IMHO the realtek 880 sounds better then xfi.

[Revv23]

ive got the sapphire grouper with the realtek acl880 HD audio codec, and and i just bought an xfi platnum, and from a purely subjective standpoint, the acl880 is superior for music listening, and its also much easier to set up. it automatically puts my music into surround sound, where on the xf-i i need to go into settings to do that, the controller app is much less overhead too.

certainly i wont have support for the latest version of eax, but this has support for eax 2.0 and its still pretty damn good. WAy to go onboard sound
!

[003]

You just haven't unlocked the full potential of the X-fi yet. To do this, download the latest version of winamp. And download the ASIO 0.66 output plugin for winamp here:
http://otachan.com/

Now once you have winamp set up using ASIO, go into the creative audio console and switch to audio creation mode. Now go to the bit matched tab and make sure bit-matched playback is enabled. This, and the ASIO plugin for winamp will make for the best possible music quality. Your onboard sound can't do this.

[BobyTT]

003 thanks for that info , i am going to try it right now.

[thegoatman]

well? opinions?

[v3n]

Winamps kernel streaming plugin is better that ASIO IMO

[Revv23]

im going to try it once i get home next week, thanks for the lesson.

[003]

Kernel streaming and ASIO do the exact same thing.

[afireinside]

x-fi running ASIO in winamp/foobar 2000 will sound much better than onboard.

[safan80]

the realtek 880 has nothing compared to the x-fi

[Plywood99]

I haven't tried the X-Fi, nor will I since I hate Creative's drivers. But the Alc882d chip on the Abit AT8 is at least equall to or better than my Audigy2 zs. Have to give Realtek credit for the latest HD chipsets. The old ac97 on my Ultra D was unbearable...

[003]

You know what sounds better than anything listed here? The ESI Juli@:
http://www.djdeals.com/egosystemsJULI@.htm
Note, it's not a gaming card; it is a pro-audio card. It does not have special gaming features like EAX, but oh my god, the sound quality is amazing. I have a friend who has one, I hooked my headphone rig up to it, and using ASIO, with the same lossless files that I had been playing on my x-fi, it sounded so much better. If the x-fi is all you have heard (or other creative cards), then they will sound great to you. But with this, I closed my eyes, and turned up the volume, and I got a tingle down my spine, it sounded so real, it was almost creepy. When I went back to my X-fi, it sounded dull and headphone-like. I have already ordered one, and will be selling my X-fi as soon as it gets here.

[Revv23]

I haven't tried the X-Fi, nor will I since I hate Creative's drivers. But the Alc882d chip on the Abit AT8 is at least equall to or better than my Audigy2 zs. Have to give Realtek credit for the latest HD chipsets. The old ac97 on my Ultra D was unbearable...

This is what i aam saying, realteks older chips were pretty much crap, but the 880 set (my chip is 882, but its the same family of drivers) has alot going for it. For example, cpu utilisation is way under most any sound card (rare for onboard sound) and realtek is updating the drivers all the time. Not only that, the drivers are way less overhead, way easier to use (no senseless mode switching) and the card is much easier in general to just set up and jam.

I mean, my xf-i i spent about a week getting everything dialed in for entertainment mode. i finnaly got it sounding good in surround mode (does not sound good surround sound on stock settings..) but the stock software package was so crappy it didnt work right for my needs, and just froze instead.

With the realtek, i installed the drivers, opened up winamp, and started rocking out, and already it sounded better then what i had on the XF-i. Certainly i didnt know that i had to install other 3rd party apps to get the most out of my card, but i dont see why i buy a $200 card just to have to visit a message board to get something that sounds good. Especially when my free onboard sound is so much easier and better sounding off the bat.

/ent rant.

[Revv23]

ok guys i havent had time to test yet... but i have been reading up on ASIO...

I see how ASIO can be very benificial when recording music (im acutally glad i found out about it i do lots of music recording) but what i dont see is how low latency is supposed to improve music quality? if anything it seems like it would make it worse because the sound card loses its buffer.

[Okda]

guys u should try playing BF2 using headphones on a X-Fi and u will now for sure how the game SHOULD sound

[Revv23]

ok little update - couldnt get asio installed in winamp because i cant read that website you linked to 003.

But, kernal streaming works on the 882, no sound improvements though...like i thought... ive been reading even more and ive concluded that all asio does is reduce latency, a useful feature, but doesnt improve quality at all.

[Revv23]

guys u should try playing BF2 using headphones on a X-Fi and u will now for sure how the game SHOULD sound

Yeah - as long as you spend some time in the game drivers to shut off all the crap they have installed with it

[003]

ok little update - couldnt get asio installed in winamp because i cant read that website you linked to 003.

But, kernal streaming works on the 882, no sound improvements though...like i thought... ive been reading even more and ive concluded that all asio does is reduce latency, a useful feature, but doesnt improve quality at all.

Here is a direct link to the file you need for the ASIO plugin:
http://otachan.com/out_asio(exe)_067.7z (you need winrar to extract it, winzip won't work I don't think)
There is a dll and an exe in the zip file, both go in the winamp\plugins folder. Also, to use asio, you need to change the card into audio creation mode, and under the bit-matched tab, make sure you enable bit-matched playback.

ive been reading even more and ive concluded that all asio does is reduce latency, a useful feature, but doesnt improve quality at all.

That is not all it does. If you don't use it, the audio will be resampled by the windows Kmixer, regardless of the format or player used. ASIO will bypass the Kmixer, and give the program it is being used in direct access to the sound card. You hear the music with no resampling at all. Thus, improving quality. I can definitely hear a difference.

[Revv23]

fair enough, i forgot about the kmixer.

be home friday

[crackhead2k]

xfi sounds better on good earbuds(shure) there is a plugin for winamp that increases the sound quality i think well settings. is a fx thingy that popsp and does sound processing.

[afireinside]

x-fi is cake to set up assuming you use headphones. CMSS 3d, crystalizer, and "headphones" setting on game mode and bit matched 44.1khz "2/2.1" on audio creation mode. Get x-fi mode changer and bind 2 keys to switch.

Either way, nothing can even COME CLOSE to an x-fi for gaming.

[ProphetX]

Here is a direct link to the file you need for the ASIO plugin:
http://otachan.com/out_asio(exe)_067.7z (you need winrar to extract it, winzip won't work I don't think)
There is a dll and an exe in the zip file, both go in the winamp\plugins folder. Also, to use asio, you need to change the card into audio creation mode, and under the bit-matched tab, make sure you enable bit-matched playback.

That is not all it does. If you don't use it, the audio will be resampled by the windows Kmixer, regardless of the format or player used. ASIO will bypass the Kmixer, and give the program it is being used in direct access to the sound card. You hear the music with no resampling at all. Thus, improving quality. I can definitely hear a difference.

Do you extract everything into the plugin folder?

[nn_step]

I much prefer Envy24 but it all has to do with taste

[Plywood99]

I much prefer Envy24 but it all has to do with taste

Envy24 is a very good chip, not much usage though, shame...