• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Creative Puts X-Fi in Your Car

Tyr.1358

New Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
33 (0.01/day)
Location
Sterling, MA
Thank god, finally someone gets it. Thank you creative. Really, you made my week.

Anyone else here generally dislike the automotive/home theater audio "scene" and the people involved with it? I have been using optical spidf for a few years now with my computer. I have yet to hear anything from someones analog car or home theater that even comes close to what my computer produces.

Why don't people just but a mini-itx board and an xfi card in their trunk? I don't understand this whole amp business and $900/ft "pearl" cables. I know a few people who put thousands of dollars of equipment in their cars and all I can hear is muddy bass and some horrendous rattling from whatever happens to be around the equipment.

And what is up with 5.1 "surround sound"? That crap is old. There are 16+ channel all-digital audio cards floating around for $200. Have you guys ever gone to circuit city and looked at what they charge for stereo (2 channel) equalizer boxes? It's insane. Not as insane as $150 monster cables that don't even adhere to hmdi specifications, but pretty damn close.

Some of the stupidest shit I've ever seen people do in my entire life is to walk into best buy and ask where the car stereos are. Or where the bose section is, that crap is just as bad.

Wow I feel so much better now that I have gotten that off my chest
 

imperialreign

New Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Messages
7,043 (1.15/day)
Location
Sector ZZ₉ Plural Z Alpha
System Name УльтраФиолет
Processor Intel Kentsfield Q9650 @ 3.8GHz (4.2GHz highest achieved)
Motherboard ASUS P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi; X38 NSB, ICH9R SSB
Cooling Delta V3 block, XPSC res, 120x3 rad, ST 1/2" pump - 10 fans, SYSTRIN HDD cooler, Antec HDD cooler
Memory Dual channel 8GB OCZ Platinum DDR3 @ 1800MHz @ 7-7-7-20 1T
Video Card(s) Quadfire: (2) Sapphire HD5970
Storage (2) WD VelociRaptor 300GB SATA-300; WD 320GB SATA-300; WD 200GB UATA + WD 160GB UATA
Display(s) Samsung Syncmaster T240 24" (16:10)
Case Cooler Master Stacker 830
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro PCI-E x1
Power Supply Kingwin Mach1 1200W modular
Software Windows XP Home SP3; Vista Ultimate x64 SP2
Benchmark Scores 3m06: 20270 here: http://hwbot.org/user.do?userId=12313
Thank god, finally someone gets it. Thank you creative. Really, you made my week.

Anyone else here generally dislike the automotive/home theater audio "scene" and the people involved with it? I have been using optical spidf for a few years now with my computer. I have yet to hear anything from someones analog car or home theater that even comes close to what my computer produces.

Why don't people just but a mini-itx board and an xfi card in their trunk? I don't understand this whole amp business and $900/ft "pearl" cables. I know a few people who put thousands of dollars of equipment in their cars and all I can hear is muddy bass and some horrendous rattling from whatever happens to be around the equipment.

And what is up with 5.1 "surround sound"? That crap is old. There are 16+ channel all-digital audio cards floating around for $200. Have you guys ever gone to circuit city and looked at what they charge for stereo (2 channel) equalizer boxes? It's insane. Not as insane as $150 monster cables that don't even adhere to hmdi specifications, but pretty damn close.

Some of the stupidest shit I've ever seen people do in my entire life is to walk into best buy and ask where the car stereos are. Or where the bose section is, that crap is just as bad.

Wow I feel so much better now that I have gotten that off my chest



when it comes to car audio - 95% of all the "systems" you'll hear out there are crap . . .

the speakers, amps, EQs, cabling, and all the other "goodies" people have installed are not properly matched to each other. Also, the people doing the installing are generally minimum-wage morons that don't know how to gain access to the vehicles wiring diagrams to avoid splicing into CRITICAL system wires (like a damn Air Bag driver feed circuit :shadedshu).


I still stoutly believe that if you want the best in-car audio possible, all your components need to be from the same brand. Pioneer doesn't engineer their head units with SONY speakers in mind, and SONY doesn't engineer their speakers with JVC head units in mind, either.

Then there's the task of selecting speakers that will best suit what the head unit is capable of, and will be suit each vehicles unique interior audio profile. The curves and shapes of the car itself, as well as where factory speakers are placed, can have a major impact over how muddy speaker output is, or how clear it will be.

In regards to cabling, that insane 6 ga. Monster cable is worthless and overpriced. You can wire up nice and clean with standard 14 ga at the smallest, or 16-18 ga. Shielded is preferable, considering how much EMI engine components put out.

There's really no need for digital or optical as CDs are not encoded for that kind of quality, and if you're using MP3s or .wma recorded to a disk, you really don't need those kinds of interfaces, either.

Either way, car audio is nothing but a high-dollar market because the majority of consumers don't know squat about the equipment. It's easy to make a sale because someone walks in to a shop and says "I want bass!" and is willing to pay for whatever the person behind the counter can dream up.

I've spent a total of $600 on my car's components (granted I can get them cheaper than most other people can), and installed everything myself. She'll blow $5000 setups clear out of the water, and still be crystal clear enough that you can hear every guitar chord and cymbal hit.




And, no - Pioneer has nothing to do with this head unit.
 
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
5,941 (1.04/day)
Location
Watauga, Texas
System Name Univac SLI Edition
Processor Intel Xeon 1650 V3 @ 4.2GHz
Motherboard eVGA X99 FTW K
Cooling EK Supremacy EVO, Swiftech MCP50x, Alphacool NeXXos UT60 360, Black Ice GTX 360
Memory 2x16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz
Video Card(s) Nvidia Titan X Tri-SLI w/ EK Blocks
Storage HyperX Predator 240GB PCI-E, Samsung 850 Pro 512GB
Display(s) Dell UltraSharp 34" Ultra-Wide (U3415W) / (Samsung 48" Curved 4k)
Case Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Acrylic Edition
Audio Device(s) Sound Blaster Z
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350watt Toughpower Modular
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard CODE 10 keyless MX Clears
Software Windows 10 Pro
Crown and JBL for me. Im a PA fanboy myself.
 

thoughtdisorder

New Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2008
Messages
1,818 (0.31/day)
Location
Just South of Mars
System Name Decent Lappy
@Imperial- Man, you really need to consider becoming a novelist, you definately have the writing skills. Your posts are like novels. :p

(I mean that in a good way.) :D
 

cdawall

where the hell are my stars
Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
27,680 (4.29/day)
Location
Houston
System Name All the cores
Processor 2990WX
Motherboard Asrock X399M
Cooling CPU-XSPC RayStorm Neo, 2x240mm+360mm, D5PWM+140mL, GPU-2x360mm, 2xbyski, D4+D5+100mL
Memory 4x16GB G.Skill 3600
Video Card(s) (2) EVGA SC BLACK 1080Ti's
Storage 2x Samsung SM951 512GB, Samsung PM961 512GB
Display(s) Dell UP2414Q 3840X2160@60hz
Case Caselabs Mercury S5+pedestal
Audio Device(s) Fischer HA-02->Fischer FA-002W High edition/FA-003/Jubilate/FA-011 depending on my mood
Power Supply Seasonic Prime 1200w
Mouse Thermaltake Theron, Steam controller
Keyboard Keychron K8
Software W10P
Puhlease...Creative, don't make me laugh! Kicker will kick the sh!t out of your hardware. :nutkick:

http://www.kicker.com/Car_Audio

no offense but kicker is just loud. its something teens get so they can make a bunch of noise they are about as accurate as a drunk with a bb gun


now who knows lets give this creative a chance maybe they didnt make any of the software for it so it will be good
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64

imperialreign

New Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Messages
7,043 (1.15/day)
Location
Sector ZZ₉ Plural Z Alpha
System Name УльтраФиолет
Processor Intel Kentsfield Q9650 @ 3.8GHz (4.2GHz highest achieved)
Motherboard ASUS P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi; X38 NSB, ICH9R SSB
Cooling Delta V3 block, XPSC res, 120x3 rad, ST 1/2" pump - 10 fans, SYSTRIN HDD cooler, Antec HDD cooler
Memory Dual channel 8GB OCZ Platinum DDR3 @ 1800MHz @ 7-7-7-20 1T
Video Card(s) Quadfire: (2) Sapphire HD5970
Storage (2) WD VelociRaptor 300GB SATA-300; WD 320GB SATA-300; WD 200GB UATA + WD 160GB UATA
Display(s) Samsung Syncmaster T240 24" (16:10)
Case Cooler Master Stacker 830
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro PCI-E x1
Power Supply Kingwin Mach1 1200W modular
Software Windows XP Home SP3; Vista Ultimate x64 SP2
Benchmark Scores 3m06: 20270 here: http://hwbot.org/user.do?userId=12313
@Imperial- Man, you really need to consider becoming a novelist, you definately have the writing skills. Your posts are like novels. :p

(I mean that in a good way.) :D



thanks for the compliment. I used to write a lot, and my teachers back in HS were always impressed with my skill . . . I've even considered putting together a portfolio of some of my work to see if I might be able to get it published.

here, I give you a sample: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.viewcustom&friendID=32931225&blogID=415476506&swapped=true
 
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
409 (0.07/day)
Location
Grand Prairie Texas
System Name Little Girl
Processor Intel Q9650 @ 3.6GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte x48 DQ6
Cooling liquid cooling
Memory 4gb (2x2) OCZ DDR2 PC2-9200
Video Card(s) Gigabyte HD6950 unlock to Asus 6970 specs
Storage Crucial CT128M225 128gb SSD
Display(s) Acer 27" LCD @ 2048x1152
Case DIY (spit & glue, ducktape, cardboard)
Audio Device(s) On-board HD Audio
Power Supply ABS Tagan 850w
Software Win7 64bit

itsover65

New Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2008
Messages
71 (0.01/day)
Location
Nowhere South Carolina USA
Processor Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.7
Motherboard Asus AM3 Evo 785G
Cooling Scythe KATANA3
Memory 4GB G Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) Gigabyte 5770 @ 1GHZ
Storage 500 GB Seagate Barracuda
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Power Supply Antec EarthWatts 750w
 

imperialreign

New Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Messages
7,043 (1.15/day)
Location
Sector ZZ₉ Plural Z Alpha
System Name УльтраФиолет
Processor Intel Kentsfield Q9650 @ 3.8GHz (4.2GHz highest achieved)
Motherboard ASUS P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi; X38 NSB, ICH9R SSB
Cooling Delta V3 block, XPSC res, 120x3 rad, ST 1/2" pump - 10 fans, SYSTRIN HDD cooler, Antec HDD cooler
Memory Dual channel 8GB OCZ Platinum DDR3 @ 1800MHz @ 7-7-7-20 1T
Video Card(s) Quadfire: (2) Sapphire HD5970
Storage (2) WD VelociRaptor 300GB SATA-300; WD 320GB SATA-300; WD 200GB UATA + WD 160GB UATA
Display(s) Samsung Syncmaster T240 24" (16:10)
Case Cooler Master Stacker 830
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro PCI-E x1
Power Supply Kingwin Mach1 1200W modular
Software Windows XP Home SP3; Vista Ultimate x64 SP2
Benchmark Scores 3m06: 20270 here: http://hwbot.org/user.do?userId=12313
Joined
Oct 2, 2005
Messages
631 (0.09/day)
Location
Omaha, NE
System Name Media PC
Processor Intel Core-i5 4460
Motherboard Asus H97i plus
Cooling Noctua LH-9i with upgraded NF-A9, x2 Noctua NF-F12
Memory 8GB x2 Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz kit
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Super clocked GTX970 itx
Storage 1TB western digital black 2.5"
Display(s) Samsung 55" Plasma
Case Fractal Design Node 202
Audio Device(s) Onboard DSP, sound forwarded to Onkyo receiver in 2.1 mode
Power Supply Fractal Design 430w itx PSU
Mouse Logitech Wireless gaming mouse
Keyboard Logitech Wireless, Xbox One S controller
Software Windows 10 pro
eh gimme Bose or Pioneer Anyday.

uh see i'm building a REAL carputer with a recapped and modded Auzentech X-Meridian running gentoo. It'll kick the crap out of that any day and I won't be running DAC ;-). Oh and just to let you all know Treo subs kick the f*ck out of Almost anything I've heard. Get a 12" SSi in a sealed ox, so versatile, accurate, and just plain sound great!!! Plus home theatre speakers just sounds great in a three way system too.
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
give you a heads up the Pioneer has the system i need for my vehicle without having to modify it, and its the Mid Range ( remember Standard Cab Truck)
 
Top