Turtle Beach Micro USB "Soundcard"

sandbasser · 22nd August 2009, 01:19 AM

Has anybody tried one of these??? To me, for $30 it doesn't seem like you could go wrong.

Any comments, problems, tips, etc would be appreciated.

Thanks,

audiosteve · 22nd August 2009, 02:05 AM

I tried one based on many favorable comments I saw on the web. I was very disappointed. The sound just seemed flat (I mean lifeless) with an uncomfortable edge to it. In this case I think you get what you pay for. A $30 DAC sounds about like you'd expect a $30 DAC to sound. There is no free lunch here IMHO.

sandbasser · 23rd August 2009, 11:23 AM

I fully understand that a $30 device would not compare to a full-featured, all-the=bells-and-whistles DAC. Nevertheless, my question was pretty vague... Let's try again

Does the Turtle Beach Micro sound better than the typical 'soundcard' built into a modern mid-level priced LapTop???

Thanks,

- Ray

CBRworm · 25th August 2009, 12:08 AM

I have used one of the turtle beach USB adapters with optical out. Using the optical out It sounded better than the analog out of my dell laptop. I did not try to analog out.

Gutbucket · 25th August 2009, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBRworm

I have used one of the turtle beach USB adapters with optical out. Using the optical out It sounded better than the analog out of my dell laptop. I did not try to analog out.

Same. Bought one years ago for SPDIF out of a laptop - 16bit/48kHz limited optical worked fine and passed DTS/DD. Analog out works but I never really used that or listened to it seriously. The rubber coating got weird and gummy after a few years.

dangus · 29th August 2009, 05:07 AM

The chip inside the Turtle Beach "Audio Advantage Micro" is supposed to be the C-Media CM102S. I ran across this chip in a cheap USB sound adapter from Radio Shack. It sounded OK with headphones, although the volume control didn't have enough steps. The chip has an S/PDIF output pin, and the pins are big enough to connect to fairly easily. It's encouraging to hear that it should do DD/DTS passthrough, so I may just convert that dongle into S/PDIF only.

There's a RightMark test of the TB AAM here:
http://166.70.233.190/rmaa/Turtle%20...ge%20Micro.htm
Not bad, although IMD is relatively high.

dangus · 29th August 2009, 07:10 AM

Devices based on the Burr-Brown USB audio chips may be better. Those are used in some boxes priced in the hundreds of dollars, if that means anything. Specs are better than the C-Media chips. About the cheapest thing I've found that uses Burr-Brown is the ADSTech "Instant Music" USB sound thing, or there's also the Behringer UCA-202 that uses the identical chip. From looking inside the ADSTech box, it is very close to the evaluation design that Burr-Brown describes, down to the resistor values in the low-pass filters. It includes RCA line-level in and out, and Toslink S/PDIF in and out, and was made in Taiwan, not China. The Behringer UCA-202 also has line in and out, S/PDIF out (only), and headphone out. Someone did RightMark analog loopback tests on them both, and the ADSTech performed slightly better.

gychang · 11th November 2009, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandbasser

Does the Turtle Beach Micro sound better than the typical 'soundcard' built into a modern mid-level priced LapTop???

Thanks,

- Ray

I have one running in my home reference system (linux with optimal output to the receiver) video clip here.
YouTube - DIY speaker demo

I am more than satisfied of the sound from my flac-TB - speakers. Definitely worth the $$ IMHO. I will guarantee it will be better than builtin laptop sound chip.

gychang

luzhu · 11th November 2009, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dangus

Devices based on the Burr-Brown USB audio chips may be better. Those are used in some boxes priced in the hundreds of dollars, if that means anything. Specs are better than the C-Media chips. About the cheapest thing I've found that uses Burr-Brown is the ADSTech "Instant Music" USB sound thing, or there's also the Behringer UCA-202 that uses the identical chip. From looking inside the ADSTech box, it is very close to the evaluation design that Burr-Brown describes, down to the resistor values in the low-pass filters. It includes RCA line-level in and out, and Toslink S/PDIF in and out, and was made in Taiwan, not China. The Behringer UCA-202 also has line in and out, S/PDIF out (only), and headphone out. Someone did RightMark analog loopback tests on them both, and the ADSTech performed slightly better.

dangus is right!No doubt about it,the Burr-Brown USB audio chips is better than the C-Media chips.but the prices also higher than the C-Media.
For the better sound effects,I think use an External DAC and USB-SPDIF device is a good idea.

sandbasser · 10:14 PM

FYI - There's a mini-review posted on the Anything But iPod site (Anything But iPod - MP3 Player Reviews & News).

I am NOT a shill for them - or anybody else

22nd August 2009, 01:19 AM	#1
sandbasser diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Riverside, CA - USA	Turtle Beach Micro USB "Soundcard" Has anybody tried one of these??? To me, for $30 it doesn't seem like you could go wrong. Any comments, problems, tips, etc would be appreciated. Thanks, __________________ - Ray

22nd August 2009, 02:05 AM	#2
audiosteve diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Niwot, CO	I tried one based on many favorable comments I saw on the web. I was very disappointed. The sound just seemed flat (I mean lifeless) with an uncomfortable edge to it. In this case I think you get what you pay for. A $30 DAC sounds about like you'd expect a $30 DAC to sound. There is no free lunch here IMHO. __________________ Nihilism is best done by professionals.

23rd August 2009, 11:23 AM	#3
sandbasser diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Riverside, CA - USA	I fully understand that a $30 device would not compare to a full-featured, all-the=bells-and-whistles DAC. Nevertheless, my question was pretty vague... Let's try again Does the Turtle Beach Micro sound better than the typical 'soundcard' built into a modern mid-level priced LapTop??? Thanks, - Ray __________________ - Ray

14th November 2009, 10:12 PM	#10
sandbasser diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Riverside, CA - USA	FYI - There's a mini-review posted on the Anything But iPod site (Anything But iPod - MP3 Player Reviews & News). I am NOT a shill for them - or anybody else __________________ - Ray Last edited by sandbasser; 14th November 2009 at 10:14 PM. Reason: added disclaimer

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25th August 2009, 12:08 AM	#4
CBRworm diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: S. Florida	I have used one of the turtle beach USB adapters with optical out. Using the optical out It sounded better than the analog out of my dell laptop. I did not try to analog out.

29th August 2009, 05:07 AM	#6
dangus diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Vancouver Island	The chip inside the Turtle Beach "Audio Advantage Micro" is supposed to be the C-Media CM102S. I ran across this chip in a cheap USB sound adapter from Radio Shack. It sounded OK with headphones, although the volume control didn't have enough steps. The chip has an S/PDIF output pin, and the pins are big enough to connect to fairly easily. It's encouraging to hear that it should do DD/DTS passthrough, so I may just convert that dongle into S/PDIF only. There's a RightMark test of the TB AAM here: http://166.70.233.190/rmaa/Turtle%20...ge%20Micro.htm Not bad, although IMD is relatively high.

29th August 2009, 07:10 AM	#7
dangus diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Vancouver Island	Devices based on the Burr-Brown USB audio chips may be better. Those are used in some boxes priced in the hundreds of dollars, if that means anything. Specs are better than the C-Media chips. About the cheapest thing I've found that uses Burr-Brown is the ADSTech "Instant Music" USB sound thing, or there's also the Behringer UCA-202 that uses the identical chip. From looking inside the ADSTech box, it is very close to the evaluation design that Burr-Brown describes, down to the resistor values in the low-pass filters. It includes RCA line-level in and out, and Toslink S/PDIF in and out, and was made in Taiwan, not China. The Behringer UCA-202 also has line in and out, S/PDIF out (only), and headphone out. Someone did RightMark analog loopback tests on them both, and the ADSTech performed slightly better.

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