Sound Blaster Play! 4 Hi-res External USB-C DAC and Sound Adapter Ft. VoiceDetect Auto Mic Mute/Unmute, Two-Way Noise Cancellation, Bass Boost/Dynamic EQs, for Video Calls on Windows PC

Originally I bought this tiny DAC to improve PS4 sound output and IT DID significantly!! **BEWARE**, you need PC (Windows 10/11 only, Mac is not supported) to install creative app and update its firmware to get full benefits it offers. Here is my story, when I received the product I immediately plug it into my PS4 to test it following instruction. The actual sound coming from my headset was REALLY LOW, actually lower than original. So I unplugged it and then went to my PC to update its firmware. I downloaded the firmware and installed it accordingly. I thought this should do the trick, NOOO it did not. When I plugged it back to PS4, it was acting weird by disconnecting itself and blinking. I surely thought I BRICKED it. I wend back to PC again and this time, I downloaded & installed "Creative App for Windows". The creative app immediately recognized my device after unplugging/plugging and there was a setting for update its firmware. I did the update process again through app and I tested it on my PC for sounds and noise cancelling features. I did end up NOT using noise cancelling features since it seems these settings distort sound output on my headset, but overall sound quality was better than the original. Then finally I went back in to test with PS4, it WORKED!! New volume control, EQ, muting button, and everything worked well. The new volume control which comes with a new firmware is A MUST HAVE for making PS4's ouput as loud as possible. I'm pretty sure it will work on PS5 as well when I finally get ONE!

This little unit provides a clean and clear sound. Overall I'm very pleased with this unit. I can't say how durable it is as I'm using this on my PC so it's stationary. With this being said I have a tablet that sits below my monitor and the sound of my tablet runs through the "Line In" plug in the back of my PC so it's also converting that sound as well simultaneously with my PC sound. While converting 2 sound sources at once it still functions perfectly creating a great quality sound. For the price point I'm very pleased with this product. It was "Plug and Play" on my Windows 11 PC so the compatibility was great. Thank You Creative

I purchased this USB sound card as my motherboard's front audio header is not working. I think the sound card does a pretty good job in terms of sound quality, as I can feel the amp on my headphones. However, the Software Suite does not seem to function as intended; it cannot update the USB sound card drivers. The product is also a bit too big; it looks silly, so see it dangling around.

Very good DAC dongle, pairs great with HD599 on a Iphone(will not handle well HD600’s series). The bass boost is well balance. Works straight from the box, there is a firmware update available for some features.

I got the Creative Sound Blaster PLAY! 4. It is very buggy. It has a mind of its own. Sometimes it just disconnects itself. Have to unplug it and move it to a different port. Was running it at the max 24-Bit 192KHz for a while, but now, anything beyond 48Khz sounds garbled and just unbearable. It is good for a bit of a nice boost to sound but do not expect this to give you a leg up in gaming or anything. The sound quality is just a bit better than the stock Realtek HD Audio. And yes I have tried disabling the inputs. Tried modifying everything else. But cannot get the max sound I am supposed to. Of course this is not a replacement for a real sound card or an actual DAC. I would honestly skip it, save more money and maybe consider the FiiO K3 Type-C USB DAC. The FiiO has optical out and my desktop speakers have optical in so it should provide better quality sound. I will be purchasing that and keeping this for maybe using it on my iPad Pro or maybe give it to my nephews so he can use it on his PS4. ** Update 13 August, 2022 ** I think I finally managed to get it work the way it should. For whatever reason, "Mode 2" is the mode that is required for Windows and Mac devices. Even though it states it in the manual that "Mode 2" is the default, mine was not working as it should. For mobile devices and gaming consoles, "Mode 1" is required. If you try to use Mode 2 on your gaming console or mobile device it may not be detected or might not work as expected.. These are my settings on a Windows 10 machine and iMac 5K in order to get the popping and random disconnections to stop. 1. Install the "Creative App" software. That is what it is called. Honestly. 2. Update the firmware and drivers. 3. Enter "Mode 2" on your device. You do this by holding down the "Volume Down" (has a CIRCLE) button for about 2-3 seconds. Once it is enabled, you will see a blinking white light. It will blink 5 times in white. 4. Mute the microphone on the device by pressing the mute button one time. A red light will appear above the button. 5. In Windows 10, go to Control Panel > Sound > "Recording" tab > Right click on "Microphone - Sound Blaster Play! 4" and select "Disable". 6. In Windows 10, go to Control Panel > Device Manager > Expand "Sound, video and game controllers" > Disable the following if you have it and will not be using it: "Intel Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio"; <--- Thunderbolt Dock Audio. I think. "Intel Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth Audio"; <--- Thunderbolt Dock Audio. I think. "HD Audio Driver for Display Audio". <--- Audio Speakers on my Phillips monitor. Not required. 7. In the "Creative App" and make sure that you lower down the microphone volume for the "Play! 4" device. 8. In the "Creative App" > Select Playback > Audio Quality > Headphones > Select "24 bit, 192000 Hz".

Since I started working remotely I have been using cheap USB-C to headset adapters. They last from as little as 3 days to a couple of weeks before just stopping working. I actually had a couple that were dead from the moment they arrived! I decided to buy this product because it has name-brand recognition and I am so glad that I did. It works reliably and I can use it either on my phone or laptop with a wired headset. I have had no complaints about the microphone sound quality and I really like the 'red light' confirm that I am muted. The software that you can optionally use with the adapter is a little spotty. When I last tried it, there were too many quirks and bugs, but I really don't need it to use the adapter for my purposes. I travel a fair amount for work, and this adapter has already survived several trips. I much prefer wired headsets due to not needing a battery or charging with bluetooth headsets - wired headsets are often cheaper too. I frequently work 16+ hour days and don't want to deal with a headset going dead. Also wired boom microphones seem to work better than bluetooth ones for the same price-point.

I've bought this 3 times now, none of which were cause by issues with the device but because it's just that good. My dog teethed on the first one so I bought a second (and was careful to not leave it plugged into my Mac) and I bought the third for my WFH setup. Audio quality is great with this USB C DAC. First of all, its plug n play on every OS I've tried it on (which is Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, MacOS, and Windows 11 Pro) and I haven't had any issues using it on those platforms. The optional Creative software adds some cool features and a control panel for the DAC, but it's optional and isn't required if you don't want yet another background process running. I've used this with a variety of headsets and headphones (namely, Audio Technics over ear headphones and Apple EarPods) and the audio quality is a noticeable improvement over the onboard audio for my PCs. I like the DAC has an on device mute button too. Overall, not too much to say other than I recommend this DAC if you need an affordable option that also sounds good. 5/5!

The packaging is great, appears well built, and it works very well. Unfortunately, the connection is either not tight enough on the USB-C end, or the wires are very weak, but this is definitely not usable on a mobile device or any other device that's not stationary, as any slight movement leads to disconnection.