Creative lanza su última tarjeta de sonido, la Sound Blaster X-Fi® Notebook, que debe mejorar el rendimiento de la compresión de audio, películas y juegos en ordenadores portátiles.

El formato de la tarjeta es ExpressCard y utiliza la tecnología Creative “X-Fi”. Con el receptor inalámbrico Creative Wireless Receiver vendido aparte, uno puede deshacerse de los cables entre el portátil y los altavoces.

La venta está prevista a partir de Octubre a precio aproximado de 80€.

Σε σχέση με την X-Fi Titanium η έκδοση "Professional Audio" ενσωματώνει επιπλέον 64ΜΒ X-RAM ενώ φέρει EMI sheild για προστασία από τις ηλεκτρομαγνητικές παρεμβολές των υπόλοιπων υποσυστημάτων του PC. Υποστηρίζονται μεταξύ άλλων οι τεχνολογίες EAX 5.0 και OpenAL, real-time Dolby Digital encoding, Dolby Digital και DTS (μέσω PowerDVD). Η Creative Sound Blaster Titanium σύμφωνα με το site της εταιρείας στον Hong Kong κοστίζει $100 ενώ η έκδοση X-Fi Titanium Professional Audio κοστίζει $153.

Creative are now shipping the new Zen X-Fi player.

Many people are saying that they are just not in the mp3 player market anymore and I would agree but for the really picky users that are looking for the best sound quality, this player might just be it.

Creative are really focusing on the audio quality with this product. The X-Fi audio processor in this player is designed to ''reconstruct'' the lossy mp3 file format so that your music sounds closer to the original piece before it was ripped.

The player also comes with high-end earbuds.

Creative

We've heard a few announcements from big companies for the past couple of days and it seems that Creative wants to get into the action as well.  They've been sending out invites for an event and it seems like they're releasing a new x-fi product. A lot of people are actually have high hopes and are expecting at least a new PMP from Creative. I think they really need to come out firing on all cylinders for this event because most of Creative's recent product releases have been lackluster to say the least. I mean, this used to be a company that made products that rival  Apple's iPods, Apple has sold millions since then but still Creative's product features were superior, at least back then. Their main line of products in my opinion is a dying technology (mp3s, sound cards) because they can already be replaced by other device or are already integrated of course they still perform better  in general but still would that be enough reason for people to buy them?

Update: It seems this is one if not the one product that they plan to unveil today an X-Fi soundcard for notebooks that lets you listen to music anywhere in your house via wireless receivers, hence the tagline "I am heard everywhere" great another X-mod...... (product page)

I really hope they plan on announcing a whole lot more than this, please tell me they're not that delusional to hold an event for just one product.

Besides my Logitech G7, which is the only product that disappointed me, my G5 mouse, G15 keyboard (1st Gen), X-530 5.1 speakers, and Premium Stereo (yeah right) headphones have really held up over the past couple years.

Why did I need to buy X-540 5.1 Multi-purpose speakers, and were they worth it? Let's find out.

When it comes to peripherals, Logitech has been the company to go to for mid-range to higher quality products with a decent price point. I've had my X-530 speaker system for a little over 2 and a half years and it has served me very well. The 5 satellites and sub produce very clear and crisp sounds and I have been able to take advantage of the 5.1 sounds they can create using my Creative X-Fi XTreme Gamer 7.1 sound card. There is one issue though; I didn't want to bring them to Barrie with me to use in my residence room. Enter the Logitech X-540 5.1 speakers, the apparent successor to my previous set.

When I went to the store with my girlfriend to buy her a web camera, which I will review later, I decided to take a look at the speaker section. Aside from the various 2/2.1 offerings from Altec Lansing and Logitech and the new Logitech Z-something or other 1000W system, there wasn't much to choose from. Sitting on the floor in a corner I saw a stack of extremely beat up boxes labeled X-540. With a price tag of $50, nearly one 1/4 that of the other 5.1 systems, I was a little skeptical. I decided to get the least beat up box anyway and I even got a 5% discount.

Having not done much research, I hopped on Youtube and found a TigerDirect.com video review which praised the speakers for the performance/price ratio which was enough for me to open up the box. At the end of the day I figured it was $50 for 11 months and after that they could collect dust somewhere.

The box contained a 5" sub woofer, a centre speaker, right, left, back right, and back left satellite speakers, a ~3' 3x3.5mm 5.1 cable to connect to the sub woofer (the command centre of the setup) to the computer, and a RCA to stereo (female) 3.5mm jack to allow you to connect things like game consoles to the speakers to enjoy better sound than your conventional TV.

Combined, the speakers produce 70W and peak at 140W, which is more than enough for the average office space or bedroom.

The setup was pretty simple, everything is colour coded for you so that nothing goes in the wrong jack. All of the back connections from the satellite speakers are RCA while the output from your computer to the sub woofer hub is the standard green/black/orange 3.5mm cable. One of my only issues is the fact that the rear speakers may not have enough cable for "snaking" around a room and the front speakers don't have a lot of forgiveness either.  I will mention now that I am using these speakers for a laptop so the cable actually plugs into the front of my XPS M1530 which makes it rather ugly and cumbersome,; my choice though.

Once everything was set up I fired it up. No sound? Oh dear. OH! There's a wired remote! What's this? Individual controls for master volume and bass? Awesome. There is also a headphone jack, a power button, and another rather curious button which really unlocks the power of this speaker system.

The Matrix button (the curious button from before) is named for the Matrix technology it uses. The Matrix technology very intuitively and efficiently takes 2 channel stereo sound and re-encodes and maps it for 6 channels. Don't ask me how it does this, but it works very well. The difference is incredible, one of the most noticeable being that the centre and rear speakers receive a signal. What you may not notice is that the bass is completely routed to the sub woofer as opposed to just being a low-end cut-off speaker. What I found intriguing was that the vocals always come out of the centre speaker, like they are supposed to!

When it comes to volume, you'd be surprised as to how well these speakers hold up and don't crackle or get noisy. I didn't hear any imperfections other than a lot of the highest frequencies getting muddied out a bit. The response on these things is 20Hz-20KHz which is average. I have very nice Creative EP-630 ear buds that have a 8Hz-26KHz response range if I remember correctly. What this means is that the lowest and highest sounds just won't come through the speakers because the drivers just can't move fast enough. For most people this isn't an issue because the most extreme sounds on either end of the spectrum are usually inaudible.

The speakers are wall mountable and the foot stands spin 180* to allow for table top standing or wall hugging. The sub woofer has feet that it stands on to allow it's large driver to billow out underneath it. On of the nicest things that I have seen is that the centre speaker actually has a lip on it to allow you to clamp it to a monitor so that the sound is properly directed to your ears. In the case of a laptop with it's keyboard where the centre speaker is supposed to go, it's a great idea.

Price points are pretty important for mid-range equipment and this one is bang on. For $50 (I know this product is end of life) the quality of materials and construction is pretty good. The inclusion of the DD2 driver system and the Matrix technology make this solution a definite winner in my mind. Although I prefer the sound of my X-530 5.1 system, which is staying at home, I have no problem recommending the X-540 5.1 speaker system for anyone looking for a cheap but mid-range surround sound solution for their office or bedroom.

I would like to note that the speakers are also hindered by my laptop's sound card. Although it can handle 5.1, 6 channel sound (it has 3x3.5mm jacks on the front that are fully flexible) it doesn't have the software to actually map 6 channel sound which is why the Matrix button is really important here. The SigmaTel audio driver that comes with the integrated Creative sound card and lackluster control console software allows you to configure 5.1 sound but whenever I move the BR and BL and Centre/Sub volume sliders nothing happens.

In conclusion, I am happy with my impulse buy and I will continue to turn to Logitech for quick peripheral fixes.

PROS:
- Matrix technology
- Easy to set up using colour coded cables and sub woofer hub
- Good response (20Hz-20KHz)
- No crackling or static at high volumes
- Excellent price point
- Centre speaker has innovative clipping design
- Ability to plug in game consoles using RCA to stereo 3.5mm
- Useful wired remote with bass and master volume

CONS:
- Cable lengths on the short side
- Response is on the weak side and is easily topped by quality ear buds
- High frequency sounds are muddied out when volume is maxed
- End of life product

SCORE: 8.5/10

Vale a pena conferir clicando aqui.

Confesso que me interessei no aparelho :D

Recently, Creative release latest driver for their SoundBlaster X-Fi for Vista and Windows XP.

http://support.creative.com/Products/Products.aspx?catid=1&catName=Sound+Blaster

Surprisingly, these new drivers really kicking. I mean it.

Previously, I curse Windows Vista because it make my SoundBlaster X-Fi Platinum seem overprice. Lack of punch and treble. However, after update my x-fi soundcard with this latest driver, immediately I could tell the different.

Entertaiment Mode. Bass and Treble working like charm. So do Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS

This one working too....but no EAX Advance HD

This mode ...hmm cant comment much. I pay for this feature but never use once.

First and foremost.... the console is back in full of its pass glory. Bass and treble sound as good as in XP. Multimedia entertainment wise, seem Vista could fight with XP :D

Secondly, there is no crackling or sound driver conflict when I switch from Entertainment to Game or Music Creation as I face with previous console.

However DirectSound EAX Advance HD, you need to depend on Creative Alchemy....sigh.

Creative, produsen multimedia player terkenal yang membuntut dengan Apple, memperkenalkan pemutar musik terbaru yang akan bersaing dengan iPod Touch, Creative ZEN X-Fi. MP3 Player ini dilengkapi dengan teknologi crystal clear clarity yang sanggup menghasilkan suara yang jernih. Keluaran musiknya sangat bagus berkat hadirnya earphone EP830. Serasa mendengar musik dari segala penjuru. Kerennya, gadget ini bisa streaming dan download konten digital dari PC via home network dengan memanfaatkan koneksi USB. Kerennya lagi, gadget ini juga dapat digunakan untuk berchatting ria via Yahoo! Messenger atau MSN Messenger. Untuk media penyimpanan, tersedia SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity). Dan untuk menampilkan gambar, X-Fi memiliki layar berukuran 2,5 inci berdaya pancar 16,7 juta warna berjenis matriks aktif.  Untuk hiburan lainnya, disediakan radio FM, image viewer, serta pengatur equalizer yang tersedia sebanyak 5 buah. Ada dua versi yang dapat dipilih, yang pertama berkapasitas 16GB dan yang satu lagi 32GB.

El ZEN X-Fi ha sido diseñado por los expertos en audio de Creative para ofrecer el placer de la música en estado puro. Bajo su elegante y brillante carcasa se esconde la tecnología Xtreme Fidelity, que restablece la nitidez de las canciones en cualquier formato de audio comprimido y eleva la calidad del sonido a un nivel superior.

Lo de arriba es la información de marketing electrónico de Creative Labs, lo siguiente no.
Creative es desde siempre el mejor fabricante de tarjetas de sonido del mercado informático, tanto que las demás tarjetas de sonido se han llamado a sí mismas, para vender más y mejor, compatibles Sound Blaster. Por eso a la hora de elegir un aparato de reproducción de audio, una tarjeta de sonido, unos auriculares, es importante tener a Creative en cuenta.

La tarjeta de sonido X-Fi (Xtreme Fidelity) de Creative ha revolucionado el sonido de los aparatos informáticos, a tal punto que las mejores placas base del mercado están incluyendo de serie un módulo X-Fi en sus placas, sustituyendo la tarjeta de sonido integrada que últimamente todos estaban incorporando.
Los fanáticos de los juegos, del cine y del buen sonido lo agradecemos.

Ahora, en la sere Zen de reproductores de Creative, aparece el sonido X-Fi. El sonido puro, la recuperación de la nitidez perdida en los comprimidos mp3.

Desde este enlace se puede ver una demo de esta pequeña joya del audio portátil.

Especificaciones

• 8 /16 / 32 GB de capacidad
• Tecnología X-Fi de Creative integrada
• Dimensiones: 55 x 83 x 12,5 mm
• Peso: 70 g
• Ranura para tarjetas SD/SDHC
• Pantalla de 2,5 pulgadas con 16,7 millones de colores
• Altavoz integrado
• Radio FM con 32 presintonías
• Autonomía:
  • 25 horas de audio; 15 horas con el altavoz (cálculo efectuado con archivos WMA de 128 k/s)
  • 5 horas de vídeo
• Formatos de audio compatibles:
  • MP3, WMA (DRM 10), AAC (M4A), WAVE, Audible
• Formatos de vídeo compatibles:
  • WMV9, MPEG4, DivX, XviD (320 x 240)
• Formato de foto compatible:
  • JPEG ( hasta 16,6 megapíxeles)
• Formato de grabación de voz: IMA ADPCM (16 kHz, mono)
• Los modelos de 16 y 32 GB también incluyen Wireless LAN para:
  Chats de texto con amigos
  Transmisión de audio inalámbrica
  Descarga de contenido

Πιο συγκεκριμένα οι νέοι drivers Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi series Driver 2.18.0004 (το αρχείο έχει την ονομασία SBXF_PCDRV_LB_2_18_0004.exe) υποστηρίζουν τα μοντέλα:

* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi

Al parecer Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) es un extraterrestre de aspecto humano que aterriza en la tierra, inmediatamente un robot gigante sale de su nave y destruye todo a su paso hasta que el lo frena. Inmediatamente lo trasladan a un hospital de la zona de donde se escapa y comienza a aprender sobre la vida de los seres humanos.

Al fin y al cabo parece ser una de esas huevadas que tiene un final incoherente... esperemos me equivoque.

les dejo dos cosas, primero el trailer de la nueva y abajo el trailer de la original de 1951.

All the while I thought it was a hard-drive problem, ( maybe something to do with cold startups...who knows about these mechanical thingies... ), but last week, I noticed that my Creative X-Fi Extreme Gamer sound card was disabled after a particularly bad number of resets (3? 4?). 1 + 1 = 3? I pulled out the blasted thing from my computer and went to the in-built soundcard on my motherboard and my computer has not hanged on me ever since ( 'ever since' defined as 3 days before this message ) . GG.

Conclusion: Creative fails. Srsly.

We here at TeenTechBlog may often come off as Mac aficionados, but I speak for myself when I say iPods suck. That is, compared to the rest of the market. For a better price, you can buy a player with a greater range of features, and most often, with a greater audio quality! So, I am happy to finally hear word from Creative about an upcoming player. Word from epiZENter.net has it that Creative has unofficially announced the Creative Zen X-Fi. The company has taken an interesting twist in this player in adding some unique features which may pan out to be positive. The X-Fi is a player that assumably will be advertised based on the premise of Creative's reknowned X-Fi audiocards, appealing to the audiophiles who want to carry their music on the go. Read on!

Features:

• Audio: MP3, WMA, AAC (unprotected), WAV, and Audible
• Video: WMA, MPEG4-SP, Divx 4/5, Xvid, and MJPEG
• Built-in X-Fi technology with two effects (Crystallizer and Expand)-- guaranteed great sound
• Wi-Fi for instant messaging (Yahoo! and Windows Live!) and wireless streaming-- admittedly not as useful as the full-blown web browser found on the iPod touch, but better than the more comparable iPod classic, which has no internet capability at all
• FM Tuner and Voice Recorder-- a feature glaringly missing in the iPod product line
• Built-in Speaker-- again iPod decided to skip this one, unfortunately
• SD Support--Far more reliable than the the iPod's hard drive. There is built in memory too, but they don't know how much yet. It can be assumed that it will come in 8, 16 and 32 GB sizes as the same has been true for it's Creative's other Zen player
• Premium quality earphones included (EP-830)-- it may not seem like a big deal, but how many broken sets of junky iPod earphones to you have lying around?
• Battery Life: 36 hours for Audio, 5 hours for Video (May differ depending on X-Fi)-- pretty similar to the 80 gb iPod classic, which has a slightly lower 30 and then also 5, respectively.

If you are sick of the constant grievences that are often associated with buying an iPod such as my self (countless batteries and hard-drives have malfunctioned), please investigate the opposition! If you need help, heck, send us an email and we will try to help you to find the best deal possible!

More (epiZENter.net)

I have a 8800GT, 4GB RAM, Vista 64 which I hear is a bad combination for an X-FI but surely by now Creative should had fixed all these issues.  I'm really tempted to buy another soundcard but I'm not giving up without a fight!

Should you invest couple of hundreds of ringgit to a dedicated sound card? Well, the answer lies to this question : "Should you invest several hundreds ringgit for a dedicated graphic card?". The answer may be yes or no, depend on the user.

Most gamers only care about their frame rate. Thus, state of the art 3D Card is a must. At least GeForce9600 GT at this moment (which you can afford roughly RM500 per card). Compare to intergrated vga chipset, yes, the different like a Perodua Kancil Vs Lamborgini Gallardo. Too obvious. Some games which cant be played before, now can be played at max resolution with all the bell and whistle.

But for soundcard.....errr

Ask your ears and ask your speaker or headphone. Do you really care what your ears listen too. Do you really care a deep base 'thud' instead of 'thong'. Do you really care to have total control to fine tune your sound output. And do you really have a good pair of speaker or headphone.

What ever the answer is, your game, MP3, video or even anime, will run find with the cheapest intergrated soundchip. Don't worry. But the sound will be flat and mediocre. Deep solid low frequency base and crystal clear high frequency treble and chiming sound...can be forget about.

As for me, my personal experience, I can't run away from intergrated soundchip. Tell me what motherboard doesnt provide intregrated soundchip nowadays (even the high end one). So, I could always compare the sound output from those cheap chip vs Creative SoundBlaster Live Player, Creative SoundBlaster Audigy and the Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Platinum. Both cost me RM220, RM 280 and RM720 (at their prime time).

I use a pair of Grardo SR80, Philips SHP2700 and Zalman 5.0 Headphone as the transducer to translate sound from electrical signal to soundwave. Grado can, absolutely the best among 3, no doubt. But, the other headphone is used to simulate real world user who use sub RM200 headphone for their own listening experience. As for the speaker, I need to trust not so transparent Altec Lansing AM4100 4.1 speaker.

And I could say the different is really obvious. You have to listen to believe. There is no point you buy a good, or even an expensive set of speaker but using the intregrated audio chip. Your speaker or headphone only able to produce the sound as good as what signal it get from the chip. With intergrated audiochip, my headphone or speaker (espcially the very transparent grado headphone), reveal the sound was too flat, mix up and a lot of instrument disappear. The bass sound like 'tong' instead of solid 'thud'. The treble, almost not exist. The voice, not so clear. It like i listen to FM Radio instead of CD player.

And for gaming experience, SoundBlaster X-Fi (note, windows xp only), really show the true talent of latest game sound technology. You could sense where the bullet is coming, sometime I even feel the bullet cross my head, actual location of my enemy (their foodstep or sound of their weapon reloading), or other car engine noise which try to overtake me, surround ambient sound which reflect to my character movement, EAX 5.0 HD and ground shattering explosive sound effect. It's not about EAX or reverb effect only, but sound placement which integrated audiochip lack of processing power to process it in real time, no matter what claim they made (5.1, 7.1...heh my arse). Yeah...and this cheap soundchipset will tax your CPU too...as it lack dedicated sound processor.

With SoundBlaster X-Fi too, I could tweak the sound on hardware level. The equalizer, Crystalizer, 24 bit DAC engine, sounds module and all the effect will appear in real time. There is no silly software DSP to play with...well I never ever like DSP software to enhance my music experience coz it sound so fake. X-Fi could handle sound tweaking as good as you adjust your expensive car stereo cross fader, equalizer etc.

Watching DVD with DTS never feel so good with X-Fi. Once you setup a proper set of speaker, let say 5.1 speaker, couple with X-Fi, you will never ever want to watch movie using those cheap intergrated soundchip. The realism and aura of sound is so different. I could feel every single angle of sound effect using x-fi, and expect flat and boring stereo x2 sound from integrated chip.

And trust me, even using the Philips SHP2700 (cost me RM85) married with X-Fi will reveal the true power of dedicated sound card. Imagine if you use RM1000 headphone or RM 200 set of speaker. You will be stunned.

Listen to believe...don't read spec..but listen for yourself.

PS : However, if you use RM20 speaker of headphone, save yourself from being fool. There is no need a dedicated and expensive soundcard if your speaker is not able to produce all the sound tone.

Η κάρτα υποστηρίζει τις τεχνολογίες X-Fi Crystalizer, CMSS-3D και EAX HD, παρέχει 6κάναλο (5.1) ήχο και έχει τρεις εξόδους 3,5mm, μία 3,5mm για είσοδο ήχου και ακόμη μια ίδιου τύπου για μικρόφωνο.

Περισσότερα »

Las distintas tarjetas soportadas en esta nueva beta son:

• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty®
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

Algunas caracteristicas son:

• ALSA PCM reproducción
• ALSA Record
• ALSA Mixer

Y pendiente de mejorar:

• S / PDIF passthrough no se admite en esta beta.
• Los módulos de E / S no son compatibles con esta nueva liberación.
• Aplicaciones del CD original de Sound Blaster X-Fi no funcionarán con este controlador.

Descarga: enlace

Fuente: linux.adslzone.net

Plejer koji je bio poznat pod nazivom ZEN Share biće osnova novog rešenja koje će, da bi se naglasak stavio na kvalitet zvuka, nositi naziv ZEN X-FI. I dok će Wi-Fi konektivnost i dalje biti jedna od njegovih osnovnih karakteristika budući plejer će najverovatnije koristiti Crystalizer, koji se koristi i u drugim Creative uređajima za automatsko poboljšavanje kvaliteta zvuka, i popunjavanje zvučnih detalja koji se izgube prilikom kompresovanja.

Ako znamo da Pod i Zune praktično vladaju tržištem prenosnim medija plejera, ova vest je davanje na znanje da se Creative ne da oterati sa vrha tako lako. Creative sprema se da uzvrati udarac kroz novi model ZEN X-FI parirajući po kvalitetu iPod-u i Zune. Još ako bude po povoljnijoj ceni i bude plasiran u pravo vreme nema sumnje da će ZEN X-FI postati ljubimac mnogo zadovoljnih korisnika.