While in theory it is technically not possible to recover lost information as a result of lossy compression, Creative apparently has developed a device called the Xmod, which uses its X-Fi® Xtreme Fidelity™ to improve the sound quality of MP3, WMA, iTunes and AAC encoded music to beyond the quality of the original CD, according to what Creative claims. While the device is compact enough to easily carry around, it must be run from USB or from an optional AC power supply.
The Xmod enhances both the high and low end frequencies using two built in functions - the X-Fi Crystallizer and the X-Fi CMSS-3D. The first up-converts the audio to 24-bit and analyses the audio for signs of damage and truncation to restore the sound in drums, basses, cymbal crashes and guitar plucking damaged as a result of the lossy audio compression. The X-Fi CMSS-3D then creates a virtual surround sound effect through speakers or headphones to make the audio sound as if it is being played through a surround sound speaker setup.
As the device can function as standalone and is fed with a standard audio line-in, it does not require the use of any drivers to operate. The Xmod will be available in October for a suggested retail price of US$79.99.
|
The Creative Xmod enhances the low and high frequencies while improving audio dynamics for cleaner, richer sound that surpasses the original audio CD. Without requiring to install any software, it takes just seconds to connect to a PC or Mac, allowing users to instantly improve the playback quality of their music to the X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity experience. For connecting iPod, ZEN or any MP3 players to the Creative Xmod, an optional AC power adaptor is required. "There are more than 100 million people who listen to MP3, WMA or AAC music on their PCs, Macs or iPod or ZEN players, but the quality of these compressed music are highly compromised. The Creative Xmod enables them to listen to their music with audio that sounds even better than CDs." said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. "Now with Creative Xmod, all your music is instantly upconverted to Xtreme Fidelity standard in realtime through a simple and compact device!" The full Creative press release can be viewed here. Further details, including specifications about the product can be found here. |
From my experience of trying a wide range of audio plug-ins for different playback software, many claiming to improve the fidelity of MP3 music and ended up finding finding problems later on with each, I do find this product quite sceptical. Then again the only way to tell what it is really like is to actually try out it. If the product does deliver what it promises, it would also be interesting to see what bit rates one can go down to using each codec before the device is just about able to keep up with what Creative determines to be CD quality or even typical 128kbps MP3 quality. 😉
Feel free to discuss about this and other audio gadgets, including audio encoding on our Audio Forum.
Source: HEXUS lifestyle
