Easier living with your low quality MP3s.

MP3s are here to stay. Although bandwidth availability to the average home has increased to a point which is making lossless formats more widely available and has increased the bit rate found on most downloadable mp3 files, the fact is that there is still an awful lot of music out there being downloaded (and that has already been downloaded) in lossy MP3 format which is at the bottom of the digital music quality totem pole.

I have a friend who an absolute audiophile and has probably spent about as much on acquiring audio equipment as I have on my car. I love music as much as the next person and we tend to have this ongoing debate about which is better: having millions of songs in varying degrees of digital sound quality or having only thousands in full 24 bit lossless. I have always been willing to compromise some quality in favor of quantity, while he has not. Now there may be a way for me to compete a little more closely in terms of quality without having to go and seek out everything I own in digital music in a 24 bit and converted a lossless format.

Creative claims that it can make my mp3s come alive.

The idea behind Creative’s XMod is to be able to enhance the sound quality of mp3s and other formats of compressed music as well as that of store bought CDs to a level which surpasses the original studio sound. A rather tall claim for sure, and if it is true a rather promising idea in terms of potential demand for such a product. Creative claims to achieve this by enhancing existing source files to 24 bit thus surpassing the quality of CD.

Product Description

The XMod is a small rectangular is 4.5 x 1.8 inch device made of plastic which comes currently only in white. It features a large central knob as its main control which is used to adjust the volume or the level of each effect and can be pressed to mute the device. There is also a button on each side to toggle effects on or off and three small lights above the volume knob which will indicate whether an effect is currently being controlled by the knob or just volume. On the top end are a USB jack and an audio in jack, and on the bottom there is a headphone output and an audio out.

The XMod features two X-Fi effects: CMSS 3D and Crystalizer. The CMSS is basically the same surround sound effect that Creative provides in its sound blaster line of products. It can effectively make a 2 channel sound or an instrument which is coming out of one channel seem to pan across up to 9 speakers for a fullַD’ range of effects which is even more apparent with headphones. It is especially effective with movies but provides a nice smooth ‘free of reverb’ ambience to music as well. The 24-bit Crystalizer however, which enhances source audio to 24 bit, is the real the selling point for XMod.

Does It Work?
Before buying this product I encountered a lot of skepticism which is understandable for any product which claims to be able to affect a result which is equivalent to recovering lost bits from a compressed source file where those bits are lost forever. I was however somewhat surprised by the number of people who adamantly refused to believe that the product could deliver as promised and were dismissive out of hand without ever having even listened to the results. (I’m guessing my audiophile friend might be one of them, although we have not had a chance yet to discuss the XMod, he does have some pretty hard set ideas about the known science behind digital sound reproduction and does not take kindly to any unfounded reports that the earth is anything other than flat until proven otherwise). Based on Creative’s reputation and my own experience with their sound cards and audio software in the past and combined with the reasonable price compared to the prospect of what the XMod promises to do, I broke down and tried it… and guess what?... it does deliver. Listening to MP3s and CDs using the XMod does enhance the listening experience, to my ear at least.

How Does It Work
Creative states that the 24 bit Crystalizer in real-time, restores the details and vibrancy to compressed audio by intelligently enhancing the highs and lows. This might sound like a simple matter of boosting the signal, but the reality is much more sophisticated. Creative has come up with an algorithm which identifies the particular types of highs and lows in the source recording and refills the specific type of data which was lost during compression. This is much different than simple interpolating to approximate the 24 bit waveform. It by nature has to be an approximation, but it is a new and intelligent one and the results are truly amazing. Source audio from mp3 is noticeably improved and should be easily discernable to even an average listener who may have not previously been aware that there was such a loss in quality inherent in mp3. Store bought CDs are not immune from quality deficiencies either as they are converted from the original studio source data to 16 bit and with the XMods Crystalizer effect turned on they are decidedly punchier.

Limitations
The XMod is small but this doesn’t necessarily translate into portable. The device takes power from its USB connection and does not come with a USB AC adapter which would be necessary for placing the unit between your portable mp3 player and your headphones. Even with the AC adapter which would allow this to work, you are effectively no longer mobile because you would have to stay near your power source. The little rubber feet on the bottom seem to lend support to the idea that this was designed as an accessory to your desktop PC or Mac.

Overall Impressions
The bottom line on the XMod is that it does deliver as promised and for the price offers a great alternative to either re-acquiring your favorite digital media in 24 bit format or to living with inferior quality. Its simple design and operation is a huge plus. It works with any audio source, is PC and Mac compatible and requires no drivers.