 it is OK |
| Review Date: March 15, 2010 |
| Reviewer: sena kiyoka, |
I bought this product since my computer's on board sound microchip was broken.
The quality is OK. I am not a specialist of music, so it is OK for this price.
I hope this product have little more volume. it bit quiet.
I personally I do not like to use effect, but I think it is good for the people who like adding effects.
some of people said it has hiss noise but I do not hear hiss. It must be depend on the location of the product or computer.
So far it is OK |
So good I got another
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| Review Date: February 22, 2010 |
| Reviewer: nbriza, Texas |
| Works great n my laptop that I bought another one to use in my garage/man cave system. So much better than trying to connect the headphone out to a stereo system. |
Problem Solver
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| Review Date: February 21, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Viz, |
| Had a couple of Dells that were upgraded to Windows 7 for the kids, and of course the sound cards didn't work. Bought this USB external to plug in the speakers/sub woofer and boom, music. It has a couple of cool features to modify the sound, and overall it is excellent. Solved a problem for little money. I also like the fact I can now plug this into any computer, and have sound ( you still need your speaker system). Took a little trip, brought the macbook pro, the Creative Labs and small speakers, and we had music!!! |
Dysfunctional on Arrival
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| Review Date: February 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Paul Dinu, |
| Beautifully packaged - Easy to use - Didn't DO much - Overpriced for what it did - My particular sample cut in and out (internal short? poor quality control for sure.) |
better than on-board sound, but X-Fi effects are lo-fi
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| Review Date: February 3, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Music Fan Jeff, San Francisco, CA United States |
I purchased the Xmod to use at work since I cannot install any internal hardware or software on that pc and have been stuck living with the very mediocre sound provided by the on-board sound (not strong enough to drive some earbuds, buzzing sound with some speakers).
I have used the Xmod with two different sets of earbuds, the Etymotic 6i and the Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 Pro. I have also listened with a very inexpensive pair of computer speakers that doesn't even have a brand on them.
With either set of earbuds as well as the speakers, the Xmod provides much better sound: more clear, ability to play louder, fuller bass, and clearer treble. That's the good news.
The bad: Both of the X-Fi effects substantially deteriorate the sound quality when listening to the UE earbuds (recently available for a steal here at Amazon but usually priced over $300). The CMSS effect adds a lot of distortion and phase errors. The Crystalizer effect has an impact similar to jacking up the bass and treble controls on a stereo (i.e., an old-fashioned loudness switch). Given that the UE already has ample bass and, in fact, has quite a nicely balanced sound, the Crystalizer merely serves to muck up the sound quality. The results with the Etymotic earbuds (which normally sell for less than 1/3 what the EU's cost) were more mixed. I still preferred the sound with both controls off, though the Crystalizer did add some bass region warmth that's missing from the typically lean sounding Etys. With the cheap speakers, I didn't much mind the impact of either effect but I cannot say that I thought they offered much of an improvement, either -- just a change in the sound.
My opinion, based on this limited amount of experience with different ancillary equipment, leads me to believe that the people who will be most pleased by the effects included in the Xmod will be those using very inexpensive speakers and/or headphones.
The Xmod is in no way worth the suggested retail price. It's currently available from many Marketplace sellers for approximately $30, which seems a little expensive but isn't too out of line for a device that's this easy to install and use and that does, at least, provide an improvement in the most basic function it serves.
Ps. The manufacturer's claims for this device are simply ludicrous. You cannnot take a lossily compressed mp3 file and add back what's missing to even approach much less exceed the sound that existed in the original studio. I guess Creative Labs is VERY creative with their marketing hype. |
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Creative Labs Xmod USB Sound Card for PC & Mac
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