you set the Operating system to output arsenic discrete 7.1 audio, which the dongle then reassembles positional sound from.

A-one X-Fi and games

Neediness to feel the like you throw an advantage in a multiplayer shot? Want to glucinium further immersed further in an open world? Plug that Super X-Fi into your PC and enjoy a 5.1 apparatus at the comfort of your desk with no pesky speakers or wires to worry about.

Online games like Destiny 2, Battlefield V, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 worked like a dream and provided A level of feedback that made us feel as if we were two-timing. When you can accurately place a sound without any visual feedback and respond to it, it becomes a game modifier. Did it make us a healthier player? No, information technology's not magic. Simply it did give us a deeper signified of our environment than we'd experienced before. The Super X-Fi will besides pass mike data as well, for when you are teaming up with your buddies.

The spatialized sound plane increased the immersiveness of one-man-histrion games corresponding The Evil Within 2, DOOM, and Red Dead Buyback 2 (gasp—a console game). Yes, the Super X-Fi also works with the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, but not on the Xbox One due to current restrictions from Microsoft.

We've been using the Super X-Fi primarily to play games for two months and IT's get ahead a must-let. In situations where a dedicated 5.1 sound system of rules isn't an option, the Super X-Fi is the next-best thing whether you're playing along a TV or Microcomputer.

And for those who are worried about Creative drivers, have no fear, this is plug-and-play—meaning you stool't blame the company anymore if your build locks up mid-agree!

Super X-Fi isn't exact

Be forewarned, the Super X-Fi is not unbroken aside any stretch. As we said, there will be times when you'll be floored by just how good the Fantastic X-Fi sounds. Only on that point will also be multiplication when it's just meh, or even just wrong. Possibly a pilfer overmuch reverb, mayhap the vocals are processed out as a little too thin. Android users will also be annoyed by the device request for permission to access the Super X-Fi (Creative says it's a security limitation imposed by the OS).

There also isn't much customization in how much depth you tush add to the spatialization. In hereafter iterations we'd love to see the power to push the "speakers" out further, or adjust how much reverb is in the blank with you. Fine-tuning like this can further trick the brain to accept you are indeed listening to speakers in the space with you.

Fortuitously, in situations where the A-one X-Fi's processing isn't running for you, you can fall into place a button on the device to throw it cancelled. You'll static bewilder the benefits of a 120dB SNR, 32-tur AKM DAC, which is likely a big betterment all over anything improved into your phone or laptop, operating room the generic dongle that came with your phone.

Read on to learn more about our listening tests.

Super X-Fi works best with unspoiled sources

In our experience, the Extremely X-Fi seemed to tickle us most with older, unspoiled music. The older the ameliorate. Mono recording? Even better.

For example, an Amazon-downloaded Hank William Carlos Williams' Jr. MP3 of "Angels Are Hard to Find" (prerecorded in 1974) sprang to life with Super X-Fi,  where the only thing that could possibly make IT better was a hay bale and ice cold Lone Star beer.

When it comes to gambling, your undergo is verisimilar to be better with games from studios that put a ton of resources into their sound teams, such as DICE and Rash—we recovered the Super X-Fi to shine bright here.

Gordon Mah Ung

We found that the Big X-Fi typically used equitable a trifle to a lesser extent than half a watt of magnate low load, which didn't appear to make the phone's battery life much. That's not bad, but the Google USB-C audio dongle is still to a lesser extent at a 10th of a watt, and then there's a power cost.

Super X-Fi improves bad MP3s

If you saw "MP3" and did a needle-scratch, contain. Yes, almost audio snobs will turn up their noses at MP3s the same way a coffee enthusiast recoils at the mention of Folgers, and that condescension is warranted. MP3s are inherently compromised.

Interestingly, we found this to be one of the areas where the Super X-Fi truly shows its poppycock. For the vast majority of average folks who have boxes of MP3 files they congregate in college from that corner store called Napster, the Super X-Fi force out, and will, wee many another of those files sound meliorate.

Obviously, your mileage will vary depending on the MP3 you bet processed it was from the studio, but away and large, it improved most of the medicine we listened to.

That's non to say the Super X-Fi won't make FLAC files also sound better. A 24-bite, 96KHz recording of the Eagles singing "Hotel CA" sounded so more than cleared, that even Jeffrey Lebowski would liable sanction.

Gordon Mah Ung

The large pear-shaped button on the Extremely X-Fi lets you switch off any processing, making the dongle a standard USB Audio DAC. The LED turns green when processing is on and orange when it's slay.

Headphones weigh too

As we mentioned earlier, in summation to profiling your head shape, the Super X-Fi's app as wel uses a profile for your specific headphones. The list includes respective major brands in addition to Yeasty's own models, such as AKG, Apple, Audio frequency Technica, Beyerdynamic, Bose, HIFIMAN, Jaybird, Koss, Massdrop, Oppo, Sennheiser, Shure, Skullcandy, Sony, V-Moda, and Venture Electronics plus its ain Creative and E-Mu models. In all, in that respect were 43 headphone models supported at the time of our reexamine, with more to add up. (Generic profiles exist for models not on the list.) For our examination, we used Creative's $850 E-Mu TeaksRemove non-mathematical product link, $150 Aurvana TriosRemove non-product link, and a set of Aurvana SE's that hug dru $59. All had Super X-Fi profiles but we also used a pair of unprofiled Mionix Nash 20 gaming headphones as well as a set of Polk headphones and Sennheiser HD700s. The Nash 20 and Polk's used the generic profile while the Sennheiser HD700s victimised the very similar Sennheiser HD800 visibility in the app.

Does the phone quality matter? Yes, definitely.

While in that respect is some overall "enhancement," don't expect the Super X-Fi to throw your lousy headphones sound outstanding. Noneffervescent, we were pretty happy with the results from the Aurvana Se's that sell for $60. And a generic profile shouldn't be a deal breakers. In fact, the Sennheisser HD700's measured great. Just get into't have a bun in the oven a magical transformation from subpar cans.

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Inventive has added 43 different profiles ultimately count that the Super X-Fi supports. You pot also use generic profiles too.

Super X-Fi's positional audio is excellent too

All of the above pertains to the Super X-Fi's ability to ameliorate stereo subject but the other big selling point is point audio, which is marketed as being comparable with from a Dolby Atmos setup. Really? Comfortably, yes and zero. While in a controlled environs prepare by Creative, we found it hard to tell the difference… at times. But honestly, few World Health Organization in reality have a truthful surround audio system are likely to chuck it for the Fantastic X-Fi.

Still, if you want "Dolby Atmos" (hyperbole aside) in your ear, IT's going to make up trying to beat the Large X-Fi right forthwith.

For our close-hearing tests, we used the Super X-Fi's profile generated by taking pictures of our straits and ears combined with the profiles for the in-air Aurvana Trio and E-Mu Teak headphones, severally. What's cool about the Large X-Fi is that it functions as a basic USB Sound 2.0 device. That agency anything that supports USB Audio 2.0 should technically work with the Super X-Fi.

On the PC there's one more trick you perform. Preferably than LET it default to a standard two channel audio device, you fructify it to 7.1 audio in the board. This lets Windows spit out eight separate channels over USB, which the Super X-Fi then processes back into surround audio.

In our close-listening tests we used the oldie-simply-goodie RightMark 3D Sound, which lets you carefully position an audio frequency source around you.

Gordon Mah Ung

One end, naturally, features a standard 3.5mm "courage" jack that's been illegal by nigh phone companies.

The problem with using scarcely RightMark 3D to judge the Super X-Fi is that the purifying tactile property detracts from the surround audio frequency. So kind of than depend on sportsmanlike moving an object around in DiretSound3D, we also relied on what masses power actually use the Super X-Fi on the PC for: watching videos—on YouTube (yes, audio and cinema snobs, recoil in horror again.)

To replicate our RightMark 3D audio test, but with some control, we first used a 360-degree transcription with an unsegregated 5.1 audio tag using the Google Chrome web browser. For the picture, which you can see Hera, a 360-degree camera was adorned connected the turret of an M4 Sherman cooler at the Thunder Over Michigan 2017 show. Besides the thunder of machine guns and tumble of the Motown motors, the audio frequency includes several passes away a P-51 Mustang. That let us rewind the video and restate the P-51 pass using the Super X-Fi on and off, with the power to "move" our virtual heads in the video. The result? Immoderate better positional and furthest better immersive audio. Would we say we matte up like we were a Canal on the front of a Sherman? Atomic number 102, but it sure as shooting plumbed more care it than pure biaural output.

This, again, seems to be the strong poin of the Super-Fi: to render what would live pretty mundane audio into far much immersive audio. Another video we used for hearing tests featured the repeated flybys of a Huey UH-1 chopper (which you bathroom see Hera.)  Switching off the First-rate X-Fi made that large rotor whop-whack-whop of the Huey wholesome dull and lifeless. Turn over it on though, and the device adds just the right amount of reverb and touches to, well, make it feel like you are virtually to res publica in a hot LZ along with Four Leaf Tayback and Sgt. Lincoln Osiris during the Potty Creepy.

It's not just YouTube videos, of course of study. We also used CyberLink PowerDVD to tight listen to James Cameron's Avatar on Blu-irradiatio. Say what you leave about the movie, the audio mastering is asymptomatic executed. We used matchless particular Na'vi setting where the characters fly other waterfalls and we could clearly hear—or at least we believed we heard—the waterfalls behind us.

And that's the thing. Ended the old age, we've wondered if positional audio frequency isn't much the the power of suggestion than the power of HRTFs, reverb, and former audio filtering. You are, after all, using two channels to fool your brain into thinking something is buttocks you, or to a higher place you. We'll let the audio nerds indicate that in forums, just what we posterior suppose is the Super X-Fi really does a damned-good job at making you believe information technology and that is really all that matters in the end.

Conclusion: Just pip out?

As good as the Super X-Fi is, convincing consumers this is something they ask is distillery an uphill conflict. Again, we believe that most of the time, you'll find the rendering of the content that you listen to vastly better. That runs the gamut from your FLAC files to MP3s and, yes, YouTube videos of WWII-time of origin warbirds fetching off.

But do you care decent some the audio from your laptop computer, earphone, or desktop to place $150, along with buying a decent pair of headphones, then deal with wires too?

The Sojourner Truth is, we know few wish do that, instead affirmative Bluetooth. And that's a real shame because we tooshie honestly, and unabashedly, say your ears are lost out without the Super X-Fi.

Gordon Mah Ung

One time you set the Super X-Fi for your headphones and head profile, the USB-C jack and USB Audio frequency support agency you can take information technology just about anyplace with you and immediately enjoy less domineering audio frequency.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/403182/creative-super-x-fi-review.html

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