As a far as a pure multimedia solution goes the Claro is superior to Creative's X-Fi. Not only is it better in terms of the actual quality of headphone and surround sound, it's also better from a software point of view, too. If you spend more time gaming than watching TV on your PC, the X-Fi is the undisputed choice. The X-Fi does EAX 3.0-5.0 and offers far more package variations that include extras like break out boxes and 5.25" bay adapters for extra port varieties and inputs.

Obviously, better speakers or headphones will do probably just as much for your audio experience, but you have to balance the cost of both. It should be an obvious complement considering the money often shelled out on graphics cards, CPUs, memory and monitors these days. If you're just after a plain soundcard to listen to music and video, the Claro will do far more for your audio experience than an X-Fi. Heavy gamers need not apply though

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