# Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium driver 2.40.0016 WHQL



## Ferrum Master (Mar 9, 2019)

There is still support for a dino age product.

Released from February 21, 2019

DriverVer=02/11/2019, 6.0.240.0024
CatalogFile.NTX86=wdm_emu.cat
CatalogFile.NTAMD64=wdmemu64.cat
WHQL Cert. & signed from February 12, 2019

Change log :
Full compatibility and support with Win 10 RS5 aka October 2018 update.
A few bugs and problems of performance have been fixed as well.

DOWNLOAD


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## INSTG8R (Mar 9, 2019)

Wow I checked the other day for my SB Zx still nothing since March 2017...that said not really had any issues to speak of either.


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 9, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> Wow I checked the other day for my SB Zx still nothing since March 2017...that said not really had any issues to speak of either.



The only thing bugged for sound core3d devices are the additional plugins - DTS and Dolby etc... if you don't use them like me, never encountered a bug really.


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## INSTG8R (Mar 9, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> The only thing bugged for sound core3d devices are the additional plugins - DTS and Dolby etc... if you don't use them like me, never encountered a bug really.


Nope don’t use fake surround, pure analogue for this guy.


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## CityCultivator (Mar 9, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> Nope don’t use fake surround, pure analogue for this guy.


What do you mean by those words?


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## kastriot (Mar 9, 2019)

Post #4
^^


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 9, 2019)

CityCultivator said:


> What do you mean by those words?



It does algo to simulate(read pull the sound out of arse) surround environment.


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## CityCultivator (Mar 9, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> It does algo to simulate(read pull the sound out of arse) surround environment.


You are talking about stereo->5.1?


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## INSTG8R (Mar 9, 2019)

CityCultivator said:


> What do you mean by those words?


DTS Neo and DD Live aren’t true surround


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 9, 2019)

This does prove that Creative cares about it's user base, even if it takes them a little while.


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## CityCultivator (Mar 9, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> DTS Neo and DD Live aren’t true surround


They are discrete formats. A test file in 5.1 will play in individual speakers at a time with no crosstalk. (bitstreaming disabled so as to test DDL).


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 9, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> This does prove that Creative cares about it's user base, even if it takes them a little while.



That's actually the case. For a product 11 years old... (PCIe)... I cannot even remember an another example of this. Creative was bad in that department, for sure, but this really deserves some credit. 

But actually there is more to it, the next insider build 19H1 still suffers even with these drivers imho, but this gives hope, that it will be fixed.


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## hat (Mar 9, 2019)

Agreed. It's nice that my dusty old X-Fi is still getting support. For once, Creative deserves a cookie.


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## INSTG8R (Mar 9, 2019)

CityCultivator said:


> They are discrete formats. A test file in 5.1 will play in individual speakers at a time with no crosstalk. (bitstreaming disabled so as to test DDL).


They’re both “matrix surround” used to convert stereo signals to “surround” I stand by my statement. Not too mention neither are necessary when using analogue 5.1. I’ve never not had  5.1 and needed to resort to either. Been using 5.1 exclusively  on PC for over a decade.


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## Space Lynx (Mar 9, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> There is still support for a dino age product.
> 
> Released from February 21, 2019
> 
> ...



do you know if this will work for the x-fi titanium fatal1ty edition?


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 9, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> do you know if this will work for the x-fi titanium fatal1ty edition?


It appears so.


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## CityCultivator (Mar 9, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> They’re both “matrix surround” used to convert stereo signals to “surround” I stand by my statement. Not too mention neither are necessary when using analogue 5.1. I’ve never not had  5.1 and needed to resort to either. Been using 5.1 exclusively  on PC for over a decade.


Dolby Digital codec (AC3) and DTS codec (DTS Coherent acoustics/DCA) are both discrete lossy audio formats.
They are not to be confused with:
Dolby Pro-Logic files - Matrixed stereo files
Dolby Surround ex - 6.1 data matrixed into 5.1.
DTS EX Matrix mode - As above.

DDL encode a discrete 5.1 audio signal into a Dolby Digital stream.
DTS Connect encode a discrete 5.1 audio signal to DTS codec.

Real disadvantages of both methods:
1. DDL & DTS connect usually uses some CPU for audio encoding. This can be valuable CPU time in CPU bound games. Analogue does not consume such CPU time.
2. As most compressed formats, a delay in buffering of data is inherently present. Thus, display image often appears before sound. This delay is less in DCA. Analogue has no such delay.
3. AC3 & DCA are lossy formats. Analogue is not. (Though it is fair to say that noise levels are usually higher in most consumer setups as EM noise is present in carrying wires. Lessee noise is present in AC3/DCA as audio is decoded in final receiver. Also, though both formats are lossy they are perceptually lossless.)
4. Analogue can do more than 48KHz sampling rate. Those with dog/bats ears can rejoice in "HD" Surround audio.


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## Space Lynx (Mar 9, 2019)

CityCultivator said:


> Dolby Digital codec (AC3) and DTS codec (DTS Coherent acoustics/DCA) are both discrete lossy audio formats.
> They are not to be confused with:
> Dolby Pro-Logic files - Matrixed stereo files
> Dolby Surround ex - 6.1 data matrixed into 5.1.
> ...



omg my brain hurts.

how about I just do this:

Pc > optical cable > modi 3 dac > powered studio monitors

and call it a day


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## CityCultivator (Mar 9, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> omg my brain hurts.
> 
> how about I just do this:
> 
> ...



Yes I do allow you!


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## mmxx (Mar 10, 2019)

Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue. 

waiting for the next release Source


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## natr0n (Mar 10, 2019)

I usually use these, but that's cool new drivers out.

http://danielkawakami.blogspot.com/


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## INSTG8R (Mar 10, 2019)

CityCultivator said:


> Dolby Digital codec (AC3) and DTS codec (DTS Coherent acoustics/DCA) are both discrete lossy audio formats.
> They are not to be confused with:
> Dolby Pro-Logic files - Matrixed stereo files
> Dolby Surround ex - 6.1 data matrixed into 5.1.
> ...


I don’t need the ins and outs of it. But you’re still proving my point regardless. 
Why would I convert a 5.1 signal to another 5.1 “signal” makes zero sense and serves zero purpose.


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## hat (Mar 10, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> I don’t need the ins and outs of it. But you’re still proving my point regardless.
> Why would I convert a 5.1 signal to another 5.1 “signal” makes zero sense and serves zero purpose.


Because optical can't do raw 5.1. It has to be encoded with DTS or something. Analog, on the other hand, has no such encoding. The raw digital signal is processed to analog for the speakers on the other end by the DACs on your sound card (or onboard audio) and that's that.

Using analog is only really a problem when you have a newer receiver that just doesn't have analog inputs beyond stereo (this is quite common today), or you are running seriously high end audio equipment, where the DACs in the receiver are significantly better than the DACs found even on a high end sound card, and you also have the speakers to appreciate the difference. In this case, you aren't using optical anyway, you're using HDMI.


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## CityCultivator (Mar 10, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> I don’t need the ins and outs of it. But you’re still proving my point regardless.
> Why would I convert a 5.1 signal to another 5.1 “signal” makes zero sense and serves zero purpose.


It is for convenience. One digital cable against 3/6 analogue cables.
Some device may not even allow for connecting those analogue cables (htibs, cheaper sound bars).
Edit: First time got ninja'd.


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## INSTG8R (Mar 10, 2019)

CityCultivator said:


> It is for convenience. One digital cable against 3/6 analogue cables.
> Some device may not even allow for connecting those analogue cables (htibs, cheaper sound bars).
> Edit: First time got ninja'd.


Also both formats are PC specific DTS Connect and DD Live are still “canned surround” No home theatre amp with any worth has them.  All the other formats you mentioned are.


hat said:


> Because optical can't do raw 5.1. It has to be encoded with DTS or something. Analog, on the other hand, has no such encoding. The raw digital signal is processed to analog for the speakers on the other end by the DACs on your sound card (or onboard audio) and that's that.
> 
> Using analog is only really a problem when you have a newer receiver that just doesn't have analog inputs beyond stereo (this is quite common today), or you are running seriously high end audio equipment, where the DACs in the receiver are significantly better than the DACs found even on a high end sound card, and you also have the speakers to appreciate the difference. In this case, you aren't using optical anyway, you're using HDMI.


Really who still uses optical when HDMI is available anyway? My Z906s are optical or analogue I obviously choose analogue. My HT Amp I obviously choose HDMI


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## CityCultivator (Mar 10, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> Also both formats are PC specific DTS Connect and DD Live are still “canned surround” No home theatre amp with any worth has them.  All the other formats you mentioned are.
> 
> Really who still uses optical when HDMI is available anyway? My Z906s are optical or analogue I obviously choose analogue. My HT Amp I obviously choose HDMI


I do have at home a htib that has HDMI ARC and optical in. No analogue 5.1.
I use DDL to play movies to that.


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## INSTG8R (Mar 10, 2019)

CityCultivator said:


> I do have at home a htib that has HDMI ARC and optical in. No analogue 5.1.
> I use DDL to play movies to that.


From your PC why not use the HDMI ARC? Your GFX card can do it. I use it on my Smart TV for Netflix and Prime but my TV is sending real DD back to my amp.


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## CityCultivator (Mar 10, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> From your PC why not use the HDMI ARC? Your GFX card can do it. I use it on my Smart TV for Netflix and Prime but my TV is sending real DD back to my amp.


I do use ARC when I watch movies, but at times I only want to listen without turning on the TV. For this I use a HDMI splitter and send DD via spdif to receiver.
Note 1: ARC=spdif in capabilities and bandwidth.
Note 2: I do not use a sound card. I use a laptop with HDMI out. SPDIF is by using the splitter. I use DDL via APO Driver for 5.1 out.


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## utilizedamplitude (Mar 10, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> There is still support for a dino age product.
> 
> Released from February 21, 2019
> 
> ...



I was randomly looking up graphics cards and saw this post on the sidebar. I would never have discovered this new driver without this post so thank you.

My setup is an X-Fi using SPDIF Optical to an amp encoded using DTS connect.

In the previous drivers Tone balance adjustments did not work with encoding, in these new drivers it does.

I checked the drivers with OpenAL tools and can confirm all EAX extensions and X-RAM are recognised correctly.


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 10, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> Really who still uses optical when HDMI is available anyway?


Some of us use neither. I have a Sound Blaster card that is connected to my mini home theater system for quality sound. It is connected using 3.5mm cables. I like the output the built-in DAC provides.


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## INSTG8R (Mar 10, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> Some of us use neither. I have a Sound Blaster card that is connected to my mini home theater system for quality sound. It is connected using 3.5mm cables. I like the output the built-in DAC provides.


Ditto I’m analogue on PC for sure, I “could” use optical but why? My HT setup is all HDMI though.


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## Space Lynx (Mar 10, 2019)

does teh X-Fi Titanium support THX audio? my speakers say they are THX certified - would I be better offer buying a sound card that says THX certified? i dunno


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## CityCultivator (Mar 10, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> does teh X-Fi Titanium support THX audio? my speakers say they are THX certified - would I be better offer buying a sound card that says THX certified? i dunno


THX is not an audio format, it is an audio quality standard. You don't need to pair THX together - but if both devices are THX certified, then that means you have good devices from start to finish.


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## Space Lynx (Mar 10, 2019)

CityCultivator said:


> THX is not an audio format, it is an audio quality standard. You don't need to pair THX together - but if both devices are THX certified, then that means you have good devices from start to finish.



thank you for clarifying, I appreciate it. I was a bit confused.  so can you tell me is the X-Fi Titanium--- THX certified?


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## INSTG8R (Mar 10, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> thank you for clarifying, I appreciate it. I was a bit confused.  so can you tell me is the X-Fi Titanium--- THX certified?


Yes, but it means very little in the big picture.


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## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

Anyone tested these for the Openal audio dropped issue?
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showth...aring-quot-Sounds-(video-demo-included)/page2
https://www.oldunreal.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1400445026
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussi...reative-x-fi-owners-having-issues-with-static

Also, these are not secureboot compatible,  Creative signed with whatever pca cert they had on hand instead of doing the correct thing and using the devportal.


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> Also, these are not secureboot compatible,  Creative signed with whatever pca cert they had on hand instead of doing the correct thing and using the devportal.



They could be rushed. As stated, there should be another driver incoming IMHO. I don't have any X-Fi's anymore, would gladly tried... maybe I should order one on feabay, just for the lulz.


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## utilizedamplitude (Mar 11, 2019)

Unreal Gold using the hardware OpenAL driver is still missing sounds effects.

Using the Galaxy driver with alchemy still works as normal.


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 11, 2019)

Johnny05 said:


> Unreal Gold using the hardware OpenAL driver is still missing sounds effects.
> 
> Using the Galaxy driver with alchemy still works as normal.



Did you try this old fix? IMHO it applies to the gold release too.

https://www.oldunreal.com/oldunrealpatches.html


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## utilizedamplitude (Mar 11, 2019)

I'm running the 227 Patch and OpenAL hardware has never worked on it.


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 11, 2019)

Last game I tried openAL + Win10 + X-Fi was first Mass Effect, you could turn them on in the ini file.

After reading the struggle I hardly blame drivers. The game must use EAX, so galaxy + alchemy. The latter added openAL mode is more like community hack, so as usually take it or leave it, but don't demand anything.

https://www.oldunreal.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1418627034/45

Maybe test good ol BF2 via openAL...


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## Space Lynx (Mar 11, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> Last game I tried openAL + Win10 + X-Fi was first Mass Effect, you could turn them on in the ini file.
> 
> After reading the struggle I hardly blame drivers. The game must use EAX, so galaxy + alchemy. The latter added openAL mode is more like community hack, so as usually take it or leave it, but don't demand anything.
> 
> ...



is the improvement in sound quality really worth all that effort over a good dac/amp combo?

im running modi 3 dac, custome tube amp, and HD58X headphones... I really doubt all that effort could improve the sound that much over my easier plug n play setup...


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## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> Last game I tried openAL + Win10 + X-Fi was first Mass Effect, you could turn them on in the ini file.
> 
> After reading the struggle I hardly blame drivers. The game must use EAX, so galaxy + alchemy. The latter added openAL mode is more like community hack, so as usually take it or leave it, but don't demand anything.
> 
> ...



Its the drivers solely, 2.17.0008 never had these issues that 2.40.0008 and later have.



Ferrum Master said:


> They could be rushed. As stated, there should be another driver incoming IMHO. I don't have any X-Fi's anymore, would gladly tried... maybe I should order one on feabay, just for the lulz.



more like Creative are just completely oblivious.



Ferrum Master said:


> Did you try this old fix? IMHO it applies to the gold release too.
> 
> https://www.oldunreal.com/oldunrealpatches.html



the patch and the ALAudioDrv are completely seperate to each other.

I took a look at the older drivers with UT99, the issue actually coincides with the entirety of XRAM being consumed.  It definitely appears as a buffer underflow situation suggesting the affected drivers are not managing device memory properly, I've never bothered testing with XRAM disabled.


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 11, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> is the improvement in sound quality really worth all that effort over a good dac/amp combo?
> 
> im running modi 3 dac, custome tube amp, and HD58X headphones... I really doubt all that effort could improve the sound that much over my easier plug n play setup...



No. Un less you throw that tube amp out the loop, it doesn't bring any sort of quality, but vice versa loads of additional distortion, thats your preference and it has no connection about comparing two solid state based solutions. I build my own Tube based headphone amps also, I have nothing against them, but I call things what they are.

They are comparable. Albeit their usage is tailored towards different scenarios.  Stereo = DAC implementation = distortion plots under your preferred load and without  = mature decision without submerging into hearing some astral beings or fairies in the woods using device A or B.

When using Analog multichannel, it still has an edge using dedicated cards. I am in this camp still. 

Digital multichannel = use HDMI, simple as that.



Sora said:


> Its the drivers solely, 2.17.0008 never had these issues that 2.40.0008 and later have.



Have you tried reporting it?


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## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> No. Un less you throw that tube amp out the loop, it doesn't bring any sort of quality, but vice versa loads of additional distortion, thats your preference and it has no connection about comparing two solid state based solutions. I build my own Tube based headphone amps also, I have nothing against them, but I call things what they are.
> 
> They are comparable. Albeit their usage is tailored towards different scenarios.  Stereo = DAC implementation = distortion plots under your preferred load and without  = mature decision without submerging into hearing some astral beings or fairies in the woods using device A or B.
> 
> ...



https://www.lotro.com/forums/showth...isappearing-quot-Sounds-(video-demo-included)


multiple people have since 2014, Creative sat on the issue for 2 years then official EOS the driver in 2016.
More Frustatingly, the PCI 20k1 drivers are not affected.


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> https://www.lotro.com/forums/showth...isappearing-quot-Sounds-(video-demo-included)
> multiple people have since 2014, Creative sat on the issue for 2 years then official EOS the driver in 2016.
> More Frustatingly, the PCI 20k1 drivers are not affected.



Because PCIe sucks for latency... maybe there's the dog buried... They patched the budget times in order to prevent the OS from BSODing, and those are the fixes in past drivers. When using ALchemy it increases latency and thus you can buffer it better. Alchemy has settings for that actually. Interesting is the fact is when doing wrong settings the effect is the same, it drops audio. it could be we are asking for impossible, it just needs new hardware.


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## Athlonite (Mar 11, 2019)

Hmmm I wonder if DK will put out X-Fi driver pack based on these


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 11, 2019)

Athlonite said:


> Hmmm I wonder if DK will put out X-Fi driver pack based on these



Daniel quit with a bang. There was a huge quarrel in between him and Creative inside forums. Accused of modding their proprietary code. The problem was unlocking features for cards that should not have them. Well they had a point, but instead of whining they could hire him.

https://www.wired.com/2008/04/daniel-k-who-fi/


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## Athlonite (Mar 11, 2019)

I knew about the argee bargee between them but I thought that was only because of what he was releasing in the Creative forums I've seen him release stuff since then on his own blog site


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## Apocalypsee (Mar 11, 2019)

Weirdly this driver is not for the flagship Titanium HD. But I never had any problems with the old driver, and occasionally play old EAX games on Windows 10.


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 11, 2019)

Apocalypsee said:


> Weirdly this driver is not for the flagship Titanium HD. But I never had any problems with the old driver, and occasionally play old EAX games on Windows 10.



Try to force the install, via device manager. If I remember correctly it was often like that. I had the card too, with ZxR is the same actually.




Athlonite said:


> I knew about the argee bargee between them but I thought that was only because of what he was releasing in the Creative forums I've seen him release stuff since then on his own blog site



They had an agreement after the first case. Then it happened I again in a flash.


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## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> They patched the budget times in order to prevent the OS from BSODing, and those are the fixes in past drivers.



Nothing to do with it, 2.17.0008 was the driver that fixed Bsodding OpenAL and was the last driver that didn't drop sounds.

It's a shame creative just discarded the forums instead of archiving them, there was a lot of device testing information on there.


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## utilizedamplitude (Mar 11, 2019)

IIRC that was giving away DTS connect and DD live for free when they needed to be licensed. That was fixed when Creative started to give them away for free too.


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## Athlonite (Mar 11, 2019)

Johnny05 said:


> IIRC that was giving away DTS connect and DD live for free when they needed to be licensed. That was fixed when Creative started to give them away for free too.



Which everyone thought was bullshit because the damn cards were advertised as having it in the first place and it wasn't until you tried using it that you found out you had to pay more which stank like week old jizz so then they decided it wasn't worth a court case and gave it away like they should have done from the start


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## spectatorx (Mar 11, 2019)

I'm totally surprised as this device has EOL status since very long time. I'm still a user of x-fi titanium and i just love this sound card. Having updated driver for better compatibility with latest windows 10 release is something cool to me even if previous version of a driver is working totally fine. I used to be checking creative's page from time to time up to last year and gave up my hope for any more release.

I bought this card literally 10 years ago and then it already was available on market since some time.


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## Ferrum Master (Mar 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> Nothing to do with it, 2.17.0008 was the driver that fixed Bsodding OpenAL and was the last driver that didn't drop sounds.
> 
> It's a shame creative just discarded the forums instead of archiving them, there was a lot of device testing information on there.



I meant that the latter drivers are fixing something that cannot fix this issue ie tighten up latency but if you do it the driver becomes unstable due to the nature of Windows OS. This driver is not meant for Win10, even worse, it was not meant even for Win8, just Win7, AFAIK during insiders for win8 Creative drivers were causing so much problems, the fact, that they actually fixed them to a degree they work for most is quite surprising. I just laughed hard in place arguing about buggy hardware, that he has the worst thing ever, the other one replied that he has forgotten the VIA VT bridge series lol 

Well the product is over 10 years old in the core, what to expect? I would still try using different places, for example like console emulators, that also have openAL options, do they act the same. And actually for old games, consider dual boot?


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## Apocalypsee (Mar 11, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> Try to force the install, via device manager. If I remember correctly it was often like that. I had the card too, with ZxR is the same actually.


I tried manually update thru device manager but got an error  '..... doesnt contain compatible device driver...'. I thought this will work too because in device manager the name of the card is just 'Creative SB X-Fi' but sadly don't work


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## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> I meant that the latter drivers are fixing something that cannot fix this issue ie tighten up latency but if you do it the driver becomes unstable due to the nature of Windows OS.



I don't think there is anything latency wise posing an issue,  device resource exhaustion seems to be the actual issue, once you're out of xram you have no more room for channels/voices
The ALAudioDrv for ut99 allows you to configure how many  voices are in use,  the issue manifests sooner with more voices present as xram is consumed faster.

Reduced voices you only get it once things really get crazy and you have shooting going on constantly in later stages of the match.



> This driver is not meant for Win10, even worse, it was not meant even for Win8, just Win7, AFAIK during insiders for win8 Creative drivers were causing so much problems, the fact, that they actually fixed them to a degree they work for most is quite surprising



I'm not even using windows 10,  the driver has these issues since 2.40.0008 came out for 8.x and it affected 7.x, 2.40 was the first driver signed for 8.x so yeahhhh. lol.

Anyway, since there has been no openal improvements i won't be trying these on 7/8 with a self created catalog and signature i guess.



> Well the product is over 10 years old in the core, what to expect? I would still try using different places, for example like console emulators, that also have openAL options, do they act the same. And actually for old games, consider dual boot?



Device age as a metric should only matter for hardware decay,  graphics cards from 2004 still work if they were  built with quality components with the final driver of the time.

I do believe it is a side effect of fixing an issue,  i cannot be sure when the hardware MIDI bank bsods were fixed, whether that was in the 2.17 or 2.40 driver.


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## spectatorx (Mar 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> I'm not even using windows 10,  the driver has these issues since 2.40.0008 came out for 8.x, 2.40 was the first driver signed for 8.x so yeahhhh. lol.
> 
> Anyway, since there has been no openal improvements i won't be trying these on 7/8 with a self created catalog and signature i guess.


What exactly are your problems? I've always been using latest drivers on latest windows (7, test builds of 8 and 8.1 and stable 8/8.1, 10) and drivers have always been working correctly.


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## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

spectatorx said:


> What exactly are your problems? I've always been using latest drivers on latest windows (7, test builds of 8 and 8.1 and stable 8/8.1, 10) and drivers have always been working correctly.












to save from explaining it again.

_Tbh, it seems like _*alDeleteBuffers *_is broken_
Though i'm also aware the XFI driver reports support for 32bit float buffers, but doesn't actually support them...


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## Space Lynx (Mar 11, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> No. Un less you throw that tube amp out the loop, it doesn't bring any sort of quality, but vice versa loads of additional distortion, thats your preference and it has no connection about comparing two solid state based solutions. I build my own Tube based headphone amps also, I have nothing against them, but I call things what they are.
> 
> They are comparable. Albeit their usage is tailored towards different scenarios.  Stereo = DAC implementation = distortion plots under your preferred load and without  = mature decision without submerging into hearing some astral beings or fairies in the woods using device A or B.
> 
> ...



my tube amp is a hybrid, so not full tube.  but yeah its a great sounding setup, side by side with a $500 Schiit Lyr 3, my amp sounds better and only cost $135 to build.


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## spectatorx (Mar 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> to save from explaining it again.
> 
> _Tbh, it seems like _*alDeleteBuffers *_is broken_
> Though i'm also aware the XFI driver reports support for 32bit float buffers, but doesn't actually support them...


Ok then, problems on specific applications and specific audio api calls. Still a problem. Personally i had just one problem in crysis 3 where sounds were changing their volumes on the fly and overall were all over the place wrong. Fortunately this is fixable by turning on SVM in creative control panel.


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## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

spectatorx said:


> Ok then, problems on specific applications and specific audio api calls. Still a problem. Personally i had just one problem in crysis 3 where sounds were changing their volumes on the fly and overall were all over the place wrong. Fortunately this is fixable by turning on SVM in creative control panel.



Basically,  I almost can't fault the driver for anything else just this one niggling issue with the OAL device.


----------



## lexluthermiester (Mar 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> to save from explaining it again.
> 
> _Tbh, it seems like _*alDeleteBuffers *_is broken_


Use DanielK's driver packs solve that problem IIRC.


----------



## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> Using DanielK's driver packs solve that problem IIRC.



not with a 2.40 driver.


----------



## Ferrum Master (Mar 11, 2019)

I guess there are changes in Creative camp. Or at least better pills.

https://coconuts.co/singapore/news/...d-helping-customers-fair-lauded-netizens/amp/


----------



## lexluthermiester (Mar 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> not with a 2.40 driver.


Fortunately, there's been a few releases since the 2.40.
http://danielkawakami.blogspot.com/2017/01/sb-x-fi-series-support-pack-40.html


----------



## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> Fortunately, there's been a few releases since the 2.40.
> http://danielkawakami.blogspot.com/2017/01/sb-x-fi-series-support-pack-40.html



no there hasn't, support pack is still using 2.40.00xx


----------



## lexluthermiester (Mar 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> no there hasn't, support pack is still using 2.40.00xx


Ah, you were referring to the driver version. It's still not a problem as DanielK's customizations avoid/fixes a lot of known problems.


----------



## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> Ah, you were referring to the driver version. It's still not a problem as DanielK's customizations avoid/fixes a lot of known problems.



he doesn't do anything to the driver binaries themselves, which is the source of the issue im talking about.


----------



## lexluthermiester (Mar 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> he doesn't do anything to the driver binaries themselves, which is the source of the issue im talking about.


Except that it's been tested and shown to have been fixed. This implies that the problem was in the configuration of the driver, not the driver itself.


----------



## Sora (Mar 11, 2019)

I'm sorry, but you're entirely mistaken.

You might be thinking of the openal bsod issue, which danielk worked around by using auzen binaries,  that has nothing to do with the hardware openal losing sound.
Or the issue where the 64bit CTOAL dll was not installed:  also nothing to do with the issue im talking about (this one prevented openal from working at all in 64bit apps)

hmmm, seems someone found an application side workaround for it
https://forums.libretro.com/t/openal-enabled-windows-build/5425/3

yeah, same conclusion on oldunreal

"It seems the issue is that sounds never report that they've stopped playing."
https://www.oldunreal.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1400445026/13#13


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 14, 2019)

Sora said:


> Anyone tested these for the Openal audio dropped issue?
> https://www.lotro.com/forums/showth...aring-quot-Sounds-(video-demo-included)/page2
> https://www.oldunreal.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1400445026
> https://forums.beamdog.com/discussi...reative-x-fi-owners-having-issues-with-static
> ...


I have tested, bug is still present.
Creative has naver solved this problem when xfi was still supported an,d the problem exist since the release of 2.40.0008 branch in 2014. I don't think the problem will be solved now.

It's very boring because some games don't work with openalsoft like diablo HD mod.


NEW! Driver 2.40.0016 is not avalaible anymore in creative support page.


----------



## Sora (Mar 14, 2019)

some of us sent some feedback about the signing issue, its been pulled till they figure out what not to do wrong.

Jack, the issue sound loss issue doesn't manifest in the Doom3 client update that added OpenAL, instead the affected drivers cause a strange visual hitching in some cases (that doesn't occur with openal-soft or older drivers.)

it may be possible to insert a stream monitor and fix into an openal router.


----------



## Ferrum Master (Mar 14, 2019)

Sora said:


> some of us sent some feedback about the signing issue.



It is not about that for sure. It is about 19H1 Win10 release for sure.


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 14, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> It is not about that for sure. It is about 19H1 Win10 release for sure.


No because the problem with 19H1 win10 release is known some weeks before the release of this driver.

https://www.ginjfo.com/actualites/l...10-build-18343-debarque-quoi-de-neuf-20190223
*Windows 10 build 18343  19H1*
*23 february 2019*
*Known issues*

Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD).
Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue.

https://www.ginjfo.com/actualites/l...publie-une-premiere-version-pourquoi-20190215
*Windows 10 build 1883 20H1*
*15 february 2019*
*Known issues*


In Windows Sandbox, if you try to navigate to the Narrator settings, Settings app crashes.
Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue.
https://www.ginjfo.com/actualites/l...que-avec-des-optimisations-en-gaming-20190211
*Windows 10 build 18334*
*11 february 2019*
*known issues*




Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue.



I think that the new driver 2.40.0016 is the correction of the problem with 19h1 and 20h1 win10 and is only for that.

i think that for solve the problem with openal, it must be Microsoft or developpers that ask creative. I think it's the only solution for creative take care about this problem


----------



## Ferrum Master (Mar 14, 2019)

jackbluray said:


> I think that the new driver 2.40.0016 is the correction of the problem with 19h1 and 20h1 win10 and is only for that.



Not sure, I cannot test. 

There was more that, there was one insider stating that the problem is fixed, but the next said that actually still not. That's why I think it is pulled because of that.


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 14, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> Not sure, I cannot test.
> 
> There was more that, there was one insider stating that the problem is fixed, but the next said that actually still not. That's why I think it is pulled because of that.


The aim of this driver is the correction of this problem but with creative, this driver can not solve this problem because creative is not good with driver development .

Other problem that the new driver 2.40.0016 don't correct is the problem with forza horizon 4. The sound is distorted with creative xfi titanium  and the only solution is to switch to 7.1 in windows instead of 5.1
https://forums.forzamotorsport.net/turn10_postst131754_-ANSWERED----Creative-X-Fi-Cards.aspx?=


----------



## Space Lynx (Mar 14, 2019)

This thread has reminded me why I am happy I went to a Modi 3 DAC and stopped all this other nonsense.


----------



## Ferrum Master (Mar 14, 2019)

I hardly understand the first sentence.



jackbluray said:


> forza horizon 4. The sound is distorted with creative xfi titanium



You can't take some seriously there some bullshit lie posts...



> I tried all settings all the way up to 32 Bit 192 KHz



The thing is, that many are wrong, this card does not simply pass-through, even Sound Core device does sound channel mixing on hardware level on the card.


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 14, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> This thread has reminded me why I am happy I went to a Modi 3 DAC and stopped all this other nonsense.


The  problem is that if you want play an old game, the best card are creative cards because of eax support with alchemy.



Ferrum Master said:


> You can't take some seriously there some bullshit lie posts...
> 
> 
> 
> The thing is, that many are wrong, this card does not simply pass-through, even Sound Core device does sound channel mixing on hardware level on the card.


It's not bullshit because you can try the demo and I have the same problem that described in the forza forums. The only solution is to switch to 7.1 and this solution is described in the topic.
i don't care that some persons tell bullshit in the forza topic, it's common at all forums. The only important thing is that distortion sound in forza 4 horizon, is real. Even forza developpers have confirmed the problem.



Ferrum Master said:


> I hardly understand the first sentence.
> .


Sorry for my bad english but I don't know how tell that I want in english.


----------



## Ferrum Master (Mar 14, 2019)

jackbluray said:


> The only solution is to switch to 7.1 and this solution is described in the topic.



X-Fi does not support 32Bit modes, I don't know from where they pulled that, I treat most of the comments #metoo suspiciously.


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 14, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> X-Fi does not support 32Bit modes, I don't know from where they pulled that, I treat most of the comments #metoo suspiciously.


I tell you that it's not because some randoms tell stupidity that all tell stupidity.
The problem is real with xfi titanium. If you don't believe me, you can test because microsoft offer a free demo of forza horizon 4 on microsoft store.



Ferrum Master said:


> X-Fi does not support 32Bit modes,


I don't know what you means but I have noticed that with the last driver 2.40.0016, new output format have appeared : 
32 bits 44100hz,48000hz,96000hz.



With other drivers, I had only 16bits and 24 bits.


----------



## Space Lynx (Mar 14, 2019)

jackbluray said:


> T*he  problem is that if you want play an old game, the best card are creative cards because of eax support with alchemy.*
> 
> 
> It's not bullshit because you can try the demo and I have the same problem that described in the forza forums. The only solution is to switch to 7.1 and this solution is described in the topic.
> ...



I am skeptical it sounds that much better versus Modi 3 > Magni 3 > Sennheiser HD58X


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 14, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> I am skeptical it sounds that much better versus Modi 3 > Magni 3 > Sennheiser HD58X


Without alchemy you can't have 3d sound and advanced sound effect in old game that support eax or directsound 3d.


----------



## Space Lynx (Mar 14, 2019)

jackbluray said:


> Without alchemy you can't have 3d sound and advanced sound effect in old game that support eax or directsound 3d.



i could care less, I am sure it sounds just fine


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 14, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> i could care less, I am sure it sounds just fine


Maybe sound is good but I prefer have advanced effect like occlusion in old game than flat 2d sound even if 2d sound is good.


----------



## Apocalypsee (Mar 15, 2019)

I dont know why people bother to post if they dont bother about the topic in the first place.



jackbluray said:


> Maybe sound is good but I prefer have advanced effect like occlusion in old game than flat 2d sound even if 2d sound is good.


True, once you used to play with EAX you never go back. I cant replay Doom3 without EAX.


----------



## INSTG8R (Mar 15, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> This thread has reminded me why I am happy I went to a Modi 3 DAC and stopped all this other nonsense.


And you can do multichannel how with that? Yeah, thought so....Some of us prefer 5.1 over stereo and I don’t mean some crap “virtual surround” either.


----------



## Sora (Mar 15, 2019)

jackbluray said:


> The aim of this driver is the correction of this problem but with creative, this driver can not solve this problem because creative is not good with driver development .
> 
> Other problem that the new driver 2.40.0016 don't correct is the problem with forza horizon 4. The sound is distorted with creative xfi titanium  and the only solution is to switch to 7.1 in windows instead of 5.1
> https://forums.forzamotorsport.net/turn10_postst131754_-ANSWERED----Creative-X-Fi-Cards.aspx?=



Thats not actually a driver issue in its entirety.

It happened with Final Fantasy XV as well,  the issue is because 200x Audio products expose multimedia 5.1 instead of Home Theatre 5.1, difference being  multimedia 5.1 has rear left and rear right, where as HT 5.1 is surround left and surround right.

7.1 corrects the issue because it has both Surround and Rear channels.

XFI 5.1
FL | FR | C | SW | RL | RR vs

Modern 5.1
FL | FR | C | SW | SL | SR vs

XFI / Modern 7.1
FL | FR | C | SW | SL | SR | RL | RR.

Setting the XFI speaker settings to 7.1 then configuring the windows sounds to 5.1 by disabling the surround channels should get you normal sound.



Ferrum Master said:


> X-Fi does not support 32Bit modes, I don't know from where they pulled that, I treat most of the comments #metoo suspiciously.




The XFI supports 32bit INT processing, it doesn't support 32bit FLOAT processing.

we need to not mix up output and processing bit sizes.


----------



## Ferrum Master (Mar 15, 2019)

Sora said:


> The XFI supports 32bit INT processing, it doesn't support 32bit FLOAT processing.
> 
> we need to not mix up output and processing bit sizes.



Creative based X-FI could support a flying pig... it resides a PCM1794A or a Cirrus Logic CS4382 or CS4398. Those are 24bit, feeding anything else will result in suboptimal operation, use your head. X-Fi does always resampling and mixing on the fly. Thus the problems with kernel mode driver, that is unaware of things and taking away his job.

Only AE-5 from internal cards logically can support 32Bit mode properly. But not about that. The options if are shown, shouldn't be there for older cards.

Well I am not against discussion and generalize this as Creative thread as a whole. But arguments like I don't have it so I am happy doesn't fit here, make your own thread about how wonderful are your USB based devices.

Also the thing about vintage gaming, as gaming specific bugs. USE VINTAGE OS. I just simply don't understand it, is it that hard to dual boot?  So if I would like to properly game using Voodoo 3 and Glide API, so yeah, XP latest drivers, quite obviously, even a dedicated PC, will do it, no questions asked. So if I would like to use the same vintage audio api, then it kinda becomes a problem and everyone is bitchy about it and demands something from Creative and spams the whole internet about it.  Also about the UWP forcing audio DSP + mixer layer before the actual mixing is done(the Forza case). Microsoft actually just killed again last traces of hardware audio processing, that's only it. Yet some blame fully Creative again. They are both at fault. Creative is fault trying to reanimate their form hardware point superior platform, that is torn apart by headless api changes made by Microsoft, thus making it incompatible, and coding for bare metal is hard and often requires new silicon. Microsoft has rights to alter their OS code so no complaints again towards M$ also. Things like that happen!

We should be grateful that both Microsoft and Creative acknowledges problems and actually does something. We have no right to demand anything for a product that is old over 10 years. For example any Xonar cards are not listed as bsod causing, changing modes, stuttering with latest insiders, yet they are, and Asus nor Cmedia doesn't bat an eye for it. Creative actually does something, still got spanked by someone.
Sometimes such ungratefulness is beyond me.


----------



## Sora (Mar 15, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> Creative based X-FI could support a flying pig... it resides a PCM1794A or a Cirrus Logic CS4382 or CS4398. Those are 24bit, feeding anything else will result in suboptimal operation, use your head. X-Fi does always resampling and mixing on the fly. Thus the problems with kernel mode driver, that is unaware of things and taking away his job.
> 
> Only AE-5 from internal cards logically can support 32Bit mode properly. But not about that. The options if are shown, shouldn't be there for older cards.
> 
> ...



The DAC's you cite are placed after the device has already performed its internal processing and only apply to the analog jacks, they do not apply to the Optical port which can output unmodified 32bit bitstream.


----------



## Ferrum Master (Mar 15, 2019)

Sora said:


> The DAC's you cite are placed after the device has already performed its internal processing and only apply to the analog jacks, they do not apply to the Optical port which can output unmodified 32bit bitstream.



What? SPDIF initially handled only 20bits, then 24bit were added. What are you talking about? The X-Fi SRC engine does not do 32Bits. Even the latest Super X-FI only does 24/96 hardware processing. The internal SPDIF is capable only of 24/96. For the recording engine part crippling thank RIAA, they prohibited 24/192 to easy prevent SACD pirating.

I haven't seen consumer SPDIF device accepting 32bit signals either. And never will also because of piracy concerns. HDMI is the solution then.


----------



## Sora (Mar 15, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> What? SPDIF initially handled only 20bits, then 24bit were added. What are you talking about? The X-Fi SRC engine does not do 32Bits. Even the latest Super X-FI only does 24/96 hardware processing. The internal SPDIF is capable only of 24/96. For the recording engine part crippling thank RIAA, they prohibited 24/192 to easy prevent SACD pirating.
> 
> I haven't seen consumer SPDIF device accepting 32bit signals either. And never will also because of piracy concerns. HDMI is the solution then.



Bitstream has only artificial limits.

And why are you referring to the super xfi? it's not even a cac20k part.
the quartet dsp used on the XFI is 32bit,  you keep referring back to output specifics where the device is capable of 32bits before it gets anywhere near the output stage.


----------



## Space Lynx (Mar 15, 2019)

INSTG8R said:


> And you can do multichannel how with that? Yeah, thought so....Some of us prefer 5.1 over stereo and I don’t mean some crap “virtual surround” either.



lol you have clearly never been to an audio show. my 2.0 system has better soundstage than any 5.1 setup you have 

go listen to some $500 Adam's and get back with me on sound stage.


----------



## Sora (Mar 15, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> lol you have clearly never been to an audio show. my 2.0 system has better soundstage than any 5.1 setup you have
> 
> go listen to some $500 Adam's and get back with me on sound stage.



thats what you virtual audiophiles like to tell yourselves, but it doesn't hold up to a properly configured sound stage with individual speakers.


----------



## Space Lynx (Mar 15, 2019)

Sora said:


> thats what you virtual audiophiles like to tell yourselves, but it doesn't hold up to a properly configured sound stage with individual speakers.



lol you are right the highest paid sound engineers in the world are wrong and you are right, having never been to an audio show to I am guessing as well.


----------



## Sora (Mar 15, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> lol you are right the highest paid sound engineers in the world are wrong and you are right, having never been to an audio show to I am guessing as well.



The highest paid sound engineers will tell you the sky is purple to go with their bosses thoughts on the matter, to continue getting paid.


----------



## Ferrum Master (Mar 15, 2019)

Sora said:


> Bitstream has only artificial limits.
> 
> And why are you referring to the super xfi? it's not even a cac20k part.
> the quartet dsp used on the XFI is 32bit,  you keep referring back to output specifics where the device is capable of 32bits before it gets anywhere near the output stage.



Because it is the evolution of it. That's why.

Okay. From where did you pull it? Point your finger in the data sheet below? Where? It is done in 24Bits, because of performance, it probably could do 32bits, but at limited 48KHz stereo only without using any additional effects. Can you image how much more re sampling data it needs to pull versus 24bit in order to recalculate it to different sampling? Even more, doing multichannel the card the card has to limit to 96KHz? Have you ever wondered why? The card does sampling scaling to the maximum, then samples back, but not the bitrate. The old chip has limits, is is not software based.

From where did you pull out that 32Bit SPDIF passthrough? Even the Auzentech cards, that had Silicon Image HDMI transceiver didn't pull any gimmics like that.

https://www.creative.com/oem/resources/Chips/CA20K2.pdf

The Story ends here.

*10.0.18836.1000*
14 FEB '19  14 FEB '19
*Apps*
*Linux Subsystem for Windows*

*The file system of a Linux distro can now be accessed from File Explorer <=== AWESOME*
*And further*

The "Windows Light" theme is now called "Windows (light)"
*Fixed issues*

We fixed an issue where turning off Location from the Action Center might take multiple clicks to react.
We fixed an issue resulting in being unable to re-arrange pinned folders in Start’s tile grid.
We fixed an issue where newly installed apps might not show up in search results.
We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders not being able to open Cortana when in Tablet Mode.
We fixed an issue from the previous flight where right-clicking the desktop would bring up a light colored context menu in dark theme.
We fixed an issue where Cortana’s icon on secondary monitors wouldn’t update colors after switching between light and dark theme.
We fixed an issue where when using light theme + small icons + a vertical taskbar orientation, text written on the taskbar would stay white and thus wouldn’t be readable.
We fixed an issue that could result in open apps not being shown on the taskbar (but being visible in Alt + Tab).
We fixed an issue resulting in build unable to log into WinRE with an admin account in the last couple of flights.
We’ve made another fix to address reports of devices getting stuck with “Hibernating…” text on the screen on resume from hibernate.
We fixed an issue resulting in greys having an unexpected slight pinkish/purple-ish tinge on some devices in recent flights.
We fixed an issue in Ease of Access’s Cursor and pointer settings, mouse pointer size and color re now retained on upgrade.
We fixed an issue where the Windows Security app may show an unknown status for the Virus & threat protection area, or not refresh properly.
*The issue impacting Creative X-Fi sound cards has been fixed.*
*Known issues*

Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD).
While we’ve done some work to improve night light reliability in this build, we’re continuing to investigate issues in this space.
When performing Reset this PC and selecting Keep my files on a device that has Reserved Storage enabled the user will need to initiate an extra reboot to ensure Reserved Storage is working again properly.
Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue.
File Explorer may hang when trying to rename, delete, or move MKV files.
In Windows Sandbox, if you try to navigate to the Narrator settings, Settings app crashes.


----------



## INSTG8R (Mar 15, 2019)

lynx29 said:


> lol you have clearly never been to an audio show. my 2.0 system has better soundstage than any 5.1 setup you have
> 
> go listen to some $500 Adam's and get back with me on sound stage.


My Paul Bartons say I do know...


----------



## Sora (Mar 15, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> Because it is the evolution of it. That's why.
> 
> Okay. From where did you pull it? Point your finger in the data sheet below? Where? It is done in 24Bits, because of performance, it probably could do 32bits, but at limited 48KHz stereo only without using any additional effects. Can you image how much more re sampling data it needs to pull versus 24bit in order to recalculate it to different sampling? Even more, doing multichannel the card the card has to limit to 96KHz? Have you ever wondered why? The card does sampling scaling to the maximum, then samples back, but not the bitrate. The old chip has limits, is is not software based.
> 
> ...



Fixed that for you.

Check the insiderblog you referenced again.


----------



## R-T-B (Mar 15, 2019)

Angry Audiophile thread.  Reminds me of why I stay off audiophile boards.


----------



## Ferrum Master (Mar 15, 2019)

R-T-B said:


> Angry Audiophile thread.  Reminds me of why I stay off audiophile boards.



Only if it would be audiophile related. Just plain egos.


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 15, 2019)

Ferrum Master said:


> *10.0.18836.1000*
> 14 FEB '19  14 FEB '19
> *Apps*
> *Linux Subsystem for Windows*
> ...


There is an update and It's not fixed
*General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC*


REMINDER: The new tamper protection setting in the Windows Security app protects your device by helping to prevent bad actors from tampering with the most important security settings. The setting is designed to be on by default, however the default state is not currently in effect for current Insider Preview builds. You may see a new recommendation in the Windows Security app suggesting you turn this setting on.
We fixed an issue where turning off Location from the Action Center might take multiple clicks to react.
We fixed an issue resulting in being unable to re-arrange pinned folders in Start’s tile grid.
We fixed an issue where newly installed apps might not show up in search results.
We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders not being able to open Cortana when in Tablet Mode.
We fixed an issue from the previous flight where right-clicking the desktop would bring up a light colored context menu in dark theme.
We’re updating the name of the “Windows Light” theme to now be “Windows (light)”.
We fixed an issue where Cortana’s icon on secondary monitors wouldn’t update colors after switching between light and dark theme.
We fixed an issue where when using light theme + small icons + a vertical taskbar orientation, text written on the taskbar would stay white and thus wouldn’t be readable.
We fixed an issue that could result in open apps not being shown on the taskbar (but being visible in Alt + Tab).
We fixed an issue resulting in build unable to log into WinRE with an admin account in the last couple of flights.
We’ve made another fix to address reports of devices getting stuck with “Hibernating…” text on the screen on resume from hibernate.
We fixed an issue resulting in greys having an unexpected slight pinkish/purple-ish tinge on some devices in recent flights.
We fixed an issue in Ease of Access’s Cursor and pointer settings, mouse pointer size and color are now retained on upgrade.
We fixed an issue where the Windows Security app may show an unknown status for the Virus & threat protection area, or not refresh properly.
The issue impacting Creative X-Fi sound cards has been fixed. *It’s not fixed.*
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsex...ncing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-18836/


----------



## erpguy53 (Mar 21, 2019)

builds 18860 and 18362 are out and *still* have issues with Creative X-FI audio cards:

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsex...ncing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-18860/
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsex...ncing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-18362/

Creative definitely has to issue newer drivers than v2.40.0016 as they have to fix the problem on *their* end and not just MS.


----------



## Sora (Mar 21, 2019)

XFTI_PCDRV_L11_2_40_0018  is out now.

properly signed, try on 19h1


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 22, 2019)

Problem are still present with fH4 and openAL. I think that this new release is just for problem with 19H1 and 20H1 and driver signature.


----------



## Sora (Mar 22, 2019)

jackbluray said:


> Problem are still present with fH4 and openAL. I think that this new release is just for problem with 19H1 and 20H1 and driver signature.



Forza is not a driver issue, its a game issue.

Follow this 



http://imgur.com/a/ZcbGo1G


I didn't expect openal to be fixed, but im looking into a OpenAL32 router fix that monitors streams and clears the stream buffer when it detects stale streams.


----------



## jackbluray (Mar 24, 2019)

Sora said:


> Forza is not a driver issue, its a game issue.
> 
> Follow this
> 
> ...


I don't know if it's a driver issue or game issue. I just said that this driver don't correct this problem


Sora said:


> Follow this
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's useless because it's not neccesary to turn off side pair. Turn on 7.1 is necessary but turn on 96000khz at 24 bits or 32 bits (32 bits is appeared in the last driver 2.40.0016 and 2.40.0018) is also necessary.

NB: with the last driver 32 bits has appeared in driver option
At 96000khz 32 bits, 7.1, works (side pair turn on or turn off)
48000 khz 32 bits 7.1, distortion
41000 khz 32bits 7.1, distortion,
At 96000khz 24 bits, 7.1, works (side pair turn on or turn off)
48000 khz 24 bits 7.1, distortion
41000 khz 24bits 7.1, distortion,
48000 khz 16 bits,  7.1, distortion,
41000 khz 16bits,7.1, distortion
96000khz 16 bits,  7.1, distortion

At 96000khz 32 bits, 5.1, distortion
48000 khz 32 bits 5.1, distortion
41000 khz 32bits 5.1, distortion,
At 96000khz 24 bits, 5.1, distortion
48000 khz 24 bits 5.1, distortion
41000 khz 24bits 5.1, distortion,
48000 khz 16 bits,  5.1, distortion,
41000 khz 16bits,5.1, distortion
96000khz 16 bits,  5.1, distortion

At 96000khz 24 bits, 2.1, distortion
48000 khz 24 bits 2.1, distortion
41000 khz 24bits 2.1, distortion,
48000 khz 16 bits,  2.1, distortion,
41000 khz 16bits,2.1, distortion
96000khz 16 bits,  2.1, distortion


The only solution is to use 24bits or 32 bits at 96000khz and 7.1 (side pair turn on or turn off because it works in both case).

I don"t know why 96000 khz 24bits/32bits is necessary in forza horizon 4 but maybe it's not only a game issue.



Sora said:


> I didn't expect openal to be fixed, but im looking into a OpenAL32 router fix that monitors streams and clears the stream buffer when it detects stale streams.


If you find any solution, it would be wonderfull.


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## erpguy53 (Apr 11, 2019)

Sora said:


> XFTI_PCDRV_L11_2_40_0018  is out now.
> 
> properly signed, try on 19h1



the 2.40.0018 creative audio driver supports only these X-FI audio cards:



> Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty® Champion Series
> Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
> Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Professional Audio
> Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
> Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium OEM



other X-FI series like "X-FI Titanium HD", "X-FI Xtreme Audio" and "X-FI XtremeMusic" are not covered / not supported by v2.40.0018 of that driver and still have outdated drivers


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## lexluthermiester (Apr 11, 2019)

erpguy53 said:


> and still have outdated drivers


What do you mean by "outdated"?


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## Athlonite (Apr 12, 2019)

yeah drivers are only outdated if they stop working with you os or start having serious issues that haven't been fixed until then a working driver is still a gooden


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## lexluthermiester (Apr 12, 2019)

Athlonite said:


> yeah drivers are only outdated if they stop working with you os or start having serious issues that haven't been fixed until then a working driver is still a gooden


Right. Drivers only need to be "updated" if they;
1. Have any problems
2. Need patching to be compatible with a current OS
3. Additional features are being added

Otherwise if it's not broken, don't fix it.


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## CityCultivator (Apr 12, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> Right. Drivers Any software only need to be "updated" if they;
> 1. Have any problems
> 2. Need patching to be compatible with a current OS
> 3. Additional features are being added
> ...


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## Apocalypsee (Apr 12, 2019)

I used Titanium HD and yes it is older driver, but outdated? Nah. There are no new games that going to used its feature, and the drivers works fine in newer Windows. Its weird why Creative have separate drivers for it even though its using the same DSP, but the drivers works as intended.


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## TheGoddessInari (Apr 21, 2019)

I don't suppose anyone knows if the OEM X-Fi Titaniums that were bugged on the drivers and unable to handle 44.1khz-based modes without freezing the system finally get a fix in this driver?
I'd moved onto Sound Blaster Z, but the Titanium worked better in some cases for having everything (including mixing) handled in discrete hardware.
Apparently the AE-5 can't even handle ASIO in non-exclusive mode which is pretty much one of the only reasons to get a Creative PCIe card over a cheaper "professional" USB audio interface.


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## lexluthermiester (Apr 21, 2019)

TheGoddessInari said:


> I don't suppose anyone knows if the OEM X-Fi Titaniums that were bugged on the drivers and unable to handle 44.1khz-based modes without freezing the system finally get a fix in this driver?


A long time ago(years). Both the official drivers and the DanielK variants.


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## TheGoddessInari (Apr 21, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> A long time ago(years). Both the official drivers and the DanielK variants.



I was asking about these drivers specifically (2.40.0016/0018) because the previous drivers, including daniel_k and official, never fixed it or blacklisted the samplerates from being selected or enumerated by applications on the OEM cards. It still causes freezes.


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## Athlonite (Apr 21, 2019)

TheGoddessInari said:


> I was asking about these drivers specifically (2.40.0016/0018) because the previous drivers, including daniel_k and official, never fixed it or blacklisted the samplerates from being selected or enumerated by applications on the OEM cards. It still causes freezes.



So why bother with it if it locks up the PC just use 48KHz instead


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## lexluthermiester (Apr 21, 2019)

TheGoddessInari said:


> I was asking about these drivers specifically (2.40.0016/0018) because the previous drivers, including daniel_k and official, never fixed it or blacklisted the samplerates from being selected or enumerated by applications on the OEM cards. It still causes freezes.


Why do you need that specific version?


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## TheGoddessInari (Apr 21, 2019)

> So why bother with it if it locks up the PC just use 48KHz instead


Various software will enumerate the 44.1/88.2khz sample rates and lock up the system. You can't actually avoid it on these cards. If they blacklisted the sample rates in the driver/ASIO config, it wouldn't even be an issue.


> Why do you need that specific version?


It's the only version released in 3 years, and the reason this thread exists? It says it fixes additional bugs, I was asking if anyone happens to know if this major bug is finally fixed...


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## lexluthermiester (Apr 21, 2019)

TheGoddessInari said:


> Various software will enumerate the 44.1/88.2khz sample rates and lock up the system. You can't actually avoid it on these cards. If they blacklisted the sample rates in the driver/ASIO config, it wouldn't even be an issue.


I have never encountered that problem. Interesting. What are you doing that triggers it?


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## Sora (Apr 23, 2019)

Sounds like a hardware fault,  the XFI is internally 48khz or 96khz (as a feature of the quadro DSP) and should transparently relock 44.1khz without issue or measurable artifacts.


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## TheGoddessInari (Apr 23, 2019)

The retail chips can reclock internally to 44.1khz in Audio Creation mode, the OEM chips can't and lock up. Will automatically do so if an audio creation app is enumerating in bit-perfect mode. Apparently that's the only real difference between Titanium and Titanium OEM, at least when I last asked Creative about it, and it was mentioned several times on the now-defunct Sound Blaster forums.
Not a hardware fault, just bad drivers by Creative and not bothering to fix it during the service life of the cards.
I wondered if they happened to fix it since it's probably the last driver the cards will get either way.
They never labelled the OEM cards any differently, so tons floating around on Amazon and EBay, all visually identical to retail cards. Doesn't help that even the SB0886 (the ones with EMI shroud; think they came in Fatal1ty boxes?) also had SB0880 labels and printing on them. Good luck figuring out which of the 6 visually identical Titanium non-HD models you're getting, with or without the shroud or random box.
Creative should've fixed that along with the OpenAL issues forever and a day ago.
It'd be nice if Creative ever released coherent release notes.


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## lexluthermiester (Apr 23, 2019)

TheGoddessInari said:


> Not a hardware fault, just bad drivers by Creative and not bothering to fix it during the service life of the cards.


Gonna have to agree with Sora, this seems like a hardware fault, not a driver issue. I have the Dell version of the XFi Titanium and it's never had this problem. I use 44.1khz mode frequently.


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## Sora (Apr 23, 2019)

the Quartet DSP and Emu20k2 (just renamed to CA20k2 like the Titanium HD) are the same between both,  there is nothing creative could do with the driver package that would break 44.1khz vs 48, anything you heard on the creative forums was gossip and i know factually that a lot of information posted there was blatant nonsense, particularly by a certain moderator.....


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## jackbluray (May 3, 2019)

TheGoddessInari said:


> I was asking about these drivers specifically (2.40.0016/0018) because the previous drivers, including daniel_k and official, never fixed it or blacklisted the samplerates from being selected or enumerated by applications on the OEM cards. It still causes freezes.


Normal because daniel K has never made any driver. The driver in daniel K pack is each time the same  driver as creative.


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## lexluthermiester (May 4, 2019)

jackbluray said:


> Normal because daniel K has never made any driver. The driver in daniel K pack is each time the same driver as creative.


While this is true, it's the custom configuration of said drivers that makes them special and preferred. This is also why I think the card in question has a hardware problem. I have the same card in one of my personal PC's, without the issue described.


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## Athlonite (May 7, 2019)

Well after downloading and installing the new driver from creative I'm left with a partially working device none of the apps work they all complain there's no device even when I pick the correct device it still throws the same error and around and around it goes where it stops nobody knows 

Creative Audio Control Panel





Creative Console Launcher pt1




Creative Console Launcher pt2 




and around and around it goes 

without those Dolby Digital doesn't work so anything with a DD5.1 audio track sounds like crap and my amp doesn't pick up that it's DD and auto swap to to DD 5.1 output


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## Sora (May 7, 2019)

Reinstall any of these applications and all of them will work again, one of the shared components got overwritten with an old/incompatible version.

a package in the format of the install cd with all current software and the new driver is available here https://mega.nz/#!BEtkWKDb!FFZ8M-UY0fsan_qQsexNuZls1nKExJkfetEEPXyeupo

all sub packages are configured to be individually installable via placement of setup related cabinet and support files.


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## er557 (May 7, 2019)

move along to sb z or xonar card already


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## utilizedamplitude (May 7, 2019)

er557 said:


> move along to sb z or xonar card already



Can't if you want hardware EAX


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## er557 (May 7, 2019)

soundblaster z  eax is supported, much better sounding than previous cards hardware implemented one. you mean of course via alchemy? that too is a rare feature nowadays


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## erpguy53 (May 7, 2019)

Apocalypsee said:


> I used Titanium HD and yes it is older driver, but outdated? Nah. There are no new games that going to used its feature, and the drivers works fine in newer Windows. Its weird why Creative have separate drivers for it even though its using the same DSP, but the drivers works as intended.



"X-FI Titanium HD" card (SB1270) uses a *different driver* than the "non-HD" Titanium X-FI cards (SB088x)

possible new driver for Titanium HD on Reddit (which makes it work on win10 v1903)
Titanium HD Driver fix for Windows 10 v1903

X-FI Titanium HD drivers for 1903 : when?


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## Sora (May 7, 2019)

>"X-FI Titanium HD" card (SB1270) uses a *different driver* than the "non-HD" Titanium X-FI cards (SB088x) 

it doesn't, the driver binaries don't have any difference in feature sets compared to the non hd, it all comes down to minor differencing in the Inf, hence why the hd device work with danielk's repacks.


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## erpguy53 (May 24, 2019)

new beta driver for other X-FI cards
Xfi 20k1 Drivers for Windows 1903 (BETA)

should also work along danielk's packs


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## spectatorx (May 24, 2019)

erpguy53 said:


> new beta driver for other X-FI cards
> Xfi 20k1 Drivers for Windows 1903 (BETA)
> 
> should also work along danielk's packs


So creative ditched their own forums in favor of reddit? Pretty lame move, a lot of history just threw to the bin.

Well, anyway, i will try this driver.

Or i will not as setup shows to me message about unsupported hardware but i have creative x-fi titanium and windows 10 1903.


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## utilizedamplitude (May 24, 2019)

I must have missed it somewhere but what is the problem these drivers are meant to fix?

Both my card works fine in windows 10.

Never mind I googled it and see I'm on Windows build 1803 which is unaffected by the issue. Apparently on build 1903 the speakers are not detected.


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## Sora (May 28, 2019)

spectatorx said:


> So creative ditched their own forums in favor of reddit? Pretty lame move, a lot of history just threw to the bin.
> 
> Well, anyway, i will try this driver.
> 
> Or i will not as setup shows to me message about unsupported hardware but i have creative x-fi titanium and windows 10 1903.



Creative's forum got hacked and instead of doing an audit and updating their systems they dumped it.

I have a reddit post open atm asking if they plan to fix the OpenAL issues they introduced to titanium cards with the 2.40 packages.


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## spectatorx (May 28, 2019)

Sora said:


> Creative's forum got hacked and instead of doing an audit and updating their systems they dumped it.
> 
> I have a reddit post open atm asking if they plan to fix the OpenAL issues they introduced to titanium cards with the 2.40 packages.


Yep, i totally know the reason and imo that's the lamest reason i've ever heard of.


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## jackbluray (Jun 24, 2019)

New driver 2_40_0019 
                                        XFTI_PCDRV_L11_2_40_0019.exe

This download contains the driver and application(s) for use with your Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium series of audio devices. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.
This download supports the following devices only:

Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty® Champion Series
Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Professional Audio
Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium OEM
_Fixes:_

Fix no audio heard or "Unable to find audio device" error, with Windows 10  RS4 (Versioin 1803) and above.
_Requirements:_

Microsoft® Windows® 10 32-bit or 64-bit
Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium audio devices listed above


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## spectatorx (Jun 24, 2019)

Thanks for info! Downloading and installing now.


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## lexluthermiester (Jun 24, 2019)

jackbluray said:


> New driver 2_40_0019
> XFTI_PCDRV_L11_2_40_0019.exe
> 
> This download contains the driver and application(s) for use with your Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium series of audio devices. For more details, read the rest of this web release note.
> ...


Not finding it right away. Happen to have a link?


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## spectatorx (Jun 24, 2019)

Creative Worldwide Support > Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
					

Welcome to Creative Worldwide Support. Get technical help for your Creative products through Knowledgebase Solutions, firmware updates, driver downloads and more.



					support.creative.com
				



Better bookmark it as the site is with time more hard to find via google or duckduckgo.


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## lexluthermiester (Jun 24, 2019)

spectatorx said:


> Creative Worldwide Support > Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
> 
> 
> Welcome to Creative Worldwide Support. Get technical help for your Creative products through Knowledgebase Solutions, firmware updates, driver downloads and more.
> ...


Thanks mate!


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## erpguy53 (Jun 25, 2019)

there's also a new driver for X-FI XtremeMusic & other X-FI cards not related to X-FI Titanium - (v2.30.0012) posted 6/25 on Creative's web site
X-Fi XtremeMusic


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## duckson (Jun 25, 2019)

Did this new driver helped u guys? Mine still doesnt work. My card is elite pro if that matters. I am still looking for a solution..


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## spectatorx (Jun 25, 2019)

Does your card doesn't work at all? Titanium here and this card has always been working, on all OSes with all drivers for this card at at least basic level which to me is working 5.1 analogue audio.


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## duckson (Jun 26, 2019)

Forgot to add, it does play sound and shows its Creative X-FI etc in sound setting, but when i open Creative Audio Control Panel or any other Creative program, it says the usual "not supported not found."


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## spectatorx (Jun 26, 2019)

Have you tried to reinstall the driver? Seems like it didn't install and that's why these give such error. Try clean install.


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## duckson (Jun 26, 2019)

Any idea on how? Is it Safe boot related procedure? or do you have a link to one?


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## spectatorx (Jun 26, 2019)

Wagnard added such option to DDU but i'm not sure if it is working properly or at all. Just standard removal procedure:
1. in windows settings disable automatic driver updates
2. Uninstall driver
3. after reboot optionally remove all creative related folders and temp and prefetch system files
4. install driver.


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## Sora (Jun 26, 2019)

reinstall an affected application so that all of them are repaired, the issue is because the creative driver installer forceibly overwrote shared creative libraries with an older version.


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## duckson (Jun 27, 2019)

Thanks all, i resolved the issue using a third party uninstaller, and properly remove all registry or any residue file left when uninstalled.

The rundown of my whole journey that led to this problem
0. Everything was working fine with all creative program launchable and sounding great etc then issue happened (sound crackling and volume up and down randomly) 
1. Thought my sound card driver or sound card had an issue due to sound card old age, in the end it was the speaker that was spoiled not sound card issue (my first step of troubleshoot was wrong and led to all this problem lol)
2. Uninstall and reinstall sound card driver via device manager etc.
3. Issue didnt go away, wrong procedure on uninstalling the Creative problem such as going to file directory and deleting them (didnt find them in add or remove program initially hence i went file directory)
4. Attempt to reinstall and got "error code 6003 creative" couldnt reinstall or any program back
5. found out the speaker was the issue and tried to system restore back to original state
6. Creative program couldnt work again, "not supported by the application etc" but still detect as creative x-fi and still play sound on another speaker
7. Here i am, in this forum.
8. Uninstalled and remove any creative stuff using a 3rd party uninstall that removes registry and residue file
9. Reinstalled the latest creative driver for audio driver and daniel_k driver back for those program
10. and here i am typing this with all issue begone!

Thanks all! It was a weird journey with wrong troubleshooting step led to this all problem


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## lowenz (Mar 19, 2021)

OpenAL sound dropping got solved by someone?

Card (X-Fi Titanium) is working well with lastest DK support pack on Windows 10 20H2, still OpenAL doesn't work right in "old" titles (Unreal 2, UT 2004, etc.). It works incredibly well in UT 3!

Audigy 2 ZS works like a charm with Audigy RX drivers, still sometimes the OS can't recognize it (and there's the infamous BSOD crash after restoring the session after a sleep) so the only trade-off to get HW OpenAL+EAX is to use the X-Fi Titanium :/ (and 'cause the X-Fi does an excellent 5.1->stereo downmix for the headphones, plus HRTF if you want it -> "CMSS-3D Virtual" )


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## spectatorx (Mar 19, 2021)

lowenz said:


> OpenAL sound dropping got solved by someone?
> 
> Card (X-Fi Titanium) is working well with lastest DK support pack on Windows 10 20H2, still OpenAL doesn't work right in "old" titles (Unreal 2, UT 2004, etc.). It works incredibly well in UT 3!
> 
> Audigy 2 ZS works like a charm with Audigy RX drivers, still sometimes the OS can't recognize it (and there's the infamous BSOD crash after restoring the session after a sleep) so the only trade-off to get HW OpenAL+EAX is to use the X-Fi Titanium :/ (and 'cause the X-Fi does an excellent 5.1->stereo downmix for the headphones, plus HRTF if you want it -> "CMSS-3D Virtual" )


How did you make it work in ut3?


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## lowenz (Mar 20, 2021)

It simply works as intended. No crashes, no sound drops.
UT 3 installed from the DVD release and patched to the lastest version.

CT_OAL in use confirmed by the perfect silence recording through RTSS (no DirectSound / WASAPI audio streams! Pure HW OpenAL so you can't grab it from Windows Audio Mixer/Stack).

Unreal 2 *NOT* working as expected ("thanks" to the infamous X-Fi Titanium issue): just launch an incendiary grenade and you got all the "ambience" sounds zeroed.
Just like UT 2004, Unreal 2 sound design is tailored around the Audigy 2 era products (running water doppler effect in Severnaya tunnels/sewers is plain SHIT  with the X-Fi).


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## Sora (Mar 20, 2021)

lowenz said:


> OpenAL sound dropping got solved by someone?
> 
> Card (X-Fi Titanium) is working well with lastest DK support pack on Windows 10 20H2, still OpenAL doesn't work right in "old" titles (Unreal 2, UT 2004, etc.). It works incredibly well in UT 3!
> 
> Audigy 2 ZS works like a charm with Audigy RX drivers, still sometimes the OS can't recognize it (and there's the infamous BSOD crash after restoring the session after a sleep) so the only trade-off to get HW OpenAL+EAX is to use the X-Fi Titanium :/ (and 'cause the X-Fi does an excellent 5.1->stereo downmix for the headphones, plus HRTF if you want it -> "CMSS-3D Virtual" )



it can be resolved on application end, but nobody ever made the changes to do so apart from oldunreal devs.

the function AL_STORAGE _AUTOMATIC is broken on CT_OAL drivers for PCIE XFI's (excluding the HD), developers that manage their own sound memory use do not encounter the dropped samples.

workarounds include








						Workaround when X-Fi gets stuck · LAGonauta/RetroArch@3d0893a
					

Cross-platform, sophisticated frontend for the libretro API. - Workaround when X-Fi gets stuck · LAGonauta/RetroArch@3d0893a




					github.com


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## lowenz (Mar 20, 2021)

Thanks man! So the HD has no issues? Well, good to know.

And what about the Audigy RX? It has the same "crash restoring the session after sleep" issue of the good old Audigy 2/ZS?
'cause IMHO the best OpenAL sound spatialization you can get in 2000-2005 games is the one featured by that chip (CA10300 / CA10200)


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