Another warning about Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro

I know a number of members within this Forum will glaze their eyes over like a Krispy Creme Donut so this will be a lot like preaching to the choir.  But for the newbies and the lurkers I hope to prevent you from making an expensive mistake.

As a semi pro/hobbyist keyboardist, composer and singer I just wanted to take my passions to the most professional level and not cringe every time I playback a recording I make.  I believe CW was especially designed for musicians like myself.

I spent thousands to build what I envisioned as the perfect DAW and post production studio (within my budget).  One of those items was Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro which was shipped for around $300.00 USD about two years ago.  It was so popular it was back-ordered over a month. I fell for the advertising on the box, on web site reviews (other than Cakewalk).

I spoke to a small music pro shop owner and he (correctly) suggested a real audio sound card for recording digital music: M-Audio Delta 1010 LT.  He had a used one for about half of the MSRP out the door.  I bought it, installed it and it would not work in Sonar 8.0 Producer Edition 64 bit in Windows Vista. 


Hind sight being 20/20 I found that version 8.3 resolved whatever issue I had since I also had the same problem with Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro's audio card.  I also was a bit intimidated by the mess of cabling coming out of the back of the card and was too lazy to download the PDF owner's guide. 

I like the break out box that Elite Pro came with and that there was an audio creation mode separate from the gaming and entertainment mode. I have since resolved the intimidation by purchasing a real mixer which has served me well for my home and occasional live appearance application and tight budget.

There are cheaper M-Audio cards out there but read carefully what the driver support covers. The M-Audio Delta 1010 LT card works in Windows Vista while others do not.  Since Windows 7 has been released I feel safe to say what works in VISTA should also work in 7 (IMHO).


Immediately after loading just ONE soft synth using just ONE instrument I cannot get past the first chorus before all notes freeze, sputter, pop and then try to catch up the notes that did not play smoothly to begin with.

Back when I was able to reach someone at Cakewalk on the toll call support   they got me going with 20 ms latency using the ASIO driver round trip at 41,400. It was fast, responsive and 24 bit  sounding beautiful... even on my Logitech Surround Sound 5.1 PC speakers....until...(read previous paragraph's description).

I have read the Sonar purists recommend $1000.00 plus audio cards and I suppose that after I figure out the limitations of the M-Audio Delta 1010LT that I may have to save up my pennies someday to invest in one.  But for now just starting out, I'm hoping for being able to layer the soft synths and vocals enough to make a reasonable if not respectable album project.

The jury is still out as to which is better round trip performance on my system: USB or real MIDI cables and also how many instruments (single tracks) it will allow me to load in a single song.  I'm hoping not to only have versions of 'MTV Unplugged'.

For now the absolute thing I DO know and advise you to do is invest your money elsewhere far away from Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro and any of the X-Fi series; for that matter SoundBlaster in general when it comes to working with Sonar and any other DAW solution.

Luckily for me, the sound card will not go to waste with three desktops in the home.  Can anyone say 'gaming and entertainment mode'?

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

batsbrew


this would not have happened, with just a little bit of homework.

My point exactly!

The reason they ( Sound Blaster)  do so well =
Gamer geeks who buy sound cards= 3,000,000,000
Audio geeks who buy sound cards (an interface hopefully) =10,000

I still use my Sound Blaster Audigy II for home stereo and movies. The break out box mounted in the front of the computer is cool and has a real 1/4 headphone jack, as well as MIDI ports,SPDIF, stereo RCA and 1/4" line in. I wished my other interfaces were as accessible.
It worked flawlessly for audio recording and playback, never a problem. Sonar and soft synths- no way Jose. I guess the drivers are crap.