When you hear the name "Creative Labs" you automatically think "Mac," right? Yeah, sure you do. Well Creative wants to change that and they are so confident they can win your hearts and minds that they've not only started shipping a new X-fi audio adapter that requires no drivers, works right out of the box with your Mac and plugs into any available powered USB port - but they're laying out some serious cash for a booth at the upcoming Macworld, too. And just look at that box shot on the right it just screams "I love Mac users! HONESTLY I DO!!!" I think they really mean it. If it weren't for that huge knob in the middle, I'd have easily mistaken that for a 1st gen iPod shuffle.The audio adapter in question is called the Xmod and it makes some pretty heady claims that have me a bit skeptical, but I will reserve judgment until we actually get our hands on one. The Xmod is true plug and play and it is Mac compatible out of the box, provided you have an available USB port (and I am assuming it has to be a powered port, so keyboard hubs are out) and are running Mac OS X 10.4 or later. It claims to enhance the audio quality of your MP3s to "beyond studio quality," making audio sound more vibrant and replacing what's naturally lost during the MP3 compression process. It also claims to give you surround sound on any stero speaker or headphones connected to your Mac. It accomplishes all this using an audio standard that they call X-fi Xtreme Fidelity, which you can read more about here.
I am 100% in favor of having the best audio quality possible, whenever possible, although I honestly don't play a lot of music directly from my Mac. Still, I can't help but be skeptical about how well an $80 USB device can accomplish these lofty goals. The good news is that we here at TUAW HQ will have our hands on one soon so we can see for ourselves just how well the Xmod lives up to the Xmarketing. We'll keep you posted!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-02-2006 @ 10:16AM
Yann said...
this is just funny...what does "beyond studio quality" mean? how does one measure that? and how on earth do you add information to an mp3 file to reach that point? I imagine that it works through some series of EQ and spatialization algorithms that create the illusion of a "fuller" sound, further mucking up the original mix. this is just savvy advertising taking advantage of an uneducated market segment...audio engineers the world over are shaking their heads.
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12-02-2006 @ 10:19AM
gwm said...
Well, if they really have put some serious quality audio processing into this product, it could be of acknowlagable value to at least some of the Mac demographic. Hardware processors can indeed contribute a whole lot towards dramatically enhancing the quality of compressed music. Typically however, those processors can cost upwards of a thousand dollars or so. It's conceivable that, by perhaps forfeiting considerable flexibility in processing options, Creative may well have been able to build a highly functional processor that has a limited range of processing options .. while nonetheless performing quite effectively.
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12-02-2006 @ 10:55AM
Wheels said...
Gimmick!
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12-02-2006 @ 11:16AM
Joseph Crawford said...
I had the X-FI Platinum setup on my PC before i switched to the Mac and was a bit reluctant knowing i could not use the card in a mac. The card i have in the PC did increase the sound quality quite a bit. However can they accomplish the same over USB and for $80? I have no clue.
I would really like to know if the audio output from this device is 16 or 24bit. I will have to read some reviews of this device and if it really is as good as they are saying i will have to snag one.
Thanks for letting me know about this cool product.
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12-02-2006 @ 11:18AM
jeep said...
It sounded like a gimmick to me too. I've absolutely no idea what all that DSP whizzbangery does. But the reviews were consistently excellent and it was on offer for $54 at Newegg.
I've had it a few days now and the results are absolutely amazing: it makes a huge difference to the sound quality of my iTunes library (a Mac Mini plugged into a cheapish Sony home theater system). Everything is clearer, sharper, fuller, richer. It's obviously not "beyond studio quality", but it sure as hell sounds off the scale better than any other EQ fiddling I've ever managed.
My wife is the most techno-sceptical person you can imagine, but when she came home the other day she said "is that empty box anything to do with why the music sounds so much better?"
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12-02-2006 @ 12:02PM
Andrew said...
Being a big fan of music and audio, I personally do not EQ, compress, or "enhance" music that someone else has mixed. They made it that way for a reason. I understand that this fixes MP3 artifacting, but you CANNOT make up for what is lost through compression by any means. Information is lost...period. As Yann said, in the end you're just "mucking" it all up.
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12-02-2006 @ 12:09PM
sjmills said...
Yes, it's a truly amazing product that can restore the original bits that lossy compression has squeezed out. It's like it can see into the past, and then one-up the studio engineer. Spooky! I'm skeert.
Yeah, I'm guessing it's something like a BBE Sonic Maximizer on a stick, or like Yann said, some other spatial faker doohickey.
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12-02-2006 @ 12:45PM
Jiamin said...
Yeah, i received one on Wednesday, and besides configuring system preferences to use the xmod as the sound output device, it was true plug and play.
the sounds amazing for the price you pay for the product! get it
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12-02-2006 @ 12:46PM
Quangdiggity said...
I think the bottom line is this:
Does it sound better to you? Isn't that what it's all about: enjoyment? Is that difference worth the cost?
The audio purists can have their argument, but really, if you are an audio purist then you should not be using MP3 or any lossy compression. Most definitely, you should not be using your Mac's onboard DAC.
With a product like this, you should really be allowed a 30-day risk free trial.
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12-02-2006 @ 1:55PM
bingo said...
Bet it doesn't work with V1 Soundsticks, right...?
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12-02-2006 @ 2:46PM
Jules Stoop said...
The pseudo 3d-thing sounds really annoying. The other - loudness type - effect sounds pretty decent. At least, as far as I could hear from the examples on their site.
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12-02-2006 @ 3:05PM
Sham The Sam said...
Anyone know if this would work with the Airport Express?
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12-02-2006 @ 3:45PM
jeep said...
You can send sound through the USB port or the line in port, so you should be able to use it with anything inc the Airport Express. If you use the line in, you need a separate power adapter.
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12-02-2006 @ 3:57PM
Jack said...
Anyone know how the sound from this thing compares with the effects of iWOW, Sound Logic, or OSS3D? Is it just doing the same sorts of things in hardware that they do in software?
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12-02-2006 @ 4:06PM
cheetos said...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=290245
nice, its 53$ there, with free shipping.
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12-02-2006 @ 4:10PM
Piotr Malecki said...
This isn't the first Creative product that is truly "plug-and-play".
I have a Creative USB Soundblaster MP3+ (bought it to give my iBook a line in) and all I have to do is connect it and change the default audio output in System Preferences (no driver install, no other configuration and no reboot). It gives me 1/8", RCA and optical digital inputs/outputs. (The Windows based software that gives features like "bass-boost" doesn't work but I don't really care about those features anyway.)
Although it is good that Creative is making their software for both Windows/Mac. - I wonder if this was a condition of Apple giving them the $100M settlement.
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12-02-2006 @ 5:02PM
vega said...
Bull5hlt!!!
Studio standard = 24 bit / 48 or 96 k being played on $3000+ speakers
CD standard = 16 bit / 44.1 k
Mobile standard = for me, AAC 192kbps stereo with VBR which is not even 16bit/44.1
What they have is a crappy EQ built into a Chinese DSP chip. I doubt they even use Bur Brown. If you want cheap, get a BBE. At least they have been doing it awhile and it will sound better on rock stuff. Creative makes crap.
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12-02-2006 @ 6:06PM
Kaneda said...
I'm testing this device. It's plug and play but needs fine tuning in speaker configuration to work correctly.
The sound with music i better but no breathtakin.
Very good news instead for movies with a spacialisation of sound with simulated 5.1 surround sound
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12-03-2006 @ 9:15AM
Galley said...
1. I use the GigaWorks T20 speakers pictured on the Xmod packaging with my MacBook. They are pretty much the greatest speakers ever made.
2. I also had an X-Fi card with my PC. Did it make a difference? Yes.
3. With that being said, the best way to enhance your music is the Volume Logic plug-in for iTunes (at least once the iTunes 7-compatible version is out). Think of it as "real-time remastering" which is well worth $20.
http://www.volumelogic.com/
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