Review on Creative Labs Sound Blaster Play! 3 External USB Sound Adapter - Compatible with Windows and Mac - Plug and Play (No Drivers Needed) - Enhanced 24-Bit 96Khz Playback Upgrade by Aaron Masek

UPDATE 06/20 I decided to plug this back into my computer to see if I was being too rough with Play!3. $20 with EQ, surround, expander and the ability to add high gain can't be as bad as I wrote. Thats so bad. I use HD tracks, Status Audio CB-1 and a powerful Fluance speaker. I bought a CLIPTHAT HiFi DAC/headphone amp for $14 and it sounds about 25% better. Creative has more power, but it's really bullshit. I'm just disappointed that my review is a few pages behind. I wanted to use CLIPTHAT on my phone and Creative on my computer. No, it goes back in the box. Do not buy this DAC/Amp. It's tempting to get a super deal, that's hot bullshit. I don't know why anyone writes a positive review. Good point: it works. It's a DAC and the music files sounded better than an NVIDIA GeForce sound card from seven years ago. The amplifier section is not suitable for use with active studio monitors. However, everyone should understand that the USB dongle does not have an efficient headphone amplifier (maybe it will work for headphones). It was my fault or a temporary brain spasm. The SBX Pro Studio software sounds dull and buggy when using the higher levels. It has "surround sound", "crystallizer" (expander) and "bass" effects. Again, this is a tiny USB dongle and only passing insanity will believe it to be anything other than poop. In my opinion it is better not to use them. But it works for 20€. Are they cool as per other reviews? Maybe, but probably not. The reason I changed my rating was because of Creative customer support. They emailed me to see if I was happy. I sent a rejection saying I don't like SBX Pro Studio. I have made no claims or redress; I just wanted them to know it's not great. The CS agent told me it was an entry-level product, and if I wanted "clear sound" (the ad said "studio quality listening"), I had to buy a $120 Creative DAC. What?!? more emails, I'm done with creative. I think customer satisfaction means buying more from them (6 times more than the product I just bought!) and emailing them until you get tired of writing. I could continue their chatter. but it's not worth it for $20. I would say it's not ok to buy this DAC but it would be better to look more for a less buggy product (XTrem Pro X1 has a Saber chip DAC/amp for $30) and avoiding customer service other than returning it. However, since Revain buried my 1-star rating and bought this DAC, turn the panel volume down to 65% and turn off the crap-filled SBX studio. It is known that Creative will replace the sound card during the installation of the DAC and if (if) you upgrade to a better DAC this will be an issue. This requires updates to your sound card. Please do not buy creative things. The marketing is great and there are so many 4.5 star reviews that they are from fake reviewers. There are bad reviews, but I'm generally a gullible person and have found that reviewers were expecting a $5,000 audiophile DAC. However, they are there and should have listened to them. I join them to tell you to come from another company. I'm grateful I only lost $20 and learned the lesson that Revain and YouTube reviewer-free stuff is what it is in the creative world. I will definitely not be buying any more Creative products from now on. I hope you do the same, they suck.