Our favourite external sound cards, featuring Epos and Creative.
This should have been fixed in a recent software update, and hasn’t occurred since in my testing.
If you want a compact USB sound card at a reasonable price, the GSX 300 is worth considering.
An S/PDIF optical output is also provided.
For more information, check out our fullSound Blaster X3 review.
What you lose in portability though, you gain back in power.
There are also four line-out ports and optical in/out.
For more information, check out our fullSound Blaster AE-9 review.
The higher the sampling rate, the more information is maintained from the original recording.
Bit depth: the number of bits of information used to record each sample in a lossless recording.
CD audio is 16-bit, while high-res audio is 24-bit.
Higher bitrates allow for improved signal-to-noise and dynamic range.
FAQ
What is a USB sound card?
Do I need a USB sound card?
If you havea nice headsetand care about this stuff, then it’s a worthwhile upgrade.
When does a USB sound card make sense?
Of course, you’ll need a nice headset to take full advantage of a nice sound card!
What specs should I care about?
Got a question we didn’t cover?
