Crescent Bay headphones a joke??

"AntDX316" wrote:
the clarity it does..

I can't live w/o

I mean.. I heard a violin play at church and thought it was a VHS recording but actually it was real life..

and I have to say.. the computer with my X-fi makes it sound better than real life

so I would agree in saying it does not sound real but it's like making people who are visually blind and need to wear glasses have to wear glasses on the PC or people who are handicapped have to wear their wheelchair height in VR

some audiophiles complain about the audio being bad on apple store iTunes than their plate sound recorder player because its actual

you vintage fools are what is going to cripple advance technology sophistication processing results

if you people prefer cars w/o ABS, traction, carburerator style, naturally aspirated

don't stop the people who want full technology with force induction and nitrous

it's like preferring high watt candecent bulbs vs high powered LEDs at a FRACTION of the power but it doesn't look as "natural" even at similar K color rating

I think with the right 'tuning' it would sound right

Irrelevant comparisons- we're talking about Creatives `Crystallizer` here- which is nothing more than a `sound processing chip`- which add's thing's like reverb, delay and `virtual 3D` affects- it does not make the sound coming out of the soundcard have any more `clarity`- it's an illusion by setting certain frequencies above other's- particular the higher end to make it sound `crisper`.

XFI crystallizer by itself turned on doesn't make it sound much good but with the right EQ setting it does make it much better

Then it negates having the crystallizer in the first place.

On almost all modern soundcards, even onboard motherboard sounds, come with a set `effects` such as virtual 3D and `environmental affects`- which are again nothing more than reverb, delays and some fiddling with the panning to `give the impression of wider sound than it is`- it's simply their way to sell cards to unsuspecting consumers.

You won't see high-end amp systems with `crystallizer` effects- you get an amp, a numbered band EQ and a set of speakers- how you can enhance the sounds from a decent speaker and amp set-up with `crystallizers` and such is beyond me.

"IsoMacintosh" wrote:

"AntDX316" wrote:
XFI crystallizer by itself turned on doesn't make it sound much good but with the right EQ setting it does make it much better

Proove it. Post some audio files comparing X-FI with non X-FI.

before I decided to get the ZxR over I think my Auzentech XFI Forte I think it was..

because I used to use speakers that require orange green black wires and the ZxR only allows optical or RCA style

I use headphones now so I went ZxR

I did massive research and some did some benches of the audio of the Crystallizer

obviously the crystallizer doesn't enhance the audio to real life but makes it like sugar coated like adding sugar to cookies and chocolate chips instead of just plain brown cookies

or adding More sprinkles than a few or more icing to the cake that it was originally designed by the baker

If its originally suppose to have 5 chips crystallizer makes it like having 15

the other design of the creative card is quality they said because the reenactment is natural because of high quality components being used

they used some kind of graph that looks like the hard drive benchmark graph like an EKG and compared and analyzed in depth

ZxR is expensive so I'm saying putting that kind of quality on a VR device would drive up the cost more but it's like having Michelin Pilot Sport tires on premium Alloy wheels on a car people want to be affordable on that only come Realistically with steel 400BBB rating tires

600AAA tire rating on alloys people don't care for but because it comes with would make it the standard so every model after the VR with the premium sound reproduction would have to have that level of quality

that level of quality should be optional or released way later when there can't find a reason to be able to sell new VR devices display/performance wise but then the sound processing upgrade would be a reason for people to buy the VR set again

it's like when new products release with a slight change

it makes people buy it even tho the slight change does not much but cost 100% of the previous product

money milking like call of duty with DLCs to fund vets

that's why you never see vet commericals and fundraisers for vets because probably Call of Duty fundraiser success strategy

"AntDX316" wrote:

obviously the crystallizer doesn't enhance the audio to real life but makes it like sugar coated like adding sugar to cookies and chocolate chips instead of just plain brown cookies

or adding More sprinkles than a few or more icing to the cake that it was originally designed by the baker

If its originally suppose to have 5 chips crystallizer makes it like having 15

The crystalliser simply makes poor audio sources into `acceptable` audio by using `enhancements` which are found on practically every soundcard out there- it is nothing special.

If you listen to modern music in MP3 format- then of course the crystallizer will probably make the audio sound `more alive` for example- but that is because firstly MP3 is a low quality format and secondly most modern `pop` music is over-compressed- lacking in any dynamic range. Crystallizer or not- you will not `enhance` poor audio such as this, you cannot `add` detail to audio that isn't there- especially MP3 where it has been removed/compressed- you can only give the illusion of something by using enhancement `fakery`.

Take any decent 24bit WAV that has been properly produced and has not been over-compressed by the sound engineer so that it has a large dynamic range and your little Creative Crystallizer will do nothing to make it sound `better`- you can't make a decent audio source sound `better` than it is- you can make it sound the best, but this does not require `audio enhancements`- just a decent amp, set of speakers and knowing what an EQ actually does.

Also the majority of consumers don't even bother to add acoustics to the room in which they have a speaker system- so what most consumers are doing is trying to compensate for poor acoustics by using `fake` sound enhancements, such as the crystallizer. There is no replacement for good audio sources, good amps & speakers and a room that is properly acoustically set to minimize such things as reflections, reverb etc.

"AntDX316" wrote:
because I used to use speakers that require orange green black wires and the ZxR only allows optical or RCA style

RCA>3.5mm adapter costs about 2 dollars. And what does this have to do with anything? RCA does not sound better than 3.5mm or 6.3mm.

"AntDX316" wrote:
I did massive research and some did some benches of the audio of the Crystallizer

You make this seem unlikely in a moment.

"AntDX316" wrote:
the other design of the creative card is quality they said because the reenactment is natural because of high quality components being used

They don't even specify which DAC chips they use.

"AntDX316" wrote:
they used some kind of graph that looks like the hard drive benchmark graph like an EKG and compared and analyzed in depth

You did benchmark tests on the card even though you have no idea on how audio is benchmarked?

Still waiting for actual sample files.

"IsoMacintosh" wrote:

"AntDX316" wrote:
XFI crystallizer by itself turned on doesn't make it sound much good but with the right EQ setting it does make it much better

Proove it. Post some audio files comparing X-FI with non X-FI.

X-Fi Crystallizer just adds harmonic overtones to the sound, making it sound sharper (and making MP3's seem less muddy).

It's basically like turning the Sharpen filter on your TV to maximum, but for sound.

"mrcrisp" wrote:

"AntDX316" wrote:

obviously the crystallizer doesn't enhance the audio to real life but makes it like sugar coated like adding sugar to cookies and chocolate chips instead of just plain brown cookies

or adding More sprinkles than a few or more icing to the cake that it was originally designed by the baker

If its originally suppose to have 5 chips crystallizer makes it like having 15

The crystalliser simply makes poor audio sources into `acceptable` audio by using `enhancements` which are found on practically every soundcard out there- it is nothing special.

False, I've used many sound cards and sound systems and none compare to the XFI Crystallizer 24-bit

their standalone XFI Music player sucks tho

it makes Little difference

the handheld so I returned it

"IsoMacintosh" wrote:

"AntDX316" wrote:
because I used to use speakers that require orange green black wires and the ZxR only allows optical or RCA style

RCA>3.5mm adapter costs about 2 dollars. And what does this have to do with anything? RCA does not sound better than 3.5mm or 6.3mm.

"AntDX316" wrote:
I did massive research and some did some benches of the audio of the Crystallizer

You make this seem unlikely in a moment.

"AntDX316" wrote:
the other design of the creative card is quality they said because the reenactment is natural because of high quality components being used

They don't even specify which DAC chips they use.

"AntDX316" wrote:
they used some kind of graph that looks like the hard drive benchmark graph like an EKG and compared and analyzed in depth

You did benchmark tests on the card even though you have no idea on how audio is benchmarked?

Still waiting for actual sample files.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/soundblaster_zxr_review,9.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=zxr+review+graph+creative&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&biw=1920&bih=965&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=GHQ0VO-VIoeMyASt-oDgAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#imgdii=_

https://www.google.com/search?q=zxr+review+graph&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&biw=1920&bih=965&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=DnQ0VMjwO460yAT9rYLYDA&ved=0CAUQ_AUoAA&dpr=1#rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&q=zxr+review+creative

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/creative_sound_blaster_zxr_review,7.html

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Creative-Sound-Blaster-ZxR-Versus-Onboard-Audio/?page=5

you are all welcome in advance

buds would be a bad idea. People don't want to share ear buds, we don't all use the same size, and they start to ache after longer periods of use.

They could just shrug off adding headphones, leaving it up to the user to provide their own headphones, but you have to realize they are trying to maximize consumer acceptance. Having to put on two things is a turn off to the average consumer. It's a turn off to me. I usually just use my speakers because having to put on headphones on top of the rift is cumbersome, not to mention as soon as I do that I start overheating quick.

They're thinking all these things through very critically. Yes, they want the best experience, but as comfortably and effortlessly as possible in order to gain wider acceptance. They're going to hit their mark, but not without some complaining from a few VR enthusiasts.

Personally I would love to have the CB with the featured headphones.

Why would anyone want to use ON-EAR headphones for a long gaming duration? On hear hurts after too long.

For best quality and comfort you need OVER-EAR headphones that are light weight and great quality. Which will be in the $200 range minimum, maybe less if you don't care too much about flat response.

So I think this is a pointless, just add some crappy $5 buds for those that don't care about audio/those with bad quality ears and let the rest of us just throw away the buds.

Look at how they are designed, they do not press on your ears, they are held in place by the headband.

Around-ear headphones are just on-ear headphones that are held away from your ear, exactly like what the Oculus design does.