Want a sound card? Want a cleared sound that is not contaminated by electromagnetic interference in you computer’s case? Want that all to work in Linux?
I did. So I got me one of theseUSB sound cards. It arrived today in a tiny padded envelope.
And it works with Linux. Just plug and play. PulseAudio makes it all trivial. The device ID as reported by lsusb is 0c76:1607 JMTek, LLC. The text on the back of the device says ‘Model HY544 USB 3D Sound Pnp FC CE Made in China’.
Yeah, it’s awesome, this driver stuff in Linux.
I remember you mentioning Sennheiser headphones now and then so assume you are looking for quality sound. Well this product looks suspicious quality-wise, because of its size, color and model name. I’d rather go for a bit more expensive M-Audio USB card probably. Have Creative 5.1 X-FI USB now, basic functionality works but the advanced stuff like CMSS3D and IR remote are no go on Linux.
I’ll do a comparative testing of this sound card versus the build-in sound card on my ASUS motherboard using my Sennheiser headphones to test both when I get back home today.
What I am most interested in finding out is whether getting one of these miniplugs and a 5$ headset is a better deal than getting one of the 30$ USB headsets.
Yeah, still waiting for mine to arrive, as I recently blogged about. So you’re using it with your desktop system? I had read about complaints of hum and wanted to know if it would be hum-free with my wife’s Eee.
I’ve done a quick test now with both my Sennheiser headphones and a set of amplified speakers. I could not tell a difference between the built-in audion on my motherboard and this USB audio, except in high load situations where the video card and CPU are both stressed the USB audio does not crackle and pop like the build-in audio did.
So in my book, this USB audio is a clear winner!
I hope you did some GPU intensive stuff while testing (actually just scrolling a webpage in Firefox should do the trick) – it’s the number 1 electromagnetic interference cause in my book.
Also for desktop systems the proper solution is using a shielded sound card for example ASUS Xonar D2X.
One last question: can stereo output really be 3D?
But is the sound “3D”… well do you get many mixer options or just the usual volume control for a single stereo out?
But these cheap USB sound cards are very handy, and quite compatible.
A step up in quality is the Behringer UCA series.. they have RCA ins and outs and a quite reasonable (hifi or entry level “pro audio”) sound quality.
I even built from a kit the “Alien DAC” which gives a very high quality DAC which works with linux at a reasonable price.
If only the ALSA/pulse audio/whatever software stack wasnt such a mess….
I had one of these sound cards. It melted.
Niks: playing a GPU intensive game with GIMP compiling in the background with ‘make -j 8’ 😀
Ed: just get 10 of them.
Zog: no 3D that I could find. The mixer options are the most trivial – PCM, Mic level and a toggle labeled ‘Auto Gain’.
I’ve now heard some clicks when new sound channels are being opened on a very CPU loaded system, but no other negative effects in the sound. No buzzing, not whine, no hard drive crips.
I have one of these USB 3D Sound devices. It cost about $3. I got it because my laptop’s internal sound module died long ago.
It works automatically in Debian Lenny. I’m running standard GNOME, and I did have to select the new sound card for the various inputs and outputs in System – Preferences – Sound.
The device also works in Ubuntu Karmic and Lucid.
Right now I’m running it out of Lenny, and I’ve been very happy that such an inexpensive solution worked so well.
Okay, so I am new. I found this page while trying to figure out how to configure the usb “3d sound” card. I also paid $3 for mine. I got it because the sound in my laptop died, and I was trying to replace it without getting the laptop opened. If you have any suggestions or instructions I would be thankful. It came in a padded envelope with none of that.
When I received mine, all I did was disable the original, dead mainboard sound device in my BIOS settings, plug in the gadget to the USB port and boot the system. The 2.6.29 linux kernel detected it right away and because no other sound card was present on the system, it became the new default. No further installation of software or configuration was necessary. That being said, this blog’s comments are probably not the best place the conduct a help session, so if things don’t work, seek help from your OS vendor’s regular support channels.
I got one of these in an electronics mart in Shanghai because my Turtle Beach Advantage Micro died the night before.
Playback quality is not so good. And don’t think you will be able to use this with a mic for skype … there is a constant about of white noise in audio recorded from it.
i have got the same sound card but i dont known o sound is playing.do i have to configure anything?
I’ve got Windows XP and when I plug it in, the OS doesn’t reconize it. Actually it says that it couldn’t find the software for it. I’ve tried it on Windows 7 as well but it didn’t find it either.
Where do yo think I can find the software for it?
My father also having a problem his with sound card. Well, after reading your post, I must add this recommendation to my list. But I’m also confused, what is a 3D sound definition?
I have the same problem with xp media plyer
I like this. Just got mine few days ago.