Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Op-Amp upgrade

OCworkbench have modded a normal Creative Xi-Fi soundcard to increase analogue audio quality. Interesting read and quite doable if your a ninja on a soldering iron like me!

One group, however, remained quite unsatisfied with Creative's new offering: audiophiles. Despite using a quite respectable CS4382 digital-analogue converter (and the even better CS4398 on the high end Elite Pro cards) and offering vastly superior quality to most of their previous consumer sound cards, the X-Fi was let down by a poor choice in opamps and too many cheap capacitors in the signal path. In late 2006, a little known company called Auzentech claimed this small market all for itself upon the release of the incredible X-Meridian 7.1. They used socketed opamps, high quality polymer capacitors throughout the card, superior DACs and a better designed analogue stage. Subjective audio tests suggested that Auzentech's offering had vastly more detail, tighter bass, more natural highs and provided a much less tiring 'live' sound when compared with Creative's card. However, Gamers were left unimpressed, as like so many cards before it, the X-Meridian only supported EAX 2.0.

Full story is here:
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2007/articles/C...X-Fi-mod/g1.htm

Interesting although I probably won't do this.

I do love my X-fi and get wrap my head around the fact that gamers don't promote soundcards as much as they do with graphicscards. Good sound is just as important to the gamingexperience as good graphics are and there just aren't any onboard cards that can give the same quality as a good soundcard can, only idiots that believe it can based on a single dodgy biased review they found floating round the net.

I really don't think many people appreciate good PC audio, because generally most users have little desktop speakers. I am one of few people I know that has their PC plugged into a suitable system to appreciate it.

I mean even if people plugged their PCs into their 2 speaker home stereo it would be an improvement wouldn't it?

Oh and don't get me started on on-board AC'97 audio!!.... ARGHHHH!! :bangin:

Onboard C-Media audio here

Wow.. I have to try that someday, nice find desperate!

Originally posted by Magus@May 25 2007, 05:48 AM
Onboard C-Media audio here

Your pc is so outdated that even my alarm clock has more processing power

Onboard is crap.