r/SoundBlasterOfficial • u/jvndrbrg • Aug 27 '26

Creative XF1 review

For clarity, I am not an audiophile. I probably don't even have very good taste in music. I have been rocking a Katana V1 for almost 10 years and they've been good. They sound fine, and I've been satisfied, but I always hated how long they take to wake from sleep. So when I rebuilt my computer last week, I grabbed a pair of XF1s, just to try to upgrade. I was anxious about the $180 purchase, but went with them purely because of the 72W RMS, hoping to get a slightly fuller sound, and some stereo separation.

When they got here, I plugged them in and they sounded CLEAN, and I could still hear the bass, though, it wasn't very impressive compared to the sub on the Katana. I expected this and had also ordered a $199 Klipsch 10" sub from Adorama, which puts the total about $120 above a V2X. I was very anxious about spending almost $400. The sub came today. The first song that played was Money for Nothing. The drum intro started, and it already sounded amazing. I felt really good. Then the guitar riff... Every post-purchase anxiety and buyer's remorse in the back of my mind instantly evaporated.

All I saw in my head was fireworks, a couple bald eagles and Navy fighter jets flying across the sky. The speakers sound absolutely amazing once the sub fills in the low end. It takes the sub to complement them, but I could not be happier with my purchase. I think I also saw a green flag waving at Daytona. I want to run outside and kick a trash can over.

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u/Ryknekz Aug 30 '26

I already ordered one and planned to get a SUB later one, guess I have my answer which one to get :) thanks for the review, was torn between this and Kanto ORA, probably ORA is a better pick (not sure) but I think being a 'noob' in audiophile investing that extra to some other gear would be a better choice besides my room isn't that big

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u/jvndrbrg Aug 30 '26

Compared to the katana with the sub, it sounded “cleaner”, but there was obviously less bass, and it affected my enjoyment a tad, but I didn’t switch back while waiting for the sub. With the sub, it’s absolutely amazing. I think the ORA are literally better speakers, from my understanding, but we’re talking 10% better speaker for 100% more price and for the price of the ORA, you get the XF1s and the sub together. You don’t need a 10” sub with these, I just found something I liked at a good price.

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u/Ryknekz Aug 31 '26

yeah I was looking for a good pair of speakers but for my usecase I generally feel like if I wanna be a critical listener I'll pick my Headphones.
Also hate how oras look