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    USB Soundcard for $90

    Discussion in 'Accessories' started by bodosko, Jan 24, 2013.

  1. bodosko

    bodosko Notebook Consultant

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  2. Nemix77

    Nemix77 Notebook Deity

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    I like the one you got there.

    But for me personally, it's too bulky for consideration over my onboard Realtek sound which by the way sound fantastic with the my laptops JBL speaker and my Sennheiser ear buds.
     
  3. NinjaPirate

    NinjaPirate Notebook Consultant

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    I've used the Creative Recon3D for a while with my laptop and consoles. Not bad for the price, but in terms of straight up music performance it doesn't really do that well. The internal amp is also pretty pathetic, but on the flip side the 'THX mode' (like dolby headphone) is nice in some games. Sadly my Recon3D is playing up for some reason so I can't really vouch for the reliability of this product (luckily I have a Bifrost coming soon).

    Anyway enough blabbering, the U3 seems to be well received over on head-fi and my experience with the PCIe cards by Asus leave me quite impressed with their ability to make decent sounding audio products for a fairly low price. If you want the dolby features for gaming, then this would likely be a pretty decent bet for you. Just don't try to drive any low efficiency headphones with it and you should be fine. Please note that I don't have any experience with the U3 so all I've said is pure conjecture on my part.
     
  4. ViciousXUSMC

    ViciousXUSMC Master Viking NBR Reviewer

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    A DAC is a soundcard...

    But if you need mic input most devices advertised as a DAC wont have that.

    What is your goal here for the device? Need mic input? Gaming? Music? Headphones/Earbuds etc.
     
  5. bodosko

    bodosko Notebook Consultant

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    Its mostly for music, and a little gaming. I don't care about Dolby, THX, cause when I need it I play on my TV over HDMI and HomeTheater.
    The mic is important because my laptop onboard mic is crap. First I thought it could be the internal mic itself. But them I tested a bunch of external mics and all of them sounded crap. I have to turn mic boost all the way up to +30dB to start hearing something, but then background noise and hiss become louder than anything.

    Digging at Head-Fi forum I'm considering to buy a FiiO E07K (the new E7, which I had and know its awesome for music) and a cheap external soundcard like this Syba C-Media USB Audio Adapter for mic input, since I just use it for skype.
     
  6. Vogelbung

    Vogelbung I R Judgemental

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    How about the Creative X-Fi HD USB?

    Sort of on the large side, but bus-powered, pretty decent Dac action, headphone + mic input and optical to boot.