LAS VEGAS -- Creative Audio makes a wide variety of audio equipment, from headphones, earphones, and PC sound cards to soundbars But what really caught my attention when I toured the company's products at CES 2020 was actually its software -- especially Super X-Fi Gen 2

Super X-Fi (abbreviated as SXFI) uses what Creative calls "headphone holography," an AI-enhanced surround sound experience that Creative debuted at CES 2019 The latest version, Gen 2, which I was able to audition in a short demo at CES, is, in essence, the most compelling virtual surround sound experience I've ever experienced

After preparing custom hearing profiles for me and the other media members present (in our case, we used small earphone microphones, but there is also a mobile app version that uses ear photos to determine the profile), Creative gave us a SXFI amplifier ($149 $149) and had us wear Creative's E-Mu headphones open-back with the SXFI amp attached

The box, about the size of a cigar lighter, takes the 35mm aux jack from the headphones and connects to the device of your choice via USB-C The total cable length is quite long, but a small sacrifice for the best audio

The demo began with a computer voice listing the speakers that make up the 71-channel surround sound in the demo room, moving from right to left

At first this seemed quite normal, but the demo leader urged me to remove my headphones I did so, but silence ensued Creative had fooled us into thinking that the speakers were making the sound, but they were not; it was the SXFI-enhanced headphones that were making the sound Even those reporters who knew the original version of last year's SXFI, myself and my fellow reporters all voiced various expressions of shock, surprise, and delight

The demo was followed by several sample videos that showed us what SXFI is capable of A fun fight scene in a bamboo forest in House of Flying Daggers, a portion of the motorball game in Alita, Battle Angel, a sample of Mongolian heavy metal (now my new favorite musical genre), and finally, the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction s opening lyrics and chorus

Everything sounded great through my SXFI amp-equipped headphones Heavy metal was originally a stereo recording, and in the case of the Rolling Stones, a mono recording, but the SXFI made these flat recordings sound much louder and did justice to the work of these talented musicians

SXFI is available in a huge variety of products from Creative headphones with built-in amplifiers like the amplifier I used in this demo, the upcoming SXFI Trio wired earphones (named SXFI-Wire), or app-enabled software versions of headphones like the Aurvana SXFI Trio neckband wireless earphones available for purchase Gamers should especially take note of the upcoming SXFI Gamer headphones These headphones use a customized version of this software, tuned for FPS games, that allows you to spot enemies before you see them on screen [For the SXFI Theater 'Phone, a USB dongle for use with a TV or monitor; for the Sound Blaster X3 amplifier, a computer amplifier for PCs and Macs; while the SXFI Carrier soundbar uses Dolby Atmos for normal playback, SXFI when headphones are connected

No matter which format you choose, you will experience Creative's amazing virtual surround sound And trust that you are listening

Be sure to visit the CES 2020 hub for the latest news and hands-on impressions from Las Vegas