X-Fi Support Syndicate & Owner's Clubhouse

[EarlZ]

Its been a good 3 months or so since I moved to 5.1 and rarely on games I start to hear some slight popping of sound never had an issue with this on 2.1 though, I guess this is where all the moaning on the sound card begins ?

[J.M.D]

Originally Posted by Wile E

No speakers right now. Using a Panasonic SA-PM39D mini system as my speakers right now. I used to have a pair of M-Audio monitors tho. I moved them to a friend's studio tho.

Most of my serious listening happens thru a pair HiFiMan RE0 IEMs.

ok So u r mostly a Head-Fi'er ...

[J.M.D]

Originally Posted by EarlZ

Its been a good 3 months or so since I moved to 5.1 and rarely on games I start to hear some slight popping of sound never had an issue with this on 2.1 though, I guess this is where all the moaning on the sound card begins ?

Are all your hardware drivers up to date ?
And wat OS u use for gaming ????

[EarlZ]

Originally Posted by J.M.D

Are all your hardware drivers up to date ?
And wat OS u use for gaming ????

Yes they are, Windows 7 64bit.. setting it back to 2.1 totally removes all of the audio glitches even on dragon age.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by J.M.D

ok So u r mostly a Head-Fi'er ...

Yeah, pretty much. My preferred listening volume tends to be a bit distracting to the rest of the house, so I usually just stick to using my IEMs. lol.

[J.M.D]

Originally Posted by EarlZ

Yes they are, Windows 7 64bit.. setting it back to 2.1 totally removes all of the audio glitches even on dragon age.

OK first things first :-
> Is your Sounds and Audio device of Win 7 Control panel configured accordingly ??? like full range speakers, no. of output channels, default devices and stuffs ???

> Secondly i presume you used to switch to 'Game-mode' while you r gaming.

> Thirdly , try to figure out if the crackling and popping still occurs once the X-Fi CMSS-3D is disabled.

If u think the above things are perfect , then i recommend you to upgrade the OpenAL to the latest up-to-dated version and i hope ur X-Fi as well as ur mobo's PCI latencies are not messed up.

Now if the problem still persist , then next option of ur's is to try the Daneil_K's X-Fi Driver Pack 2.0 !!

Hope that helps

[EarlZ]

Originally Posted by J.M.D

OK first things first :-
> Is your Sounds and Audio device of Win 7 Control panel configured accordingly ??? like full range speakers, no. of output channels, default devices and stuffs ???

> Secondly i presume you used to switch to 'Game-mode' while you r gaming.

> Thirdly , try to figure out if the crackling and popping still occurs once the X-Fi CMSS-3D is disabled.

If u think the above things are perfect , then i recommend you to upgrade the OpenAL to the latest up-to-dated version and i hope ur X-Fi as well as ur mobo's PCI latencies are not messed up.

Now if the problem still persist , then next option of ur's is to try the Daneil_K's X-Fi Driver Pack 2.0 !!

Hope that helps

>Yes all windows settings are in perfect order.
>I do switch to game mode, I have auto-Switcher running. My default mode is actually game mode and it switches to audio if I run Winamp or Media Player - Home Cinema.
>I dont use CMSS-3D in game mode, i think all of my games support 5.1
>I already have Daneil_K's driver.

Heres some update for what its worth, 5.1 + 24/96 = Random Crackling but 5.1 + 24/48 = No Crackling yet, Gonna try out Dawn of War II Chaos Rising since it occurs right before the mission ends.

[rpsgc]

Hmm... I'm late to the club.

X-Fi XtremeMusic here.

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by EarlZ

>Yes all windows settings are in perfect order.
>I do switch to game mode, I have auto-Switcher running. My default mode is actually game mode and it switches to audio if I run Winamp or Media Player - Home Cinema.
>I dont use CMSS-3D in game mode, i think all of my games support 5.1
>I already have Daneil_K's driver.

Heres some update for what its worth, 5.1 + 24/96 = Random Crackling but 5.1 + 24/48 = No Crackling yet, Gonna try out Dawn of War II Chaos Rising since it occurs right before the mission ends.

Hmmm . . . sounds like too much buffering going on from not having enough access to the SYS BUS . . . it's defi more of a hardware issue than anything else.

Check your BIOS options for a setting for PCI latency - if you have such a setting available, increase that by one step.

Only other thing I could recommend would be to make sure all your hardware drivers are up to date - including your chipset drivers . . . possibly check into any BIOS updates as well . . .

Only other viable option might be to OC your system BUS just a bit.

Originally Posted by rpsgc

Hmm... I'm late to the club.

X-Fi XtremeMusic here.

Welcome aboard!

[EarlZ]

Originally Posted by imperialreign

Hmmm . . . sounds like too much buffering going on from not having enough access to the SYS BUS . . . it's defi more of a hardware issue than anything else.

Check your BIOS options for a setting for PCI latency - if you have such a setting available, increase that by one step.

Only other thing I could recommend would be to make sure all your hardware drivers are up to date - including your chipset drivers . . . possibly check into any BIOS updates as well . . .

Only other viable option might be to OC your system BUS just a bit.




Welcome aboard!

No PCI clocks on my bios, I already have my bus at 426Mhz (8x426)

[majestic12]

I'll join too if it's not too late! X-fi Elite Pro here.

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by EarlZ

No PCI clocks on my bios, I already have my bus at 426Mhz (8x426)

What kinda apps are experiencing audio clipping with 5.1(24b/96k)?

Originally Posted by majestic12

I'll join too if it's not too late! X-fi Elite Pro here.

Sure thing!





Alright, time for another slew of updates from the last few months (available here: http://support.creative.com/welcome.aspx):

For all X-Fi models:

Creative ALchemy v1.41.02

This download is an application for use with Creative audio products. It restores 3D audio and EAX® effects for certain DirectSound®3D games in Microsoft® Windows® 7 and Windows Vista®. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.

This download supports the following audio products only:

• •Creative Sound Blaster® World of Warcraft® Headset Series
• •Creative Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes®
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi™ Titanium Fatal1ty® Champion Series
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Series
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Karaoke
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Notebook
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go!
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Play!
• •Creative Sound Blaster Arena Surround
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy® 4
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Video Editor
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS SE
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum EX
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2
• •Creative USB Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum EX
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy
• •Creative Sound Blaster Audigy LS
• •Creative HS-1200 Headset
• •Creative USB Gaming Headset
• •Creative USB Speaker

Fixes:

• •Enables the DirectSound3D game audio to be processed by your Sound Blaster audio device to deliver EAX effects, 3D audio spatialization, sample rate conversion and hardware audio mixing. Without this, most DirectSound3D games will be reduced to stereo output without any EAX effects.
• •Improves 3D audio processing for host-based Sound Blaster audio devices.

Requirements:

• •Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 7 32-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows Vista 32-bit with SP2
• •Creative audio product listed above

================================================== ==

For non-Xtreme Audio X-Fi models models:

Product Identification Module v2.11.01

This update resolves the hardware/device detection issue for Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ and X-Fi Titanium series of audio devices in Microsoft® Windows® 7. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.

This download supports the following audio devices only:

• •Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty® Champion Series
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Professional Audio
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi

Fixes:

• •Resolves the hardware/device detection issue in Creative Software AutoUpdate running on Windows 7.

Requirements:

• •Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 7 32-bit
• •Sound Blaster X-Fi and X-Fi Titanium series of audio devices listed above

================================================== =======

For the X-Fi Titanium models:

DTS Connect Pack v1.03.08

This download is a software pack that enables DTS® Connect for Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium series of audio devices. It adds support for Microsoft® Windows® 7. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.

This download supports the following audio devices only:

• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty® Champion Series
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Professional Audio
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium

Additional Features or Enhancements:

• •Added support for DTS Neo:PC

Requirements:

• •Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 7 32-bit, Windows Vista® 64-bit with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Vista 32-bit with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• •Intel® Pentium® 4, AMD Athlon™ 64 or equivalent processor, 1.6 GHz or faster
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium audio devices listed above
• •The latest Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium audio device driver.

Dolby Digital Live Pack v3.00.06

This download is a software pack that enables Dolby® Digital Live for Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium series of audio devices. It adds support for Microsoft® Windows® 7. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.

This download supports the following audio devices only:

• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty® Champion Series
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Professional Audio
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium

Requirements:

• •Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 7 32-bit, Windows Vista® 64-bit with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Vista 32-bit with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) 2005 or Windows XP MCE 2004
• •Intel® Pentium® 4, AMD Athlon™ 64 or equivalent processor, 1.6 GHz or faster
• •Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium audio devices listed above
• •The latest Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium audio device driver.

================================================== ====

For the USB X-Fi Surround 5.1:

X-Fi 5.1 Surround Driver Pack v1.01.0099

This suite of driver and application has been updated and combined for your convenience. It installs Creative Audio Console to control your audio device's settings. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.

Added Features:

• •Provides support for all applicable remote control models.

Requirements:

• •Microsoft® Windows® 7 32-bit or 64-bit, Windows Vista® 32-bit or 64-bit, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or Windows XP Service Pack 2
• •Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Surround 5.1

For the X-Fi Surround 5.1, there are also software updates for Creative Console Launcer, Creative Entertainment Center, and Creative Karaoke Player available.

[EarlZ]

@imperialreign

Games, so far its only been with Dragon Age and Dawn of War 2 Chaos rising

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by EarlZ

@imperialreign

Games, so far its only been with Dragon Age and Dawn of War 2 Chaos rising

That doesn't surprise me . . .

Trying to run 24b/96k in games is hit or miss - there's a lot of various processing involved to begin with (between CPU and GPU processing), add in additional work for the APU and you can start experiencing issues.

Reason being is that the vast majority of games have used "CD quality" audio (2-channel 16b/44k) for years, and there's no sign of game devs really pushing better audio. Now, you can get away with forcing 24b playback with games, and even 48k playback, but pushing the 96k can occasionally present some problems. If you're playing with 5.1, the audio hardware has to upmix the number of channels . . . it's not too demanding, really . . . but when you mix in having to resample the tracks to 96k, it can lead to more processing than the APU is capable of handling within a short number of clock cycles - even more-so if the game is utilizing EAX/OAL, or throws a ton of audio tracks out at the same time. Your audio hardware is also vying for BUS cycles with the SYS itself, and with the GPU (which can get quite BUS hungry, too). The clipping tends to result from the audio having to spend too much time in the buffers, as the card is waiting to regain access to the BUS.

Aside from fiddling with the various hardware and SYS clocks, the only recommendations I could make would be to either invest into a PCIE X-Fi (they're native PCIE, no additional latency involved, unlike other PCIE audio cards) . . . the additional bandwidth and throughput offered by the PCIE channel is capable of feeding the APU as it wants to be fed . . .

Or, reduce audio output quality only for games - the other option would be to attempt to reduce in-game visuals, but that won't necessarily improve anything.

If you're up for it, you could attempt to try out some of the daniel_k or youp-pax drivers. I'm not big on the 3rd party drivers myself (for various reasons), but others claim they do fix odd issues . . .

[sNiPeRbOb]

well, I've come here because I am all out of ideas. I cannot get my headset microphone to record at an acceptable level... Using a Creative Xfi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro with what I assume to be the latest drivers on W7 x64. I have my windows update set to NEVER install drivers on it's own, after running into far too many problems with generic windows drivers for my sound card. Now I cannot get the microphone to pick up at a decent level. The mic level is 100% but still barely registers a single bar on the soundscale...

oh and ya, I would like to join the club ( i wish it was on a happier note ... )

[EarlZ]

I cant justify spending another $100-200 for a new PCIE sound card when reducing it to 24/48 can resolve the issue, as you have stated games only use upto 16/44, and i really doubt i can tell the difference with the z-5500 on 24/96 vs 24/48 even if the original source was made for 24/96.

I might even go down to 16/48 since games only use that kind of settings.. are there any known games that use above 16/48 ?

[FreedomEclipse]

AFAIK there are only a few games that support 48000Hz let alone anything higher. I would be nice though. It would really bring games to life as you'd be even more immirsed with the game

[EarlZ]

Alright, I'll be dropping to 16/48 then just to make sure no audio glitches happen.

[EarlZ]

No more crackling at 24/48 in DoW2 so far, for the speaker configuration w/c should I be using, the windows default or pro-logic , this is on the settings for DoW2

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by sNiPeRbOb

well, I've come here because I am all out of ideas. I cannot get my headset microphone to record at an acceptable level... Using a Creative Xfi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro with what I assume to be the latest drivers on W7 x64. I have my windows update set to NEVER install drivers on it's own, after running into far too many problems with generic windows drivers for my sound card. Now I cannot get the microphone to pick up at a decent level. The mic level is 100% but still barely registers a single bar on the soundscale...

oh and ya, I would like to join the club ( i wish it was on a happier note ... )

Sorry about the delay in responding - I got a little wrapped up with RL things.

Anyhow, first, go into the WIN control panel and double check the WIN recording volume settings. Also, make sure that the device is enabled, and that WIN registers that it's plugged in - and make sure to select the device, R-click and set as default.

Double check the volume settings in the X-Fi console launcher, and that the channel is enabled here as well. If need be, also enable the mic boost (if available), and double-check the Flexi-jack settings.

In whatever software you're using, try different "recording source" selections. Sometimes, having it set to "line_in" works better than setting it to "mic_in."

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by EarlZ

No more crackling at 24/48 in DoW2 so far, for the speaker configuration w/c should I be using, the windows default or pro-logic , this is on the settings for DoW2

It kinda depends on the game . . . I try to use whatever is listed as the hardware, but some games don't "interpret" the WIN devices available correctly, and can list them strangely (I've even had games in the past midi sound banks as being hardware ).

If you're not 100% sure, just set it to WIN default, and make sure in the WIN audio control panel you set your hardware as the default device.

[mafia97]

add me to the club
i also have xfi sound card

[Grim_Reaper]

Hello! Amazing article! Very compact, and contains all, what X-Fi user must know. Seems nothing new to me, except, I've seen first time, detailed front-panel pin connection info. But, anyway, thanks, good job.

To be fair, I've never regretted of purchasing my SB0550. IMHO-worth every penny invested in it. Once I had compatibility issue, with my second MB (M2R32-MVP/ RX3200), and It had hi-pitch solid noise, after some time. But then, I've changed a MB to my current, and all troubles gone. Sometimes, I have glitches, related to OpenAL libraries, in GRAW 1&2- sound is playing incredible fast, and all speech could be played-back in few seconds. But Seems, last 2 years, Creative make good enough drivers, so no problems have been spotted. And despite everything said about X-Fi, it's definitely better than onboard junk. At least, I don't hear any noise, on any volume level, and lossless music is running awesome, even with my cheap headphones/acoustic.

P.S: you, probaly would be laugh, but I've found, that if run Crysis, and Crysis Warhead, through ALchemy, sound became incredible better, and more realistic . I was wondered by this, because, Crysis utilizes FMOD, but it became much better.
Also, I would be glad, to view compare info, of BC2, with/without X-Fi

Oh, and sorry for my awful English

[Grim_Reaper]

And I have few questions, to all who played Dawn Of War II: does the game uses hardware acceleration, and does anybody have crackling and choppy sound in this game? Like something cuе the sound on parts, and it's not solid anymore.

Thanks!

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by Grim_Reaper

And I have few questions, to all who played Dawn Of War II: does the game uses hardware acceleration, and does anybody have crackling and choppy sound in this game? Like something cuе the sound on parts, and it's not solid anymore.

Thanks!

no hardware accel that i know of, and no bad audio here either.

[ShRoOmAlIsTiC]

new drivers are out and a beta console launcher