Geoffrey Taucer Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 This has come up several times recently in this forum (as well as in a recent discussion on AIM), and I want to make sure that everybody considering getting into remixing is aware of this: CREATIVE X-FI SOUNDCARD SUCKS GIANT DONKEY BALLS, AND SHOULD NEVER BE USED FOR RECORDING OR REMIXING The reason is that it is very much a consumer card. What I mean by this is that it is not designed to sound accurate, it is designed to sound good to the average listener. What this means is that when you are listening to your work, the card may well cover some significant flaws which would be easily spotted on a more accurate system. The card colors the sound to try to make it sound better, which is not what you want as a producer; you want to hear it as-is. This is true of any part of your sound setup; you don't want something that colors or "enhances" the sound, you want something that will give you the most accurate sound possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzumebachi Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 this should be common knowledge by now. circa 2002 i wrote a review for the old hardware review forums for the creative soundblaster audigy 2 on how it sucks giant donkey balls. unfortunately dave never got around to posting it and later the hardware review forums got baleeted. soundblaster cards have not improved in the least since then. stay the fuck away from them people. seriously. christ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrypnyk Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I would just like to say Suzu and Geoffrey don't know what they're talking about. X-FI PWNZ YOU!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyne Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I'm desiring a new sound card for my desktop. It'll be a while til I can get the new one, but when I do, I was wondering what you guys would suggest that isn't Creative. Now, don't get me wrong, I've heard about Creamware, and it's awesome DSP cards, so if you guys have other suggestions about it, I'd like to know. Thanks. P.S.: I use an Audigy in my desktop now, and it does suck for everything but games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Screw X-Fi. For my money, its SoundBlaster Live ftw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feral-Fox Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 I have been using this card, i agree it is no the best for music production for a few reasons but the coloring up only happens if you make set it up that way, you just shut off all the effects, crystalization and other options Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoozer Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 I'm desiring a new sound card for my desktop. It'll be a while til I can get the new one, but when I do, I was wondering what you guys would suggest that isn't Creative. State a budget. Now, don't get me wrong, I've heard about Creamware, and it's awesome DSP cards, so if you guys have other suggestions about it, I'd like to know. I personally wouldn't do that; they're lol hueg and you'll probably get one second-hand. RME makes nice high-class stuff. If that's too much, M-Audio Audiophile 192. Other than that, consider a Firewire or USB interface. They're not that much slower actually, and you get some nice I/O. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emura Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 I have been using this card, i agree it is no the best for music production for a few reasons but the coloring up only happens if you make set it up that way, you just shut off all the effects, crystalization and other options Just seconding what Feral-Fox says. Using the X-Fi's "Audio Creation" mode, there is no coloration of the sound (Gaming mode boosts frequencies 200 Hz and lower, and Entertainment mode boosts 1 KHz to 3 KHz, IIRC). It'll also use the onboard RAM and processor do to some effect processing. That said, I still wouldn't recommend it for recording use since its maximum sampling frequency is 96 KHz, and it only supports 2 channels in simultaneously. Besides, if you're going to spend the money on decent mics and a decent studio to record in, why wouldn't you spend the money on something from RME? At least it supports Vista, which is something that can't be said of the M-Audio cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 I wouldn't worry too much about the max recording freq being 96khz. That's really more than high enough. I challenge anyone to A/B between 96khz recordings mixed down to 44.1khz for a CD, and 192khz mixed down to 44.1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzumebachi Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 the problem isn't the frequencies or bitrate or whatever. the problem is creative's consumer grade soundcards have the worst analog/digital converters ever made. they vomit noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrypnyk Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 some people like noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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