Upgraded from an Audigy 2 to an X-Fi Elite Pro

dirtydog · 11-08-2009, 13:04

Or at least I say upgraded

I've had my trusty Audigy 2 for must be five years now. I tried an X-Fi Xtreme Music a few years ago but ended up selling it and keeping the Audigy.

Recently I got some better speakers so thought I'd give an X-Fi another chance, reasoning that I may hear more of a difference on better speakers. This time I picked up a cheap Elite Pro, which if you don't know have a better quality DAC and opamps than the rest of the X-Fi range. The same components are found on some very well regarded audiophile grade sound cards. So it had to blow the Audigy 2 away right?

Well no, not to my ears. It sounds great, of course, as you would expect £200 worth of sound card to do. But after much listening, and some swapping back and forth between it and my Audigy, it just doesn't sound any better. In fact for my money (and ears) it sounds worse. Yes it has the edge on clarity of sound, you can tell it is a bit clearer than the Audigy, but there is very, very little in it. But 'clearer' doesn't necessarily equal better. To me the sound of the Audigy is warmer and also there are various EAX advanced EQ options which the X-Fi drivers inexplicably omit, even in Windows XP. I use the 'Techno' EAX advanced EQ setting with the Audigy and it gives a fuller and richer sound than anything I was able to reproduce with the X-Fi, regardless of what settings I used.

Other issues with the X-Fi were that the front speakers sometimes chose to be silent and sound would only come out of the rear speakers, eg. Windows sounds or when watching streaming video in a web browser (eg. BBC news). This never happened with the Audigy.

Also the X-Fi sometimes gave out the squeal of death. You'd be listening to a tune and then... squeaaaaaallll...... with the only way to fix it being a reboot. And I'm using a proven Intel chipset, not nvidia or Via.

Reading reviews, both professional and user, most people rave about the X-Fi but there is the odd dissenting voice who say that it is little or no different to the Audigy range. I think I have to add my voice to their number

11-08-2009, 13:04	#1
dirtydog Long Island Iced Tea Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 221	Upgraded from an Audigy 2 to an X-Fi Elite Pro Or at least I say upgraded I've had my trusty Audigy 2 for must be five years now. I tried an X-Fi Xtreme Music a few years ago but ended up selling it and keeping the Audigy. Recently I got some better speakers so thought I'd give an X-Fi another chance, reasoning that I may hear more of a difference on better speakers. This time I picked up a cheap Elite Pro, which if you don't know have a better quality DAC and opamps than the rest of the X-Fi range. The same components are found on some very well regarded audiophile grade sound cards. So it had to blow the Audigy 2 away right? Well no, not to my ears. It sounds great, of course, as you would expect £200 worth of sound card to do. But after much listening, and some swapping back and forth between it and my Audigy, it just doesn't sound any better. In fact for my money (and ears) it sounds worse. Yes it has the edge on clarity of sound, you can tell it is a bit clearer than the Audigy, but there is very, very little in it. But 'clearer' doesn't necessarily equal better. To me the sound of the Audigy is warmer and also there are various EAX advanced EQ options which the X-Fi drivers inexplicably omit, even in Windows XP. I use the 'Techno' EAX advanced EQ setting with the Audigy and it gives a fuller and richer sound than anything I was able to reproduce with the X-Fi, regardless of what settings I used. Other issues with the X-Fi were that the front speakers sometimes chose to be silent and sound would only come out of the rear speakers, eg. Windows sounds or when watching streaming video in a web browser (eg. BBC news). This never happened with the Audigy. Also the X-Fi sometimes gave out the squeal of death. You'd be listening to a tune and then... squeaaaaaallll...... with the only way to fix it being a reboot. And I'm using a proven Intel chipset, not nvidia or Via. Reading reviews, both professional and user, most people rave about the X-Fi but there is the odd dissenting voice who say that it is little or no different to the Audigy range. I think I have to add my voice to their number