Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium HD Sound Card Review @ [H]

EarlKeim said:
The card has to be fully seated. Some of the PCI-Express sound cards tend to shift forward or backward in the slot. The Console Launcher program and different modes of the card will not engage if that card is not 100% seated properly.
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ive tried all different slots, seems to be seated properly......
 
Can you test it in your old X58 box again? or in someone else's computer? to see if it's the card itself?
 
And yes you can put the sound card in a X1, X4, X8, or x16 slot it doesnt matter. X1 is forward compatible with any of those slots.

I have an older machine with a X1 slot that would never let X1 cards to be placed in straight. I used the X 16 slot 3 above it and it worked fine. I cannot guarantee that it will work for you, but it may. I only review the equipment and am only offering a suggestion.
 
EarlKeim said:
And yes you can put the sound card in a X1, X4, X8, or x16 slot it doesnt matter. X1 is forward compatible with any of those slots.

I have an older machine with a X1 slot that would never let X1 cards to be placed in straight. I used the X 16 slot 3 above it and it worked fine. I cannot guarantee that it will work for you, but it may. I only review the equipment and am only offering a suggestion.
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Thats interesting.

I would have guessed that it would have worked fine in an X1 slot, due to the hard stops on either side preventing it from slipping.

Even though an X16 slot would still be electrically compatible, I thought this is what was causing the issues, since the card could potentially slide back and forth in the X16 slot due to less hard mechanical stops preventing it from doing so.

I guess I was wrong :p
 
There is definitely more play in my rig when putting a X1 sound card in an X16 slot. The X1 card does not seat as firmly in the X16 slot compared to a X1 slot.
 
Couldn't really see the wire pics clearly. It says TOS-link optical-in/out under specifications but the optical-in/out is S/PDIF, so is there a converter for this?
 
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Welp, I just pulled the trigger on one. I'm in need of a new sound card and I swore up and down that I'd never buy another SB card again. But then again I have yet to get burned on an [H] review. I guess I'll find out Tuesday when it arrives. ;)
 
rmdashrrootsplat said:
Welp, I just pulled the trigger on one. I'm in need of a new sound card and I swore up and down that I'd never buy another SB card again. But then again I have yet to get burned on an [H] review. I guess I'll find out Tuesday when it arrives. ;)
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It is a nice card. Just don't install the drivers from the CD, use the beta driver from Creative site.
 
I would use the 16x slot, but in the ud4 p67 it would drop the 1st pcie to 8x as well. I have tried both 1x slots, i will do more testing to see if its the sound card or another issue.
 
Hello everyone, I am new here and to PC audiophile sound. I have been using the HD for some time now. Love it (haven't installed/used a sound card since early 90's)! I bought an Aphex Headpod 454 Headphone box ($200) so that I can connect a Westone 3, Shure SE530, and Sennheiser HD800 at the same time. This way I do not have to disconnect anything and just turn up/down the individual levels. There is only one problem with the box and It only affects the Westone 3 & SE530 earphones. The box causes the earphones to generate noise at low volume. It gets masked once I turn up the volume but I would like it to not be there considering that a straight connection to the HD gives clean silence. The HD800s are not affected. Anybody know if a different type of box (headphone distribution amp) would fix the problem?
 
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The Titanium HD can only adequately power headphones up to 300 ohms. Your splitter/distribution box may be drawing more than the Titanium HD can provide.

Some of the ASUS cards can do up to 600 ohms.

Again, I do not know the specifications of your "splitter."
 
Here are the specs of the multi-headphone amp.
AUDIO
Input Z Bal: 20k ohms; Unbal: 10k ohms
Output Z 10 Ohms
Maximum Input Level Bal & Unbal: +24dBu
Frequency Response 10Hz - 120kHz ±1dB
SNR (typical) 100dB
Crosstalk, dB -80 @ 1kHz; -70 @ 10kHz
Maximum Gain 35 dB
THD+N, 1kHz < 0.001%, 100mw into 25 ohms
SMPTE IMD < 0.001%, 100mw into 25 ohms
http://www.aphex.com/products/accessories/model-454/

And like I said, the HD800 (300ohm) sound fine-- as if they were connected straight through to the HD. Do you know if there is another amp that could resolve the issue? Or is it just the sound card limitation like you said?
 
it sounds like Earl thinks or thought that your headphone box is a simple splitter, but it's also a headphone amplifier. as such, it should be fine with your headphones. my guess is that your amplifier is leaking sound even though you turn the volume down all the way on a particular channel. the sennheiser headphone has a much higher resistance so that small sound leak coming from you amp isn't enough to cause the sennheiser headphones to pick it up unlike the other two. to test this theory, try plugging your headphone amp into another source and see if those other two phones still pick up some noise. if they do than i'd return this amp and look for another one that provides similar functionality.
 
I did not think that it was a simple splitter like a plantronics or anything else. I just realize that sensitivity and impedance ratings differ from device to device.

I would very much like to help the poster if I am able.

I will be following this thread.
 
I think you are on to something. But I managed to find a quick fix after much research. I pulled out my aluminum Shure SE530 case that was in storage and pulled out the volume attenuator that I never thought I would use and had forgotten about. It has an adjustable potentiometer in it that will add some resistance to make the AMP "see" a higher impedence (correct me if I am wrong). I just had to find the sweet spot where I could no longer hear the buzzing sound and the sound quality was still good. I kept comparing this new setup versus straight connection to the HD and I cannot tell the difference in sound quality, they both sound the same. I just need to keep the volume attenuator's adjustment dial in the same position. Looks like I will be keeping the AMP afterall. Thanks for your help guys!
 
Thanks Bendover,

I appreciate you following up here so others know what happened and what your results were.
 
I bought the card last week and I cannot install drivers. The card is not getting detected by Windows 7. I tired and old and new install but to no avail. I tired the auto update but it says no creative card detected. I am running i2500k and Asus P8P67 PRO. Any ideas?

EDIT: I tested both card with my P45 and Q9550 system and no problems installing drivers. I think the PCI-E or P8P67 Pro is the problem. )-:
 
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You can install the card in any of the remaining PCI Express slots. Although the card is a X1 card, you can place it in a X1, X2, X4, X8, or X16 slot. Try using another slot on your motherboard and then reboot your system and see if the card is detected.

Also be sure to go to WindowsUpdate after moving the card and rebooting, and see if WindowsUpdate sees the card.

WU has a slimmed down driver for the card, and there is something wrong with your Download from Creative or your installation files are corrupt, WindowsUpdate will install a driver as well.

Be sure to disable any onboard audio you have in the bios before reinstalling the card.
 
EarlKeim said:
You can install the card in any of the remaining PCI Express slots. Although the card is a X1 card, you can place it in a X1, X2, X4, X8, or X16 slot. Try using another slot on your motherboard and then reboot your system and see if the card is detected.

Also be sure to go to WindowsUpdate after moving the card and rebooting, and see if WindowsUpdate sees the card.

WU has a slimmed down driver for the card, and there is something wrong with your Download from Creative or your installation files are corrupt, WindowsUpdate will install a driver as well.

Be sure to disable any onboard audio you have in the bios before reinstalling the card.
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I am running crossfire so I am a bit limited.:( There are no drivers in WU, as I said I testes my card in my other computer and it gets picked up off the bat as "High Definition", installing drivers is a breeze. Onboard is disabled in bios. I am using the top PCI-E slot above the video card. I am relly frustrated with my Asus P8P67 Pro board.:confused:

EDIT: It turns out PCI Express x16_3 was set x4, changed it to auto and it works.Then again, the board keeps changing settings on a whim.
 
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DefineByte said:
No problems for me going from an Audigy2 ZS to the Titanium HD in Windows 7. The reviewer was probably being overly cautious.
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Same here. I had my 2 ZS Plat since it came out many years ago (2003?) and since the drivers (mostly recording) are horrendous for Win 7, I decided it was time for an upgrade. I heard all but good things about this card so after finding a sweet deal on Newegg for it, I got it. The sound is a hell of a lot better than the 2 ZS, so much richer. But I did have a question Earl that you never answered before....How did you get sound to come out of the headphone jack and RCA jacks without having to unplug from the headphone jack? You said in your review:

We liked that we did not have to unplug headphones from the rear of the PC constantly, the Creative Launcher automatically detected the headphones and switched to two channel mode.
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So how did you do it? I have headphones with a mic plugged into the headphone/mic jacks (for online gaming with mic usage), better wireless headphones plugged into the RCA jacks (for everything else, no mic usage) and RCA in for recording or optical out to my Z-5500s when I feel like it (meaning when everyone around me in my apt complex is not home :D ) I would like to switch between the two easily without having to futz around behind the case to plug in the other headphones when I need a mic.

Also have you figured out what the 40 pin port is for? I know its for some sort of Live! Drive (breakout box, whatever you want to call it), but since I have the one that comes with the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum still in my case (the card's in there too, just lying there unplugged as I just got the Titanium HD) and the keying seems to match, I was wondering if they would work together...a long shot but hey, maybe?
 
I recentlypurchased a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional and laready had the Klipsch Ultra 5.1 and have a ony 5.1 amp to use what is the best configuration. From my card to the stereo I will use optic set the amp to 4ohms and then should I connect all the speakers to the amp individually and then do what with the bass amp?
 
DangerIsGo said:
Same here. I had my 2 ZS Plat since it came out many years ago (2003?) and since the drivers (mostly recording) are horrendous for Win 7, I decided it was time for an upgrade. I heard all but good things about this card so after finding a sweet deal on Newegg for it, I got it. The sound is a hell of a lot better than the 2 ZS, so much richer. But I did have a question Earl that you never answered before....How did you get sound to come out of the headphone jack and RCA jacks without having to unplug from the headphone jack? You said in your review:



So how did you do it? I have headphones with a mic plugged into the headphone/mic jacks (for online gaming with mic usage), better wireless headphones plugged into the RCA jacks (for everything else, no mic usage) and RCA in for recording or optical out to my Z-5500s when I feel like it (meaning when everyone around me in my apt complex is not home :D ) I would like to switch between the two easily without having to futz around behind the case to plug in the other headphones when I need a mic.

Also have you figured out what the 40 pin port is for? I know its for some sort of Live! Drive (breakout box, whatever you want to call it), but since I have the one that comes with the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum still in my case (the card's in there too, just lying there unplugged as I just got the Titanium HD) and the keying seems to match, I was wondering if they would work together...a long shot but hey, maybe?
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The old Live! drives are not compatible with the Titanium HD. We already posed the question to Creative. The connector is for an unannounced add-on for the card.
 
Thanks Earl. Think this mysterious Add-on card would have additional in/out ports? SPDIF? I don't like those multi-use ports. Do you know if a pinout for those 40 pins exists anywhere?
 
I have not seen anything yet on the pinouts, but I will post anything relevant that I find AND verify with the manufacturer of the product in question.
 
Thanks Earl. By the way, how did you get sound to come out of the headphone jack and RCA jacks without having to unplug from the headphone jack?
 
Sweet mother of Jesus! There is a difference between Entertainment mode and Game mode. My really old MP3s sound like crap now. I mean it sounded good before I got the Titanium HD, now it just sounds craptastic. I don't even know what I did with the CDs! It's probably at my parents house! Damn you creative! Damn you to hell for actually making a good product! What happened to your minor upgrade every few years with little to no difference?
 
DangerIsGo said:
Thanks Earl. By the way, how did you get sound to come out of the headphone jack and RCA jacks without having to unplug from the headphone jack?
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Amen. I've had this card for a few days and I'm still undecided on it. But this is starting to flat out piss me off. With the STX, you just switch output in the control panel. I read that part of Earl's review like a hundred times. They must have ran it to the front panel of their case, which would seemingly defeat the purpose of the dedicated headphone out.
 
I did not get audio out of the front and rear ANALOG at the same time. The front panel headphone out will output sound at the same time as Dolby or DTS Connect DIGITAL are selected. What this means is, the front panel does not mute the digital out on the card.
 
Ordered this card Sunday and I cant wait to install it and hear the difference.

I had an Audigy 2 but Win7 was shoddy to use it that I went back to onboard audio!!! Omg so excited for this card!
 
DisrupTer911 said:
Ordered this card Sunday and I cant wait to install it and hear the difference.

I had an Audigy 2 but Win7 was shoddy to use it that I went back to onboard audio!!! Omg so excited for this card!
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What are you plugging into this thing? Also please report back with a brief review :p
 
Question for Earl:

When installation is completed, my device manager lists my SB X-FI Titanium HD as
"Creative SB X-FI"

& when running diagnostic to test settings, the card is also detected as "Creative SB X-Fi" and in the
option to test headphone, 2/2.1, 5.1 where you can setup "Speaker Labels" the sound card depicted is the legacy X-Fi model and not the Titanium HD.

Which drivers do I need to install to get the right card to show up?

I'm running the BETA drivers direct from Creative's site.
Windows 7 64 Ultimate
 
By selecting Creative Alchemy at driver install time and then running it afterwards (it should be in the start menu, under Creative).
 
I'll have to take a look tonight. I didn't notice anything under the start menu for the ALchemy but i didn't install off the CD. I used just the BETA drive off the webpage for it.
 
That may well explain it. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't come with the beta drivers (I couldn't find it, looking through the exe). Try looking on the disc to see if it has a separate installer, or maybe try Creative AutoUpdate?
 
Alchemy is on the CD that comes with the Titanium HD and it shows up as "creative sb-xf" both in the audio control panel and in device manager.

As for the alchemy, the setup files are located in <CD-Drive>\Audio\Alchemy\ folder.
 
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