Creative Labs USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Audio System SB1090 by Creative
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Digital camera reviews of Creative Labs USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Audio System SB1090
Digital camera Review: Creative Labs USB X-Fi solves laptop problem
Summary: 4 Stars
I just bought my Dell XPS M1330 laptop and was about to try to record some old cassette tapes and burn them to CD. Should be easy, right? Well, it turns out that the current Dell laptops (and many others, it seems) will not allow you to listen to what you're recording while you record it. Dell support said it's to prevent feedback when people record using a microphone. In earlier laptops there were audio settings that allowed you to un-mute the recording input if you wanted, but not any more. Dell recommended a Creative Labs PC express slot product to solve the problem. I contacted Creative Labs and they let me know that the express slot solution would not do what I wanted. The said I wanted something with "full duplex" capability. They recommended the USB X-Fi.
The best price I found was on Amazon and I love having the free 2-day shipping with my Prime membership! The box arrived, I plugged in the USB cable, installed the software and I was up and running. I plugged in the cable from my cassette machine into the line/mic in, plugged my speakers into the line out of the USB X-Fi, adjusted my recording and playback settings in Windows Vista, and started recording. I was able to hear the tape while I was recording. Problem solved.
But wait, there's more. I have a Rhapsody music services subscription. When I was done recording, I launched Rhapsody and started listening through the X-Fi. About every 30 seconds there was a little glitch in the music. Sometimes just barely noticeable, but definitely there. And very annoying! I'll spare you the long details of my support interactions with Rhapsody and Creative. The short story is that the X-Fi works great with Windows Media Player, Audacity and other audio applications. Rhapsody works great through the on board audio on the Dell laptop. So Rhapsody says it's a problem with the X-Fi, and Creative says it's a problem with Rhapsody. I can understand their positions, but it leaves me with a problem that Rhapsody, Creative and I can't figure out. (I should add that Creative's support for this problem was very good. I'm a technician and know how hard such problems can be to solve, and they went the extra mile.)
As to other features of the X-Fi, I can't offer too much. I haven't used any of the sound effects that they offer. Nor have I hooked up the 5.1 speakers. I tried the optical out into my Mini-Disk player, and it worked fine. The box itself is pretty cool looking, and it's nice to have the big volume control knob. Also, you can push down on the knob to mute the sound.
I'd give the thing a 5 star rating if only I could get it to work with Rhapsody. (I'd give Rhapsody 5 stars if it would work with the X-Fi!) But because of the glitch I have to give them both 4 stars.
Digital camera Review: Creative is the best
Summary: 5 Stars
Creative is the best with the new X-FI tech....After i bought this product, i want to buy any zen with the X-Fi technology to enjoy it on the go.Digital camera Review: Creative labs - good solution for laptop/stereo hookup
Summary: 4 Stars
As a laptop user, I don't have a built in sound card, but wanted better quality from connecting with my 7 speaker stereo system. Plugging into the headphone jack was poor quality and eventually started wearing out the jack. This setup sounds much better, isn't damaging any computer ports, and has some nice software to boot.Digital camera Review: Decent -- but slows your PC down
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this creative x-fi more than a month back. The installations went smooth and it started working well on my Laptop, which is nearly 4 years old. My laptop runs on Windows XP and has 1 GB ram on it.
First, the pros. The sound is much better than the in built sound card. The x-fi now drives my 5.1 speakers, and the effects are amazing. Even for mp3 songs, the sound quality has a marked improvement. The sound feels much more rich and full. The volume dial and quick mute are quite handy as well.
The main problem that I am facing with this is that whenever I am seeing a DVD, or streaming from a website which has high quality sound, my PC gives up after around an hour. The whole PC goes unbelievably slow, and I have to stop watching the DVD. I cannot understand why a separate sound processor should slow my PC sound. Isn't the whole point to take the sound processing load away from my PC? The PC needs a restart, preferably after unhooking the x-fi from the USB port.
This might also be because my laptop is kind of old, so people with old machines -- think twice before purchasing the x-fi. Basically, when the sound is too rich, especially from a DVD, there is too much load on the PC and it goes slow. The sound is awesome while it lasts. So people, weigh your priorities and make your choice.
Digital camera Review: Decent external sound blaster
Summary: 5 Stars
I have no experience with other external sound cards but other Creative products. Both sound cards did not disappointed my expectations.
Remember that you have to plug this card to your computer before installation of drivers.