SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro - X-Fi and the Elite Pro: SoundBlaster's Return to Greatness

SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro

The major aspect of the SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro that separates it in price from the cheaper cards in the X-Fi series is sound quality. The utmost care was taken in selecting components and building a very clean and clear sounding product. To that end, 4 Cirrus Logic CS4398 stereo 24bit / 192kHz DACs are used on the board.

The CS4398 DAC is capable of 120dB dynamic range, -107dB THD+N, and even direct decode of SACD data. An NJM2114 and 3 NJM2068 dual LNAs provide good gain characteristics with very little distortion and noise. High quality components are also used in the breakout box with more Cirrus Logic components and a few Burr Brown parts. It all comes together to bring excellent sound to the listener. When we get our hands on one of the more mainstream SoundBlaster X-Fi parts, we will be able to talk better about the differences in components used and what we can expect on the quality front.

The SB X-Fi Elite Pro also has 64MB of SDRAM onboard. This block of memory, which Creative calls X-RAM (which is a marketing only play on X-Fi and not a technology reference), enables games to store sound data out of main memory and on the sound card. Not only does this free up system memory, but it can allow developers to store frequently used audio uncompressed. This could potentially free up CPU resources that would otherwise be used to decompress audio.

Supporting 127 hardware accelerated voices and the latest in Creative's EAX Advanced HD spec, all the features mentioned that are part of X-Fi, including one heck of a hefty price tag, make the SoundBlaster X- Fi Elite Pro. But is the latest (and greatest) from Creative worth the $400 premium? The best way to find out is to listen. And listen, we did.

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