Creative X-Fi headphone settings

LordBritish

LordBritish

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Jan 28, 2001
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I have a Creative X-Fi and a JVC HA-RX700 headphone.

Do I set the output to "headphone" or "2/2.1 Speakers" ??

What's the difference ??

They seem to sound a little different but I'm not sure exactly what it is or which one I prefer.

I actually think I prefer "2/2.1 Speakers" setting for music.

(p.s. OMFG, i've almost been a member for 8 full years :eek: )
 
I have the same headphone as well.

I used to do 2.1, but I find headphone mode to be a little better for music. I don't think it matters much, just choose what you like. I think the headphone makes the sound come from the left and right of you, rather than positioning the sound to be in front of you, like speakers would.

Use audio creation mode too.
 
For music I use the audio creation mode with bit-matched playback and the 2.1 speakers setting. Sounds the best on my HD595s.
 
I just leave it on 2.1, as I find that headphone is a bit too muffled or something really weird I can't explain. However I have some plugins for Foobar that I then enable, namely Dolby headphone and an equalizer.
 
In "Audio Creation Mode" with bit-matched playback, I don't think there is much difference between 2.1 and Headphone mode other than a little volume difference. I am using the HA-RX700 as well.

For games, use Headphone mode in the X-Fi control panel with CMSS3D headphone on, and make sure you uncheck the "Synch with Windows" box. This allows you to set windows to 5.1 or 7.1 mode independently of the X-FI being in headphone mode. This allows the game to process multiple channels of sound, which the X-FI will then map to the 2 drivers in your headphones. I believe you need CMSS3D if you want the X-FI to do the virtual headphone surround sound. Try the helicopter demo in the control panel to see how you like the effect. I should add that this setting works great for me in Half-Life2 on XP.
 
I always use the Entertainment Mode for both my Audio Technica ATH-A700 headphones and my 2.1 bookshelf setup.
Quicker and easier to control things like equalizer, bass, treble, CMSS-3D, and EAX effects I'm playing rock band =P

But for me, I like the sound better with headphones when it is set to Headphones instead of Speakers 2/2.1
And of course I have presets in the equalizer for my Speakers, and Headphones so they both sound correct.

It's all personal preference really.
Tink around with the settings until you enjoy the sound. If you can't really tell the difference then just pick whatever is easiest like Speakers 2/2.1 so that you don't have to change it when going back and forth between speakers/headphones
 
Something kind high end-ish like my setup with Stax Lambda in which I use an external OMZ (Oritek Zhaolu dac ).

I use audio creation, bit matched, 2.1 speakers for music.

Game mode I use headphones for better positioning. Eax enabled and CMss-3d OFF, Crystalizer at about 25%.
 
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