Early this year, Creative updated its Super X-Fi with the new Gen 2. If you’re new to Super X-Fi technology, it is basically recreating the soundstage of a high-end surround speaker system in headphones.
And with SXFI Gamer headphones about to be released soon, it’s a good time to take a closer look at the Gen 2 update of Super X-Fi.
I have reviewed two models of the Creative’s Super X-Fi products – (1) Creative SXFI Air C, and (2) Creative SXFI Theatre. Both were reviewed based on Gen 1 Super X-Fi technology. Overall, the SXFI Gen 1 sound was impressive and realistic especially when used for movies. It had some shortfalls even it comes to gaming and podcasts, or even certain music genres.
So when Gen 2 was released, I wanted to take my time to test Gen 1 and Gen 2 to observe any improvements that were made. After 4 months or so, this is my update on Creative’s Super X-Fi Gen 2 update.
Better positioning cues for gaming
Positioning cues was something that wasn’t that great on the SXFI Gen 1. When used for gaming, audio cues such footsteps and gunfire can sometimes be lost in expanded space.
Switching between my my Gen 1 profile to my Gen 2 version in my SXFI Theatre, I noticed that in FPS games, positional audio becomes more accurate. Rear cues in particular sounded more realistic, clearer, and slightly more pronounced. In games such as Apex Legends, CS Go, the lost details that I experienced in Gen 1 seemed to be recovered in Gen 2.
Sounds less “processed”
The Gen 2 seems to sound less “processed” compared to Gen 1. Depending on the music you play, Super X-Fi in Gen 1 can sometimes make the song sound like there is too much digital alteration.
But in Gen 2 this processing is less obvious, so you get cleaner, crisper sound. Reverb is also reduced, which is much appreciated on YouTube videos that are vocal heavy. Echoes are less apparent on the Gen 2 than one the Gen 1 which is a great improvement.
Summary
The Gen 2 is a great update to the Super X-Fi tech, making an impressive technology even better. Main upgrades you get are improved accuracy in positional cues and better audio fidelity when it comes to music.
To update, you can go to Creative’s support page. If not, there should be a prompt in your Creative SXFI Control app.