China-made $20.00 blue box USB soundcards with SPDIF

[mikev]

I'm interested in finding out if anyone has tried the cheap blue box USB sound cards that come from china and are on ebay for roughly $20.00.

My main questions are:

1.) whether the SPDIF inputs are RCA or TOSDISK (there appear to be square plugs that stick out of the sockets in the photos.

2.) whether the drivers allow for full duplex SPDIF recording once the codecs are installed (will probably cause a different volume control window than the laptop internal sound card to come up similar to Behringer's U-Control interface). In other words if there is latency, there has to be a way to monitor the recording in action. Unlike Behringer's U-Control, there is no monitor headphone jack on the Soundcard to hear the recording and playback thru.

3.) whether the latency is decent.

I'm primarily interested in getting an inexpensive but acceptable SPDIF input for multitrack recording into a laptop and don't care about any other aspects of the sound quality related to the other inputs. I've previously used a Platinum Soundblaster with SPDIF input for a desktop and it was better than the audio inputs. I run most stuff through an old J-Station and use its SPDIF output into the soundcard. It's primitive but yields acceptable results. Thanks.

[Bops2000]

I designate you as the 'Go-for'.

spend the 20 bicks and deliver he goods or bads..

I'll spot you10 bucks - do it

[mellodge]

20$ for a sound card sounds suspect to me!!!

[Reegs]

have a link?

[mikev]

I may just spring for one after all the holiday travel and errands and meanwhile appreciate the feedback. I'm so busy I may only get back to this thread every few days.

If anyone else beats me to it, I'd be interested in the scoop on these things. Sometimes you get a good deal on something that does the job in the specific way you need. There are a few variations of this box and not all of them are blue, but they're all from China and have the same square knob (plugs?) sticking out of the SPDIF sockets in the photos. No one answers inquiries about whether they're RCA or TOSDISK.

Here's one link:

http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Extern.../dp/B001LIMH6U

Here's another:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/C...-193002253.htm

[BagHun]

Looks like a good way to fry my $100 computer.

[sabianq]

i wonder if this can be used with a MOTU 2408Mk3
I have been trying to find a solution for using the MOTU with a laptop.
the MOTU has SPDIF out.


I really wish that would make an Audiowire interface in PCMCIA