I had the Creative WOW 2.4 GHZ wireless headphones. Loved the performance despite the size. Until it broke... did not survive a launch across the room by a baby... 😀 This is using Bluetooth... isn't that AAC encoding or full 7.1 DTS passthrough via bluetooth? I hope you get a sample to test Hilbert. I've been looking for a new pair or 2 wireless headset for a while now. Currently using a 50 Cent Sync Wireless with 2.4 GHZ transmitter - works great but cannot get a new or replacement set. So far all the bluetooth tested headset sounds compressed to me for some reason.

Nothing can be compared to wired headphone (but ok it's less practical too).

I have been thinking about getting a bluetooth headset to use with my receiver at night when watching tv or a movie and i dont want to wake people, Might be interested in this one.

If it was capable of "delivering the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system" it wouldnt be £150. I'm all for good tech but not BS.

Any chance on a review for the Super X-Fi dongle? I'm waiting for mine to ship out

Mufflore:

If it was capable of "delivering the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system" it wouldnt be £150. I'm all for good tech but not BS.

Check out the AVS review of this tech from CES. It's legit if those guys say it's legit, and they do. However, it seems like so far most people sharing their experience with whats out there aren't satisfied and are claiming a bait and switch by creative since the measurements at CES were done with inner ear probes and not the picture method that ships with the consumer products. I too am hoping for reviews once its more widely available, specifically the AIR headphones as I am hoping to finally find something i can stand to use for surround sound gaming

Mufflore:

If it was capable of "delivering the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system" it wouldnt be £150. I'm all for good tech but not BS.

You are wrong, its not about the Headphones themselves but the Super Xi-Fi ethnology https://us.creative.com/sxfi/ https://www.cnet.com/news/creatives-new-super-x-fi-audio-tech-is-frigging-mind-blowing/ https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/632107/ces-2018-best-products-we-saw-show/ [youtube=QgqRtlK1vQA]

MegaFalloutFan:

You are wrong, its not about the Headphones themselves but the Super Xi-Fi ethnology https://us.creative.com/sxfi/ https://www.cnet.com/news/creatives-new-super-x-fi-audio-tech-is-frigging-mind-blowing/ https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/632107/ces-2018-best-products-we-saw-show/ [youtube=QgqRtlK1vQA]

I have no doubt the tech is capable but to say a £150 set of headphones can compete with a high end multi speaker hifi system is rubbish. I am a fan of what creative are doing but there is no need to lie about what their headphones can achieve.

Mufflore:

I have no doubt the tech is capable but to say a £150 set of headphones can compete with a high end multi speaker hifi system is rubbish. I am a fan of what creative are doing but there is no need to lie about what their headphones can achieve.

The whole purpose of this tech is to do just that, headphones has nothing to do with it, you can buy just the encoder dongle and use any headphones. This tech comes with app that you make a photo of you ears and upload it, AI will adjust the algorithm for your type of ears and then you upload the algorithm to the dongle, these headphones just have the dongle chip build in.

MegaFalloutFan:

The whole purpose of this tech is to do just that, headphones has nothing to do with it, you can buy just the encoder dongle and use any headphones. This tech comes with app that you make a photo of you ears and upload it, AI will adjust the algorithm for your type of ears and then you upload the algorithm to the dongle, these headphones just have the dongle chip build in.

You are missing the point. They are selling a £150 headphone with this tech and are making the claim it is capable of "delivering the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system". I'm not talking about the tech alone.

Mufflore:

You are missing the point. They are selling a £150 headphone with this tech and are making the claim it is capable of "delivering the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system". I'm not talking about the tech alone.

I understand what you are trying to say but thats the whole point of this tech, to use ANY headphones, even 10$ ones and get such effect due to processing and AI [youtube=-NY3wdv89kg]

rl66:

Nothing can be compared to wired headphone (but ok it's less practical too).

It's a PC headphone. The bandwidth of most digital headphones these days is more than enough to retain the full quality of most of the media played on a PC. If you are listening to something thru from a good quality amp then yeah wired 100% but for a PC playing more often than not heavily compressed audio and video the digital wireless headphone will be good enough to retain the full already questionable quality of the content played. A 320 kbps audio file wont sound better on an affordable wired headphone it will sound equally trash on both a wired and wireless headphone. And this is not even considering the low quality of PC sound card. It's even questionable whatever a flac will sound better on a wired headphone considering the extremely low quality of PC sound card. On PC the quality of the original source is already lost before it reaches your headphone.

Mufflore:

You are missing the point. They are selling a £150 headphone with this tech and are making the claim it is capable of "delivering the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system". I'm not talking about the tech alone.

That claim is exactly what they are making, and while I am extremely skeptical given my experience with high end audio gear, the fact remains that a lot of reputable people have made public statements about how incredible this technology is. I just don't see so many people throwing away their reputations if it turns out they lied.

Andrew LB:

That claim is exactly what they are making, and while I am extremely skeptical given my experience with high end audio gear, the fact remains that a lot of reputable people have made public statements about how incredible this technology is. I just don't see so many people throwing away their reputations if it turns out they lied.

Like I said, I am not doubting the technology, I also believe when they say it appears as if in a room with multichannel speakers. But given the price (ie quality) of the headphones it will be like a mid to low end set of speakers on a mid to low end DAC+amp for sound quality. It cannot be equated to high end speakers because the headphones cannot have that capability. I take exception to claims like this from manufacturers. Tell the truth, it will still sell well on its merit.

I've read about this a few times now...still not impressed.

MonstroMart:

It's a PC headphone. The bandwidth of most digital headphones these days is more than enough to retain the full quality of most of the media played on a PC. If you are listening to something thru from a good quality amp then yeah wired 100% but for a PC playing more often than not heavily compressed audio and video the digital wireless headphone will be good enough to retain the full already questionable quality of the content played. A 320 kbps audio file wont sound better on an affordable wired headphone it will sound equally trash on both a wired and wireless headphone. And this is not even considering the low quality of PC sound card. It's even questionable whatever a flac will sound better on a wired headphone considering the extremely low quality of PC sound card. On PC the quality of the original source is already lost before it reaches your headphone.

Wired headphones don't need to squeeze battery, bluetooth transmitters, DAC and AMP inside of them. And for the same price, wired headphones won't have to spend designing where they put all of that hardware, they just need to get good drivers and install it. So eventually you usually get better quality and better sound on analog headphones over wireless ones. Source doesn't play that much of role in sound quality, as far as it's clean. Headphones drivers and design is all what it about.

MonstroMart:

It's a PC headphone. The bandwidth of most digital headphones these days is more than enough to retain the full quality of most of the media played on a PC. If you are listening to something thru from a good quality amp then yeah wired 100% but for a PC playing more often than not heavily compressed audio and video the digital wireless headphone will be good enough to retain the full already questionable quality of the content played. A 320 kbps audio file wont sound better on an affordable wired headphone it will sound equally trash on both a wired and wireless headphone. And this is not even considering the low quality of PC sound card. It's even questionable whatever a flac will sound better on a wired headphone considering the extremely low quality of PC sound card. On PC the quality of the original source is already lost before it reaches your headphone.

True if you kept the original sound card or if you get a "gaming" soundcard. Also there is more and more uncompressed audio file aviable (and i was using 320kbps long ago 🙂 ).

Hi. I just got hold of this tech. It's very dramatic with video. I was watching an episode of Star Trek Enterprise and it actually sounded like being at the cinema with the actors voices placed up there on the screen coming from their mouths. This proves to me Creative's claim that the tech takes that sound "out of the middle of your head" which is where vanilla headphones put it. I've always found that effect uncomfortable, even painful, which is what attracted me to the tech in the first place. Video games with the SXFI I'm still getting used to. For some reason it sounds great with 7.1 sounds and EAX turned on in Bioshock. Other games I've struggled with but that's highly likely because I've adapted to using headphones with games. The SXFI is so dramatic it takes a bit of getting used to ! Creative's advice is interesting ... "Q: "What about for games?" A: "If you are using games for competitive reasons, you should continue with your current setup. It’s just like a professional athlete using their own personal tennis racket – they’re used to it, to its precise weight, its center of gravity and other nuances, to the point where it is an extension of their body. As they have already invested so much time into training with this racket, it doesn’t make sense to change it." - https://sxfi.com/pages/support As well as ... "Current Super X-Fi technology should work well for non-competitive games that don’t require exaggeration of position. Games that are played for cinematic enjoyment work amazing with Super X-Fi. We’re studying how we can improve the Super X-Fi experience for positional games." - https://sxfi.com/pages/support So I hope to see some more specific updates for gamers in the future from Creative. Also quality of sound sources seem to matter ... "What I noticed is when your audio source is coded for multi-channel audio, especially in high bitrates like in Blu-ray content, the Super X-Fi DSP can map it environmentally far more satisfactorily ..." - https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-sneak-peek-creative-sxfi-theater-headphones-and-creative-sxfi-tv So far I'm satisfied as I just wanted to get a tuned HRTF effect and experience the sound "out there" using headphones. As I said, I'm having to train myself to use it. There were a few times I realised I was confused as something in me could not understand why I was hearing sound from what appeared to be my monitor speakers when I was wearing headphones.

@Michael Freeman Can I ask you a few questions? Are these using ON ear or OVER ear cups? Did you get the AIR (wireless bluetooth and USB) or AIR C (wireless USB dongle) only? Can you do some more movie testing please such as Black Hawk Down, Matrix or even John Wick with 3D surround gun battles? Also any hissing at ALL when there is no sound transmission but headphones on? Battery life? Can you setup more than 1 pair coming off the same sound source? I need 2 pairs or 3 wireless headsets so that we can watch movies at the same time while the others are sleeping. This is why I had the 50 Cent Sync wireless as I can pair up to 4 simultaneously. I don't want to get the Senheisser 165 wireless because they cost a grip but it does support up to 4 headsets listening to the same source.

Valken:

@Michael Freeman Can I ask you a few questions? Are these using ON ear or OVER ear cups?

Over ear. I have the supplied Aurvana SE Super X-Fi Certified Headphones that came as a free early adopter bonus. With anything using virtual 3D sound technology the headphones should be sealed (no open back) as outside sound can interfere with the effect. EDIT: Actually don't think I'm right now about external sounds necessarily interfering with HRTF. A guy on the PC World "Full Nerd" show just said he prefers open back headphones with it. Makes sense for me as I'm used to playing games on normal speakers with any other audio in the environment mixed in. SXFI with closed back headphones seems to make too much of a "lab like" sound because there's no other audio getting in with that headphone type.

Did you get the AIR (wireless bluetooth and USB) or AIR C (wireless USB dongle) only?

The USB dongle (USB C).

Can you do some more movie testing please such as Black Hawk Down, Matrix or even John Wick with 3D surround gun battles?

Might take me a while to get to that as I'm trying it out with 7.1 surround games at the moment. I've never had a proper surround setup so I don't even know if I have the media with multi track surround sound on it. But I must have something some where.

Also any hissing at ALL when there is no sound transmission but headphones on?

I have not noticed any hissing at all. The device appears to have high quality components for a relatively low priced bit of hardware ... "Crack open the Super X-Fi and you’ll find an AK4377. That’s a 32-bit, 768KHz digital analog converter from acclaimed audio company Asahi Kasei Microdevices." - https://www.idgconnect.com/news/1501063/creative-super-review-holographic-audio-eargasm

Battery life?

No idea if you are referring to the Air headphones. The USB device is powered from USB. If you mean battery life of Phone when having the device plugged into it then reviews I was reading gave favourable results from tests ie, it does not draw much power (can't find links at the moment).

Can you setup more than 1 pair coming off the same sound source? I need 2 pairs or 3 wireless headsets so that we can watch movies at the same time while the others are sleeping. This is why I had the 50 Cent Sync wireless as I can pair up to 4 simultaneously. I don't want to get the Senheisser 165 wireless because they cost a grip but it does support up to 4 headsets listening to the same source.

Apparently Creative are working on a box where you can plugin multiple devices, the Creative X-Fi TV Box. See this article - https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-sneak-peek-creative-sxfi-theater-headphones-and-creative-sxfi-tv