X-Fi Support Syndicate & Owner's Clubhouse

[Wile E]

So, anyone find a review on the Titanium yet?

 

[Davidelmo]

I've got a few questions about my new prelude. I'm totally overwhelmed with all of the control panel options.

I have a pair of 5.1 surround sound headphones. However, when I play a game like FEAR (using Game mode of course) I can tell very noticeable jumps from one speaker to the next. i.e. if I stand in the same place and rotate 360 degrees, I can hear sound "jumping" from rear to front speakers instead of smoothly transitioning between the two.

If there any cause of this or is it something to do with the game?

Also, it seems like the bass is lacking using the 5.1 headphones in game mode. Explosions to the rear are loud and bassy but those at the front don't seem to have any bass at all. Why isn't the sub being used when sounds are played from some directions?

Again, is there some option I need to tick/untick?

Thanks.

 

[department76]

I've got a few questions about my new prelude. I'm totally overwhelmed with all of the control panel options.

I have a pair of 5.1 surround sound headphones. However, when I play a game like FEAR (using Game mode of course) I can tell very noticeable jumps from one speaker to the next. i.e. if I stand in the same place and rotate 360 degrees, I can hear sound "jumping" from rear to front speakers instead of smoothly transitioning between the two.

If there any cause of this or is it something to do with the game?

Also, it seems like the bass is lacking using the 5.1 headphones in game mode. Explosions to the rear are loud and bassy but those at the front don't seem to have any bass at all. Why isn't the sub being used when sounds are played from some directions?

Again, is there some option I need to tick/untick?

Thanks.

yes, maybe you do need to adjust something. what are your current speaker settings? i am assuming you have an analog connection to your 5.1 setup. in that case, you don't need DDL enabled. also, for game mode the jumping channel to channel could be the game it self, but do ensure your CMSS 3D is enabled for game mode, that helps a lot and you can also shift the emphasis from front to back. There are bass settings to tweak, but more importantly ensure your speaker configuration in windows is set to 5.1 at all times. if you have 5.1 headphones, connect them in 5.1. if you have normal stereo headphones, leave your speaker mode in 5.1 and check "optimize for headphones" and the card/software will downmix for you.

hope that helps

 

[department76]

you're 100% correct. In cases such as this, it won't completely avert EMI interference, but should help to somewhat diminish the effects, but not completely stop it. Now, if I were to take some copper braid, and connect all of the HS together, and then ground one end of the cable to the case, it would be a lot more effective.

I was only simply trying to demonstrate that a small gain in clarity can be had, nothing major, as the results demonstrate. I'm working on trying to design an EMI shield for the card that will cover the front and back, but materials here are hard to come by, no one sells minimal amounts of copper, and copper here is expensive currently. Copper, also, is not the best material for a good EMI shield, but it's the closest we could probably come to. MuMetal would be most preferred, but very expensive. Nickel-plated copper or a copper/nickel alloy would be the ideal on a cost standpoint, but hard to find, and plating kits are expensive as well.

ya that could be a cool mod to do, is ground that all to the chassis with a flashy copper braid.

i remember seeing an EMI "sheet" for pci cards once, all i remember is that it was expensive and i have not been able to find it whenever i try searching for it now.

 

[imperialreign]

So, anyone find a review on the Titanium yet?

not yet - I've been keeping my eye out. I don't think we'll see a review until mid-late July; the card with the I/O drive is supposed to go on sale at the end of July, the card by itself will go on sale in Sept (as last I've heard). That may still change, though . . .

I've got a few questions about my new prelude. I'm totally overwhelmed with all of the control panel options.

I have a pair of 5.1 surround sound headphones. However, when I play a game like FEAR (using Game mode of course) I can tell very noticeable jumps from one speaker to the next. i.e. if I stand in the same place and rotate 360 degrees, I can hear sound "jumping" from rear to front speakers instead of smoothly transitioning between the two.

If there any cause of this or is it something to do with the game?

Also, it seems like the bass is lacking using the 5.1 headphones in game mode. Explosions to the rear are loud and bassy but those at the front don't seem to have any bass at all. Why isn't the sub being used when sounds are played from some directions?

Again, is there some option I need to tick/untick?

Thanks.

first, make sure you're running the game with the audio console in Game Mode; with a set of 5.1 headphones, first try running the game with the speaker configuration set to headphones, if that doesn't work, try 5.1 - I'm not sure which is the best way to set these up; then, under the CMSS-3D tab, make sure that 3D positioning is enabled, and make sure both filters are set to auto - if in 5.1 mode, set upmix mode to "stereo surround" and upmix to "auto" - then adjust the slider all the way to 1005 surround. Hit the test button - the playback should smoothly transition, without any major change from one speaker driver to the next.

with the subwoofer - I've found with headphones to that you usually can't have bass-boost turned up too far, even default settings tends to be way too much in many cases. In the audio console, go to your bass tab - if set for headphones, set bass boost level to 1db, and cutoff frequency to 30Hz; if set for 5.1, reduce bass redirection to 30Hz, and leave gain unchecked.



TBH - I'm kinda feeling my way through this with ya, I haven't had a chance to use 5.1 headsets, so I'm in the dark as to what is the best and optimal settings for them. I'm curious, how do the 5.1 headsets attach to the card? Is it just the one green mini-jack, or do you have the 3 jacks?

ya that could be a cool mod to do, is ground that all to the chassis with a flashy copper braid.

i remember seeing an EMI "sheet" for pci cards once, all i remember is that it was expensive and i have not been able to find it whenever i try searching for it now.

I've seen what you're talking about as well - I'm not sure if you're in the states or not, but everything I've seen online wants bulk orders . . . so that's outta range of us commoners

 

[Davidelmo]

yes, maybe you do need to adjust something. what are your current speaker settings? i am assuming you have an analog connection to your 5.1 setup. in that case, you don't need DDL enabled. also, for game mode the jumping channel to channel could be the game it self, but do ensure your CMSS 3D is enabled for game mode, that helps a lot and you can also shift the emphasis from front to back. There are bass settings to tweak, but more importantly ensure your speaker configuration in windows is set to 5.1 at all times. if you have 5.1 headphones, connect them in 5.1. if you have normal stereo headphones, leave your speaker mode in 5.1 and check "optimize for headphones" and the card/software will downmix for you.

hope that helps

Right, will give those things a go.

I'm hooking the 5.1 headphones up as specified in the manual and the "noise" test sounds fine - everything plays in the correct place. Using the normal analogue (pink, orange and black ended cables.)

DDL is disabled.

Which setting do i need for the CMSS 3D? and where do I set the envelopment percentage?

Like I said, I'm completely overwhelmed with options!

I tried a couple of 5.1 mp3s and a dolby .vob file with a 5.1 demo and they sound great. The only time I'm noticing this problem is in FEAR.. so maybe it is something to do with the game (although the back of the box says best played with X-fi, lol)

Other thing I noticed is that in Oblivion, again with the 5.1 headphones, is that I hear the voice of anyone I am talking to coming out of all speakers, not just the front. Kinda spooky to be looking into the guys face and hear his voice from all around you!

I'm still happy with the card though.. music sounds fantastic and I played Bioshock the other day and scared the crap out of myself. There's a hell of an advantage knowing where the bad guys are coming from!

 

[Davidelmo]

not yet - I've been keeping my eye out. I don't think we'll see a review until mid-late July; the card with the I/O drive is supposed to go on sale at the end of July, the card by itself will go on sale in Sept (as last I've heard). That may still change, though . . .



first, make sure you're running the game with the audio console in Game Mode; with a set of 5.1 headphones, first try running the game with the speaker configuration set to headphones, if that doesn't work, try 5.1 - I'm not sure which is the best way to set these up; then, under the CMSS-3D tab, make sure that 3D positioning is enabled, and make sure both filters are set to auto - if in 5.1 mode, set upmix mode to "stereo surround" and upmix to "auto" - then adjust the slider all the way to 1005 surround. Hit the test button - the playback should smoothly transition, without any major change from one speaker driver to the next.

with the subwoofer - I've found with headphones to that you usually can't have bass-boost turned up too far, even default settings tends to be way too much in many cases. In the audio console, go to your bass tab - if set for headphones, set bass boost level to 1db, and cutoff frequency to 30Hz; if set for 5.1, reduce bass redirection to 30Hz, and leave gain unchecked.



TBH - I'm kinda feeling my way through this with ya, I haven't had a chance to use 5.1 headsets, so I'm in the dark as to what is the best and optimal settings for them. I'm curious, how do the 5.1 headsets attach to the card? Is it just the one green mini-jack, or do you have the 3 jacks?




I've seen what you're talking about as well - I'm not sure if you're in the states or not, but everything I've seen online wants bulk orders . . . so that's outta range of us commoners

Thanks for your response.. I was typing my response while you were typing this one!

The surround sound headphones have all three cables. I have this set:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/SpeedLink/Medusa51/5.html

They sound brilliant for movies or anything else with surround sound.

Thanks for the bass boost tip.. I'll try it out.

edit - just a note.. i think my control panel is slightly different to yours. For the CMSS 3D I have the following options:
Stereo Xpand
Stereo Surround
and I don't have a "test" button.
The only other option is "upmix" where I can select from on/off/auto

 

[department76]

ok since your h/p are the true 5.1 variety, you don't want "optimize for headphones" checked, then i think you want to leave your card/speakers setting in 5.1 mode.

i wouln't be surprised if it was poor sound channeling in the games you mentioned and not necessarily your soundcard causing the channeling issues. look for an options within the game you might be able to play with. also, the front-back envelopement slider is in the CMSS-3D tab in game mode.

 

[imperialreign]

@Davidelmo - any update?



On a side note, Creative have released new beta drivers for the Audigy and X-Fi series for both XP and Vista; taken from Tweakguides.com:

SoundBlaster Audigy & X-Fi 2.18.0000 Beta
2 June 2008


Creative has released a Beta 2.18.0000 driver for the majority of the Audigy and X-Fi series under Windows XP and Vista. These drivers add Dolby Digital and DTS decoding and DVD-Audio playback in Vista for cards which supported these features in XP, fix a range of application and OS sound-related issues and improve performance in OpenAL.

they can be downloaded here: http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/

I'll d/l the new XP beta and give it a go tomorrow

the full release notes for the beta:

This download is a beta driver providing Microsoft® Windows Vista® and Windows® XP support for Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ series of audio devices. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.

Take note of the following:

THIS IS AN UNSUPPORTED BETA DRIVER. There is no technical support for this driver.
We recommend that only experienced users install this driver. Do not install this driver on a system used to perform critical tasks.
Users who are looking for stable drivers should wait for the final release. When this happens, user should install the latest Sound Blaster X-Fi series driver available.
This download supports the following audio devices only:

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty® Professional Series
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi
Added Features:
To find out if your audio device supports the following features in Windows XP, click here.
For systems using Windows Vista

Dolby® Digital and DTS® driver decode re-established for sound cards that included decoding in their Windows XP drivers (Not applicable for products that included a 3rd party software DVD player license in the package).
DVD-Audio playback re-established for sound cards that included the application in their Windows XP software suite (For Windows Vista 32-bit only).
Requires the latest Creative MediaSource DVD-Audio Player Beta software. Click here to download.
Fixes:

Resolves issues of intermittent and random application/system crash when playing games or running applications that use EAX®, DirectSound®, OpenAL and/or ASIO features.
Resolves issue of volume mapping leading to very soft volume level in systems using Windows Vista with Service Pack 1.
Resolves issue with distortion and noise occuring in systems with 4 GB of RAM or greater.
Known Issues:

X-Fi CMSS®-3D feature is not available in Windows Vista 64-bit.
Requirements:

Windows Vista 64-bit, Windows Vista 32-bit, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) 2005 or Window XP MCE 2004
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi audio devices listed above

 

[eidairaman1]

why didnt i see this, btw in June Issue of CPU mag, Creative Labs doesnt want the guy that is helping Xfi Users get Full Capability Back in their Cards to modify their drivers apparently.

 

[Davidelmo]

I'm using the latest drivers from Auzentech.. came out only 2 days ago:
http://www.auzentech.com/site/download/updates.php

Fiddling with the CMSS 3D seems to have helped. I had it disabled before. The surround sound is better but there is still some channel hopping. I tried a couple other games but it's only noticeable in FEAR... I'll put it down to a fault in the game.

I noticed another weird thing in FEAR too. If a guy is in front of me shooting, I can hear the bullets whizzing past but they sound like gunshots and they are very loud which often makes me turn around because it sounds like somebody is shooting from behind me. Maybe I'll try patching the game and seeing what happens.

 

[imperialreign]

I'm using the latest drivers from Auzentech.. came out only 2 days ago:
http://www.auzentech.com/site/download/updates.php

Fiddling with the CMSS 3D seems to have helped. I had it disabled before. The surround sound is better but there is still some channel hopping. I tried a couple other games but it's only noticeable in FEAR... I'll put it down to a fault in the game.

I noticed another weird thing in FEAR too. If a guy is in front of me shooting, I can hear the bullets whizzing past but they sound like gunshots and they are very loud which often makes me turn around because it sounds like somebody is shooting from behind me. Maybe I'll try patching the game and seeing what happens.

that sounds odd, like EAX isn't being correctly implimented - defi try patching, most recent version is 1.08 - also, double check that EAX 2.0 is selected, as well as EAX advanced HD, and hardware mixing is also enabled in the game options menus. You may possibly need to attempt a reinstall as well.


in the audio console, also try lowering EAX effects to like -4.0db or so . . . some games, EAX effects are way too loud and that might be more noticeable with a 5.1 headset.

 

[Oliver_FF]

Here's something to wrap your noggins around... I've got an X-Fi Elite Pro:

However, when inserted to my motherboard at the time, ASUS P5WD2-E Premium, it was detected as being model "00201102", which sadly is not in the list of supported X-Fi cards the drivers come with... supported models are 002[1-6]1102. The pic should explain more:

If i plug the card into my current mobo it simply fails to post

 

[imperialreign]

hmm - that is rather odd . . .

have you installed the most recent driver with the firmware update? If not, give that a shot and see how the card is detected. The only reason the card model would be detected incorrectly is if the APU BIOS got corrupted somehow . . . sadly, I don't know of any software that can flash the BIOS on the X-Fi cards, and to the best of my knowledge, the chip would need to be removed to be hard flashed . . .


Unless btarunr could offer a solution, I'm thinking the card might need to be RMAed to fix that.


A word of advice, as well, if you do RMA the card - when you get it back, if there is no heatsink on the X-Fi APU, I seriously recommend installing one.

 

[Oliver_FF]

You're probably right about the RMA, but sadly the time's past for that - it's more of an ornament now haha. One day i'll use it as a paper-weight or something

It's very bling-bling though

 

[imperialreign]

You're probably right about the RMA, but sadly the time's past for that - it's more of an ornament now haha. One day i'll use it as a paper-weight or something

It's very bling-bling though

It's a dman nice card, the Elite Pro's are 1337 - even that older, first release revision you've got there

 

[Apocalypsee]

I bought X-Fi XtremeMusic a couple of weeks ago. Just finished modding it, very happy with the result, the difference is night and day

Anyone else mod the card?

 

[trodas]

I did... and still planing more to do

 

[imperialreign]

I bought X-Fi XtremeMusic a couple of weeks ago. Just finished modding it, very happy with the result, the difference is night and day

Anyone else mod the card?

in the middle of modding mine as well - I've already started posting in this thread testing results after modification, just go back one page

 

[eidairaman1]

I bought X-Fi XtremeMusic a couple of weeks ago. Just finished modding it, very happy with the result, the difference is night and day

Anyone else mod the card?

Tell us about this modification you did, share the knowledge.

 

[imperialreign]

First X-Fi Titanium review I've come across: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2316939,00.asp

the card appears to run on-par, if not better than a Xonar, and topping the current Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro flagship card. Hefty price, though ($200).

Still no pics of the card sans EMI shield

 

[eidairaman1]

Now Only if BlueGears, HT_Omega, and Auzentech would get in gear.

 

[Apocalypsee]

I did... and still planing more to do

Ah, trodas, you're here too Thanks for all the knowledge on Head-Fi my good friend

in the middle of modding mine as well - I've already started posting in this thread testing results after modification, just go back one page

Ah I see, cheers

Tell us about this modification you did, share the knowledge.

I will post some picture plus some information on what I did

 

[FreedomEclipse]

SBXF_PCDRV_LB_2_15_0006 driver package for XP sucks...I think Creative tried to add more functionality but they totally wrecked it gonna revert back to the 2_15_0003 drivers unless somebody tells me that the BETA is running fine on XP

 

[Wile E]

First X-Fi Titanium review I've come across: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2316939,00.asp

the card appears to run on-par, if not better than a Xonar, and topping the current Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro flagship card. Hefty price, though ($200).

Still no pics of the card sans EMI shield

Ahhh man, that makes my decision a tough one. Get the Titanium for it's use of PCIe to give me more space around my gfx slots, or just get the Auzen card for it's superior hardware.