Some questions about the X-FI

[Shadow27]

Hey, i'm contemplating buying a X-Fi Xtreme Music.
Can they output bit-perfect audio in music? What would you say they compare to music quality wise?
I'm thinking of either pairing it up with Alessandro MS-1's or Audio Technica ATH-AD700. Would the X-Fi be able to drive these un-amped?

I'm not only buying it for music, it will be used for games as well.

Thanks.

 

[magoo]

Not sure what you are asking???? are you wanting a comparison to a stereo receiver or some such?????

What are you outputting to???? phones or speakers????/

Sorry if these are stupid questions, just want to be clear with answers.

 

[discochan]

Hey, i'm contemplating buying a X-Fi Xtreme Music.
Can they output bit-perfect audio in music? What would you say they compare to music quality wise?
I'm thinking of either pairing it up with Alessandro MS-1's or Audio Technica ATH-AD700. Would the X-Fi be able to drive these un-amped?

I'm not only buying it for music, it will be used for games as well.

Thanks.

I'm using a pair of MS-1s right now with my x-fi extrememusic and they are great unamped. I'm probably going to get an amp later on but you really dont need one.

 

[Shadow27]

To clear up what I was asking. I'm using MX5021 speakers. I am about to buy some headphones too.

I'm trying to see if this would be an improvement, music quality wise, over my AV-710. I want to buy a gaming soundcard, and if the X-Fi offers better music quality as well as being a great gaming card, then i'm sold. Otherwise i'm just going to keep my AV-710 and buy a second hand A2 ZS or something similar.

 

[BBA]

Yes, it outputs bit perfect. Yes it compares to high quality audio equipment.

 

[WCES Ryan]

Are X-fi's really that much better than onboard sound?

 

[Chastity]

To clear up what I was asking. I'm using MX5021 speakers. I am about to buy some headphones too.

I'm trying to see if this would be an improvement, music quality wise, over my AV-710. I want to buy a gaming soundcard, and if the X-Fi offers better music quality as well as being a great gaming card, then i'm sold. Otherwise i'm just going to keep my AV-710 and buy a second hand A2 ZS or something similar.

You'll get better sound, esp since the AV-710 only has one good stereo output, and the rest is meh. With headphones you will prolly want a breakout box edition, so you get the dedicated port with autoswitching/muting.

 

[meatfestival]

Are X-fi's really that much better than onboard sound?

Yes. The difference in sound quality is immense, and the latency/cpu usage is much lower. You will need a decent speaker/amp setup to get the benefit though.

 

[thirdgearscratch]

On a similar note: I'm currently running the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum -- would it be worth it to sell this card and step up to the X-Fi or are the differences negligible?

 

[magoo]

I am clear now, sorry if the questions were stupid. I think you'll really get a nice upgrade with the x-fi. I have the "music" version and notice a real difference in gaming and music. I use both sennheiser 550 headphones and a klipsch promedia ultra set-up.

To answer another post, I stepped up from an audigy 2 and I find a great deal of improvement in the sound quality.

 

[LoneWolf]

Are X-fi's really that much better than onboard sound?

Considering that the Audigy 1, and Audigy 2 beat onboard sound, and that the X-Fi reportedly beats those cards easily, I'd say yes.

Only reason I decided against it was their jack setup (well, for the XtremeMusic version at least) is poorer than the Audigy2 or 2ZS. The ZS is good enough for what I use it for.

 

[thirdgearscratch]

Thanks for the advice then -- looks like I may be ebayin' the ZS at some point in the near future for an upgrade. I just did the same thing with my vid card, motherboard and CPU in order to upgrade -- why shouldn't the sound card follow suit?