Creative Labs Xmod USB Sound Card for PC and Mac

by Creative Labs

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 3 x 9 inches ; 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000IZ96LQ
• Item model number: 70SB072000000
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,385 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Why settle for basic, built-in sound from your stereo speakers or headphones? Get ready to turn all of your MP3s into your own personal concert and hear your movies in virtual surround sound. Immerse yourself in audio that surrounds you. X-Fi is the new audio standard from Creative that makes your music and movies way better. X-Fi technology breathes life into songs. It restores detail and expands the music to surround sound.

The X-Fi Crystalizer restores audio elements lost during compression

How it Works
The X-Fi Crystalizer identifies the audio elements that have been restricted/damaged during compression and selectively re-masters them. The X-Fi CMSS-3D converts basic stereo content into multi-channel in real-time to deliver incredible virtual surround over two speakers or headphones.

Instant Xtreme Fidelity
This little device packs a big punch, and it's always ready. 100% plug-and-play, there are no drivers or software to install. Connect instantly to your notebook, PC or Mac, or even your MP3 player. It's that easy to get Xtreme Fidelity sound for crystal clarity and amazing surround sound.

Make Your MP3 Music Sound Better Than Your CDs
Hear it all - crisp cymbal crashes, wailing guitar solos and deep, rumbling bass, thanks to the Xmod. It intelligently enhances the highs and lows, restoring detail and vibrance to your audio.

The X-Fi CMSS-3D converts stereo content into virtual surround over two speakers or headphones

Stunning Surround Sound From Your Stereo Speakers
Now, you can enjoy virtual surround sound through your stereo speakers with the Creative Xmod. Expand your stereo MP3 music and digital movies. Voices are centered in front of you. Ambient sound appears all around you... just like a live performance.

A Headphone Experience That's More Immersive Than Ever
Hear the difference even with headphones. X-Fi CMSS-3D expands music from your headphones outwards, so that it sounds like you're surrounded by multiple virtual speakers. You'll feel like you're sitting in with your favorite band, or that you've been dropped into the best seat in the movie theater.

What's in the Box
Xmod, earphones, USB cable and user's guide

Product Description

The Creative Xmod USB sound device makes music and movies sound better than studio quality with X-Fi technology. It restores details and vibrance your music and movies lost during compression, making them richer and fuller, and expands stereo sound into virtual surround sound with headphones or stereo speakers. Plus, it works with both PCs and Macs and is truly plug-and-playo software installation neededo you can plug it in and start using it right out of the box.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars XMOD's a must have if you listen to music/movies on your PC or Mac, November 9, 2006

By 

Art Corvelet "BSC" (Perry Hall, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative Labs Xmod USB Sound Card for PC and Mac (Personal Computers)

I've had my XMOD for over a week now and I've been very pleased with my purchase. I saw a demo of this at my local Best Buy store and was immediately impressed by how simple it was to use. I mainly purchased it to improve the sound of my MP3 music on my Dell notebook and it does a great job of that. There are settings you can tweak, but I just turn both sound improvements on and leave it alone. Every song I play through it sounds better. I kept turning it on and off at first to hear the difference, but after a day or so I just left it on all the time. It's hard to describe what it does exactly, but basically my music sounds cleaner. The songs have more punch and crispness. I mainly use headphones and I especially like how it makes the headphones sound like a speaker a few feet away from your ear. I've also played one DIVX movie (Matrix)that I have and it sounds really cool too. You get a real sense of surround audio. When you go back to the movie with XMOD turned off, it sounds flat and boring.

Installation couldn't be easier. I plugged it into my USB port on my notebook and it just worked. You play your music from your PC with XMOD on and it just sounds sweet. It would be nice if Creative included what you need to use this with a portable MP3 player, but for the price I guess I can't complain. I wish the control knob was a bit flatter also. It would fit in the carrying bag better. The one nice thing about the knob being large - it does make a great easy to reach for mute button for when you need to quickly mute your audio.

Overall, XMOD is highly recommended if you listen to a lot of music. It would also make a nice gift. My nephew already came by to check it out and he wants one. Give it a listen and you'll get it.

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars White Noise - Argh., January 22, 2007

By 

P. Chong (Mesa, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Labs Xmod USB Sound Card for PC and Mac (Personal Computers)

To qualify, I recently purchased this yesterday for use on my notebook since interference was killing the onboard sound. I planned to use headphones exclusively for this device since the interference isn't as obvious with speakers. I was excited from all the reviews and the fact this was x-fi and all that marketing hoopla.

Let's start off with the good stuff:
I really like the crystalizer - it really made the music sound better. Now the 3D stuff it's iffy. I liked the way it looks and the size. I'm a big ipod fan, so it also helps it was packaged similarly.

The bad stuff:
White noise... I'd describe it as a quiet hiss that can be clearly heard even if nothing is on. Since I use headphones with it (Shure's), the white noise was immediately apparent and helluva annoying. When the music is sparse and quiet, boy oh boy does it get annoying. This is only marginally better than onboard sound since it does get rid of interference, but in the end, that's all it did for me.

I have another older creative usb soundblaster device I'm listening to now since although the sound is flat and less dynamic, it is *much* *much* cleaner. When I'm not playing anything with the old usb device, I can't tell the difference when the earphones are plugged in or not. I'm going to return the xmod and try the soundblaster live 24-bit external usb device, since the one i'm using now only supports 16-bit.

I bought the xmod for home since I use the 16-bit device at work.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You think your iPod sounds good now? Just wait, December 29, 2007

By 

R. Bundy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Labs Xmod USB Sound Card for PC and Mac (Personal Computers)

Earlier this year I bought a Creative X-Fi sound card for my desktop computer, and it made the sound quality exponentially better. Therefore, I began looking for a portable one for my laptop and iPod. It does EXACTLY what it says it does, it makes sound quality increase beyond belief. Not to mention, my laptop didn't get very loud through headphones, now I can't turn up past the third bar (out of over 10)! I only listened to my music (other than on my desktop) occasionally, now I listen to it all the time through headphones just because of this device. Personally, I only use the Crystallizer for music, but both for movies.

Now for the bad, I picked this up at Best Buy for only $34.99, not $71 like Amazon's current price. The ONLY other downside is that with iPod use, you have to be near a power outlet. However, I'm considering trying a USB Battery Pack such as this one Apple iPod / iPhone Portable Battery Starter Kit to see if the X-Mod can draw power (through its USB cable) from it so that it can be fully portable. It sounds like a lot of equipment but, personally, I think its worth it to listen in the highest quality possible.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY A A/C POWER ADAPTER TO HAVE THIS WORK WITH AN IPOD
The USB cord that comes with the X-Mod can be used with an iPod's A/C charger such as this one: Apple MA592LL/A iPod USB Power Adapter