USB Sound Cards, No-name or Known Brand?

Ldecr on 16/04/2016 - 11:00

I'm in the market for a USB connected sound card as the integrated one on the mobo is fried (yes, I should replace the whole thing but can't afford a full upgrade at this time). There are tons of cheapos on ebay, any experiences with them or are they a waste of time and effort?

I've had one set of USB connected headphones suddenly go 100% volume full on static on me which resulted in ringing ears for a few days so I'm a bit cautious when it comes to this.

So, are the cheapo ebay ones any good or am i better off buying say the Creative SBLive play 2? Linux support would be a plus, support for the sblive one seems inconclusive. Basically anything (half)decent USB-3.5mm jack will do, no need for microphone.

Thanks for any ideas. Price range max $30, less is better :)

Computing

Comments

  • altomic on 16/04/2016 - 11:11

    I use one of these bought for 99cents delivered does everything I need i.e. get music out of my computer.

    worked flawlessly for years. though initially the glue holding the casing came undone but a piece of sticky tape saved the day.

    i like it as it can plug in to one of the front usb ports so that I have less "stretch" for my headphone cable.

  • retiredfeline on 16/04/2016 - 11:14

    If you are just going to listen using them on headphones, you can get away with a cheapo unit. Linux support usually isn't a problem but for a dollar, not much risk. If you are going to connect them to an amp, then maybe better quality is warranted.

    • decr on 16/04/2016 - 11:31

      Mainly headphones, 2.1 powered desktop speakers at best so not much requirements there. Thanks for the reply.

      • altomic on 16/04/2016 - 13:39

        i used to plug my amp into it (hard rubbish collection amp but fully working) and there wasn't a problem with it. no distortion etc.

        • retiredfeline on 16/04/2016 - 13:48

          hard rubbish collection amp

          Modern cheap computer hardware is often better quality than old audio hardware. But if it has valves or a volume knob that goes to 11, it's very valuable. :)

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