Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Music Edition and X-Fi Elite Pro Reviews

With the release of the X-Fi, Creative is once again posing as the very large fish in the very small sea. In one regard, I’m glad it’s such a quality product, but in another, it really makes me stop and realize how few other new options there are out there, especially for the audio purists.

I guess the big question that remains is “should I buy an X-Fi?” And the obvious answer I can give is “depends.” Going from AC ’97 to this made for quite a noticeably difference. But, if you’re sporting an Audigy 2 or something of that nature, you’ll want to hold off until the prices drop a little and watch Creative’s and the rest of the market’s next move. Indeed, let’s see how those other fish start swimming.

Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Music Edition
Primotech

The time is more than ripe then to extend a warm welcome to Creative’s most significant new product since its Sound Blaster Live! series from 1998 – the X-Fi. There are four cards available at launch and two of them are on review. These are from both ends of the budget - the low cost Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music at £99 and the musician focused Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro retailing at £249.99. In between are the X-Fi Platinum (£149.99) and the X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS (£179.99).

…At £99, the Xtreme Music genuinely offers excellent value for money whilst the Elite Pro, and by extension the Fatal1ty FPS, offers ever greater audio quality and potentially higher game frame rates if its X-Ram becomes widely used. And once Creative releases more mature software and games start to exploit EAX 5 the X-Fi series, an already worthy successor to the Audigy, will really come into its own.

Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music and X-Fi Elite Pro
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