Super X-Fi Headphone Processor Review
Following my attending the Sonic Carrier demo at CES, I moved to the Super X-Fi headphone demo next door. Even the presenter at the Sonic Carrier demo said, "This device is like WOW!, but that one is like WHAT?! I don't even believe this!" I totally agree, this demo was almost unbelievable.
The concept behind the Super X-Fi processing is similar to the binaural recordings made using an artificial head to simulate the acoustic response of the human ears, head, and torso. In this case it consists of a similar type of processing applied in reverse to simulate the perception of a multi loudspeaker surround sound system using two channel headphone playback. Initially I had thought that it included custom built headphones, similar to custom IEMs, but it is much simpler an more ingenious than that. Here is my understanding of how it works and my impressions.
The process begins by taking photographs of both of the listener's ears and of the face. These photos are scanned by the Super X-Fi app, and reference points are created and matched to one of a number of pre-defined processing templates. The processing then creates a sound field that encompasses the effects that the individual listener's anatomy has on the audio. The results are stunning.
At the beginning of the demo, the participants were subjected to the measurement process. It was completely painless (just three picture snaps) and was completed in a few seconds. We were each assigned a profile which was used to process our individual audio feeds. Before the start of the demo, we were each fitted temporarily with miniature microphones in our ears, which were used to measure the response of a series of sweep tones from various loudspeaker locations. Apparently this was not a part of the actual demonstration, but was rather a way of gathering information to expand and refine the user profile database. The demo consisted of several clips played through both the speakers and the headphones for comparison. The speaker array was a 7.1 Atmos setup, using small Elac speakers for the fronts and small Klipsch speakers for the rears. The headphones were high-end E-mu semi open back models.
The presentation started with the standard Atmos demo clips played through the speaker array. It then switched to the headphones, and the reaction in the room was universal. We all had surprised looks on our faces as we looked around at each other. We non-verbally asked each other, "Are you hearing the same thing I am hearing? Did they forget to turn the speakers off?" Then we tentatively lifted the headphone cups from our ears and realized that the speakers were totally silent. The surround sound effect was amazingly lifelike and practically identical to the sound of the speakers. The jungle insects buzzing around our heads and the thunderstorms in the distance were perfectly recreated, including sounds from above and behind.
Over the many years I have been an audio professional, I have experienced numerous attempts at creating surround sound via headphones. These have included software processing designed by companies such as Creative Labs, Dolby, and others, as well as hardware solutions incorporating multiple drivers into the headphones. My personal hearing apparatus is particularly sensitive to phase discrepancies, and these attempts for me have ranged from dismal to barely, vaguely similar to the real thing. The Super X-Fi processing was a nearly imperceptible illusion of exactly what the 7.1 loudspeaker array sounded like. It was a truly impressive experience.
Following the Atmos clips, some music clips were played that had been processed for surround sound. Again, the headphone rendition was a nearly exact duplicate of the loudspeakers. Here, however, I did spot a small ***** in the Super X-Fi's armor. The front center of the soundstage exhibited some of that "in the middle of your head" headphone feel, but to me it was still better than most of the artificially induced ambience systems I have heard which try to remedy this.
The super X-Fi headphone processor is still in development, and it is designed to work with any headphone. It will be interesting to see how it works with various headphones and with IEMs. It was stated that the price of the processor dongle will be around $150. A limited version of the processing is available now by downloading the app.
This appears to be a game changing breakthrough in psycho-acoustic technology.
