RSSNew Creative sound systems promise to compensate for poor MP3 quality
By Michael Hatamoto | Published July 14, 2008, 5:12 PM
Creative introduced two new consumer-grade media players that claim to be capable of identifying different parts of an MP3 track that have lower sound quality, and remastering them to restore sound quality as much as possible.
The Creative Zen X-Fi and Zen X-Fi with Wi-Fi both offer a 2.5-in. TFT display, built-in FM radio, built-in microphone, a video converter, and SD card expansion slot for additional storage. All of the devices measure 83mm x 55mm x 12.8mm and weigh in at 69 grams.
Most notably, the new Zen X-Fi ships with X-Fi Crystalizer, a new music standard created by Creative that uses the X-Fi Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS-3D to convert audio at the best quality available when transferring it from the PC to a Zen X-Fi. Traditionally, audio ripped to be put on a CD loses sound quality, then compressing and ripping music from a CD to a PC also makes sound quality diminish.
Some audio enthusiasts are not fully convinced of the overall effectiveness of the X-Fi Crystalizer and CMSS-3D. Many of these complaints are centered around tracks that feature low frequency sound, saying the bass quality isn't good with speakers or headphones. Another common complaint is that Crystalizer only partially helps clear up poorly ripped music files, while on the other end of the scale, may be useless for songs that only have partial sound loss.
After listening to the Crystalizer for myself at a local Fry's Electronics store, I decided the difference in sound quality in higher-end speakers was not noticeable. Its effectiveness with cheaper speakers is slightly noticeable, but still isn't worth the hassle of installing and setting up the Crystalizer.
The CMSS-3D technology will then ensure all music or video played through the Zen X-Fi's built-in speakers is played with the clearest audio and video. But as with the other Creative products, most computer users are unlikely to notice a difference.
The Zen X-Fi with Wi-Fi also allows users to stream files wirelessly via instant messaging using either Microsoft Windows Live! Messenger or Yahoo Messenger.
Rumors about a new Creative Wi-Fi-enabled device last week on enthusiast forums, though Creative remained quiet about any new product announcements.
The Zen X-Fi 8 GB without Wi-Fi support will be available before the end of July for $149.99. The Zen X-Fi 16 GB with Wi-Fi costs $199.99, with the 32 GB model selling for $299.99. Both of those models are available immediately.
Was this thing initially designed to be a cell phone? Then may be the XFi stuff could improve voice and ringtone. But may be market deadline has rushed it into an MP3 player. There is nothing attractive compared to the previous ZEN. The bug of the external memory card is probably still there otherwise, Creative would have certainly boasted it out loud. Same screen size. + XFi? (questionable), WiFi for instant messaging? External speaker? No thanks. I might be old fashion but I'd prefer more codecs, 3 inches screen, memory card integration, playing video without re-encoding.
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|Do not buy in to the over-hyped abilities offered by Creative's Crystalizer.
http://www.digit-life.co...reative-x-fi-part2.html
Point? If you want better sounding compressed audio, use higher quality settings on your encoder (or use a different encoder altogether), or get better source material. If the track sounds like crap before, it will sound like crap after, only with excited lows and highs. You can't polish a turd.
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|QUOTE: "a new music standard created by Creative that uses the X-Fi Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS-3D to convert audio at the best quality available when transferring it from the PC to a Zen X-Fi"
No. X-Fi and/or CMSS-3D don't "convert audio when transferring to a Zen". They are some DSP chips, which work on *playback*.
QUOTE: "Traditionally, audio ripped to be put on a CD loses sound quality, then compressing and ripping music from a CD to a PC also makes sound quality diminish"
Ahem... So yes.. a 96Khz/24bit master copy "loses" some quality when converted to 44Khz/16bit for a CD, and still "loses" some more when ripped *into a lossy codec* (there are people who rip to lossless).
Yet, for the most part, that loss is less than what you seem to imply. (At least, at some reasonable settings).
I haven't had first-hand experience with X-Fi, but their claims can't be taken as accurate. Yes, X-Fi can improve some mp3's (if encoded at low bitrates, and doing something similar to what HE-AAC (aacplus) does). It also tries to emphatize parts of the sound to try to give some clarity, and it also ends doing a small equalization ( V-like ). Definitely not something you'd like to do, if you really care about sound quality.
About CMSS-3D, it's basically a virtual surround chip, making sounds more spatial, but not necessarily nicer to listen.
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|"Is it live or is it iTunes?"
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|It's unclear how the described tests were run in the confines of an electronics store.
The Crystalizer effect used in the X-Fi cards does indeed improve the sound of lower bit-rate audio a bit. Not huge, but certainly doesn't hurt. Will it help much with headphone listening? Probably not.
Also, not a clue what benefit CMSS-3D provides to headphone or built-in speaker listening. Video is played through the built-in speakers (see article)??
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|You can't compensate for poor mp3 quality because you can't get back what isn't there to begin with.
Period.
You can pretty up the sound, you can fake it and do the audio equivalent of moaning "ooh BABY" at appropriate moments but it ain't ever gonna gonna make it a worthwhile experience.
I remember this claim being made for more than one of their sound cards and of course it was just a complete sham.
It's just yet more of what Creative Labs REALLY does best:
Smoke and mirrors marketing, empty hype and con jobs.
I wouldn't buy an X-Fi with YOUR money and this is in the same category.
'nuff said.
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|On a trivial level you are right but there are actually fairly amazing things one can do with DSP.
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|Yes:
If they are done by a competent company that knows how to design an audio card instead of a bunch of trained chimps playing glue and paste with a PCB and lacking the faintest clue of how to write a driver.
The ENVY24 is a competent quality audio processor. The Oxygen is a competent quality audio processor. The X-Fi chip is a gaming DSP on steroids - it's NOT quality audio gear.
And even if they were to achieve the impossible and fix that retroactive abortion (they haven't in over 14 years of producing poorly designed hardware and worse drivers), then they still couldn't make a badly encoded 128bit mp3 sound anything better than pure and utter s***e.
I have a LOT of mp3s - most of which I encoded myself. mp3s CAN sound great.
But not when they're "improved" by Creative and certainly not by the half-assed "audio" the X-Fi engine produces.
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|"The ENVY24 is a competent quality audio processor."
It's funny that you should mention that, as I am about to order an AUDIOTRAK Prodigy 7.1 HiFi.
Also, I agree completely on the statement that MP3s can sound great. I encode the vast majority of the ones I have from my own CDs with EAC and LAME, and after applying a subtle amount of gain reduction (not normalization) catalog-wide with MP3Gain (to reduce/eliminate digital clipping), they do indeed sound fantastic.
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|I think it's actually nice to see them putting x-fi on their zen. At last, we can experience the x-fi on our mp3. Nice move in adding wifi & better bundled earphones at least they are listening. The price is quite reasonable comparing it with the previous zen
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|Great. A mediocre "audio" DSP encapsulated in a crap line of DAPs.
Cowon, Samsung and even Sandisk (wuith the Clip and Fuze) are the real players in that game as far as audio quality is concerned and they already b****-slap Creative's best so badly that their children will be born dizzy.
Thanks but I'm not mentally deficient enough to waste money on Creative's sound cards and I certainly wouldn't compound that error by doing the same with their DAPs.
You see, I've been there and done that and having experienced their "best" first hand, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the company is only capable of building over-hyped crap.
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|Creative... leave my sound alone!
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|Nothing here that hasn't been done cheaper a year or two ago. Sad.
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|Why the hell would you pay for these when you could just rip your music better/buy the CD?
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|because you're an idiot? :)
creative comes out with these gimmicks every quarter.
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