Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 1.1 NeKro Custom DriverPack ;)

[nekrosoft13]

This pack is based on original Auzentech X-Fi Prelude driver, released on July 13th.

Few things that were changed.

1) Alchemy was updated to latest 1.30, newer then whats on creative site
2) DDL was updated to 3.00.03
3) DTS was updated to 1.03.04

to install run xfipreludeDriver1_2_NeKroCustom\Audio\Setup\Setup. exe

Note: shortcuts in Startmenu will be created in Auzentech and Creative folders, need to be self-organized.

in Extras folder you will find
1) AutoMode Switcher, allows to sellect X-fi Mode based on which application is currently running
2) THX Console - might be removed, problem getting it to work with new driver





give it a try

NeKroCustom 1.2 -- NEW - soon


NeKroCustom 1.1
http://www.nekrosoft.net/xfipreludeD...eKroCustom.rar

[WeReWoLf]

Freakin awesome work Nekro

[Sazar]

Question. How much better is the X-Fi (or similar card based on the chip) than on-board in terms of audio quality?

I am using onboard on both my rigs and one is connected and setup for optical output and the desktop one is currently used to drive my 5.1 headset.

If the audio quality is definitely superior, I am going to have to grab me one and try this pack out

[WeReWoLf]

It uses less CPU power to generate the sounds. I know that with CPU's today we aren't so much worried about that, but still, less power used is better right? The sound quality is also alot better. I noticed that with the onboard sound when I bought my Z5500's, the sound was all crackly and didn't sound right from the rear speakers. I put in the Creative Audigy 2 ZS I had lying around, and eliminated those problems immediately. I later bought the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude, and noticed a much greater difference over the Audigy 2.

[nekrosoft13]

not only that, but i also like setting up Bass Redirection to 80hz, it really makes Bass sound much better.

being able to adjust speaker dB levels, also helps.

[nekrosoft13]

Originally Posted by WeReWoLf

Freakin awesome work Nekro

thank you

first time trying to put a pack together.

[saturnotaku]

Originally Posted by Sazar

Question. How much better is the X-Fi (or similar card based on the chip) than on-board in terms of audio quality?

I am using onboard on both my rigs and one is connected and setup for optical output and the desktop one is currently used to drive my 5.1 headset.

If the audio quality is definitely superior, I am going to have to grab me one and try this pack out

It basically works like this:

Realtek or onboard audio < X-Fi XtremeAudio (not actually an X-Fi but a re-badged Audigy) < X-Fi XtremeGamer < X-Fi Fatality < Auzentech X-Fi Prelude

Throw a tangential line between the XtremeAudio and XtremeGamer for a card like the Asus Xonar. I've not had my Prelude for very long, but it's far, far superior to the onboard on the eVGA X58. It's even better than the XtremeGamer I used to run in that system. It would be well worth paying retail for, though you can probably find it cheaper on eBay--I got mine there for less than $100.

[Mr Bigman]

Very good, i just want to know how do people have the knowledge or abilities to do this kind of work?

Changing a driver or driverpack isn't something the consumer has the aptitude in but you must dude very nice.

I guess their people at home that must be smart enough to manipulate software.

[Sazar]

So Auzentech > Creative?

Cool

[nekrosoft13]

Originally Posted by Sazar

So Auzentech > Creative?

Cool

Auzentech has higher quality components on their cards

[Bman212121]

According to an old PM from Lord-Ex-Bu, the caps and the opamps are what's subpar on the X-Fi cards. You can replace them and get even better sound from the card.

yes, replacing the stock caps on your new X-fi with good quality Blackgate(non-polarized) and removing and shorting the decoupling caps for the analog outs will help out a good deal. It all depends on the quality of your speakers/earphones.

If you aren't going to use spif I would also suggest swapping out the four opamps on that card for LM4562 opamps from National Semiconductor(you can three free samples from them a week, all you have to do is pay shipping if you don't use a corporate or school e-mail address, you need four tho).

That is a little more involved but definately worth it, if you dont have much experience with soldering i would suggest practicing removing ICs and capacitors from an older board first. It isn't very hard but if you do it the wrong way you can damage the contact pads where the solder sticks to and brick your board(or at least make it a pain to fix, retracing contacts that is).

The x-fi has a great onboard DAC, what is holding it back is low quality caps and standard opamps.

Here is another little tip he gave me a while back. I still haven't tried it though.

one thing I forgot as well was shielding your x-fi from emi interference created by your gpu and power supply, that will also aid in improving sound quality. You can do so with ESR paper or other products that are out there. You can also make your own esr paper by sandwiching copper mesh between two pieces of paper and putting that in between your gpu and sound card... if you have your psu below your sound card I would also recommend making a shield for that.

ESR paper is conductive so you need to leave space between it and the pcb. Not completely necessary but it will also make a difference.

Basically bigger soundstage and better resolution. Everything will sound clearer...if people can't hear the difference it is because they don't have very good listening equiptment.

One thing I haven't done yet is compare the X-Fi Elite Pro to the Fatal1ty. I have the Elite Pro in a pc, but haven't really used it. There is a pretty significant difference for hardware on the board, so I'd say it probably will sound better if I took the time to play with it. IMO the fatal1ty cards already sound good enough already and my poor little card is sandwiched between two GPUs, all of the spread spectrum stuff is turned off, and I have that ribbon cable running up to the front panel in my main pc. There is probably more room for improvement in this pc without even swapping the card. I don't know if I could tell the difference or not though.

[spoonz83]

hi nekrosoft13,

Would it be possible to upload the file at another mirror, as I have some problem downloading it. Thanks in advance!!