Holographic audio represents the next step in realistic and spatial sound reproduction in stereo headphones. Once you experience this sound – after making sure it’s not coming from any speakers around you – you realize how Creative has nailed it with its Super X-Fi technology. The impression is instant and fabulous in all sorts of settings. And all contained in headphones.
“Super X-Fi captures the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system in a professional studio, and recreates the same expansive experience , with the same original depth, detail, realism and immersion, in its headphones,” explains the firm. technology based in Singapore.
When you toggle the button to activate Super X-Fi technology , you notice how radically the sound changes. You no longer perceive the audio as if it were inside your head, but it envelops you, surrounds you. The feeling is really spectacular.
We are not talking about 7.1 virtual surround sound. At best, those audio algorithms offer a sense of directionality. In this case, what Super X-Fi does is move the sound to the space around you. As simple as that. And so completely. You adapt quickly to this new way of listening.
Great sound for music and games
The 3D holographic audio that we enjoy with this device excels with certain types of content . For music, for example, the effect is remarkable. Spatial audio makes Coldplay sound like it’s playing right in front of you in your living room. Try closing your eyes …
Is awesome.
And it is that the holographic audio technology makes the sound seem like it comes from several speakers located at a certain distance around the listener , instead of the headphones themselves. Its level of detail, sound, immersion, realism … is incredible. It’s like having the magic of holographic 3D, but in audio, and for headphones.
This technology is not as subtle as the jump from 1080p to 4K is in the audiovisual field. It makes the audio sound more natural and more like the world we live in. You may notice that the voices sound too much reverb, but it’s an option or effect that you can turn off with the push of a button.
The advantage of these Creative headphones is that you can use them with your computer, your laptop, your mobile and with consoles like the Playstation 4 or the Nintendo Switch … the quality is the same.
In addition, we can – and must – personalize our listening even more. The complementary application of the device, available for both iOS and Android, allows us to define our own head shape by means of a photograph of our face and ears to create a personalized listening experience. The algorithm creates a synthesized map of SXFI, recreating the holographic audio to the headphones, customized with the unique physical characteristics of each individual.
Creative, in fact, investigated how thousands of different people perceived sound, among other things, by placing microphones in the ears of study subjects, and fed the results into an artificial intelligence engine that predicts how other people will hear sounds.
A brutal change in the perception of what headphones are
“ We are at the forefront of a revolution in the way people experience sound with their headphones, where the audio experience is so expansive, immersive and realistic, that it will be the new standard in headphones. Once you try the Super X-Fi, you don’t want to go back to the old headphones. It’s like after watching TV in color, you don’t want to go back to black and white! This is the “Holy Grail” of headphone audio that the industry has been searching for. I believe that every headset of the future should sound like this. This milestone will change humanity’s appreciation of headphone sound through this gift called Super X-Fi, ”explained Sim Wong Hoo , CEO of Creative Technology.
We can find these holographic audio headphones in different models: the Creative SXFI AIR C, whose price is around 130 euros and the Creative SXFI AIR, for 160 euros.
