I recently got the SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3 software after watching a Phil's Computer Lab video on it, and I must say I'm very impressed with it. Not only can I now play all my EAX titles just fine (with the exception of overdone reverb), it also had the side effect of fixing the inconsistent audio volume issue I've been having. However, while playing Thief 2 with OpenAL audio via the NewDark patch, something dawned on me: MB3 doesn't do vertical positioning. At all. I'd noticed it in other EAX games like Star Wars: Battlefront 2, but was quite clear in Thief 2 where I could clearly see a guard below me, but he sounded like he was across from me on the same floor. I also noted that some games, like Project Eden, don't handle close-up sounds well; they sound farther away then they visually are.

I distinctly remember when I still had my (now-vintage) Creative X-Fi card, forcing on the CMSS-3D effects made a world of difference. The elevation and macro (or whatever the heck the close-range audio was called) FX would actually take the 3D data and appropriately mark the distance and height, so when I played Thief 2 NewDark with my old X-Fi and CMSS-3D, that same guard from before would visually match the sounds he was making.

As such, I was wondering: with X-Fi cards, dedicated, USB, or otherwise, possessing CMSS-3D seemingly out-of-print, are there any other options for getting full EAX and EFX support and CMSS-3D-esque audio in this day and age? Or do I need to jump onto eBay or craigslist just to find another X-Fi?