Back at the start of December last year, at work we were looking at USB sound options. On Amazon there were a few that were extremely cheap, so I thought I might as well order some for myself, even though I don't need any. They were sent from China / Philippines / Thailand, so took a while to get here, the last one arriving just yesterday.
I thought I might as well do a quick review on them, though I only tested the sound output capability, not the microphone in.
Two of the items I purchased actually turned out to be the same model, there were:
- USB 2.0 Mic Speaker 5.1 Audio Sound Card Adapter - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000N35A0Y £0.85
- SODIAL(TM) USB 5.1 Stereo Sound Card Adaptor (Windows 7 Compatible) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008KGL2L2 £0.78
The other one, which is a different model was sold as:
- USB 2.0 External Sound Card 3D 7.1 Audio Adapter - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00WJVGDX6 £0.39
Although all these claim to have surround sound, they actually just have a single basic stereo audio output (and a single mic input). The 7.1 adapter says as part of the product description Comes bundled with Xear 3D Sound simulation software, and turns your stereo speaker or earphones into a 7.1 channel environment!
. It didn't actually come bundled with any software (all 3 adapters were just in unbranded little plastic bags), but I presume that you can use software to (likely badly) simulate a surround sound effect when using headphones is how they justify labelling them as surround sound.
The blue '3D Sound' adapters both work the same, as you might expect. Sound is quite tinny and lacking in bass, but if you didn't have anything to compare it with, you may not notice this. That is to say, while the audio quality is not particularly great, it may well be 'good enough', particularly given the price.
The '7.1 Channel Sound' adapter I initially thought was faulty. Using my Creative EP-630 in-ear headphones there was heavy static and when I tried to play a song (or any sound) it would just create a high pitch tone. I then read some of the Amazon reviews of the USB sound adapter and saw some mentioned that if the headphone's impendance is too high, the USB adapter may not supply enough power for them to work properly. So I tried my Takstar Pro 82 over-ear headphones, and was pleasantly surprised. There was no static and the sound was pretty much the same as straight from the PC's headphone socket.
The '7.1 Channel Sound' also features buttons for mute mic, mute sound, volume up, and volume down. I didn't test the mic mute button, but the others all worked fine with my Win 10 based PC.
To sum up, if you're interested in just adding sound to your PC / laptop for as cheap as possible and don't care too much about the sound quality, then I'd suggest getting one of the '3D sound' models. If you do care about sound quality then I'd suggest you should be willing to spend considerably more than £1 and get a decent (well reviewed) adapter from a more well known manufacturer.
