Transistor count doesn't really matter. Neither does the processor sou nd quality wise. The DAC is what really matters for sound quality, and they havnt changed it from Audigy 2 (except for the high end one)
I may only have a 100th of the transistors of the X-FI, but I know I have one of the worlds best sounding audio configuartions here
BTW: Did you know that Creative's highest end card IS NOT the X-FI. It's actually their EMU line