Customer Reviews

Syba SD-CM-UAUD USB Stereo Audio Adapter, C-Media Chipset, RoHS

5 star:		(219)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

This is the platonic form of a USB sound card. It works well in Windows XP and Mac OS X, has clearly labeled inputs, decent build quality, and has no unnecessary features, at a very affordable price. We bought it to use stereo jack headsets with Skype on Mac computers that don't have microphone jacks, and this adapter fits our needs exactly. This also resolves a problem we have when using Windows XP on our iMacs - Apple doesn't provide the correct sound drivers in Boot Camp, and the built-in iMac headphone jack doesn't work in Windows - the USB adapter works perfectly.

In Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 (tested in both) the device is identified as a "C-Media USB Audio Device". Installation was plug-and-play, the device was immediately recognized after plugging in, although I had to manually select it as the input/output device in the Sound preference pane. After selecting it and setting the input levels, OS X and Skype both automatically switched back and forth between Built-in Audio and C-Media USB when it was plugged/unplugged, and remembered the input levels last used on each (although not the systemwide output levels).

A sticker on the outside of the box identifies the chipset as the C-Media CM119, and it is a USB 2.0 device.

Physically, the construction seems plenty robust for a $10 device. The mic and headphone jacks are color coded in standard pink and green, and have large white icon labels that are easily identified. The case is darkly translucent black, and a green LED inside blinks when sound is being transmitted or received, and otherwise glows steady when plugged in but not in active use. It is too thick to plug into the USB ports on the edges of the 2007-2009 silver aluminum iMac keyboards. On our aluminum iMacs it has to be plugged into the back, where it doesn't block any other ports (as long as other connected USB devices are not also thick). However, it can easily be connected to the USB ports next to the cord on the rear of the older white Mac keyboards from 2003-2007.

Drawbacks?
The microphone input is mono, which is fine for voice headsets, but probably not great for pro audio recording, which probably wouldn't be done with a $10 device anyway. I could do without the blinking light, but as it will be out of sight when connected behind my iMac, it's not a big deal.

Comparison
We also bought the cousin to this product, the 7.1 Channel USB External Sound Card Audio Adapter with external volume control buttons. The 7.1 version uses the same CM119 chipset, but was inferior to this Syba model in all respects.

- The 7.1 model has a thicker body, making it more likely to block other USB ports.
- The buttons on the 7.1 feel very flimsy, and are mostly useless as they only change the computer's software volume settings.
- The 7.1 inputs are not correctly color coded (yellow and black) and the icon labels are tiny and hard to distinguish.
- The 7.1 is identified by OS X as "Unknown USB Audio device"
- The particular 7.1 unit we received was assembled with its USB port slightly angled off-center.

The only supposed improvements in the 7.1 version are the flaky exterior buttons and that it comes with a mini-CD of Xear "virtual surround sound" software for Windows only. Surely you could use some other "3D sound simulation software" with this Syba unit, and there are several reports of the buttons/housing breaking on the 7.1 version. I strongly recommend avoiding the 7.1 model at all costs, this one is simpler and sturdier.

If you need a basic stereo speaker output and a mic input, this will probably suit your needs well.

-Pros:
It's inexpensive, and it works as described.

Installation couldn't be easier - just plug it in, and a driver is set up automatically. It works equally well with Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Ubuntu Linux. I have used the 64-bit versions of each on my PC, and each recognized and set up this device when I plugged it in, without any extra effort on my part.

This device is also thin enough that it doesn't block USB ports that are above or below, unless they're using a thick USB plug. However, it could block USB ports to the sides.

-Cons:
The audio output has a little bit if distortion, at least in my experience with it in Windows Vista 64-bit. Fortunately, at least in Windows Vista, you can use a different audio device for audio output.

Also, the microphone input is mono. For musicians, this wouldn't be suitable for making stereo recordings.

-Other Thoughts:
I bought this to use primarily as a microphone input, since the microphone input on my new PC does not work well. The microphone input on this device works very well. The microphone signal is loud and clear with no noise.

I had initially thought that this USB card was an incredible bargain. After more use and a comparative test, I started to believe that it is just an OK product.

The biggest attractions of this are its compact size, solid build, reliability, simplicity, clear markings (with the right colors), absolutely no installation requirement (on Windows 7), and low price.

However, I discovered some shortcomings of this product which may or may not matter, depending on your use.

First, the noise level isn't the best. It is very usable, but not as good as a decent built-in sound card. At least a laptop (Lenovo X200 tablet) I recently tested has noticeably cleaner builtin sound than this USB card.

Second, the microphone input of this USB Sound card is not powered. Most USB sound cards are insufficiently powered, but I suspect this one is particularly bad. This means that the sound card may not work with many condenser microphones that require power. I just tested with several microphones including an Audio Technica AT9842 lapel microphone, which works perfectly with the built in PCI soundcard of my desktop computer, but absolutely not with this USB Sound card. For your information, this microphone does not even require a very high voltage for power (I think it requires less than 5V). So you can forget about it if you want use some of the professional microphones that may require a phantom power much higher than 5V.)

All in all, for very simple use, this is a very good choice thanks to the several advantages mentioned above. But if you are going to use it for more advanced functions, you may find this sound card lacking.

When this unit came, I plugged it in and the instillation was quick. I noticed that this sounded a bit worse than my cheap laptop's sound card... Saw other bad reviews and thought something was up... after some tinkering, I found that the fix to set the sound quality is to open up the sound control panel. Then click on the adapter and click 'properties'. Then go to the 'enhancements' tab and check 'Bass Boost' & 'Virtual Surround'. Then go to the 'Advanced' tab and make it so the drop-down list selects '16 bit, 48000Hz (DVD Quality)' instead of the crappy CD quality. I found that the sound is higher in quality and sounds amazing compared to the built in one...

Post your results in the comments :D

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Buyers Be Aware - This item is Not as described with 'C-Media Audio Chipset' ! I'm a returned customer for the second one. Now, Seller is shipping a different model which has low sound quality with lower volume level compare to the original one I ordered from this Seller 3 months ago. It is smaller in size, different design & also Windows detect it as a 'Generic USB Audio'. I just filed a claim with Amazon after I received a rejection response from this seller.

My Dell laptop connected the speakers from the front - bad location for a permanent setup. I have nearly broken off the connector several times, so wanted to plug it into a USB port on the side. Tried a cheaper adapter -- lots of static, too big, blocked another USB port. This one is perfect - can plug another USB cable over it in another port and the sound is fabulous! Plug and play, 15 seconds and it was playing! Great price, fast shipping, Super product!! Love Amazon!!!!

So, this thing does work with a PS3, but not for the reason that I bought it.
Maybe I'm just a dummy -- please keep your comments to yourselves! -- but I was hoping/expecting to plug my PC-friendly headset into this adapter, plug that into my PS3, and hear my enemies' footsteps as they approached their doom.
Instead, however, I get voice chat through my headset, and the game still pumps through my surround sound.
This does very little to comfort my girlfriend as she tries to read on the couch next to me, so...

IN A NUTSHELL:
If you're buying this for in-game sound: it aint gonna happen.
If you're buying this for in-game chat: you've come to the right place.

I notice a lot of people here on Amazon seem to be completely clueless when it comes to examining a product thoroughly and giving a detailed, unemotional review so here's something I hope is useful.

The following was done with 3 different Windows 7 SP1 machines and nothing more.

Recently, I lost my Audio Advantage Micro which I've been using for many years so I decided to buy a replacement. I was looking at Amazon and while I was leaning towards the Creative USB Go key but I couldn't help notice the very cheap Syba dongle with such glowing reviews. I decided to buy it since the total price was barely anything and if it sucked I'd just get the pricier one.

I just got this little guy in today and it's definitely not the most sturdy built thing, but it was fine enough for every day use without breaking it. You'd have to be a complete moron to break this thing, really. The build quality is exaggerated by some people here. It's really just fine, even beyond the price you are paying for it. If you really are that paranoid about breaking it and have a tendency to do such thing, you could always just give it a good wrap with some electrical tape and add more protection that way.

The two things I noticed people were complaining about were about how much it sticks out and the "annoying" light. Coming from the Audio Advantage Micro, this light is a very dim green that blinks when audio is being fed. I don't know about most people but my attention span is higher than that of a kitten so I was able to not be annoyed by it because there's a big bright screen in front of me, you know? Seriously though, it's not distracting unless you have some major ADHD. As for the shape, this dongle sticks out less than all of my USB keys and my AA Micro so its really not a problem. The only issue I can see being a problem is that the width of the dongle might block other ports. However, if you have a brain, you should be able to look at your ports and see if this will be a problem beforehand.

Another thing I need to mention is that the chipset seems to be updated in recent models. It uses the CM-119 chipset according to the plastic container, and also, there seems to be a 3 year warranty on these little guys according to people on Newegg so if you have a problem, just email Syba support and they might be able to replace this easily if yours does go out.

One final note: on Windows 7, I'm noticing that 12% seems to be the best volume level for headphones. I thought it would be 4% like some people said, but nope, 12% seems fine.

So yeah, overall, this dongle is great for the price and I am enjoying it. I could have sunk a lot more into something else but this works fine.

And now for some important notes:

1) Follow the directions. You have to connect both the microphone and headphones to the dongle before you plug it into your machine to get Windows to recognize the drivers and add those 2 outputs. You only need to do this the first time. If you screw this up, you need to go to Device Manager and uninstall the drivers, reboot and try again.

2) The microphone level is 0 by default for some reason. You have to raise it to get it to work. Go to Control Panel, Sound, then right click the Recording tab to see the USB Mic input. Right click it to get the properties page and look at the "Levels" tab. Adjust to your liking. Using the "Listen" tab to listen to yourself talking to get the right volume.

3) Again, if this thing shorts out on you. Email Syba and they will probably replace it for you.

4) You can achieve higher sound quality if you go the properties for BOTH the mic and headphone output and select 48000khz.

5) If sound effects are enabled in those properties pages. Disable them. You don't need them. Your voice will sound clearer without them.

i was in need of a new audio jack on my computer, since my ones dont work anymore. i bought these one since it has good reviews and is pretty affordable. i got the product amazingly fast and it was an ease of installing, just put it on your usb. the sound is pretty loud/good on it too. then i wondered hmm this is a usb, i wonder if it would work on my ps3, so i plugged in my pc headset (which has a mic) and i was able to register it on it. (no in game sound, only voice chat) it worked well, and i didnt have to buy a ps3 headset, so it saved me even more money. the product came as i expected and worked great, i hoped my review helped you.

This device saved the day three times:
twice for cases involving a laptop and once for a desktop.

Situation 1:

End user's audio died on their laptop.
No funding to "replace" the 6 year old dell laptop.
End user needed audio for alerts.
Installed this USB audio device and end user was back in business.

Situation 2:

End user ordered a brand new, higher end, laptop and then decided after receiving it, to install MS Server 2008, instead of using what OS came with it; Vista 64bit.

Needless to say, at the time there were NO audio drivers that supported his audio device under Server 2008.

This device gave him audio just minutes after plugging it in.

Situation 3:

End user's desktop lost audio that was built into the mobo.
No "PCI" card slots were available, to add a separate soundcard.
Installed one of these and they once again had audio.
This device was plug 'n play for that user, under the OS "XP Home
Edition"


Summary:

- In both laptop cases this device was used to simply "provide" audio to a device that either lost it's capabilities, or did not have them available with current drivers.

In neither case was the end user looking to obtain a better quality audio than already existed.

So I cannot comment on whether this added higher fidelity audio.

- In the case of the desktop, the end user had been without audio for quite some time and was simply relieved to have "any" type of audio restored.