Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD Internal Sound Card with THX SB1270

This is still a very relevant piece of hardware, I was concerned that this model is now a few years old, and not featured on Creative's web site, seeming to be replaced with Z series and Recon series cards.I am so pleased with this card that I installed last night that I felt compelled to write a review.I don't game, and it seems that the new cards are targeted (probably smartly) to the game crowd.I also see a lot of headphone slanted reviews, and I almost never use headphones.I do however really appreciate subtle differences in sound quality that others sometimes don't notice, for instance, I do hear "flat" and "tired" or "muddy" sounds from MP3 versus a non compressed format, I get irritated when the music I like on XM is more compressed than some other XM Channels, so I guess I might lean audiophile, but I often get lost trying to follow "real" audiophile discussions, and esoteric nuances are mostly not perceptible to me, so I would not place myself in that league. I guess I would be more like an enthusiast than an audiophile.I will describe my hardware first:Music is on a Synology DS212J NAS (network attached storage) device in .Flac format (lossless format vs. MP3 which is typically compressed format.)Computer is a fairly modern (but not amazing) ASUS computer, AMD, X2 something, dual core chip, Windows 7 64 bit, 4GB of ram.My network is wired, and has gigabit LAN ports and switch gear.I connect from the computer to the audio Components via Toslink (fiber optic) which was included in the box with the sound card, and is different from the one you might already have, because the connector on one side of the cable isn't the standard doghouse shape, it actually pushes into the bottom RCA jack of the card, which concerned me, but is working just fine, and the SB1270 came with 2.I use a Yamaha HTR-5860 Receiver as a pre-amp, it connects to a Carver M-1 amplifier for the main speakers, and a Carver AV-64 cathedral amplifier for center and rear.I use Definitive BP-10's as main speakers, a Golden Ear Forcefield 4 subwoofer, and Definitive bookshelf and center. Both the definitive speakers and carver amp's are pretty old, say 15 years plus.I use MediaMonkey as the front end, which is kind of like I-tunes, with additional customization options.Like many others who have reviewed, I was using the onboard audio, via toslink (fiber optic) cable.I decided to look for a soundcard when I noticed that making small changes to the equalizer, like increasing the bass frequencies for some older bass-light rock for instance, really got muddy and distorted very quickly. I assumed that this was just a bad equalizer in MediaMonkey, because I was using fiber optic (digital signal) which I thought would not be affected or distorted to any significant degree, and that is where I was very wrong.I installed the Soundblaster Titanium, set the EQ flat in media monkey, and then used the software from Soundblaster, and it was so different. The EQ works like a champ, the EAX modes for Opera house, or Jazz Club are as good or better than the DSP modes from my Yamaha, and the Dolby live encoding feature provided drastic improvement to the geometry and separation of the music. It really adds a depth and a lively but warm tone.I listened to some classical, and the imaging of the music was very noticeable, for instance, the piano was on my left, very clearly, I could hear the difference in position of the string instruments, and percussion so clearly.Next I listened to Ke$ha and Britney Spears and Nelly and was very pleased with a noticeable improvement in clarity with the bass from the subwoofer, and the clarify option on the THX software was really noticeable here too.Next I listened to Boston, AC/DC, and Joe Satriani, and Dire Straits. All excellent here as well.No hiss, pop or hum was evident from the card at all.If there is a weakness, I haven't found it. It is superior in every way to the on board card, and my music really is better than CD now, which I have looked forward to for a long time.The only thing that I noticed that could be in the "worse" column is that when you switch from .flac or other lossless items, to watch a video on youtube, you will really notice how bad the youtube sound is, and you will probably want to listen to something else.I hope this helps you make a decision, it was very definitely a good decision for me.

Two computers and as much as a decade ago, I installed an Audigy 2 Platinum. It had very good sound and superb usability. The "drive" in front and board in the back provided all the connections I'd ever want, and more. I could plug in my headphones any time, adjust the volume with the knob on the drive. Plug my tape deck or turntable into the RCA jacks on the drive, rip anything I wanted with Wave Corrector. It worked on my new 64-bit Windows 7 system - I'd still be using it, but it finally died.The onboard sound, even on my recent Intel H67 mobo, was not acceptable. Creative still makes cards with a drive, but drive has been dumbed down, and the cards are aimed at gamers (my game is bridge - this board is for music). My short list was the two top Asus Xonars and this X-fi Titanium HD. The Xonar that seemed best was reported to shreik periodically by some users. My ears ring all the time anyhow, and could not take a chance. I got a really great deal from Amazon on this X-fi Titanium HD card, and after careful checking, I decided it would work for me.Three computers ago, the last I did not build myself, was a Dell white box package, including my Altec Lansing ADA885 4.1 speakers (probably $250 then, but probably not up to modern standards). With the A2P, I used them as 4.1 in Prologic mode. With the 2.1 output of the X-fi Platinum HD, I combined the satellites (they can stack) as a 2.1 system, all I really need anyhow. I use stereo mode now, and I *think* it's clearer and cleaner than the A2P. Prologic still sounds good, but different, perhaps a little muddy. I figure Stereo will be more realistic, whatever that is. Anyhow, the saving feature of this speaker system, has been the headphone jack on one satellite, combined with the volume and other controls on the other satellite. Without such a feature on the speakers (or whatever sound system you use), I could not recommend this X-fi Titanium HD card. As other reviewers have noted, you cannot plug anything (even just an extension cable, which I just tested) into the headphone jack, if you want to hear the speakers.The card has RCA analog output jacks for the speakers; I'm using the provided Y-cable to connect to the speakers with a typical mini-plug. The card has two RCA input jacks that I have not yet tested, but which will be crucial moving forward. I'm going to get an extension cable, so I can plug and replug in front, or at least within sight. (Hope I can leave the extension plugged in.) The optical jacks are inside the RCA input jacks (one in, one out). So if you want optical out, you cannot use RCA in - you must use optical in as well. This would leave me poorly placed with optical computer or TV speakers and still trying to use my turntable. (My computer is my sound system, but maybe you have a real one.)Check out the usability of this card carefully before purchase. If you expect the features to work for you, go for it. The sound is great, even on my old speakers.