X-FI vs Xonar dx

O

ourfpshero

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 25, 2007
Messages
1,237
i have always pushed the x-fi, but i couldnt resist a good buy on a xonar. so i have them both in my winxp pc. tried them with a few games/songs. so my comparison

games:

the x-fi (xtrememusic)has the edge in eax/3d sound games. i tried ut3 and bf2142 as eax games and the x-fi just has much better 3d effects. with the xonar the 3d sound sounds like being in a large room, while the x-fi is gymnasium sized. running around in hallways this doenst mean much-but get outside and it does. a lot. also an x-fi has above and below sound-the xonar does not. the x-fi is also 'meatier' when it comes to explosions and such. the xonar is very crisp sounding however, probably has a better opamp then the x-fi.

music.
again the xonar is crisper- more audiophile-ish. warmer mids and highs than the x-fi. the x-fi has better bass tho, and can put out a ton of it if wanted. the xonar needs a small amp to keep up bass-wise.

for music i'd give the xonar the edge- with a 10$ fiio amp it can equal an x-fi's bass, and has better mids. for games its still x-fi's ballgame. however eax games are slowing to a trickle and cmedia announced native openal support a while back. someday it might actually get here! the xonars game sound is bettter than a razer ac-1 btw but not by much.
 
Have you tried gaming with headphones? I've read that the Xonar doesn't have a strong amp for headphones, but does plenty fine for speaker setups. Would that mean that a Xonar would still push low impedance headphones easily (say, 60 ohms or so)?

How's ASUS' drivers? Any problems?


I've also read that the ASUS chip is actually a CMI8788, which would put it on par with the B-Enspirer and AC-1.
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/asus_xonar_d1/
D1's essentially a DX, but for PCI, isn't it?
 
Leman said:
Have you tried gaming with headphones? I've read that the Xonar doesn't have a strong amp for headphones, but does plenty fine for speaker setups. Would that mean that a Xonar would still push low impedance headphones easily (say, 60 ohms or so)?
Click to expand...

No issues driving ATH-A700's(64 ohms), but my AH-D2000's(25 ohms, but 1800mw I think) are a different story - Needed an amp.
 
i tested these with headphones. with speakers there is no bass issues/differences as i use a flat eq setting /line out.
an x-fi just puts out more power to headphones. anout on par with a portable amp. the difference is very noticable. creative labs' sound cards have always put out a lot of power. if u want to feel the boom the x-fi delivers, the xonar not so much.
havent had any driver issues yet. it is the same chip as several other cards, but has a lot of options- many more than the ac-1 for instance. i just found out that the sensaura license expired (3d sound engine) so i dont know what will happen to future driver updates.
 
ourfpshero said:
i tested these with headphones.
an x-fi just puts out more power to headphones. anout on par with a portable amp. the difference is very noticable.
Click to expand...

That is a huge generalization as it depends on the headphones in question, as was previously mentioned.
 
Valaire said:
That is a huge generalization as it depends on the headphones in question, as was previously mentioned.
Click to expand...

true- but for anything but very low end cans the power difference shows. anybody on this forum probably isnt using plantronics any more!
same as a hi end amp can make low impedance headphones that dont 'need' that much power sound better

i will look into modding my x-fi with a nice op-amp to get the best of both worlds here (or just buy a prelude)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top