What is X-Fi?

X-Fi is the new audio standard from Creative that makes your music and movies way better. This is made possible using two key X-Fi audio enhancement technologies, namely, X-Fi Crystalizer™ and X-Fi CMSS®-3D.

In simple terms, you could describe them very simply like this:
X-Fi Crystalizer enhances the audio quality, making it sound better
X-Fi CMSS-3D converts audio to surround, making it sound more natural and realistic

Studio Quality is lost when a recording is compressed to stereo CD audio format. Audio quality is further compromised when CD audio is compressed to MP3 or iTunes® music formats, resulting in poor audio fidelity and loss of life to the music.

Most downloadable music and movies are compressed; making downloads fast, and storage and portability convenient. The downside is that the quality and fullness of your songs and soundtracks are diminished.

X-Fi Technology is able to restore the details and vibrancy lost during CD and MP3 compression and lets you enjoy all your music and movies in surround sound on virtually all speaker systems or headphones.

What is X-Fi Crystalizer™?

X-Fi Crystalizer instantaneously transforms your CDs and MP3s to crystal clear sound X-Fi Crystalizer™ analyses your audio file, identifies key elements that were lost or damaged during the compression process, and re-masters them using selective audio enhancement.

The mid-range and high-end (treble) becomes cleaner and clearer. Low-end (bass) frequencies are richer and more defined.

What is X-Fi CMSS®-3D?

X-Fi CMSS®-3D expands your stereo MP3s and digital movies into surround sound through your speakers or headphones.

Using "Centre Channel Dialog Extraction" technology, (voice extraction in plain English!) X-Fi CMSS®-3D redirects centre-panned sounds into the front centre speaker without altering the stereo balance. This puts you right at the heart of the music, as if you were listening to the band on stage.

By using "Ambience Extraction" technology, X-Fi CMSS®-3D identifies ambient sound components in the original recordings (e.g. room reverb or applause) and channels these sounds to the respective speakers, creating a natural and more realistic sound.

What's the difference between CMSS-3D for Speakers and Headphones?

X-Fi CMSS-3D functions differently depending on whether you are listening on headphones or speakers. No change is necessary, as the effect is different for the headphone and line out.

X-Fi CMSS-3D Headphone
With stereo content, it moves the sound out of your ears, away from your head into the space around you, re-establishing the soundstage and creating a natural listening position that is more like listening to normal stereo speakers or a live concert.
With multichannel DTS and Dolby movie soundtracks, it accurately repositions the surround sounds around your head using 9 virtual speaker positions for unbelievable surround sound over regular headphones.
X-Fi CMSS-3D Virtual converts stereo or multi-channel content into virtual surround sound over 2 stereo speakers

Why do I need X-Fi?

With the dramatic increase in the popularity of compressed music (MP3, WMA, AAC) and movie formats (MPEG, DIVX), the quality of audio is being sacrificed for portability and convenience of downloadability. Once you compress your audio, you have permanently damaged it by literally throwing away parts that you might not notice in a noisy environment or on low quality earphones. This is most apparent when you play the original CD and the MP3 your created from it side by side through your hi-fi, you notice a lack of definition in the bass response, reduced clarity in the high end/treble and a muddying of the midrange. These parts are gone forever and because you generally don't have access to the original music, the only way to bring them back to as close as possible to the original quality is to use X-Fi.

Is X-Fi compatible with Apple Computers?

The Xmod works with PC & Mac. The Xmod is a plug-and-play USB device that transforms any audio output to X-Fi surround sound. There are no drivers and no installations required.

Why is it that my computer does not detect Xmod when I plug it into my Mac/PC?

Most of the time, Xmod would be detected as a default. However if it is not, please follow the steps below.

[Attention Mac Users - Read this First!]
After you connect Creative Xmod to a USB port on your Mac®:

Close all existing applications.
From the Apple Menu, select System Preferences.
Under Hardware, select Sound.
Click Output and select Creative Xmod from the list of available devices.
Click Input and select Creative Xmod from the list of available devices.
Close the Sound dialog box.

Connect speakers or earphones as described in your Creative Xmod User's Guide to enjoy the X-Fi™ experience!

[Attention PC Users - Read this First!]
After you have connected Xmod to your computer, you may need to set Xmod as your computer's default playback and recording device.

Make sure your Xmod is connected to your computer, as described in the printed User's Guide.
Click Start -> Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices. The Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog box appears.
Click the Audio tabbed page.
In the Sound Playback section, select Xmod as the default device.
In the Sound Recording section, select Xmod as the default device.
Click the Apply button to save these settings.

Connect speakers or earphones as described in your Creative Xmod User's Guide to enjoy the X-Fi™ experience!

Is Xmod a digital sound processor?

Yes, Xmod is a sound processor that utilises advanced X-Fi algorithms to enhance your MP3 and other forms of digital audio.

Are there any competing sound processors on the market?

No, there are no other rivals on the market that can match Xmod's capabilities - small, compact, and a driverless platform. This is essentially Creative's patented X-Fi technology. It remains unrivalled.

But how does X-Fi technology compare to formats like lossless AAC -which claim to have virtual studio-grade sound quality?

"Lossless MP3" is described as a data compression algorithm that retains all the information, allowing it to be recovered perfectly by decompression.

In other words, lossless MP3 is at best only CD-quality sound, and it does not give you any form of surround sound technology. X-Fi technology gives you surround sound and re-masters details that were lost during compression.

What is the future of X-Fi?

There will be X-Fi enabled devices on the market - for example, a X-Fi docking module that works with the Zen player.

There are plans to develop products to fit your lifestyle. For example, X-Fi will soon be incorporated into your TV sets, set-top boxes, headphone sets, MP3 players and stereo speakers.