Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi 5.1 Surround Pro

Product Manufacturer's Web Site: here
Price (as bought): SAR 230 ( USD 62)

Why: I bought this card originally 2 years ago, after I bought a monster set (Logitech Z-5500), and wanted to see its surround prowess in action! Results were great!

Setups tested with:

1. Logitech Z-5500 5.1 surround speakers, source: Lenovo 3000 N200 laptop, playing various high quality media (FLAC music, HD movies with Dolby PLII & DTS tracks)
2. Creative HQ-1400
3. Sennheiser HD 201
4. Sennheiser HD 598

Pros:

1. Great sound! A definite improvement over stock Realtek built-in chipsets. Very loud, very clear.
2. Almost every sound-related port that you will need unless you are serious about making music & want to record what you play and so.
3. The volume control knob looks really cool.

Cons:

1. The drivers were sh!t. Until recently it was impossible for me to install the bundled drivers & software under Windows 7, both 32-bit & 64-bit versions. This has been recently fixed, though.
2. The bundled software "Wave Studio" is a branded, lower-specs Audacity! I really can't see the value at all.

Verdict:

If you have a PC, you definitely want to checkout Asus Xonar sound cards family; they have a real great reputation. If you have to be mobile though, you might want to get the smaller alternative (Sound Blaster X-Fi Go) if your needs are limited headphones. Otherwise, this is not a bad deal. (NOV 2014) I take that back! This is a great addition, and it is definitely superior to smaller, non-24-bit alternatives.



See Also:

• Guide on selecting Headphones for Beginners
• RCA HP817 Earbuds
• Philips SHE8500 Earbuds
• Philips SHE9600 Earbuds
• Creative HQ-1400 Headphones 
• Sennheiser MX 685 Sports Earbuds
• Sennheiser HD 598 Headphones
• Sennheiser HD 205 II Headphones