Conclusion

With its price tag of around £130, it’s not really worth it in my opinion. A superior X-Fi card goes for £100 direct from Creative. The lack of EAX is a major downfall, and the poor bass capabilities can completely ruin a music track. The quiet max volume will also be a bad sign to any serious gamer or music lover. I’m far from a Creative fan boy, but this card simply isn’t as good.

The card seems to only be designed for the Barracuda headset, rather than the majority of computer user’s hardware. The HD-DAI adapter seems tacked on, rather than being added for additional usage with their headset. The HD-DAI is useful for Barracuda headset owners, and a minor annoyance to everyone else.

This seems like just a sound card, not something ready for gamers. Funky looking GUI and proprietary connectivity fail to disguise the less-than-perfect audio processing beneath. Unlike the X-Fi there is nothing that really strikes me as worth the fairly hefty price tag.

While the card is certainly better than most on-board audio solutions, it’s not yet ready to take Creative's superior and less expensive throne.

I'd like to thank Meroncourt for providing us with the sound card.

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