Creative Sound Blaster PLAY! 4

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.

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!

Works as expected. Needed because WIN11 upgrade had crazy audio and mic issues.

I have a very competent SMSL Su1 DAC that scores as well as any DAC up to $250, and this $21 Creative Play 4 DAC works about 85% as well. If you are just going from a PC to a $150 set of head phones, this will work fine. I think you would only notice a more expensive DAC on a mid to high grade audiophile stereo in a room that has some acoustic treatment (i.e., a rug at the very least). And I like how within the Creative software you can select different headphone models to give your speakers a different EQ (some smooth and flat, others a more pronounced bass and/or treble. I went with the Seinhouser HD 201 settings which worked really well with my Philips SHP9600 headphones. I'd say this DAC improved my headphone audio by about 35-45% compared to the onboard soundcard in windows.

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 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".

Not compatible with ps5. Does not show up under audio output device

I’m a wannabe audiophile who needed a way to connect my headphones (these are Sony XB-600) to my iPad Pro. I was impressed with the sound quality of this dongle - it must have a great DAC because I think the sound is enhanced. Wish Creative made one for lightning ports.

Lo compré para tener mejor sonido en el ordenador del trabajo, cuya tarjeta de sonido integrada es muy pobre. La diferencia se nota desde el primer momento: el sonido es mucho más detallado, con menos ruido de fondo y mayor volumen en unos auriculares de 32 ohmios (unos Samson SR850). Donde de verdad se nota una gran mejora es en la entrada de micrófono, que se escucha mucho más alto y con menos ruido de fondo que con la tarjeta integrada. Además trae funciones para reducir el ruido de fondo, tanto el que entra por el micrófono como el que se recibe por los auriculares, aunque esta opción reduce algo la calidad del sonido y, a menos que estés en un entorno ruidoso, no creo necesario utilizarla. También se nota la diferencia al conectarlo a unos altavoces y, aunque no soy partidario de utilizar efectos, la función Crystalizer mejora mucho el sonido en este caso. Respecto a la función DAC para teléfono móvil, he probado a conectarlos a un Xiaomi Mi A3 y no he notado demasiada diferencia en la calidad de sonido respecto a la salida normal de auriculares. Además, el volumen es más bajo que al utilizarlo en PC, no se si esta limitación es a causa de Android o del voltaje del USB del móvil, por lo que si queremos utilizarlo como amplificador, creo que es mejor buscar otra alternativa. Por el precio que tiene, es una estupenda tarjeta para escuchar música con calidad y tener un buen sonido en las videoconferencias.

Tut was es soll (hatte Probleme mit Sound an Mainboard - kein Sound unter Win 11(Treiber-Problemm)) Diese an USB A angeschlossen (USB C auf USB A Adapter war dabei) und es funktioniert nach dem PC-neustart sofort und ohne Probleme. (musste nichts installieren). Preis-Leistung - Top!

I got this to see if i can get more out of my Logitech z313 system off my desktop,as i felt the onboard audio from my asus z590 prime a wasnt the best,mahor difference in bass, clarity,easy to install the software and use. I did uninstall the Realtek audio and dtsx drivers, restarted the system, installed the creative sound app and drivers, updated the firmware and restarted the system again,i could not feel the subwoofer or any bass before but now i can, footsteps are alot clearer in games like fallout series,cs2, cyberpunk, games like nfs even had better clarify. watching YouTube or playing music even sounded better then my sony headphones. I also did change the frequency in yhe app to the 24bit 192khz frequency, adjusted the mixer to my liking which the app is very easy to use. Highly recommend for anyone wanting better audio

Excellent device, the sound is beautifull with the bass + cristal settings. I use it on a USB C port. Got a firmware update. Much much better than the Realtek mother board chip together with the headset Philips Fidelio X3/00 Hi-Res Audio X3 . Recommended!

I was excited to learn that I could get a portable sound processor with the acoustic engine like my Sound Blaster Z for my pc. The sound boost and quality far exceeds the onboard sound device of my laptop. I was surprised that it even worked on my Samsung S22 phone (might not work well on older phones like Xperia), but it doesn't support the acoustic engine on mobile devices since it's software based, it still has a nice bass boost! So overall, I'm very satisfied with it. I've had several Sound Blaster boards over the past decades and it never disappoints!