X-FI Modes question.

[Patriote]

Hey there!

I just bought an X-FI Extrememusic sound card along whit a Zalman 5.1 headset and i was wondering what is the difference between the modes they offer such as Entertainment mode, Gaming mode and Audio creation mode ?

I currently use the Entertainment mode as i like to listen to music a lot and i foudn this mode to produce the best sound for my music style. But i can read here that the Gaming mode offer 15% over the onboard sound, does it change something if i play games whit the Entertainment mode ? i mean do i still get that 15% boost ?

Should i play games whit the Gaming mode and listen to music whit the Entertainment mode ?

Thanks, i apreciate any replys!

[古強者死神]

I audibly cant hear a bit of diffrence and figure it to be just diffrent presets.

So say you have EAX on for game mode and surround on, while for music you use digital out... you dont have to change it every time but just select your diffrent preset.

However, I do not know how creditable it is but sombody told me that game mode turns on its processor and certian game only functions (he said a game would not let him start in entertianment mode it had to be in game mode) while the other modes also have certian parts of the card that are only active in that mode.

The most noticible diffrence is the interface.

So with the idea I use the same settings for both game and entertianment, I just leave it on game mode.

[Patriote]

I see, that's Cool. I guess ill just have to set the Game mod correctly for when im Gaming and the other when im listening music...

Oh and by-the-way: Is that you that used to be on Guru3D before... well you know! lol Yeah that's you! Same name same specs or almost and a Chineze avatart that's you huh ? lol what hapened over there ?

[古強者死神]

I had it explaned in good detail but the mods deleted the post, its a long story and I assure you quite BS I was there for a LONG time and had helped countless members... Its what happens when a person in power chooses to abuse the power they have.

Its sutch a big consperacy, they hid all the truth and made up excuses for everything. When sombody asked why, they have responses like "there is alot more to a ban than what you know blah blah blah, every member is always banned for a good reason" Well there was no previous problems before that one day, there was no reason to find other than telling a mod he was wrong in a situation and violating the TOS, my ban reason is "none" when I log on.

I dont want to go off on a limb here, if your really intrested PM me, also do an advanced search on guru3d with my name and look at all my post, you can trace down exactly what happened and see just how much I posted and how many people I helped.

They still have my PSU sticky up tho...

[Tanktanium]

I would ditch the 5.1 headphones, as they do not offer any improvement in locational audio, and read up on the headphone FAQ stickied at the top of this forum.

If I forget to switch to game mode for a game like Q4 or BF2, the audio is noticably boomier, and the bass is more distorted, as well as no EAX being enabled. If i start up BF2 without being in game mode, it automatically resets BF2 audio settings to defaults, and i have to restart it, change to game mode to get EAX, then go back into bf2 and put it back up to X-Fi/Ultra settings.

[Patriote]

I would ditch the 5.1 headphones, as they do not offer any improvement in locational audio, and read up on the headphone FAQ stickied at the top of this forum.

If I forget to switch to game mode for a game like Q4 or BF2, the audio is noticably boomier, and the bass is more distorted, as well as no EAX being enabled. If i start up BF2 without being in game mode, it automatically resets BF2 audio settings to defaults, and i have to restart it, change to game mode to get EAX, then go back into bf2 and put it back up to X-Fi/Ultra settings.

I see. So i guess ill just ahve to play whit the 2 modes.

Also they do improve the directional ... it's 5.1 headset...

Oh and i see what you mean ????? ive read all your latest post and well i can't say anything as i dont really know what happened mroe than what i could read but i say that there are beein (the mods) so hateful. THEY banned Crapta! WTF? how could they ban such a Nice Guy.... Now the forum is empty and nobody helps eachother as there is not or almost not any Experienced Guy down there... that's why ive come here as there is much much more ppl going on here and much much more eperienced ;)

[古強者死神]

Yes the forums here have alot more experienced users and people with alot more $$$ ^^; I liked guru3d because I actually liked helping all the "noobs" tho as its nice to share my knowledge, now all I can pretty much do is just sit back and envy the systems everybody has here :P.

I had alot of friends there aswell.

[Patriote]

now all I can pretty much do is just sit back and envy the systems everybody has here :P

LOL! Me too after seein all thoese Sweet rig im thiking of getting Vapochill and a Conroe hahah

[Tanktanium]

There really isn't any benefit to getting 5.1 headphones. If you've got a good pair of hi-fi headphones (a good pair like Audio Technica's A500s which run about $100+7 shipping), the positioning is so good on those, they beat any 5.1 speaker system I've ever used. Also, the build quality of any brand of 5.1 headphone is generally fairly poor, and the more driven speakers you have, the more prone they are to failure.

[古強者死神]

Yeah I agree, if you have 5 speakers for the price of 1 chances are those 5 speakers are atleast 1/5th the quality.

for my 5.1 speakers I am pretty set on getting some klipsch 5.1 promedia ultras. for the headphones I am looking into the audio technicas, but I may be able to grab a pair of HD595's off ebay pretty cheap.

I think I will stick with my plantronics DSP 500s tho as they sound pretty good and have the mic already on them.

http://www.audiocubes.com/category/Headphones,+Earphones_Audiophile,+Hifi.html

This is where I would get the headphones from, it was in the sticky looks like good prices to me, whats the big deal with the A700 to A900 price jump?

[xenolith]

for the headphones I am looking into the audio technicas, but I may be able to grab a pair of HD595's off ebay pretty cheap.

I just jumped on these HD-595's (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSAA:US:11&Item=250022551638). It was the lowest price I could find on them.

I must have gone back and forth a dozen times between the HD-580's, HD-595's, and the AT-A900's before finally settling on the HD-595's. The AT-A900's are the best for having a wide soundstage, but the Sennheisers are no slouches in that department either, and will be a little bit better at handling a wide variety of music as well. And I picked 595's over 580's because I won't need an amp with the 595's.

[古強者死神]

Exactly they have a low impendance wich is important to me, you linked them from the same vendor I was looking at too!!!

the A700's have my attention due to there very low fq response tho for getting every ounce of bass out of digtial tracks.

.... gah must decide.

[afireinside]

Not sure about A700 but the A500/A900 sound almost identicle unless you have a great source, very good ears, and REALLY listen to the music and focus on it. For gaming, the a500 is more than good enough.

As for modes, I use music creation mode with EQ, CMSS, and crystalizer off, bit matched 44khz playback for music. For gaming I switch over to gaming mode with CMSS and crystalizer on. CMSS really helps for positioning I think but it really screws up music.

[古強者死神]

I leave it on for music because I have a 5.1 setup and it upmixes sterio to all the speakers.

[003]

If you've got a good pair of hi-fi headphones (a good pair like Audio Technica's A500s which run about $100+7 shipping)
While I do agree those headphones do sound much better than any 5.1 headphone and most computer speaker systems, I would not consider them hi-fi.

[Tanktanium]

While I do agree those headphones do sound much better than any 5.1 headphone and most computer speaker systems, I would not consider them hi-fi.

Of course not, i would guess that more than 90% of the people on these forums wouldn't even consider real hi-fi headphones, just because of their outrageous price...

[003]

i would guess that more than 90% of the people on these forums wouldn't even consider real hi-fi headphones, just because of their outrageous price...
They are a bargin compared to real hi-fi speakers. :toast: I have an AKG K1000 :banana:

[古強者死神]

So between the HD595's and the A700's wich do you think is the best choice personally?

Things to keep in mind:

1.) I would like to drive them directly from my X-Fi card if possible so a low ohm rating is needed, an amp just isnt in my budget right now and I would rather put that money into credit cards or a new system down the road.

2.) Bass! I dont want overly muddy bass but I dont think that would be an issue with eather of these, but I do like bass in my music and like to listen to techno and stuff on occasion with my headphones because with some bass boost it almost sounds like your sitting in a car with subs (my dsp500's)

the rest I would assume to be almost equal or I can adapt to.

Actually I should rather prefer the Audio Technicas if only because they are a closed design wich means stealthy late night gaming is possible with the wife and baby asleep. I guess its 64ohm for the A700's the A900's have a 40ohm wich would make them abit easier to drive but a good 70$ price diffrence.

Then again.... I already have a decent pair of closed air phones, and some open air ones would let me play in the day and still hear the kids ^^; gah so I guess I am still equal. Also open phones probably make it easier to use a microphone since you can hear yourself talk still, and supposedly they give a better soundstage.

[Helmore]

Does the X-Fi recognize it when you plug an headphone into the front and switch to your headphone settings? I'd like to know this because I don't want to have my headphones plugged in 24/7 and I don't want to switch to some kind of headphone mode everytime I plug my headphones in. If it doesn't recognize it then I can just as well plug my headies into my headphone port on my speakers and adjust the setting manually.

[003]

Yes, if you have the front bay it should switch to headphone mode automatically. If it dosn't you can configure the settings in the audio console.

However I think headphones sound better in 2/2.1 speaker mode than headphone mode.

[Tanktanium]

I convinced a friend of mine to buy a set of A500s and an X-Fi, and they run to great together, Bass is powerful, clean and clear, highs are spot on, mids are a little on the weak side, but overall they're great cans, especially for $100.

[古強者死神]

You can boost the mids via the equalizer if you had too I suppose, maybe they just need "burned in"

[Mr. Chuckles]

I have a X-Fi XtremeMusic card. For almost all my uses, I use "Entertainment" mode. However, I've notice significant lag or inconsistant FPS in games like Counterstrike when I do not enable the Gaming mode. I found a little program that will switch to whatever mode you'd like for each program, then switch it back. For example, I have it always in Entertainment mode unless I start BF2 or Counterstrike, then it immediately switches to Gaming mode, then switches back to Entertainment mode after the game exits. Check it out at:

http://www.freewebs.com/spectra9/xfmc.html

[003]

I helped beta test that program :)

[Mr. Chuckles]

I love that program..... never an excuse not to change the X-Fi mode. In my opinion, Creative should have made a program just like it.

[古強者死神]

I still cant tell one diffrence between the modes besides the interface even hooked up directly to my Audio Techinica AD700's I hear no diffrence in sound and I have had games run in entertainment mode just fine.

I gotta check out Doom3 with the EAX patch and the CMSS headphones mode thats gotta be cool for late night gaming.

[classic_leon]

古强者死神：还跟音响摆放的位置有关。你的房间又没有30平米那么大？