Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi ExpressCard - Worth it?

Is dropping $100 on a mobile sound card worth it?
The main reason I would want to buy one is primarily for games - FPS's. Improved music quality comes second but of course is something to keep in mind as well.
the CMSS3D tech is basically what I"m after - simulated surround sound. I would be using JVC RX900s or possibly Audiotechnica AD700s along with them.


Would I be able to sound() on say...CoDMW2? CSS? Not that I would just run around using only sound, just would be it noticeably different/beneficial? Would I hear that commandodude without Ninja sprinting at me from behind? More subtle things - the sound of grass when somebody goes prone a few feet away from me, somebody reloading behind a wall in an engagement, etc?


Basically, is it worth it? I've heard that everything the card does is software related, and nothing actually happens on a hardware level..which is disappointing considering its $100.

Oh - and USB or Expresscard? I'm assuming expresscard but yeah I'm not really sure, I don't care about the small price difference, just which one is better. Best Buy might have some deals on the card actually (for around $60) so in that case it might be more worth it, although it seems like at the moment they only have USB variants of it..

This would be upgrading from onboard sound on a gaming laptop. Something like the MSI GX740, or another gaming laptop that supposedly has some sort of onboard sound.

 

IMO definitely not worth even $50. USB sound cards also have the drawback of taking up CPU cycles, hence not great if you want to improve FPS.

 

So basically as a notebook user, I'm stuck with sub-par sound?
):
that's rather disappointing.
Onboard sound is generally crap, and you can't even use it with a nice pair of headphones to hear much of anything in a competitive online FPS. At least not reliably.

http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=141
Is that any good? I think that's what is gonna be on my soon-to-be laptop.

 

If you're really into audio and don't mind dropping $100 or more, there are some decent to good options, but most of these solutions are for music and might not be designed with games in mind. Search the forum, there are several of threads regarding notebook sound.

 

Oh okay I see.

I have a question. If my laptop motherboard has an extra pcie slot, would I be able to stick in a pcie desktop soundcard? Or are the connectors different for mobile/desktop stuff?

 

CMSS does not add more localization to the sounds it just is a sound "enhancement" meaning it sounds different.

I always use it, I like it but with it off I still have the same gameplay advantage.

Just plugging your A700's into the laptop headphone jack will give you perfect sound stage and localization in being able to tell where people are.

Onboard audio in todays laptops is just as good as the add on stuff like what creative offers. If you look at a real XFI like what goes into a desktop you can tell that there is quite a bit there that could not fit into a little laptop add on. The laptop versions are not true xfi's they are just re-badged audigy 2's

 

tl,dr: Get a good virtual surround sound headset for games. For enhancing sound, use SRS Audio Sandbox. Don't get the X-Fi.

For gameplay I think Logitech has a virtual 7.1 Surround headset that I've heard works pretty well for directional sound. They have an effective algorithm apparently. It's USB and so it'll burn through a few CPU cycles, but sound processing like this doesn't take too many away.

Of the X-Fi: I think it's an awesome toy and tweaking it really makes music and games sound better, particularly the Crystallizer + EQ. The 3D effect is nice for moving sound away from your ears, but it does crap for directional stuff or simulating multichannel surround. having the extra audio jack is nice, my card has taken a beating over the years and my laptop's jack would surely be killed without it. Having said that, it's not worth $100 for most people, but I just wanted something over basic laptop sound with unbiased headphones. I guess I'm sort of an audiophile? I hate MP3 artifacts and noise.

If you want something just to enhance sound though, look into the SRS Audio Sandbox software. It's actually everything the X-Fi has, with the same gimmicky things with even more options and controls, and you can run the effects through your laptop speakers. Creative actually licensed a bunch of stuff from SRS to make their X-Fi stuff, so I've heard. A good EQ can make any set of speakers sound a little better.

 

Yes you can, but need a expresscard to pci-e or mini PCI-e to pci-e adapter. Eg: SB X-FI Titanium pci-e card attached to a notebook via the the adapters provided by DIY ViDock components here. Photos of this setup are in this gallery. Same adapter can host a desktop video card if you want which provides HDMI audio as well.

Some other comments on "good notebook sound" are here.

 

xifi and sub-par sound are often found in the same sentence, but NOT in a good way. I prefer turtle beach USB adapters. good hardware, good drivers, standard (real) 2.1/5.1/7.1 sound not simulated/manipulated sound like creative tries to sell you for 3x to 5x the price.

 

http://www.echoaudio.com/products/CardBus/IndigoIO/index.php

I use this and its great. It's only stereo but that's all I need. This card made my music sound much louder and clearer. It's also great with headphones as it has a built in headphone amp. Some specs:

Analog Input

* 1 stereo 1/8" connector
* Frequency Response: 10Hz-20kHz, ±0.5dB
* Dynamic Range: 104dB A-weighted
* THD+n at -3dbfs, 1kHz sine wave: <0.003% A-weighted
* Nominal Input Level: -10dBV
* Maximum Input level: +7.0 dBu
* Input Impedance: 10KOhm

Analog Output

* 1 stereo 1/8" connector
* Frequency Response: 10Hz-20kHz, ±0.5dB
* Dynamic Range: 106dB A-weighted
* THD+n at -3dbfs, 1kHz sine wave: <0.003% A-weighted
* Nominal Output Level: -10dBV
* Maximum Output level: +7.3 dBu



General Converter Specs

* 128x Oversampling converters
* 24 bit data resolution maintained throughout signal path
* Multiple sampling rates supported: 32k, 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k, 96k

General

* On-board 24-bit Motorola DSP for mixing and monitoring
* Headphone amp with volume control

Host Interface

* Bus mastering ExpressCard host interface

 

That is a TypeII CardBus (PCMCIA gen2) card. Not too many new machines these days with CardBus. Most have gone ExpressCard.

Echo does make 2 ExpressCard products.

This page is a bit more appropo to the discussion:

http://www.echoaudio.com/products/Product_Comparison_Chart.php

 

Whoah cool thanks for all the responses.

-I'm gonna stick with normal headphones instead of a headset because I can use the headphones for everything, and the specific ones that I mentioned have had great reviews on head-fi for music and gaming alike. All while being $75 and under. (JVCs are only $45, I'm probably gonna get those)

-The Echo Indigo card seems nice but looks to be a little bit more than I can justify paying. (2x the price of creative's offering, 5-6x the price of turtle beach's). It'd probably be a lot better but yeah, issues. I'm not gonna be able to run an external viddock with me so while that seems like a fun project/nifty option its not gonna fly either.

-I'll look into the SRS Audio Sandbox software for sure, it never occurred to be that a software solution could end up fixing a lot of things.

-Are the turtle beach USB devices any good? Like the ones on new egg? They were cheap so I just assumed they didn't do much, but if they actually do help, especially for music/games..then..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...107&cm_re=turtle_beach-_-29-118-107-_-Product

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...007&cm_re=turtle_beach-_-29-118-007-_-Product

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...008&cm_re=turtle_beach-_-29-118-008-_-Product
?
The Micro II seems to fit my needs the best, unless the Micro I is somehow better than it.

And if not I'll just try and stick with onboard sound like was also suggested.

 

for $30- and Neweggs return policies, the TB dongles are worth a try. I don't use mine in DJ layouts but for home theater or even just really god sound on a machine they work fine.

 

Don't underestimate the power of DSP like I did, download and trial out the 15 day demo of SRS Audio Sandbox.