Creative Labs Sound Blaster Play! 3 External USB Sound Adapter for Windows and Mac. Plug and Play (No Drivers Required). Upgrade to 24-Bit 96Khz Playback

I got this to replace one of those cheap dongles that Ive had forever, I had it on the end of a USB extension cord so I could have a headphone and mic jack right on top of my desk. This is just a way better version of that. I originally was looking for a bigger DAC, maybe even an audio interface, but unsurprisingly those are both WAY too expensive. Surprisingly though, for me, Im definitely able to tell that the sound quality is a lot better with this than the old dongle, even with this cheap headset I use. The high bit rate and bit depth definitely make a difference even with cheap headphones, even though its not at all ideal. Other reviews mention that theres a hiss when using this, specifically when monitoring the microphone, but Im able to use it just fine without any hint of hissing. And yes, definitely install the drivers so you can disable all of the enhancements.

This is a little more expensive than some of the most basic USB sound devices, and you get what you pay for. I had a way cheaper USB single-jack sound card on a laptop with no mic port, and sound was choppy, it chewed up a lot of CPU cycles, and there was little fine tuning you can do. In typical Creative fashion, this device doesnt suffer any of these issues. It is super simple to install, the software provides for some decent tweaking and it just plain works. Its larger than many similar devices, but the hardware inside that keeps it from chewing up unnecessary cycles and keeping the audio clean justify the size, in my opinion. Highly recommend this for port-strapped systems.

I got this sound card initially for a problem I was having with my internal sound card on my laptop. I then decided to try it out on my newer laptop with Windows 11. I did that and downloaded the driver. I was not the least bit impressed with the sound and was ready to throw in the towel. I put it back with the older computer as the sound card in it was not working properly and at the cheap price, it was better than doing without no sound at all. Then, this evening, November 17, I thought I would give it another try. But, this time, I did not load the Creative drivers, I let Windows 11 set up the drivers for me. I went in to change the sampling rate to 96/24 on the sound properties menu and something magical happened. When I put the music on Tidal on HiFi setting, it was like a totally different sound card. The sound stage opened up and magic happened!!! Whatever you do NOT DOWNLOAD THE CREATIVE DRIVERS FOR THIS CARD. Let Windows set up the driver by itself. Their program was choking the lifeblood out of this little gem of a sound card. I am happy that I gave it another chance :)

Bought this because my front panel headset jack wasnt working and I wanted to keep my speakers plugged into rear audio. This works great and solved my problem.

Like other reviewers, this is an excellent choice when picking a USB audio adapter after failure of on-motherboard audio on a Windows desktop PC. This Creative SB adapter delivers great sound at a nice price. Unlike cheaper USB audio units, this SB adapter is quiet during PC bootup and shutdown -- other inexpensive units can produce loud popping noises as the USB gets power, loads driver, etc. Recommended.

So I wanted to be able to use a non USB gaming headset across several computers I switch between during the day using a USB KVM. This was cheap, a known brand with good reviews and works perfectly for the task I needed and sounds great as well. Switches between Windows, Mac and Linux with no issues, love it.

I bought this to bypass my laptops bad headphone jack. Works great without extra software (in windows 11 that is.) The adapter sometimes stops works for no obvious reason; could be from being plugged into an unpowered usb hub. The software (Sound Blaster PLAY! 3 Control Panel) is functionally just an equalizer with some effects and has nothing that justified keeping it installed.

UPDATE 6/20 I decided to plug this back on my computer to see if I was being too rough with the Play!3. $20 with an equalizer, surround, expander, and ability to add high gain cant be as bad as I wrote. It is that bad. Im using a HD tracks and a Status Audio CB-1 and a Fluance power speaker. I did buy a CLIPTHAT HiFi DAC/Headphone Amp for $14 bucks and it sounds approximately 25% better. The Creative has more power, but it is really garbage. Im only disappointed that my review are a few pages back. I wanted to use the CLIPTHAT on my phone and use the Creative on the computer. Nope, it is going back to the drawer. Dont buy this DAC/Amp. It is tempting to get a super bargain, its hot garbage. I dont know why anyone would write a positive review. On the positive note, it works. Its a DAC and the music files sounded better than a 7-year-old GeForce NVIDIA soundcard. The amp section isnt up to snuff for use for powered studio monitors. However, everyone should realize that a USB dongle doesnt have an effective headphone amp (maybe for earbuds, it would work). It was my mistake or temporary brain cramp. The SBX Pro Studio software sounds hollow and glitchy when you use higher levels. It has a surround, Crystalizer (expander), and Bass effects. Again, its a tiny USB dongle and only temporarily insanity would believe that it is anything other than poo. Its better to not use them, in my opinion. But, for $20, it works. Are they awesome like the other reviews? Maybe, but probably not. The reason I changed my review was Creatives Customer Service. They sent me an email to see if I was satisfied. I sent a no and said that I didnt like the SBX Pro Studio. I didnt make demands or for a refund; I just wanted them to know that it isnt great. The CS agent told me that it was an entry-level product and if I wanted pristine sound audio, (the ad said, Studio Quality Listening) I should have purchased a $120 DAC from Creative. What!?!? After 2 more emails, I am done with Creative. I assume that customer satisfaction is to buy (for 6X the price of the product I just bought!!!) more from them and continue sending emails until you get tired of writing. I could continue with their blather, but its not worth it for a $20. I would suggest that its not OK to buy this DAC, but its would be better to do more research for a less glitchy product (XTrem Pro X1 has a DAC/Amp with a Sabre chip for $30) and avoid customer service, except to return it. However, since Amazon has buried my 1-star review and has purchased this DAC, turn the volume to 65% in the Control Panel and turn off the SBX Crap-filled Studio. Be aware that Creative is going to change the soundcard during installing the DAC and, if (when) you update to a better DAC, it will have issues. It will need updates on your soundcard. Please, dont buy Creative stuff. The marketing is great and there are so many 4.5 star reviews that they are from fake reviewers. There are bad reviews, but I am a general trusting man and figured that the reviewers were expecting a $5,000 audiophile DAC. However, they are spot on and should have listened to them. I join with them to tell you to get from another company. I am grateful that I only lost $20 and learned the lesson that free stuff for Amazon reviews and YouTube reviewers are what theyre in the Creative world. I, certainly, will never buy any Creative product from this time forward. I hope you do the same, they suck.

And the sound quality is, uh, really surprisingly good considering the price! I use a buffered preamp rig with my guitar so its easy to get the levels within a range that the device loves, and within that range as long as I set up to avoid clipping (an important part of using any sound card, not just one youve MacGuyvered into some weird stuff) it delivers ASIO-low latency and allows me to record my guitar simultaneously with other audio sources as configured in my DAWs per track input settings. I honestly didnt expect this to work and Im delighted. OH! Also! It has great sound quality with high impedance headphones. I love this about it. No hiss, no issues at all, and more volume than youd expect too. For a bit over $20 Im blown away, its awesome. Dont be afraid to treat it weird.

Necesitaba tener una entrada adicional de sonido en mi macbook para poder evitar el loopback