OUR EXPERT
Michael Reed is a sound man in every sense of the term.
USB audio adaptors are external boxes with audio inputs and outputs that can be used in place of a soundcard or the built-in sound facilities of a PC. They usually offer a considerable increase in quality over the stock audio hardware. To add to this, some audio adaptors offer a greater number of inputs and outputs, specialist connectors for good quality audio sources such as microphones, and a higher recording resolution. Best of all, basic models aren’t very expensive.
All laptop and desktop PCs have sound hardware of some sort. A desktop computer usually comes with line level inputs and outputs, and possibly headphone and speaker outputs. The quality of built-in audio is often passable, but the inputs tend to be subpar because few people use them and they’re designed for telephony-type use, such as video chat, where quality isn’t important.
Once you have your USB audio adaptor connected, it can take over for typical computer audio use, such as when watching streaming video sites or playing games, but with improved sound quality. These adaptors really come into their own, in terms of quality and ease of use, if you produce content involving audio, such as video blogs, podcasts or music.
Inside specifications
The most obvious starting point when choosing an audio adaptor is to consider how many inputs and outputs you need. A two-input, two-output device is capable of recording and playing back a stereo signal or addressing the inputs as two monophonic sound channels. These two inputs could be the input from a guitar and the input from a microphone placed in front of a singer. It could just as easily
