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This is a companion page to my CM6206 enabler, although it is generally applicable.

Here is a procedure that will give you a reasonable chance of getting surround sound in Mac OS X through a multi-channel USB or FireWire sound card hooked up to an external sound system. The procedure is cumbersome and if you do anything wrong in any of the steps, you will either get no sound at all, only stereo, or horrible noise. Good luck. First, some information to check if you really need and want to go through this ordeal at all.

A Very Short History of Surround Audio

First a short introduction about how digital consumer surround sound works. In the analog-only era, there were already certain systems like Dolby Pro Logic that rely on ‘multiplexing’ extra channels into a stereo signal by means of phase differences. This has some limitations, but works pretty well nevertheless. Then came digital sound which originally only supported stereo. After a while people wanted to upgrade to surround, and history repeated itself in a certain way.

For many years, digital 5.1 surround has actually been a bit of a clever hack of the existing S/PDIF standard that only supported uncompressed stereo audio. The trick is to compress the six separate channels into a bitstream that is not larger than an uncompressed (so-called PCM) stereo stream of about 1.5 Mbit/s. The compressed stream is then transmitted as if it were a regular stereo stream. Because the transmission is all digital, there is no risk of degradation that could destroy the information in the compressed data. A surround-capable decoder recognises this special stream. Instead of treating it as stereo sound, it interprets it as digital data and decodes it, just like an MP3 player decodes the compressed data in an MP3 file. A decoder that does not recognise the encoding will output a terrible noise because that is what one gets when trying to treat compressed data as PCM sound. The most popular standards for encoding 5.1 audio in a bitstream of 1.5 Mbit or less are Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS.

Multichannel Output versus Pass-through

There are two very distinct ways to get surround sound out of your Mac (or any computer). The first is to decode the surround stream on the computer itself and send the six (or more) channels of raw audio to a dumb sound card like the CM6206 that has six (or more) outputs. All the card does, is pass the raw decoded audio to the analog outputs, it does not decode anything. These outputs are connected to an amplifier through analog cables. That is the method to which the list of instructions below applies.

The second way is to keep the undecoded surround stream intact and pass it through to a smarter external device like a surround receiver, which then does the decoding to its six (or more) outputs. The most popular way to send the AC3 or DTS stream to external decoders used to be over an optical cable, often called S/PDIF or TOSLink. With the advent of HDMI, it has become possible and common to send the stream over the HDMI cable. To make this work, all you need to do is force your media player to pass through the encoded stream, and ensure that the outgoing ‘audio’ is not altered by a volume control or anything else. If you can change the volume, you must set it to 100%. It should then only depend on the receiving device whether it is capable of decoding the stream or not. The instructions below are unnecessary for the pass-through method. You do not need to bother about Audio Midi Setup when you pass through the encoded stream. Right up to the point where it is decoded in the receiver, this stream looks like, and is treated as, an ordinary stereo stream.

To be honest, if you are serious about hooking up your Mac or PC to a surround sound system, I recommend the pass-through method: buy a standalone 5.1 decoder, connect it through an optical cable (with a 3.5mm jack adaptor if needed), and set up your media player to pass through the AC3 or DTS stream. This will be much less hassle, you do not need to go through the steps below, it will work in more media players, and it will avoid bugs in the few media players that do support multi-channel sound cards. You can also use the decoder with any other hardware device that has an optical output.

Setting up a Multi-channel Sound Card: the Procedure

1. Log in using an administrator account. This is the kind of account that allows to install stuff. If you don't do this, OS X will silently ignore any changes you make to the multichannel setup. The good news is that you will normally need to do steps 1 through 7 only once. Those settings should be permanently stored even if you switch to a plain user account.
2. Go to System Preferences and in the Sound control panel, select the USB audio output device. Turn up the system output volume all the way to the maximum. Do not change the system volume after this, you should only control the volume either from within your media player or on your hardware sound system.
3. Open the ‘Audio Midi Setup’ program in your Applications/Utilities folder.
4. Open the menu ‘Audio Midi Setup’ → ‘Preferences’. Go to ‘Audio’ and drag the slider almost all the way to the left⁽¹⁾. This is to avoid that your ears or loudspeakers will explode when you play the channel test sound. Do not set the slider all the way to the left, do it as in this image:
5. Select the USB card as output device and set the sampling rate to 44100 or 48000 depending on the rate of the audio you want to play (for a movie it's most likely 48000). Set the gain sliders of all channels to 0dB.
6. Set the number of channels to the number of loudspeakers in the sound system connected to the sound card (most likely: “6ch-16bit”).
7. Click ‘Configure speakers’ → ‘Multichannel’ and choose “5.1 surround” (or whatever setup you have). Click the buttons to test each speaker and tweak the hardware volume controls on your sound system such that all channels sound equally loud. Don't try to tweak the sliders in Audio Midi Setup, not all of them affect the test volume.
8. The two media players I know to support multi-channel sound, are Plex and VLC. VLC has an annoying bug that can cause the calibration between center/front/surround channel volumes to change with each movie you play. Therefore I recommend Plex, but mind that it is part of a media center solution that is not practical to play a single movie file once in a while. It is best suited for managing a collection of movies and TV series.
9. To use the USB sound card in Plex, dig around in its ‘System’ preferences, and set the following settings: ‘Audio Output’ = “Analog,” ‘Speaker Configuration’ = “5.1” or “7.1” depending on your setup, and ‘Audio Output Device’ = “USB Sound Device”. To switch VLC to USB sound output, you must already be playing something that has sound. While it is playing, open the ‘Audio’ menu and set ‘Audio Device’ to your sound card, probably “USB Audio Device”. You can use a test sound or movie that loops through all surround channels, to see if they are correct.
10. Start playing the movie you wanted to watch. Remember, do not touch your system volume: either use the volume control in your media player, or on your sound system. If you're lucky, the channels will be correctly balanced. Especially when using VLC though, it is likely that the rear channels and perhaps also the center channel will be too silent or loud. Fiddle with either the controls on your sound system or the sliders in Audio MIDI Setup until it “sounds right”. Be prepared to re-do this for each and every movie you play. If you get sick of this, either ask the VLC developers to fix this bug, use Plex instead (although I cannot guarantee it does not have the same bug), or re-read the “to be honest” paragraph above.

If you get loud noise instead of the film soundtrack, you probably configured Plex or VLC to pass through the undecoded 5.1 stream. Make sure to disable this.

Mind that you will, of course, only get surround from material that is encoded as surround. You will not get surround out of an MP3 or an audio CD, unless you have installed some kind of plug-in that can ‘inflate’ stereo sound to surround, if such thing exists for VLC. You can however get ‘faux surround’ by duplicating the stereo signal on the surround channels with something like Soundflower.

Also mind that this is not everything. Even when ignoring possible bugs in your media player that can cause the channels to be incorrectly balanced, to get really correct surround sound you should make sure that the LFE channel (often mistakenly called “Subwoofer” channel) is amplified with +10dB relative to the other channels. Moreover, you should not just send only the LFE channel to your subwoofer. Ideally you should do ‘bass management’, i.e. strip the bass off all other channels that have loudspeakers that cannot represent deep bass sounds, and re-route it mixed together with the LFE to your subwoofer. With some luck, your sound system already does this for you. But even otherwise the above procedure will produce decent surround sound that will be good enough for most people.

These instructions were written for OS X Snow Leopard and Lion, but they should remain valid for future releases unless Apple some day revamps Audio Midi Setup.

Can I use my Mac as a surround decoder?

A few people have mailed me with the question whether it is possible to feed a 5.1 optical stream to the Mac's input port, decode it in software, and send the outputs to a multi-channel sound card. The answer is: no.

Theoretically it is possible, but nobody has bothered writing software that can do it (anyone that tries to, might have their ass whooped by DTS and Dolby lawyers). If you are looking for a reasonably cheap device to decode an optical stream to multiple analog channels, you can look for the ‘HD Audio Rush’ or ‘Mocha’.

(1): The reason why this slider needs to be used in this strange way can be found elsewhere on my site. Shame on Apple for using a linear slider in an audio setup application.

What we hear, plays a critical part in every aspect of our life. Those that can’t hear, just as critical. Sound tells us what the world around us is doing. When we hear traffic pass by, planes above, waves, birds in trees. Whatever we hear, it confirms and validates the world around us. In terms of entertainment, sound is important there too. There is depth, highs and lows, screeches and vibrations. In terms of music, movies, and video games, the depth and quality of sound plays an important part in the experience and thus the industry pays close attention to it. However, sometimes our devices have low quality integrated sound cards. In these cases it’s time to reach for an external sound card: that is where the best USB sound card becomes something to think about.

This article will discuss what USB sound cards are, what the benefits are of owning the best USB soundcard. Furthermore, we will explain what factors you need to consider before purchasing USB sound cards, and what are the best USB sound cards you can obtain in today’s market.

On USB Sound Cards

USB sound cards primarily act as a digital translator. Since most of today’s music is digital, it is written in bits, in strings of ones and zeros.The excellent sound card will translate this digital code and output the sound. USB sound card acts as if it is DAC, a digital audio converter.

However, it doesn’t output the sound. The purpose of the card is to translate and convert the digital audio into analog form and send the process to your speakers or headphones. In general, people buy USB sound cards because their devices have poor quality integrated sound cards.

Benefits Of USB Sound Cards

USB sound cards can replace that built in sound card in your laptop or desktop pc, or any other sound-playing device. Not all laptop or pc manufacturers pay attention to their sound cards; they do, but it is not of their primary concern.

On the other hand, USB sound card manufacturers have to worry about one thing; that their device helps produce high-quality sound.

USB sound cards aren’t integrated, they aren’t built-in into your devices. They are portable, allowing you to bring them with you on the go and use with multiple devices.

High-quality USB sound cards will also have several jacks, allowing you to plug in several devices simultaneously.

Factors To Consider

There are various things you must to consider before you decide on which is the best USB sound card for you. Here are the most critical factors:

Compatibility: make sure that the USB sound card is compatible with your device, that it supports your channel output

Function: some USB sound cards work best for video games, some work better for playing music. Make sure that you understand the technology that comes with the device: does it feature 3D sound, what kind of audio processing unit it uses and so forth.

Material and Design: material affects the case quality, and it determines the sound quality too. Also, check the dimensions, color if you care about such things, assuring it looks nice with other devices.
Naturally, these aren’t the only factors to consider but are the basic ones. Now we will move one to our list of ten best USB sound cards, where we will discuss in detail all the pros and cons of each particular sound card.

Ten Best USB Sound Card Reviews

7.1 Sound Card for PC,Laptops – External USB Audio Adapter for Gamers, Music & Movie Lovers

Driver Genius have brought a real contender to the world of the external USB sound card, in the form of a 7.1 Channel Sound Card. With transfer rates of up to 480 mbps across USB 2.0, this USB audio adapter is a great choice for all audio demands. It’s a good, affordable choice to add oomph to your gaming, music or movies. The audio output on this device can accommodate up to 7.1 channels, or as few as a 2 channel (pass through) stereo audio adaptor. As there are so many audio outputs, it can support a wide range of speaker set ups as well as multi directional audio for headphones.

Inputs include an Optical S/SPDIF digital audio input, and this USB external sound card adaptor will connect either directly to PC, 3.5mm jack speaker systems or headphones. The simple to use audio buttons are nicely positioned on the device and there are no complicated sequences or combinations to press. It’s a simple plug and play sound adapter, and a good one at that!

Pros:

• excellent hardware
• high-quality converter
• headphone amplifier
• excellent for music and movies
• low CPU usage
• affordable
• Features 3D sound
• Microphone input (line in) and headphone jack

Cons:

• Some have experienced issues setting up 5.1 surround on a laptop.

Creative Sound BlasterX G5

Creative Sound BlasterX G5 is a gaming USB sound card, featuring 3D gaming audio technology, allowing gamers to enhance their audio experience.

The product has native 7.1 virtual surround sound played on 24-bit technology and an absolute 120db limit. The product is best suited for ps4 and pc gaming rigs.Creative Sound BlasterX G5 uses Acoustic Engine Pro virtualizer, sending signals in all directions, working perfectly with headphones (it has incredible headphone amplifier).

It has an SB-Axx1 chipset to accelerate the hardware decoding and converting, bringing out the best out of any device. Though suitable for several functions, this is a gaming USB sound card, one of the best of its kind.

Creative Sound BlasterX G5 is beautifully designed, featuring easy to navigate illuminated wheel for convenient volume control. It uses quality parts and smart technology and is undoubtedly a valuable option for any audiophile or gamer that appreciates quality sound.

Pros:

• excellent 3D audio gaming technology
• sleek and futuristic design
• multi-core audio processor
• illuminated volume wheel for convenient control
• 7.1 surround sound

Cons:

• perhaps not the best option for non-gamers
• Creative Sound Blaster Omni Surround
• Creative Sound Blaster Omni Surround features 5.1 surround channels, working in combination with microphone

Sound Blaster Omni Surround 5.1

Sound Blaster Omni Surround 5.1 utilizes several awesome technologies, including SBX Pro Studio and Blaster’s Crystal Clear technology. This produces fantastic sound on both pcs and Macs.

The device is simple to use, utilizing Sound Blaster Omni software for easy control and navigation. It is suitable for gaming too, featuring scout mode, allowing you to hear your enemies better than they hear you, giving you a competitive edge (it is not cheating, its just technology).

The device is created for digital entertainment, best suited for the enhanced gaming experience, as well as music and movie playing. Upon purchase, you will receive the Sound Blaster card, USB 2.0 cable, stereo jack adapter and installation cd containing instructions and drivers.

Pros:

• 5.1 Dolby Digital Live surround technology
• scout mode (perfect for gaming experience)
• Crystal Clear technology enhancing mic output sound quality
• very compact and lightweight

Cons:

• some customers complained about the headphone port and amplifier

ASUS Sound Card Xonar U5

Xonar U5 features 5.1 channel HD sound, able to transfer 104 dB signal into analog audio using SNR technology. Sound technology is controlled by Sonic Studio software, easy to use and navigate, giving you full control over the desired sound specifications.

Xonar U5 features built-in headphone amplifier, assuring that you hear every bit of that digital sound, which can come in handy for all musicophiles and gamers. The stereo audio adapter also pays close attention to unnecessary noise, reducing it to a minimum, assuring that you hear only relevant data. You power it via USB cable.

Though ASUS didn’t have any particular purpose for this device (other than quality sound output), it seems as if this USB sound card is intended for gamers, since they emphasize headphone sound quality.

Pros:

• high quality 5.1 surround sound (24 bit)
• SNR technology
• Sonic Studio software
• good for gaming

Cons:

• some customers claim the product is “too quiet.”
• also, some argue the product stopped working after a year and a half (not durable)

Creative Sound BlasterX G1

Creative Sound BlasterX G1 supports 7.1 sound channel and can translate digits and convert them into quality sound at high speed without sacrificing the quality.

Headphone amplifiers will satisfy hardcore gamers, especially the ones playing FPS games. The Creative Sound BlasterX G1 is also suitable for amplifying studio headphones.

BlasterX Acoustic Engine brings the best out of this device, allowing numerous modes and enhancements. It is very compact, simple, but efficient, and it delivers in sound quality too.

This audio sound card also features X-Plus mode and configurator. The work best with an H5 headset, giving you a competitive edge over your opponents. The mode selects and recognizes sounds that matter, filtering out unnecessary noises and sounds. Note that you will have to purchase H5 headset separately. This additional technology will help gamers, but not non-gamers.

Pros:

• 7.1 sound channels
• BlasterX Acoustic Engine offers various customization options
• X-Plus mode for gamers
• Scout mode (also for gamers)
• very compact and easy to use
• Headphone jack

Cons:

• predominantly gaming USB hub sound card
• some customers complained about hissing and static noise

BC Master Karaoke System

Unlike most products on our list, BC Master Karaoke System is particular and explicit when it comes to usability. This karaoke sound system features eight different modes and is portable, allowing you to sing, record and stream anywhere you want.

It features two in one 3.5 mm mic jacks and can be connected to the speaker without any third party object. You can charge it with simple USB cable, anywhere you want.

The device is simple, easy to use, having only several buttons with which you control the entire device. It has a built in BC Master sound card, best suited for singing.

BC Master Karaoke System is smart, having the option to change male to the female voice and vice versa, allowing the users more freedom and fun. And that is the point of this device; that you have fun with it and share it with your friends and family.

Pros:

Surround Sound Usb Card For Macbook Pro

• Eight different modes
• compact, portable and easy to use
• female to male/ male to female voice transition modes
• high-quality sound output

Cons:

• only ok according to some users
• made just for karaoke purposes

Baile Portable Sound Card

Baile Portable Sound Card works with Windows and Mac OS platforms, featuring 7.1 channel with 3D adapter, ultimately producing high-quality sound.

It is inexpensive and cost-effective, offering a lot for a small price. The device supports 2.0 USB ports and will work with almost any laptop and desktop PC.

It supports 48/44.1KHz audio sampling, suitable for playing and recording. The product is made of aluminum, is relatively lightweight, has two mic jacks, and four control buttons that make it very simple to use.

Upon purchase, you will receive the Baile Portable Sound Card, USB cable, and instructional CD. It is also worth mentioning that its signal to noise ratio (SNR) is 90 dB, which isn’t top quality, but still high quality.

Pros:

• 7.1 channel
• features 3D sound
• aluminum made
• affordable
• cost-effective

Surround Sound Usb Card For Macbook

Cons:

• high, but not top sound quality
• SNR is only 90dB, which is okay, but not the best

Tech Rise Sound Card Adapter

Tech Rise Card Adapter works with international USB standards (2.0) and is truly beautiful. The Tech Rise sound card is simple to use, its unique and compact design making everything look simple and organized.

It works with Windows, Mac OS, Linux, headphones, gaming headsets and so forth; it is highly compatible because it doesn’t require driver installation.

LED indicators make it simpler to use, and the volume wheel is smooth and functional, allowing you to control the volume. The product is built for musicophiles, featuring 16 different rhythmic patterns and 23 environment modes (yes, 23!)

The product is also fit for casual gamers since it does have a gaming mode, working best with gaming headset because the Tech Rise stereo sound adapter brings best out of any devices. So if you already have quality headphones or headsets, prepare to be blown away by this small but unique device.

Pros:

• simple and sleek design
• 16 different rhythmic patterns
• 23 different environment modes, including gaming mode
• compatible with almost all devices (no driver installation, just plug in)

Cons:

• somewhat short cable

StarTech External Sound Card

StarTech External Sound Card has many advantages: it is the smallest adapter on this list, it requires no driver installation (at least not for the older windows version, and has only two buttons (volume up and down).

However, StarTech External Sound Card doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but it will come in handy if your laptop or pc don’t have a mic jack (most modern laptops don’t).

Furthermore, the device does its job, and it does produce good sound for such a small device. After all, it features 7.1 channel sound and comes with a CD containing XEAR 3D software to boost the 7.1 channel sound.

Pros:

• excellent sound quality in such a small device
• comes with XEAR 3D software
• easy to use, having
• 7.1 surround sound
• cost-effective

Cons:

• not so durable
• some customers complained about surround system, claiming it does not work on Mac devices

VAlinks External Sound Card

VAlinks External Sound Card features 5.1 channel audio, giving you the ability to record and play high-quality digital-to-audio content.

It supports up to 44 kHz sampling rate in both recording and playing options. It is relatively inexpensive, made for both analog and digital recording and representing. The product also features Full-duplex playback.

Surround Sound Usb Card For Macbook Air

It is compact and lightweight, has line and mic input, as well as SPDIF input. Upon purchase, you will receive a sound card, USB cable, and the cd containing the driver.

Consumers reviews are mixed, some claiming it works correctly others claiming it didn’t work at all so that we can assign it to manufacture problems. But, when it does work, it works as described: smoothly, producing and recording high-quality sound.

Pros:

• cost-effective
• compact and easy to use
• works great with most platforms and devices
• produces high-quality sound for the price

Cons:

• not so durable
• some customers complained about functionality
• color is bright and unconventional

Conclusion

Again, it is hard to pick the best USB sound card and proclaim it the winner of this list. Some of these devices are good for gaming (most focus on delivering enhanced gaming experience), others are made for karaoke, and some are multi-purpose.

Moreover, they differ in sizes, some inputs and outputs, design and many other things. Naturally, there is also the price involved in all this.

Surround Sound Usb Card For Mac Os

The top one on the list (Sewell Direct Soundbox, Creative Sound BlasterX G5, and Creative Sound Blaster Omni Surround) are probably your safest bet, but they are also the most expensive ones.

You can also go for cheaper version because any of these devices will give you better sound than your integrated sound cards; you can bet on that. In any case, make sure it is compatible with your devices and that it suits your needs.