Review and Measurements of SoundBlaster X-FI HD

[amirm]

@amirm , thank you! That measurement says more than enough. I appreciate the extra effort.

Good because I just mailed it and your other unit at the post office. Should have it by the 24th.

 

[Svperstar]

Back in the day I dropped $400 on the then top of the line X-Fi Elite Pro. 4 DAC chips. Sounded great to me. Wish I still had it so I could send it in to be measured.

 

[bennetng]

Back in the day I dropped $400 on the then top of the line X-Fi Elite Pro. 4 DAC chips. Sounded great to me. Wish I still had it so I could send it in to be measured.

Don't even compare a real X-Fi (CA20Kx DSP) like your Elite Pro with this one. Features and measured performance are completely different.

https://www.ixbt.com/multimedia/soundcard-duel-jan-2014.shtml

This review has Elite Pro's AP 2700 measurements.
http://ixbtlabs.com/articles2/multimedia/creative-x-fi.html

 

[mindbomb]

I think the x fi hd was released in 2010, since there is this review from that time period.
https://www.techradar.com/reviews/p.../creative-sound-blaster-x-fi-hd-913944/review

And yet it is still available on amazon for some reason.

 

[bennetng]

I think the x fi hd was released in 2010, since there is this review from that time period.
https://www.techradar.com/reviews/p.../creative-sound-blaster-x-fi-hd-913944/review

And yet it is still available on amazon for some reason.

I don't know how the tests in that page are executed but I have an X-Fi Titanium HD and two motherboards with different codecs and my results are much better than them:

X-Fi Titanium HD recording a 2010 motherboard with VIA VT1718S vs RME Multiface II recording a Denon CD player:
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,104390.msg856574.html#msg856574
The measurement link in the post above is broken due to forum software upgrade, here is the working link:
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,104406.0.html

X-Fi Titanium HD recording a 2015 motherboard with Realtek ALC892:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...gh-of-a-sample-rate-is-enough.4037/post-95240

X-Fi Titanium HD analog loopback:
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,100481.0.html

 

[LuckyLuke575]

lol sound blaster is now a sub par name ((

I feel bad when I see earnest PC gamers / dudes asking if their Soundblaster devices do a good job of driving XYZ headphone. As per the sentiment voiced by different forum members on here, Soundblaster seems to be trading on the brand recognition that they developed in the 90's. Other incarnations of their devices carry the high tech / cartoonish angle and colored light show of the current PC design asthetic, which I consider to be deceptive.

Anyone searching or Googling this post: don't be fooled by Soundblaster or other PC part sellers: do the research and read the objective reviews contained on this website before making any purchase decisions.

 

[Grattle]

This hardware "just works" on any computer I've connected it to. Mac/Windows, it doesn't matter.

It has a pretty good phono pre-amp. It's biggest drawback in my opinion, is that it requires a computer to work. No cellpones, etc.

 

[Ty Bower]

Apologies for reviving an old thread. I own the Sound Blaster X-Fi HD USB, and found it quite useful for very many years. The connections and features are simply ideal for my environment. I appreciate the simplicity of a single USB connection for both data and power. I use the 1/4" headphone jack almost exclusively (ATH-M50x). I find the volume knob on the front of the box convenient, despite it being somewhat small and stiff. For me, I will never try to plug it into anything other than my desktop PC. It just sits in the corner, and does its job...

...until my teenage son found it and took it for his own use. Now I'm looking to replace it with a similar device. I was ready to just go buy another SB1240, but recognizing how old it is I thought that surely there must be something improved. Yet, I cannot seem to find a simple USB connected box with 1/4" headphone jack and a volume knob. And at this price point, perhaps I am willing to overlook the performance figures. After all, the rest of my equipment is hardly audiophile grade either.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

 

[amirm]

What is your budget?

 

[Ty Bower]

What is your budget?

No more than twice the cost of the SB1240

 

[amirm]

It is too old for me to find prices for that.

 

[Ty Bower]

It is too old for me to find prices for that.

Sorry. I ought to have simply said my budget is $200

 

[exaudio]

At the $200 level the DAC/amp combo usually recommended on this forum is the Topping DX3 Pro. It's $219 on Amazon, but I see it at ShenZhenAudio for $186. I believe @amirm uses a Topping DX3 Pro as his daily driver.

Another option you might consider is pairing a Topping D10 DAC ($89) with a JDS Labs Atom headphone amp ($99).

The Sound Blaster X-Fi HD (i.e., model # SB1240) that Amir reviewed was mine. I replaced it with a Topping D10 and JDS Labs Atom and have been very happy with the combo. One thing I especially like about the Topping D10 is that it just works--I've never had any software/driver issues with it. There's none of the lousy software that comes with Sound Blaster. Also, the Topping's fit and finish is much better than its price would suggest. The JDS Labs Atom is great too. As far as I know, there's no headphone amp that compares even at twice the price.

 

[bilzebubba]

Thanks to this forum I now have a Topping D30 in addition to other Dacs bought before (one Schiit, not the goo'un), including a Matrix Mini-i v1, which I'll just assume tests as well as the latest flagship Matricies . All are in a whole home setup run via Chromecasts via Roon, which is great when it works for me (6 days out of 7 it seems sometimes). But I still also own seven Creative Xmod Wirelesses, which came out before Sonos, and which seem a kissing cousin to the one in this thread, and which fed from Mediamonkey on a Desktop through an Xmod USB Dac/wifi Transmittersimply just always worked (and still do). I think my efforts to improve things aural have been successful, but I still wonder, what if Creative had pushed this initial effort further, much earlier? If I can find a spare transmitter I'd gladly send it in for testing.

 

[maxxevv]

The 1/4" jack being the only issue, else you can look at the Sabaj Da3. Perfroms as well as the X-fi HD with more power.
You can consider the Fiio K5 Pro. Though untested here, Fiio generally makes decent products for a decent price.

Or as suggested, the DX3Pro on sale, it will be sub US$200/-.

 

[Ty Bower]

Thank you all for your recommendations. I greatly appreciate the advice and suggestions for replacements of my X-Fi HD USB.

Yes, it is a silly thing, but the 1/4" headphone jack is a requirement for me. It brings me joy, and on this I will not compromise. I'll take a look at the models noted above, and compare their features and prices.

 

[Palladium]

Honestly, gamers generally know squat about hardware in any regards. Many are always trying to jam 2 or more video cards in their systems thinking it means literally that many times more the performance, which fun fact, it isn't. Sometimes it actually hurts performance, depends on the game. That industry is full of misinformation and generally uneducated folk just the same as the audio industry. Further proof is that some company was selling gaming computers with AMD Threadrippers in em, a processor I would never recommend for gaming but would be fantastic in a workstation machine. The company was just catering to the crowd that buys bigger numbers blindly.

Thanks to all the Youtuber superstars and their even bigger egos, PC hardware for gamers has become more and more of an outlet for dick-waving contests rather than the traditional emphasis on value for money.

 

[Jungstar]

I remember building computers in the late 90's and early 2000's with sound blaster cards. At that point I would say they were a definite household brand. Nowadays I feel most people probably just use whatever integrated solution you get with the motherboard or computer. I don't think Soundblaster has the presence they had back then anymore. Only Soundblaster product I've used in a long while is the E3 portable amp.

To be fair, this product is really not selling any more or being produced anymore. The G6 has taken its place.

 

[Ty Bower]

You can consider the Fiio K5 Pro. Though untested here, Fiio generally makes decent products for a decent price.

Thank you for the recommendation for the K5 Pro. I bought one. I've added my comments to the K5 Pro thread.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...fiio-k5-pro-first-impressions-untrained.8999/

 

[Lotus97]

Is this the same sound card as the PCI Titanium HD? except that this one is external?