As it turned out during the last year I have not captured one single LP yet (except for testing) it probably has something to do with my strong dislike for this obnoxious and dreaded medium. I thought that this particular feature might come in handy should I have the desire to capture vinyl. that is if it´s treated right. For communication via USB the external card uses the CA0189 from Creative, the high quality D/A-converter is an AK4396VF from Asahi-Kasei while the CS5351 from Cirrus-Logic is responsible for A/D-conversion. But this card has something that distinguishes it from many other USB interfaces: it contains an RIAA amp, enabling you to connect your turntable to this interface directly without the need of an additional pre-amp. For amplifying headphones the card uses the 4556 op-amp by JRC, this amp has been on the market for almost 30 years and it´s still a decent thing considering its price because it has a low output impedance (of just 1 Ohm) in combination with low distortions. True, I could have used my E-MU 0202 USB instead but its headphone output has a high output impedance (22 Ohms) and is pretty weak. Since the new Soundblaster was intended to be used soleley at our second appartement with one of my headphones it was of vital importance for it to contain a strong enough headphone output with low output impedance. In the end I decided to buy another soundcard which turned out to be the X-Fi HD USB. While this wasn´t obvious with my Superlux it became irritating soon with the very balanced Sennheiser because of missing treble and flat stageing. I acquired this little inexpensive gadget only because I´d found out with my then new Sennheiser HD-448 that the headphone output of my Lenovo SL-510 sucks. YAY!!Ĭreative Labs Soundblaster X-Fi HD USB / Digital Music Premium HD BTW, this occasion also provided the opportunity to make new and hopefully improved photos.
Instead I wanted to be as honest with you as I can be, I would not be able to forgive myself for keeping the truth from you. Yes, I´m ashamed to admit that I seem to have been wrong about many things with this card - I could have gone the easy route and kept my mouth shut. but oh, I love this one!" In the end of this now rewritten review you will bear witness to a changed opinion of mine. Guys, this thing is ridiculously cheap considering its price, it´s a true bargain. I cannot wish to have more for the money. especially for this price - this is a well designed and very good sounding interface with a lot of available connections and features (.) Recording quality is good, playback quality even better, the headphone output is strong enough for most available headphones with impedances from 16-150 Ohms on every system, build quality is well done, design is nice. Point is, during the year that has passed I´ve accumulated some additional information and experience I cannot ignore which will lead me to alter my conclusion considerably. Secondly it´s unfair to people who might´ve bought this card because of myself recommending it. Why would I alter an already written article siginificantly? You know, bloggers consider this to be bad form because it´s not exactly an example of transparency. Since originally posting this article on Januexactly one year has passed and in the meantime I haven´t been inactive when it comes to research concerning the X-Fi HD USB / Digital Music Premium HD.