Creative Labs Xmod USB Sound Card for PC & Mac

Other products by Creative Labs

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 3 x 9 inches ; 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Note: Gift-wrapping is not available for this item.
• ASIN: B000IZ96LQ
• Item model number: 70SB072000000
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Internal Desktop Components > Sound Cards

• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 21, 2006

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

17 of 18 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

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.

15 of 16 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)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great to replace on-board sound, July 31, 2007

By	Zomster "Zom" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

I was looking for an external sound card for use at work (since I don't want to install anything internal) since my onboard sound has a humming background noise effect+probably doesn't deliver the sound quality that I could get from a dedicated sound card. I realized it would be too cumbersome for a full blown external and came onto this device.

I think I paid around $60 shipped for it. Worth every penny. Let me elaborate.

I run these through a great set of Sennheiser 280 Pros, and previously HD590s. The 3d effect does not do this device any wonders; when you listen through good headphones, you hear high pitched noises since they pick up all the detail.

However, the x-fi crystalizer effect is EXCELLENT. Although slightly harsh at times, it does wonders to open up and make music sound "full". Again, if you don't have quality headphones, you aren't going to notice as much. I listened to the same music through one of my co-workers crappy cans and it sounded NOTHING like it did on my audiophile grade phones, and it did appear to make little difference when on or off. Additionally, I hear complete silence when I mute my sound, no static or noise whatsoever so I know I'm getting a good quality signal.

So, to that effect, I would say pass on this if you are expecting wonders out of your $15 set of headphones; you will probably be very disappointed. But for those that are serious about getting a very portable improvement to their sound, and have the headphones to back it up, this device will awe and amaze you.