USB Sound Cards

[Ernie]

Well the plug outlet on my laptop for sound finally stopped working, right in the middle of a party... Murphy\'s law. I was looking online to get an idea of what it cost to get it repaired and found information on USB Sound Cards. I went to Amazon to see if they carried them. They had a lot of them for sale. They are generally about 5 to 10 dollars. Has anyone used one of these? If so, was the sound as good? Any information or brand name would be appreciated.

Ernie

[Roy Dennis]

Is this on your new Windows 10 computer ?
What makes you sure it’s the plug outlet on your computer that’s at fault ?

Can you be sure it’ not anything to do with the lead or a Windows sound setting ?

[Ernie]

Roy, This is Windows 7 on a Dell 17.3 laptop. The first time I had a problem I messed with it until it worked. The second time I had a problem I thought maybe it\\\'s the plug and not the computer. I went and bought another cord and when I plugged it in, the same thing. I also took a meter and checked both cords for continuity. That told me they were good and the computer was the problem. I\\\'ve always been able to mess with it and get it to work, but last night was an embarrassment. If these USB Sound Cards work, then that would be simple cheap and an easy fix.

Thanks for the interest,
Ernie

[Roy Dennis]

I myself use a Native instruments Tractor Audio 2 but it’s not cheap, around $100 US.

The cheap ones do still work if you want to go that way and might be worth a try and just discard if your not happy with the result.

I think you will get a few replies regarding this so hang on a bit

[WaltR]

Originally Posted by Ernie

Roy, This is Windows 7 on a Dell 17.3 laptop. The first time I had a problem I messed with it until it worked. The second time I had a problem I thought maybe it\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s the plug and not the computer. I went and bought another cord and when I plugged it in, the same thing. I also took a meter and checked both cords for continuity. That told me they were good and the computer was the problem. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ve always been able to mess with it and get it to work, but last night was an embarrassment. If these USB Sound Cards work, then that would be simple cheap and an easy fix.

Thanks for the interest,
Ernie

Ernie, I have used cheap usb sound cards for years and they work fine. Some of the small ones are susceptible to breaking if you accidently put pressure on them while plugged into the usb jacks. I usually have 3 or 4 of them in my brief case just in case I break them. I don\\\'t remember what I paid for them but they were less than $10.00. They look much like a usb flash drive. You can find them on Amazon. If you want to spend a little more and get a larger one that uses a cable to plug into the usb port it will be a little more durable. Good luck.

[Ernie]

WaltR,
Thanks for the information. I just ordered one with 6\" cord. I wish I would have known about these a long time ago. After what you said I\'ll order another one just to have a spare

Thanks again,
Ernie

[WaltR]

Originally Posted by Ernie

WaltR,
Thanks for the information. I just ordered one with 6\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" cord. I wish I would have known about these a long time ago. After what you said I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ll order another one just to have a spare

Thanks again,
Ernie

You are welcome and good luck to you!

I should have mentioned this before but I didn\\\'t think of it at the time. Maybe you already know this but you can use the usb of your computer to hook up directly to a mixer, that is if the mixer is equipped with a usb setup. I am using that now on a Peavey mixer I have. You have to be careful though when purchasing a mixer with usb connections because some only allow your computer to be controlled at the master circuitry which means you can\\\'t control the volume of your computer without it changing the volume of you mics that you have connected to the mixer, unless you control the volume at the computer which is a pain. The one I use allows me to assign the usb to one of the channels on the mixer so I can control the volume as I do the mics before the signal reaches the master circuitry of the mixer. If you want more info on this let me know.

[Ernie]

WaltR,
I will be hooking mine up to a receiver. That\'s the way I had it before. All of the controls are on the receiver. I have Amazon Prime, so I\'m suppose to get it Tuesday. I\'ll let you know how everything turns out.

Thanks,
Ernie

[Ernie]

WaltR, I received it today and plugged it in and it didn\'t work. On my last message I said receiver, I meant to say amplifier. Looks like I\'ll have to take my laptop and get the audio port replaced.

Ernie

[Roy Dennis]

When you first plug it in you should see a pop up saying something like setting up your device.
You than have to select it in windows/playback sound settings. To do that right click on the little speaker icon on task bar, select sounds then in the dialog that pops up, select Playback tab then you should see the new soundcard listed, right click on it and you might have to enable it first then right click again and select “Set as default”
Once you have done that start Hoster, if it doesn’t auto open the audio settings then select Tools/Audio tab/ then in the Playlist audio card dropdown select it again and press Apply.


Hope that helps.

[Ernie]

Roy, I got it to work. I was getting on MTU to say it was working and saw your post. I called Amazon to let them know I was returning it. After I got off the phone with them I got an idea and thought I would go to the basement and try it. When I turned on the computer and opened Hoster that box opened up on it\'s own. Today when I plugged it in nothing happened. I guess shutting it down and then turning it on is what made it appear. All I know is I\'m a happy guy. I\'m glad you posted, because I learned something. Now I have to call Amazon to cancel sending it back and also order a spare.

Thank you Sir,
Ernie

[WaltR]

Originally Posted by Ernie

Roy, I got it to work. I was getting on MTU to say it was working and saw your post. I called Amazon to let them know I was returning it. After I got off the phone with them I got an idea and thought I would go to the basement and try it. When I turned on the computer and opened Hoster that box opened up on it\\\'s own. Today when I plugged it in nothing happened. I guess shutting it down and then turning it on is what made it appear. All I know is I\\\'m a happy guy. I\\\'m glad you posted, because I learned something. Now I have to call Amazon to cancel sending it back and also order a spare.

Thank you Sir,
Ernie

Glad you got it worked out!

[Lonman]

The cheap ones work - a little better than the headphone jack (which should never be used for more than headphones). Also look at the Lexicon Alpha - it\\\'s set for pro connections (balanced 1/4\\\" jacks vs consumer grade RCA jacks). And sounds much better (fuller/crisper) then the cheaper ones that are just above headphone grade quality.

[bryant]

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[Ernie]

Lonman,
Here\'s the one I bought from Amazon. It\'s for speakers. I love it. It\'s nice and tight.