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CreativeXFi:ANewWorldofSound
ByJeanPierreRoche ,AUGUST18,200511:05AM

1.Introduction

WehavebeenspendinglotsoftimewiththelatestsoundcardfromCreative,calledtheXFi.Whileitlookslikean
ordinaryPCIsoundcard,theinnardsarecompletelynewandimprovedandworthspendingsometimeon.Herewe
giveyouplentyofthestraightdope,basedonourtestsandlivingwithvariouspreproductionversionsforovera
yearnow.Youmightalsowanttoreviewourtwopreviousarticlesonthecardthatwepublishedearlierthis
summer:
Creative'sXFi:ANewAgeinSoundCardPower?

TheRiseToPower
Creative'ssoundcardshaveundergoneconsiderabledevelopment,startingwiththedaysofthefirstSoundBlaster
"PRO"cardin1991,whichoffered8bitsound.ThiswasfollowedbythefamousAWE32andLive!,andthenthe

Audigy,whichhasbeenthestandardforsoundcardsuntilnow.ButXFirepresentsanenormousleapforwardin
termsofpowerandcapabilityforhandlingandprocessingdigitalaudio.Inthetablebelow,theevolutioncanbe
clearlyseenComparePricesonXFiSoundCards!
Soundcard

Typical
RawData
Processor
PathMIPs
MIPs

Sound
?1
BlasterPro
AWE32
67
(EMU8000)

InternalAudio OverallAudioSampleRate&
Channels
EffectsProcessingMIPSvsLive!

No.ofSimultaneous No.of
RealtimeEffects
Transistors

3+

0.0001x

100K

200+

0.2x

500K

16
(toEffects
1x
1
2M
Engine)
64
Audigy
424
1,250+
(toEffects
4x
4
4.6M
(10k2)
Engine)
4096
CreativeX
(toall
10340
30,000+
67x
8
51.1M
Fi
Processing
Elements)
WeshouldstressthefactthatCreative,unlikemostofitscompetitors,hasalwaysincludedatrueaudioprocessoron
itscards,asopposedtosimplyusingacodecandputtingtheprocessingloadontheCPU.Thatapproachaccountsfor
theirsuperiorityingames,whereCreativeavoidshavingtodevotepartoftheavailableprocessingpowertosound,
butitalsocreatesafewproblemsinotherareas.TheprocessorsusedintheLive!andAudigycardsoperatednatively
at48kHz,creatingsomeproblemsat44.1kHzandsimplyrefusingtoprocesshighersamplingfrequenciesatall.
WithXFi,thoseproblemsarebehindus,andoperationisnowpossibleatallusablesamplingfrequencies.
Live!
(10k1)

335

1,000+

2.ANewArchitecture:AudioRing
XFiisnotjustanewcircuitthat'snobigdeal,asnewcircuitsappearregularly.Unliketraditionalsoundprocessing
circuits,whichhaveafixedsequentialarchitecture,XFi'sAudioRingarchitectureallowsprocessingsequencestobe
reconfiguredtosuitthetaskathand.XFihasanaturallymodulararchitecture,witheachmodulecommunicating
viatheAudioRingakindofbusthatacceptsupto4,096audiochannels.

TheAudioRingbusisnotreallycomparabletothatofaprofessionalmixingboard,either,becauseithandles
significantlymorefunctionssuchascommunicationwiththePC'smemoryusingawiderbandwidththanthePCI
interfacecanhandle.
ThenexttableshowsthedistributionofprocessingpoweramongthemainmodulesthatmakeuptheXFicircuit.
We'llcomebacktocertainonesindetail,suchastheSampleRateConverter(SRC),anewtechnologythat,asyou
cansee,takesupthelion'sshareoftheprocessingpower.
XFiRawDataPathMIPs
SRC
7310
Filter
200
Mixer
1210
Tank
440
DSP
1180
Total
10340
Inpractice,usersofanXFicardareofferedthreeconfigurations,correspondingtothethreemaintypesofuse:
Gaming,Entertainment,andCreation.Thetablebelowsumsupthebasiccapabilitiesofeachconfiguration,which
we'lldiscussindetailwhenwelookatdriversandsoftware.

AnotherpointtostressisthattheXFicircuitisnottiedtothePCIbus,soitcanbeusedinequipmentusingthe
USB,FireWire,orPCIExpressinterfaces.Specialversionswillprobablyalsobeemployedinconsumerelectronics
equipment.

3.TheXFiLine

FourXFicardsarebeinglaunchedsimultaneously,tosuittheneedsanddesiresofdifferentusers.TheXFi
XtremeMusiccouldbeconsideredthebasiccard,aimedmainlyatmusiclistening,generalentertainment(DVDand
games),andtheotherbasicusesofasoundcard.It'saPCIcardwithnoparticularextensions.Thedirectly

accessibleconnections(1/8thinchjacksonly)arelimitedtoa"FlexiJack"inputusableasamicrophone,line,or
digitalS/PDIFinputandspeakeroutputs.Thelatter,naturally,are7.1,spreadoverthreejacksasonprevious
Creative7.1cards.Notethatthestereooutput(thefirstoutputjack)isusableasaheadphonejack,unlessyouuse
anonstandardmodel.There'salsoanextensionconnectorforanexternalrackifyouwanttoupgrade.Internally,
there'sanauxiliaryinputusingaMolexconnector,andanotherextensionconnectorforanoptionalinternalrack.
There'salsoaproprietaryextensionconnector,thepurposeofwhichhasyettobedefined.

4.TheXFiLine,Continued
ThenextmodelupistheXFiPlatinum,whichhasallthecharacteristicsofthebasicmodelinfact,thePCIcard
looksidenticalbutaddsaninternalrackthatfitsintoa5"bay.Therackhasaline/micinputwithadjustablelevel
usinga1/4"(6.35mm)jack,alineinput,digitalopticalandcoaxialinputsandoutputs,andaheadphonejackwith
volumeadjustment.MIDIconnectionsusingminiDINconnectorsarealsoprovided,andadaptersforstandardMIDI
connectorsaresuppliedaswell.Aninfraredremotecontrolsallsoundfunctions.Allofthesefeaturesmakethis
modelagoodchoiceforamateurswhowantagoodrangeofconnectionsandeasyaccesstothem.
ThemorespecializedFatal1tyFPSisverysimilartothePlatinum,includingaPCIcardandinternalrack,butisaimed
athardcoregamers.Itadds64MBofinternalmemory(XRAM)toimproveperformanceingamessupportingthis
technology.

Finally,thetopoftheline,theXFiElitePro,comprisesaPCIcardandanexternalrack.Therackisfairlylargeand
canbeinstalledeitherflatorverticallyusingtheprovidedsupport,andobviouslyalsohasaremotecontrol.Thisis
themodelwemainlybasedourteston,andtheonewe'llgointodetailabout,becauseithashigherquality
convertersandthusprovidesthebestaudioperformance.

AremotecontrolcomeswithallmodelsexceptthebasicXtremeMusic.Itcontrolscertainfunctionslikethe
Crystalizer,EAX,CMSS3D,and3DMIDI,andalsoplayingyourfiles,andallowsessentialadjustmentssuchas
volume.OntherackoftheElitePro,youcanadjustthesamefunctionswithrotarycontrols,whichcanbepractical
thereareindicatorlightsshowingtheiroperationtoavoidanyambiguity.
CreativeLabsXFiElitePro
Interface
PCI
Circuitprincipal
CA20K1(XFi)
Max.samplingrate 192kHz
Quantification
24bits
ASIO
24bits/96kHz
Inputs
Card
Mike/line/digitalSP/DIFwithadaptator,Molexline(internal)
Rack
HiZline,mike/line,phono/line,S/PDIFopticalandcoaxial
Outputs
Card
8cinch(7.1),1S/PDIFopticalandcoaxial(jack3.5mm)
Rack
1S/PDIFopticalandcoaxial,1adjustableheadphone
DVDandcinema
Standards
DolbyDigitalEX,DTSES,S/PDIFoutput
Configuration
Upto7.1
DVDAudio
Yes
3Dgamesound
Standards
DS3D,A3D,OpenAL,EAX5.0
Configuration
2to7.1
MIDI
SoftwaresynthesizerCreativeSoundFounts24bits
I/O
PrisesStandard(DIN)

5.InputsAndOutputs

ThePCIcardhasasingle1/8thinch(3.5mm)inputjackcalleda"FlexiJack",whichcanbeconfiguredviathedriver
toserveasalineinput,micinput,ordigitalconnectionforinputandoutput.There'saplethoraofconnectionson
theEliteProrack.Thefrontfeaturestwo1/4"(6.35mm)inputjackswithadjustablelevel.Thefirst,dependingon
thepositionoftheadjustmentpotentiometer,iseitheralineinputorahighimpedance(HiZ)input,themost
commonuseofwhichisplugginginamusicalinstrumentsuchasanelectricguitar.Thesecondismorestandard,
andserveseitherasalineormicrophoneinput.
Onthebackisanotherinputusingcinchconnectorsasmallswitchletsyouconfigureitaseitheralineinputor
phonoinputwithRIAAcorrection.Thisisanexcellentidea,andwillletyoutakeadvantageofyourvinyldisks,either
todigitizethemorsimplytolistentothem.Notethatagroundconnectionisprovidedforhookingupaturntable,a
detailthat'ssometimesforgotten...AddedtoallthisareopticalandcoaxialdigitalS/PDIFinputsandapairofcinch
connectorsforMIDIinputandoutput.Finally,there'saspecialconnectorforCreativespeakers.

Ifyoulookatallthepossibleconnections,you'llseethatwhileCreativehasstayedwithconsumertypehookups
there'snosymmetricalinputitoffersacompleterange,withmicrophone,line,andphono,plustheadded
possibilityofconnectingamusicalinstrumentwithasimplestandardcable.Soit'sadesignthatcanmeettheneeds
ofallamateurs.

6.Inside

There'snothingparticularlyspectacularlookingabouttheXFiPCIcarditselfyoucouldalmostconfuseitwithan
ordinarysoundcard.TheXFi(CA20K1)circuitisalotmorecompactthantheoneontheAudigy,forexample.There
aretwomodelsofPCIcardsintheXFiline.TheElitePro'shasCirrusLogicCS4398D/Aconverters(192kHz,120
dB)andanAKMAK5394A/Dconverter(192kHz,123dB).ThePCIcardusedontheothermodelshasCirrusLogic

CS4382D/Aconverters(192kHz,114dB)andaWolfsonWM8775circuitthatincludesamixerforfouranalog
sourcesandanA/Dconverter(96kHz,102dB).

TheElitePro'srackusesTIBurrBrownPCM1804A/Dconverters(192kHz,111dB).Fortheheadphonejackthere's
aCirrusLogicCS4392D/Aconverter(192kHz,114dB).Theconclusionyoucandrawfromallofthisisthatthebest
inputistheoneonthePCIcardoftheElitePro.However,theinputsonitsrackprovideampleperformanceforits
intendeduses.

7.SRC:SoundInTime
AmongthevariousmodulescomprisingtheXFi,theSampleRateConverter(SRC)probablyseemsthemost
mysteriousandleastinterestingtomostpotentialusers.Yetit'stheonethatgetsthebiggestshareofthe
processingpower!Tounderstanditsimportance,youhavetoconsiderthenatureofdigitalsounditself.
Thesamplingfrequencyindicatesthenumberoftimespersecondthevalueofthesignalisread:44,100timesper
secondforstereoCDAudio,forexample.Today,numerousothervaluesarepossible,dependingonthesourceused
(e.g.DVDorDVDAudio).Inaddition,evensourcesthatusethesametheoreticalvaluecandifferslightly,since
clocksaren'tabsolutelyprecise.Whenyouwanttomixthesesources,forexample,thesedifferencescancause
errorsthatresultinveryaudibledefectsinthesound.Professionalequipmentlikethekindusedinrecording
studiosusessynchronizationsystemsthatconsumerequipmentdoesn'thave.Interconnectionsbetweenthe
variouspiecesofequipmentalsobecomemorecomplex.Conversionofsamplingfrequenciescansolveallthese
problems,butuntilnowit'sbeenconsideredaworkaroundanecessaryevil.Incertaincases,itresultsatleastin
principleinareductioninaudioquality,especiallyifthereisn'talotofprocessingpoweravailablefortheoperation.
ForitsSRC,though,Creativehasusedanewarchitecturethatresultsinatotallytransparentaudiosignal.
Convertinga997Hztestsignalfrom44.1to48kHzproducedadistortionof136dBanda0.00025dBpassband
ripple.That'slessdistortionandnoisethanisintroducedbyotheraudiocomponents,whichguaranteestheabsence
ofartifactsduetotheconversion.

ProcessingbytheSRCtoconvertadigitalsignalfrom44.1kHzto48kHz

THD+N(distortion+noise)resultingfromconversionfrom44.1to48kHz.There'snochanceyou'llbeabletohear
it!

8.SRC:SoundInTime,Continued
TheSRCisnotonlyatechnicalachievement,it'salsoatoolthatallowstheXFicardtodeliveritspromised
performanceinquiteafewareas.Thefirstisobviouslysynchronizationofdigitalsignals,butitcanalsocreate
effects,suchassoundambiencesormovementeffects,withmuchgreaterprecisionthananythingthat'sexisted
untilnowattheconsumerlevel.

TheDopplereffectofamovingobjectcanbecreatedmoreeasilyandpreciselywiththeSRC!

Theprincipleoftraditionaldigitalsynchronization

DigitalsynchronizationasperformedbyXFi,handledentirelybytheSRC.Muchsimplerfortheuser!
Finally,SRCisasourceofsavingsinareaslikesynthesizing,andmoregenerally,thestorageofsamples(wavetables)
intendedforreproducingmusic.Itallowsthetransparentconversionofasmallnumberofsamplestoproduceawide
rangeofnotes,byadjustingvariousparameterssuchaspitchandvibratoatwill.

9.ThreeCardsInOne
Aswe'vesaid,XFicardshavethreeoperatingmodes:Entertainment(foractivitieslikelisteningtomusicor
watchingaDVD),Games,andAudioCreation(soundandmusic).YouchooseoneofthethreeviaaModeSwitcher
andthecardisreconfiguredtoprovidethebestperformancefortheactivitychosen.Naturally,thepossibilitiesand
alsothecontrolpanelaredifferentdependingontheconfigurationyouchoose.Thetablebelowprovidesa
summary.

TheModeSwitcherletsyouchoosetheoperatingmodethatcorrespondstowhatyou'redoingatagivenmoment.
TheXFicardisreconfiguredinafewsecondstoprovidethebestpossibleperformance.

Entertainment AudioCreation Games

3DMIDIPlayback
Yes
Yes
Yes
3DMIDIInteraction
No
Yes
No
EAXADVANCEDHD5.0
Limited
Limited
Yes
EAXADVANCEDHD4.0
Limited
Limited
Yes
EAXADVANCEDHD3.0
Yes
Yes
Yes
NumberofAuxiliaryEffects 2
4
4
MaximumNumberofReverbs1
2
4
InsertEffects
No
4
No
ASIOOutChannels:Dry
1pair
5pairs
1pair
ASIOOutChannels:FX
No
4pairs
No
ASIOInChannels:WUH
8
8
8
ASIOInChannels:Basic
2(1pair)
2(1pair)
2(1pair)
ASIO2.0Support
Limited
Yes
Limited
ASIO2.0DirectMonitoring 0
12(6pairs) 0
BitMatchedPlayback
No
Yes
No
BitMatchedRecording
No
Yes
No
CMSS3DSurround
Yes
No
Yes
CMSS3DHeadphone
Yes
No
Yes
CMSS3DVirtual(2Speakers) Yes
No
Yes
CMSS3DVirtual(4Speakers) No
No
Yes
CMSS3DInteractive
Yes
Yes
Yes
24bitCrystalizer
Yes
Yes
Yes
GraphicEQ
10bands
10bands
10bands
SmartVolumeManagement Yes
Yes
Yes
BassManagement
Advanced
No
Advanced

10.Entertainment
InEntertainmentmode,youseeascreenthatresemblesacompactstereowithaseriesoficonsthatletyouadjust
numerousfunctions.Someofthesearewellknownandnotgreatlydifferent(atleastinappearance)fromthoseon
previousCreativecards,suchasthetenbandequalizer,mixingboard,andloudspeakerconfigurationselection.
Othersaretotallynew,liketheCrystalizer,orentirelyreworkedandthereforecompletelydifferentfromearlierones
thathadthesamenames,likeCMSS.We'llgetbacktothesetwofunctionsindetailinamoment.

InEntertainmentmode,thecontrolpanellookslikeastereo

Themixingboardisquiteclassic

ThewellknownequalizerfromearlierCreativecardsisstillhere,withpossibilitiesthataresimilartoprevious
versions

Nosurprisesasfarasspeakerselectionisconcerned.Listeningtestsletyoucheckwhetherthey'recorrectlyplaced.

11.Game
Gamemodedisplaysaverycompactscreenwithmanyofthepreviousadjustments,butspecificfunctionsforgames
arealsopresent.OnthemixingboardyoucanenableEAXeffects,andadjustenvironmenteffectsforthe
microphoneifyou'reusingamic/headphone.Inaddition,yougetthemostpowerfulversionofEAX:5.0!

Forgaming,youcanactivatetheEAXeffectsandalteryourvoicebyprocessingthesignalfromthemicrophone

Creation
Creationmodewillusheryouintoanotherworld,ifyou'renotfamiliarwithprofessionalaudioequipmentor
equipmentmeantformusicians.Whatyou'llseeinfrontofyouisamixingboardwithextensivepossibilities.We
won'tgointodetailaboutthem,becausethey'reextremelywiderangingand,asofthiswriting,nostructured
informationseemstobeavailable.Thehelpthataccompaniesthesoftwareisfairlylimited,buttheexistenceof
busesanduserassignableinputsandoutputsclearlyopensupsomehighlyinterestingpossibilitiesfornumerous
users.Forexample,youcanassignaninputtoanyoutput,orsendthemixtooneorseveraloutputs.DJsandevent
organizersshouldfindalotheretohavefunwith...
Formusicians,asidefromabroadpaletteofeffects,thebignoveltyis3DMIDI,whichoffersthepossibilityof
positioningaMIDIsoundinspaceverysimplyit'sanewcreativeoptionaccessibletoamateurs!Naturally,Creation
modeopensthedoortoASIO2.0modeandletsyoufreelychooseyoursamplingfrequencyfromamongthe
standardvalues.Ifyouoptfor96kHz,youwon'tseetheeffectsmodulesdisappearaswithearlierCreativecards
withXFi,theyremainfunctionalregardlessofthefrequencychosen.Becareful,though,becausethefilesgetvery
big!

InCreationmode,it'spossibletosendstereosoundtotheeightchannelsofa7.1system.Aninterestingpossibility
forcertainusers...

YoucaninsertaparametricEQcorrectionontoaninputtocorrectafaultinthesource,orobtainaspecificeffect

12.Creation,Continued

Thereverberationmodulemightinspireyou,oritmightscareyou!Italsohassimplifiedadjustments...

MIDIsoundscanbepositionedinspacethanksto3DMIDI.Musicianswillbeabletoachievesomesurprising
effects...

Youcanchoosefromallstandardsamplingfrequencies!

Thisblockdiagramofthemixingboardisunfortunatelyonlypartialincoverage,butitgivesyouanideaofthe
possibilitiesforcontrolandinsertingeffects.
Creationmodeofferssomanypossibilitiesthatitwouldbeimpossibletomentionthemallindetail.Forexample,
therearethe24bitSoundFonts,andnaturallythepossibilityofworkingwithASIO2.0driversforverylowlatency
(2ms).EventhoughXFiisnotaimedspecificallyatmusicians,they'llfinditprovidessomeveryattractive

resources...

13.Crystalizer:TruerSound
AmongthemodulesofferedbyXFiistheCrystalizer,availableinallthreeoperatingmodes.Wedescribedthe
principlebehinditinapreviousarticleaboutXFi.
TheCrystalizerhasasingleadjustmentgraduatedinpercentage.WiththeElitePro,youcanadjustthelevelofthe
effecteitherwiththeremotecontrolordirectlyontherack.Wemighthavehopedformorecompletecontrols,but
thegoalisundoubtedlytogiveamateursatoolthat'seasytouse.

Inactuallistening,theCrystalizer'sprocessingtrulydoesresultinmorerealisticsound,closertowhatyouhearinan
actualperformance.Ingeneral,dynamicsaregreatlyimproved,andyougettheimpressionthatthefrequency
responsehasbeenextendedithasn'treally,buttheimpressioncomesfromthereliefaddedtothebassandthe
processingontheupperpartofthespectrum.Naturally,theeffectisverydependentonthetypeofsoundbeing
processed.Itcanbecomeimperceptiblewithsoundwhoseleveldoesn'tvarymuch.Butarecordingwithalotof
percussivesoundsandtransientswillbealteredmuchmoreaudibly.Withmanytypesofmusic,it'llbehardtogo
backtothewayitsoundedbeforeonceyou'veheardwhatitsoundslikewiththeCrystalizer.Withoutit,yougetthe
impressionthatyou'relisteningtoyourmusicfrombehindathickcurtain.
Naturally,togetthefullbenefitoftheCrystalizer,yourplaybacksystem(amplifierandspeakers)needstobeupto
thetask.Thespeakershavetohandletheincreaseddynamicrangewithouttiringorcreatingdistortion.Also,the
adjustmentoftheCrystalizer'slevelhastosuitthemusicyouwon'tusethesameadjustmentfortechnoasfor
opera!Andtheadjustmentdependsnotonlyonthetypeofmusicbutalsoonthecharacteristicsoftheoriginal
recording.

14.CMSS3D:FromStereoToSurround
Withsurroundsoundbecomingcommonforconsumerlistening,plainstereothoughstillthemostwidespread
soundformatformusicisbeginningtolookabitobsolete.Ifyou'reinthehabitoflisteningto5.1(orbetter)
surround,youprobablyoftenfindstereosomewhat"thin."Andit'salsoalittlefrustratingtouseonlytwochannels
whenyouhaveamultichannelsystem.
CMSS,whichCreativehasalreadyofferedforsometimenow,wasdesigned(likeothersimilartechnologies)tosolve
thisproblemby"upmixing"twochannelsto5.1or7.1surroundsound.Untilnow,theresultshavebeenonly
partiallysuccessful.ButthankstotheprocessingpowerofXFi,theoperationcalledCMSS3Dnowproduces
muchbetterresults.Wedescribeditsoperatingprincipleinourearlierarticle:
Inpractice,theXFiversionofCMSS3Dhasseveralmodes,dependingonyourequipmentandthetypeofsource
beingprocessed.Thefirstupmixesstereoto5.1or7.1,butitcanalsocreateavirtualsurroundexperienceifyou
haveonlytwospeakers.Finally,itconsiderablyimprovesheadphonelistening,aswe'llseelater.

CMSS3Disveryeffectivewhenupmixingastereosourcetomultichannel,becauseitbothrecreatestheambient
soundofarecording,andpreservesthecenterofthesoundimagethankstothecenterchannel.Inatypical
recording,thesingerwillbeperfectlycenteredinthesoundstageandwon't"wander"duetoimprecisioninthe
recordingorthereproduction.Ontheotherhand,obviouslyCMSS3D'supmixofastereosourceisnotcomparable
toatruemultichannelrecording.Effectscreatedbythesoundengineerwon'tappearbymagic.Thisisclearifyou
listentorecordingsthatexistinbothversionsliketheJeanMichelJarrealbumAero,orFeelsLikeHomebyNorah
Jones.Still,thereproductionofambienceinarecordingcanbespectacularitalldependsonwhatwasoriginally

recorded.Andinthatrespect,oldrecordingsyoumayhavethoughtyouknewwellcanrevealsomehidden
treasures.Sincetheytendnottohavebeenmadeintoday'stotallyasepticrecordingstudios,theycontainambience
informationthat'sparticularlyinterestingtohearwhenit'srenderedrealistically.Thiscanapplytoallliverecordings
suchasopera.

15.ForDivX
Upmixingamovieorvideoisevenmorespectacular.DoitwithaDivXstereomoviethatyou'refamiliarwithinDolby
Digitalandyou'llbeblownaway.Ofcoursehereagain,theCMSS3Dcan'tfigureoutthespatialoriginofasound,
butitcomesclose!
Forourtests,wemadeaDivXstereocopyofaDVDofToyStory2.Theintroductiontothismovieisanespecially
goodexampleofsoundpositioninginspace.CMSS3Dmanagedtocorrectlylocatemostoftheactionwithsoundsat
theleftandrightrear.MovingtoDolbyDigital,theoriginofthesoundismoreprecise,inparticularwithanaction
thatstartsintherear,andthemotioneffectfromrightreartoleftfrontcouldbeheardperfectly.ButtheCreative
upmixwasstillverygood,muchbetterthanDolbyProLogicII,whichsometimesdenaturesthesoundtrackand
nevermanagestomakeareallyprecisemovetoarearspeaker.IfyouoftenwatchDivXmovies,andespeciallyif
youuseyourPCasalivingroomvideoplayer,youwon'tgetbetterspatializationfromastereosoundtrackthanX
Fi's.

Naturally,Creative'sMediaSourcesoftwareisincluded.WeusedittoenjoyanoperarecordingwithCMSS3D.
Ofcourse,there'snoproblemwithanoriginalmultichannelrecording,likeamovieinDolbyDigitalorDTSatleast
solongasyoustaywithmultichannellistening.CMSS3Dpromises"surround"reproductionwithonlytwospeakers,
butnaturallywefounditalotlessimpressive.Itdidcreateasoundstagethatwasclearlybeyondstereo,but
obviouslyitwasn'tcomparabletowhata5.1or7.1systemcando.Sotheprocessingcapabilitywillbewelcomeif
youhaveonlytwospeakers,butmovingtoamultichannelkitisstillbyfarthebestsolutionforgettingthemostout
ofyourmovies.

16.Headphones:SpaceInsideYourHead
TheotherCMSS3Dmodeisdedicatedspecificallytoheadphonelistening.Thoughoftenindispensable,traditional
headphonelisteninghasmanydisadvantages,inparticular,theimpossibilityofcreatingacrediblesoundstage.The
soundseemstocomefromthecenterofyourhead,orsometimesfromthetop,butingeneralitremainsconfined
towithinyourskull.WithCMSS3DHeadphone,you'lldiscover3Dsoundwithheadphonesnotonlydifferentiation
inthepositioningofvarioussoundsources,butaboveallwhatCreativecalls"externalization,"thecreationofatrue
soundstage.

Let'sdiscusstheprinciplesbehindthepositioningofsoundsourcesusingheadphones.Threefactorscomeintoplay:
ITD(InterauralTimeDifference),ILD(InterauralLevelDifference),andHRTFfiltersthatreconstitutethesoundasit
reachesyou,withreflectionsanddiffractionscausedbyyourbody,head,andouterear.
Withastereosource,CMSS3Dcontinuesitsextractionofambienceinformationfromtherecordingtogivethe
listenerthesensationbeinginthemiddleoftheaction.Butnaturally,theeffectsaremostspectacularwith
multichannelsources(moviesinDolbyDigitalorDTS)andwithgames.Headphonesarenolongerthepunishment
theyoncewere,andbecomearealpleasureintheirownright.Someprogressstillneedstobemadeonthe
front/rearpositioning,basedonourexperience.Soundsourcesthataredirectlyinfrontofyouorbehindstilllacka
littlerealism.Wewon'tbecategoricalaboutthat,however,asindividualexperiencesofsounddovarywidely.Also(in
ourpersonalexperience)sourceswereplacedalittletoohigh,andanelevationadjustmentwouldbegood.

17.TestSystemAndAudioMeasurements
Ourtestconfigurationremainsthesame,andisplentypowerfulenoughforanXFicard.Note,however,thatyou
havetomakesureyourPC'spowersupplyissufficient:ifit'salittleweakorofpoorquality,itcancauseproblems
operatingcardsequippedwithracks,whichdrawextrapower.Weranintothisproblemduringatestonaconsumer
levelmachinethatalreadyhadvariousequipmentaddedthepowersupplywouldn'tallowanormalbootup.
Hardware
Processor
Pentium42.4GHz
Memory
1GBofDDR
Graphicscard NVIDIAGeForceTi4200
Harddisk
80GB,7200RPM
Opticaldrive DVDLG16/48X
OS
WindowsXPProSP2
DirectX
9.0c
version
Speakers
CreativeGigaworksS750,LogitechZ2200
Videoplayback PowerDVD,WinDVD
RightMarkAudioAnalyzer5.4,RightMark3DSound1.24,DAASaudiomeasurementsystem,Neutrik
Measurements
3337audiomeasurementsystem
AllofourmeasurementsweremadeontheXFiElitePromodel.Asmentionedpreviously,thedifferencesin
performancebetweenthismodelandtheothershavetodowiththequalityoftheAnalog/DigitalandDigital/Analog
converters.ThetablebelowshowsthetypicalperformancelevelsofthedifferentmodelsofXFicards.You'llnote
thatthemajordifferencewaswithrecord/playback,wherewejumpedfromasignaltonoiseratioof112dBforthe

EliteProto98dBfortheothercards.Withplayback,thedifferencewaslesssignificant,sinceonlyoneconverter
(D/A)isinvolved.Aswesaidearlier,theinputonthePCIcardistheonethatofferedthebestperformance,sothat's
theoneweused.
Model

XFiElitePro
Others
Lo1dB<10Hz Lo1dB<10Hz
DigitalPlayback
FrequencyResponse
Hi1dB46kHz Hi1dB45kHz
LR:112dB
LR:105dB

Crosstalk
RL:112dB
RL:105dB

SignaltoNoiseRatio(SNR)
116dB
109dB

TotalHarmonicDistortion+Noise(THD+N)0.00%
0.00%
LineIN/LineOUT
Lo1dB<10Hz Lo1dB~17Hz
FrequencyResponse
Record&Playback
Hi1dB45kHz Hi1dB42KHz
LR:106dB
LR:86dB

Crosstalk
RL:106dB
RL:86dB

SignaltoNoiseRatio(SNR)
112dB
98dB

TotalHarmonicDistortion+Noise(THD+N)0.00%
0.00%

18.BehaviorAt16Bits/44.1KHz
WemademeasurementsatthesesettingsbecausetheycorrespondtotheCDAudiodigitalformat,whichistheone
mostofyourmusicwillbein.Obviously,16bitquantificationlimitstheperformanceofamodernsoundcard,
especiallyhighperformancecardsliketheXFi.Theparametersthatsuffermostareobviouslysignaltonoiseratio
anddynamicrange.Ontheotherhand,withanXFi,theparasiticwavesthathurttheresponseofearlierCreative
modelsaregone.
Frequencyresponse(40Hz15kHz):+0.01,0.07dB
Weightedsignaltonoiseratio:94.6dB(A)
Distortion:0.0008%
Stereoseparation:94.9dB

Frequencyresponse:Responsewasperfectlylinearovertheentireaudiospectrum!

Noiselevel:Noiselevelwasverylowandperfectlyregular

Dynamicrange:Aperfectscoregiventhequantificationsettings!

Distortion:Distortionwasextremelylow(H3around110dB!)youcan'taskformuchbetter...

Intermodulation:Intermodulationdistortionwon'tcauseyouanyproblems!

Stereoseparation:Stereocrosstalkincreasesslightlyintheupperpartofthespectrumbutisstilllowenoughnot
tobeperceptible

19.BehaviorAt24Bits/48KHz
With24bitquantificationandasamplingrateof48kHz,thecardbeginstoshowwhatitcanreallydo.These
settingsareanespeciallygoodcompromisebetweenperformanceandreasonablefilesize.Asamatteroffact,
they'refrequentlyusedinprofessionalapplications.Dynamicsandsignaltonoiserationaturallyjumpmuchhigher.
Frequencyresponse(20Hz20kHz):+0.01,0.19dB
Weightedsignaltonoiseratio:112.6dB(A)
Distortion:0.0005%
Stereoseparation:101.2dB

Frequencyresponse:Thefrequencyresponsewidensveryslightlyatthetopandisobviouslystillperfectly
linear...

Noiselevel:24bitquantificationshowsthecard'slimits,withanextremelylownoiselevel

Dynamicrange:Dynamiccapacityreachedthemaximumvaluepossiblegiventheotherparameters!

Distortion:Distortionassuchisonthesameorderaswhatweobservedat44kHz.Thelowernoiseleveliswhat
explainsthedifferenceinthefigures(THD+N).

Intermodulationdistortion:Valuesarestillinfinitesimalandthere'snodangerofdistortionbeingaudible

Stereoseparation:Therewasa(relative)increaseinstereocrosstalkintheupperpartofthespectrum,butit'soff
thegraph,below1kHz...

20.BehaviorAt24Bits/96KHz
Thesesettingscorrespondtothebestpossibleperformance,butinrealitytheonlygainisinupwardextensionofthe
frequencyresponseto40kHz,withnegligibleattenuation(0.13dB!)Therestisidentical,withsimilarorveryslightly
lowerfigures,aclassicconsequenceofextensionoffrequencyrange.
Frequencyresponse(20Hz20kHz):+0.01,0.19dB

Weightedsignaltonoiseratio:112.4dB(A)
Distortion:0.0005%
Stereoseparation:100.3dB

Frequencyresponse:Perfectlylinearresponsebeyond40kHzwithoutsignificantattenuation!

Noiselevel:Noiseisidenticaltowhatwemeasuredat48kHz,buttheresponseisbroadenedupwardand
thereforeshowsafewmoreparasiticwavesatthatend.

Dynamicrange:Theresultisstilljustasexcellent!

Distortion:Distortionisabsolutelyidenticaltowhatwasmeasuredat48kHzextremelylow.

Intermodulation:Valuesremaininfinitesimal...

Stereoseparation:Stereocrosstalkisslightlyhigherthanat48kHz,undoubtedlyduetothebroadened
bandwidth.
Thefiguresspeakvolumes,sotospeak:withXFiyou'llhavenoworriesaboutperformance,sincetheunitiscapable
ofhigherqualitythananyavailableaudiosource.OurtestsshowedthesameresultsasthosepublishedbyCreative,
withveryslightvariationsattributabletonormalproductiondifferencesbetweenthetwounitstested,andthe
adjustmentchoiceswemade.Aswe'vesaidbefore,audioperformancedependsonmanycriteria,andthebalance
maytiptowardoneconsiderationoranother.

21.GamesAnd3D

GameshavealwaysbeenaspecialtyforCreative,andtheircardshavealwaysledthefieldinthatarea.Theyhave
themostadvancedversionsofEAX,andtheirprocessorensuresthattheytakeonlyasmallamountofpowerfrom
thePC'sCPU,savingamaximumamountforthegameitself.XFimarksanewstageingamingsound,thankstoits
processingpowerandextendedvirtualrealityfunctions.Topromoteitscapabilities,Creativehasassociatedwith
"cyberathlete"JonathanWendelknowninthegamingworldas"Fatal1ty"whohaslenthisnametotheXFicard
that'sspecificallydedicatedtogaming.

Fatal1tyandFrancoofBonis(Creative)attheXFirollout

ALANpartyorganizedfortheintroductionofXFi,withFatal1tyasthemantobeat...

Fatal1tytheconcentrationofachampion...
WiththeXFiline,CreativeintroducesEAX5.0,whichcanrender128sourcessimultaneouslyina3Dspacewith
multichannelrouting.ItalsohasMacroFXforcontrollingproximityandocclusioneffects.Allofthisiscurrentlyinits

earlystages,sincetheXFi'sprocessingcapacityhasnotyetbeenfullyputtouse,butmajordevelopmentsshould
beappearingsoon.EAXVoice,meanwhile,performsrealtimeprocessingofthevoicesofplayersastheytalkintoa
micsomethingcalledMicrophoneEnvironmentFXtorendertheminconformitywiththevirtualspacethey'rein.
It'sanewwaytoachieveevenmoretotalimmersioninthevirtualworld,whichwilltrulyshowitspotentialinmulti
playerenvironments.

22.GamesAnd3D,Continued
Foritscardsspecificallyaimedat"hardgamers"theFatal1tyFPSandEliteProCreativehaschosentouseatype
ofmemorycalledXRAM.Thisdedicatedmemoryavoidsdrawingonthecomputer'smainmemoryandalsoavoids
compressingsoundstostoretheminmemory.Thetechnologymakesitpossibleeithertoaddeffectswithout
sufferingaperformancehit,ortoincreaseperformancebyusingcompressedsounds,withdecompressiontaking
placeupstreamofthegameaction.CreativehasruntestswithamodifiedversionofUnrealTournament2004.The
graphbelow(source:Creative)givesyouanideaoftheeffectivenessofXRAM,whichincreaseswiththenumberof
voicesused.

Naturally,thisdemonstrationremainsfairlytheoreticalforthemomentwe'llhavetowaittoseewhatgame
developerswilldowiththisnewtechnology.We'llreportbacktoyouwhenthefirstoptimizedgamesbecome
available.
Testswemadewithourusualgamesshowedresultsthatarecomparabletothosewegotwiththemostrecent
Audigycards(Audigy2ZSandAudigy4).Naturallythesoundqualitywasbetter,particularlyforheadphone
listening,butthegaininCPUresourceswasn'tverysignificant.Tomakesure,wecomparedanAudigy2ZStoanX
FiinBattlefield2,whichisalreadyoptimized,andDoom3,forwhichCreativesupplieduswithapatch.
WeranthetestsonahighendPC(AMDAthlonFX51processor,1GBofDDRat400MHz,ATIX800XTPE3Dcard).
Atbest,wenotedanimprovementof1to2framespersecondinBattlefield2(1280x960,maximumdetail,high
qualitysound,EAXeffectsenabled),andonlyincertainphasesofthegameatcertaintimes.InDoom3(1024x768,
maximumdetail)theimprovementwasjustasslight.Wemightmentioninpassingthatthequalityoftheeffects
didn'tseemverydifferentbetweenthenormalandoptimizedversions.Ontheotherhand,withnolossof
performance,yougetthebenefitoftheCrystalizer,CMSS3D,andsurroundsoundwithaheadsetwhichisnotbad
forastart.SoundhastobeprogrammedinOpenALtogetthefullbenefitoftheXFi,andoptimizationof
programmingandofthedriversforthecardisonlyinitsearlystages.Again,we'llbekeepingupwiththelatest
developmentsforyou...

TheprocessorusetestwithDirect3Dproducedremarkableresults,withlessthan3.5%utilizationoftheCPU.

Inactualusewithcurrentgames,andcomparedtoanAudigy2,don'texpecttogainalotofframespersecondora
morespectacular5.1soundenvironment.Ifyourspeakersaregood,thesoundwillbenoticeablybetter,butitwon't
blowyouoffyourstool.Ontheotherhand,ifyouuseheadphones,thedifferenceislikenightandday.Infact,you
mayevenwanttoconsideralwaysusingheadphonesfromnowon.Thesensationofimmersioninthegameiseven
betterthanwithawellplaced5.1speakerkit.Yougetthebenefitoftheimmersivequalitiesofheadphones,without
losingthenotionofspatialityyougetwithspeakers.Untiloptimizedgamesbecomeavailable,thisisthereal
advantageofXFiasfarasgamingisconcerned.

23.InPractice
XFibringssomanyinnovationstothetablethatit'sdifficulttoexperiencethemcompletelyinjustafewdays.Many
pointsdeservetobedevelopedfurther,andwewilldothatastimegoeson,sincethenewcardshouldturnupin
quiteafewproductsinthefuture.Thebigquestioniswhetherit'sworthgettingridofyourcurrentsoundcardto
buyanXFi(whichshouldbeavailablebySeptember).
Foranyonewho'spassionateaboutsoundreproduction,theansweris"yes."Theresultsareclearlysuperior,inmost
areas,towhatmustfromnowonbecalledthe"oldgeneration"ofsoundcards.However,itremainstobeseen
wherethelineshouldbedrawnbetweenthetrulypassionateandthosewhoareinterestedinsoundreproduction
butforwhomit'snotanessentialissue.
Toacertaindegree,thebenefitauserwillgetoutofXFidependsonhisorherauditoryeducation.Thosewhohave
neverdevotedalotoftimetosoundmightnotbeallthatsensitivetotheprogressthatthisnewtechnology
represents.That'stheambiguityofasystemwhosepurelytechnicalcharacteristicsarepushedtothefore,andnot
thefinalresult.Since24bitquantificationandhighsamplingfrequenciesaren'tnewinandofthemselves,ifyou
lookonlyatthefiguresyoumightwonderwhatallthefussoverXFiisabout.Anditwouldbeashameforyouto

missoutonwhatitcanoffer.Sohere'sasummaryofwhatyoucanexpectfromitasofrightnow:

Music
AclearimprovementinthesoundofMP3files(evenin192kbps)
Overallmusicreproductionthat'smoreample,moreflattering,andmoreimmersiveifyouhavequalityspeakers
Amuchmoreenjoyableheadphonelisteningexperience
Goodspatializationonmultichannelequipment

Video
Impressivesurroundeffectswithstereosources(DivX)
Betterrenderingofmultichannelsources(DolbyDigital,DTS)ifyouhaveaquality5.1speakerkit
Exceptionalheadphonelistening

Games
Bettersoundrenderingifyouhaveaquality5.1speakerkit
Exceptionalheadphonelistening

24.InConclusion

WithXFi,Creativehasusheredintheaudioofthe21stcentury,andtheactuallisteningexperiencelikethe
measurableperformanceisveryconvincing.Ifsoundqualityisatallimportanttoyouandyouwanttotake
advantageofthemostrecentadvancesinsoundreproduction,it'sclearlythebestchoice,regardlessofwhatyour
mainactivityis.Andbestofall,thepriceisnotexorbitant:thebasiccard,pricedataround$130,issufficienttolet
yougetthebenefitofalltheadvantageswe'velistedwithoutleavingabigholeinyourwalletComparePriceson
XFiSoundCards.
Prices(notfinal) Europe()USA($)
XtremeMusic
130
130
XFiPlatinum
200
200
XFiFatal1tyFPS280
280
XFiElitePro
400
400