CL X-Fi Titanium HD Review

I doubt you will hear a great deal of difference using those Z-5500's through analog. If you are using digital they would hear no difference at all. Z's would be a bottlekneck for any of the flagship modern cards.

 

I am going to put one of them into my wife's rig.She too is a gamer and has a pretty good set up. A Dell XPS 730x,SLI Video etc.etc. The HD is no doubt a very good card. I won't buy it until there is a 5.1 analog expansion card available. One thing for sure,you won't be sorry if you buy the Xense. Good luck.

 

I only paid $114 for the Titanium HD,so I'm not too worried about the cost.. But I wonder if the Xense is that much better than it.. I doubt it..

 

I don't think the Xense is any better but it allows 5.1 analog connection. The new HD is digital 5.1 and analog stereo only at present. ROBSCIX said that Creative may have an analog expansion card in the works but if you want 5.1 analog right now and if your desk top speakers are analog surround your out of luck with the new HD card. The new Xense and the new X-Meridian 7.1 2G have both digital and analog outputs. I'm sure you will be happy with your new Creative card. I'm going to get one as soon as the analog expansion is made available. Have fun!

 

I really don't even use my speakers anymore.. I think headphones sound better.. But that's just me.. :banana:

 

I agree. I have 5.1 analog headphones. I seldom use my desk tops. It drives my wife nuts cuz I like it LOUD.

 

ESlik, What do you think of the psycho's?,compared to higher end headphones?

 

I have been a proponent of the Psyko 5.1s since they were first made available. There is no doubt that high end stero headphones better for music and with 5.1 emulation methods,they are pretty good for gaming. I much prefer 5.1 analog over any digital emulation. 5.1 analog is a true surround and the Psykos provide that better than ANY other so called 5.1 analog surrond headphones.The design is unique and it really works. Many reviews I have read knock Psyko for how music sounds etc. but pretty much ALL of the reviewers agree that the Psyko 5.1 are the BEST at positional and surround sound. My wife also has a set and she too wouldn't trade them for anything else for gaming. If you are going to use headphones primarily for gaming,then Psyko is the ONLY way to go. As I have said many times,I am no hardware expert but I am a gamer and I know what I hear with Psyko when comparing them to other gaming headphones. I know what I'm talking about in this regard as I have almost all the competetive brand headphones to make my comparisons and resulting preference for Psyko. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Thanks man..I appreciate your thoughts.. How is the bass level? Do they have good deep explosions? You should start a new thread and review those suckers..I bet there would be lots of questions.. The problem for me,if I got those,is you need the analogue outs that the Titanium doesn't have..

 

The bass level on the Psyko amp. is O.K. You can enhance settings in your sound card to find the balance you prefer. I believe Creative will release an expansion card for 5.1 analog. Info as provided by ROBSCIX. When they do,I will order the new HD. If that card is as good as people say it is,then I must have it. Hardware Heaven provides a pretty good description of what the Psykos will and will not do. Check a few reviews from USERS for a more honest opinion. And keep in mind the Psykos are designed for gaming. Let us know how you make out. Have fun.

 

The problem is that people's reviews on the psyko's are either great or they suck..That doesn't help much. Some people say they are terrible. Sounds like your in a tube. The problem with the TitanHD is when... are they coming out with the daughter board..? I have the Razer barracuda hd-1 headphones and they are garbage.. Its funny,when your are by a fire in borderlands or crysis and you turn around,the rear channels don't pick anything up. I have TB Hpa-2's and they are a lot better..But after using my Beyer DT 770 pro 80's,the Turtle beach headset sounds like garbage too.. I'm very curious about the psyko's..

 

Hey guys, I just picked up this card a few days back. I came from an X-Fi Titanium PCI-E 1x (non fatal1ty version)....so far, I hear slight differences with the HD version....everything seems louder and crisper at the same volume....but overall, it's not a huge difference if you already own an X-Fi Titanium....you might want to save that $160 for something else...or wait till it goes on sale

Btw, I am using Logitech Z-2300 speakers and Creative Labs Fatal1ty MKII headset....both of them use 3.5mm connectors

For the X-Fi HD. theres two holes that accept 3.5mm....which are the microphone and headset holes. The rest of the holes are a larger size (RCA I think?) connector....am I suppose to connect my Z-2300 to these larger holes? Because I can't since the Z-2300 are 3.5mm....The X-Fi HD box came with some kind of adapter which I believe is RCA to 3.5mm...it goes from two RCA males to one 3.5mm male....I can't connect my z-2300 male to that adapter

Any suggestions?

 

Use the two RCA to 3.5 with your Z-2300, thats what that adapter is for. to conver 3.5 to RCA. Then plug your headphones in to the 3.5 plugs on it.

You can swap the op-amps on the X-Fi HD, it has 4 op-amp sockets. The default op-amp I think is the LME49710.

You Can swap op-amps on the card I think one set is used for the headphone while the other 2 opamp sockets are used for the RCA but dont quote me on this.

 

This is the problem though...the green is the Z-2300 plug...the middle is the supplied Creative Labs cable....you'll see theres Two RCA on the very bottom...that goes to the sound card...then the middle goes to my amplifier/speakers (at least thats what the instructions say)....but how is this possible with my Z-2300 (green plug)?

 

Instructions can be wrong, I know the amp/sub has two RCA plugs on them for left speaker and right speakers. From looking at a picture.

Then you would use a RCA male to 3.5 female cable and plug the green into the 3.5 end then the RCA into the sound card. Cable like this one http://www.amazon.com/Male-3-5mm-Stereo-Female-Y-Cable/dp/B000I23TTE/ref=pd_sim_e_2 is what you need.

All the pictures i See show it coming with a Green 3.5 female to female RCA adapter but Not a black cable. I think logitech made a woopsy. As All you need to use is a 3.5 female to RCA male and plug it into the X-FI HD.

The only RCA that goes into the receiver is the left and right speaker outputs RCA plugs.

 

Alright cool....hey I found this around the house....its a 3.5mm female to 3.5mm female connector...so now I can join my male Z-2300 speaker wire with the male creative labs wire

Problem is, when I put everything together....I get no sound? Any ideas?

 

do you have it set correctly in the X-FI HD controlls?

 

Verify your connections and make sure it is enabled for speakers.

 

This is how its currently setup...you'll see my two RCA are connected to the sound card...that goes to my 3.5mm to 3.5mm female adapter (which I found around the house)...then that connects to my logitech z-2300 plug (green in color)

I made sure all connections are tight....still no go....and I don't see anywhere in the creative control panel that says enable RCA or "use speakers" etc..

 

Set it to 2 speakers. Also check the main system control panel and make sure the system is set for speaker out.
What else do oyu have plugged into the card?