**The Ultimate Guide to External Gaming Sound Cards: A Comprehensive Review**

When it comes to gaming, having the right sound equipment can make all the difference in immersing yourself in the game's audio experience. In this article, we'll delve into the world of external gaming sound cards, exploring the best options available on the market.

**Microphone Quality: A Critical Component**

Before we dive into the sound cards themselves, let's talk about microphone quality. As any gamer knows, having a good microphone is essential for communicating with teammates and immersing yourself in the game's audio experience. In this roundup, we've got three sound cards that offer excellent microphone quality.

The Full Of Three is incredibly sensitive, so be careful not to blow your teammate's eardrums when speaking into it. It has some noise cancellation properties applied and compression too, making it a great option for those who want to minimize echo in their environment. Moving on to the GSX 300, this one sounds slightly better than the 403, with more natural tones without too much compression.

On the other hand, we have the Siba Sonic Gaming DAC, which is impressive because it's much cheaper than the GSX 300 but offers almost identical microphone quality. Listening back to them, I couldn't tell a difference, making it a very impressive mic pickup at around $40.

Next up is the Sound Blaster X3, my personal favorite in this roundup. It has beautiful tones, natural sound, and just the right amount of compression – perfect for minimizing echo without losing too much detail. The fact that it's one of the best on the market right now makes it a standout choice for gamers.

Moving on to the Sennheiser GSX 1000, this one is just as sensitive as the Full Of Three but with more aggressive noise cancellation and compression. To be honest, I'm not particularly fond of how this sounds, but it's still a solid option for those who want a good balance between sound quality and features.

**Sound Card Features: What to Look For**

Now that we've covered microphone quality, let's talk about the features you should look for in an external gaming sound card. One key feature is noise cancellation – it can greatly enhance your audio experience by minimizing echo and background noise. Another important factor is compression, which helps to even out the volume of different frequencies.

**The Best Sound Cards: A Roundup**

So, which sound cards made the cut? Here's a rundown of each one:

* **Sound Blaster X3**: My personal favorite in this roundup, offering beautiful tones and just the right amount of compression. It's also one of the best on the market right now.

* **Sennheiser GSX 1000**: A solid option with good noise cancellation and compression, but it's not my top choice due to its aggressive sound quality.

* **Mayflower Arc Mark II**: Upgraded preamps for better microphone quality and stereo recording. It's a great option for those who want high-quality audio without breaking the bank.

* **FOSSE Audio Q4 Deck**: A powerful and feature-packed sound card with beautiful front-forward character. It's a great combo with the Mayflower Arc Mark II.

**The Surprises**

As we explored each sound card, some surprises emerged. For example, the Sound Blaster X3 is my top choice for comms due to its natural noise cancellation without needing additional settings. The Sennheiser GSX 1000 is also a solid option for surround sound, but it's not powerful enough for more demanding games.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, when it comes to external gaming sound cards, there are many great options available on the market. From microphone quality to features and price point, there's something for every gamer. By considering these factors and doing your research, you can find the perfect sound card to enhance your gaming experience.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello good people today we're taking a look at the best gaming dac amps that i've collected over time now these external sound cards give you the convenience of physical volume control interesting audio features and the microphone input for comms i have always said that gaming and audio is just as important as having proper aim so if you're looking for an external dac amp solution you my friend have come to the right place we have a wide range of products that vary in complexity price and size i've even gone ahead and played the games only with the best audio in my entire library and used both a generic gaming headset like the black shark v2x from razer and my favorite headphone the hd58x from drop just to see how each amp keeps up with each headphone i will keep things simple since i don't understand half the specs anyway but i will keep this analysis subjective based on these different sized ears okay so don't judge so the contestants will include the funny name fuller 3 and the hell the mayflower arc mark ii the sound blaster x3 both gsx units from epos to 300 and the 1000 and of course some best-selling amazon items like the seba sonic gaming amplifier plus this really interesting foci audio q4 deck i've covered some of these in detail so links below to those videos plus everything you see in this video can also be picked up so explore those affiliate links thank you very much let's begin right after this say hello to proper airflow with be quiet purebase 500dx a compact mid tower with a mesh front panel and three 140 millimeter pure wings two fans that are silent and capable enjoy tasteful argb illumination a type c port and an easy case to work in check it out below all right so first of all let's begin with the most basic unit here the fuller three it's a driverless plug and play compact solution with that really cool industrial frame no gaming bling whatsoever large volume wheel that's been blacked out so you can actually see the volume level tick mark that's appreciated but it's a bit scratchy during rotation and that's the only con of the build you hear that it's powered with the micro usb at the back so it's perfect for notebook setups as it doesn't need additional power there's an analog input at the back if you want to use this as an amplifier plus a second micro usb port for power with like a battery bank if you want to use this while on the go with mobile the headphone and mic inputs are the front almost discreetly labeled and for both my headphone choices it has plenty of power to drive either beyond volumes i'm comfortable with overall the sound signature is leaning towards that neutral and flat response the bass is well controlled nice smooth high end as well so no harsh treble even with loud volumes this is an easy recommendation for me if you're looking for like the really simple almost pull the line this if you're looking for a simple full of three this thing should satisfy with any gaming headset also my two warnings here include the scratchy volume wheel which was not present on my previous copy which had a defective microphone input that died after several days of use so just keep that in mind and i will be performing the mic test in the end so you can hear how they sound versus each other moving on to this next interesting device we have the fosse audio dac q4 the only reason it's in this roundup is because of the two additional knobs at the front that add over move bass and treble i normally never play around with eq because i prefer my headphones to give me the desired sound signature but having these knobs actually benefited with the black shark v2 headset because i lowered the bass and increased the treble for slightly sharper more brighter sound from the headset without having to worry about downloading any of the drivers or doing anything in game the knobs have tactile steps while the main volume wheel is really nice and smooth the headphone jack is at the front with three input selections as we have usb optical and rca inputs which is quite nice at this price point there's a five volt dc input that is required for operation even when you have the pc usb plugged in but from an audio perspective this thing is impressive it has a lot of power to drive my hd5 at x and beyond headphones with slightly lower sensitivity and high impedance and uh being able to like control the treble and bass is actually quite uh intuitive like sure you can add the bass and destroy the entire lower end but because we have that fine adjustment you can just add a little bit or remove a little bit and either high-end or the low-end scenarios and that basically gives you a really cool way to personalize your open headphones uh to sound a bit more bassy and slightly sharper or remove some of that bass and treble from your closed headphones depending on what type of sound signature you prefer overall for the price point the sound is absolutely impressive the only downside and i'm putting that in quotations for a gaming roundup is that it's quite forward so you don't get that massive sound stage expansion like you do with other amplifiers that delivered that by default but for competitive gaming even with an open style headset it is absolutely not an issue for me personally and to be honest the character refinement based on the headphones is a bit more important to me than the really open sound stage my two warning points for this unit is that the front io is a bit crowded and also there's that tactile power on switch so if you go just below the tactile switch when the thing is powered on it will lower the volume and then if you were to crank that back up it will take a moment to catch up to that desired volume again so careful not to blow your eardrums when you lower the volume and when you crank it back up also this is the only unit that does not have a mic input from this roundup otherwise it would make it a fantastic killer combo for gaming but if you're looking just for audio this is an easy recommendation next up is the small plastic unit the gsx300 from epos it's powered with micro usb at the back with separate audio jacks here as well it's the only device with an angled body so the volume wheel is easy to handle blue illumination indicates stereo mode while red means surround and you activate it with a button at the front that does a really good job with audio expansion with not totally destructive properties for games where a larger sound stage is beneficial for the environment like in little nightmares too it really helps to bring an extra level of like satisfaction from the game since it helps to simulate this larger speaker setup instead of headphones so you get really big sound while wearing headphones and that's a really cool feeling especially when it comes to open style headphones i would categorize this to sound a bit more full especially on the low end compared to the two sound cards we just talked about uh but the only thing it lacks is power so with hd5 at x 100 volume for me to be comfortable and like even want more when it comes to gaming headsets the black shark v2x also has to be almost running at 100 to give me the desired volume so this isn't for your enthusiast level audiophile great headphones but for gaming headsets it should satisfy also because the unit is super light pressing the front button requires you to actually hold it because otherwise it just slides around and my only warning here is about the software because i've experienced plenty of bugs without recognizing my surround sound and plenty of the other sliders not working moving on to the next sound card that really surprised me from a performance and feature standpoint here we have the siba sonic gaming amplifier at around 40 it is driverless powered with mini usb has both digital and rca out at the back while at the front we have a line in mic in headphone out and even a full size 6.3 mm headphone out as well the toggle on the left changes between the three hardware eq modes with bass boost default or direct and treble boost i would normally advise against it but i'm sure many gamers would appreciate this feature adding more bass or adding treble for slightly brighter sound extension on the black shark v2 in my experience adding the bass was a bit too much it made everything too muddy on the low end while adding treble just became too harsh so i appreciate the finer adjustment on the q4 dac but in the direct line it was perfectly fine now the volume wheel on my unit was kind of all over the place for the first 50 it has this weird resistance then it gets smooth to about 80 and then again it gets scratchy and this is kind of a perfect example where features outweigh the build quality and the sound quality because out of this entire roundup i prefer the sound quality of this thing the least yeah that's right on a positive note it has plenty of power to drive my hd58x and beyond so that's good but it just kind of has no life to it in terms of audio so you might want to add treble or bass to your headset to give this thing a bit more character so it sounds kind of boring in an almost non-layered audio representation but kind of ideal for competitive stuff where you just need to hear audio cues and running my v2x and tarkov gave me wonderful hearing senses to know from which direction they're gonna eat my bullets honestly for a gaming sound card around 40 dollars it is excellent value just don't expect perfection now let's move on to the more high-end sound cards starting with the sound blaster x3 this is the most feature-rich gaming focused unit and the one i've used the longest as you can see by all the dust on the top and around the glossy parts of the volume wheel for under 150 this is an easy recommendation almost like an instant recommendation because the amplifier is beautiful with lots of warmth behind it and also a lot of power too it's the only sound card with a type c connection we have all the line out ports a line in and optical the headphone and mic jacks at the front are kind of weirdly separated but the volume wheel has tactile rotation steps and is also a button for mute while the three buttons at the front control your mic volume mode for direct audio plus this sxf5 button for surround sound the x3 has entire gaming software suite with eq profiles custom surround modes based on pictures of your ear and face lots of microphone options in here as well but it's honestly a little bit overwhelming when it comes to software so i removed it and i just run the x3 in its default configuration because the stereo imaging is fantastic with beautiful layering and really nice natural sound stage that doesn't go beyond what i'm comfortable with in terms of gaming movies and i also edit with this uh sound card for all these videos when it comes to surround sound i honestly cannot tell the difference between the surround modes on the x3 versus like the gsx 300 because of all the added reverb to grow your environment i would recommend you try it if you have the x3 because for games that don't require really precise audio it's a nice fun factor when it comes to like expanding your audio environment with surround that doesn't sound super natural but uh it does expand your environment and makes things more distant doesn't feel like you're wearing headphones but feels like you're listening to massive speakers beside you probably the only con with the x3 would be the usb issues i'm experiencing on my amd systems where the sound control panel would just crash and would require me to unplug the sound card from the computer for to work again and this is something i've experienced from one amd machine to the other and then we have the legendary gsx 1000 it's a very cool driverless unit with a touch screen and this is still the only device i would recommend for surround sound the binaural expansion and the engine that's built in just sounds absolutely fantastic to expand your environment without totally destructing it that's not a word without totally destroying it it has a really interesting and unique way of removing headphones from your head where it sounds like you're listening to the room and not to the headphones and that's a fantastic feeling for open world games or where you just want to feel like in this massive audio space instead of audio coming right from here you have multiple settings for reverb and you can even save profiles on each corner it has similar warm tones as the gsx 300 but with slightly wider sound stage and it's also a bit more powerful in terms of the amplifier really the only downside of like the gsx 300 and the gsx 1000 is power output especially compared to like basically all uh the sound cards in this roundup they don't have enough power to drive anything beyond a standard gaming headset as soon as you introduce like slightly more sensitive headphone it the you know i i always want more volume and so this is where we get units like this hell this is a legit powerhouse of an amplifier targeted towards gamers with good taste in headphones and this one requires wall power sucks that it's still using a micro usb but is absolutely gorgeous with that metal casing and red accents both on the sides and the power led it's also four times the power of the fuller three with smoother volume wheel a gain switch beside the full 6.3 millimeter headphone jack a stereo mic input with a gain knob to control your level so this is one of those devices you get if you want performance no bling no bs whatsoever i mean it's also driverless so that's awesome uh so incredible layering fantastic bass although i prefer the slightly warmer representation of what sennheiser offers but this is what you get if you want to go beyond the traditional gaming headset and want to plug in more more premium headphones into this later on and finally we have the fanciest one on hand the mayflower arc mark ii i've used the previous one for years before switching to something else to try out different features especially for surround sound but the mark ii is like on a whole different level so first it's the only unit in my collection that has a 4-pole headset jack aside from that mic input meaning you don't need separate headphone and my cables and this is a huge thing for a gaming product since most gaming headsets today have the 4-pole connection and you are given a splitter cable but here you just plug in the 4-pole into the headset jack without needing to use the splitter cable the volume wheel is beautifully smooth with rubber rings for better finger control at the back we have rca jacks with a switch at the front auxiliary in and mic out and optical in for most setups you don't need the power supply so just connect with the usb but the power supply you can get is an optional accessory to my ears this sounds more pleasant and more defined versus the hell vocals in particular sound more forward and slightly closer with much better layering which is impressive because the sound stage while it is slightly more closed off versus the hell i prefer that really beautiful absolutely detailed environment that you get submerged in with the mark ii arc versus something like the hell which is still sounds fantastic but with slightly wider representation so you don't get that you don't hear everything like right in front of you everything is slightly more more pushed back but you don't really realize it until you hear something like the arc mark too it's weird overall this is a very impressive amplifier and almost like a league of its own at how beautiful everything in game sounds we also have a bass boost dps switch at the front illuminated in blue when active that would turn any open style headphone into bass heaven with lots of warmth introduced into the base that bleeds into the mid-range so it's not something that i prefer especially with the black shark v2x nor the hd5x but i'm sure some people would appreciate that if you're on a really bright headphone or a headset that's like really sharp boom dps introduce a lot of warmth onto the lower end but for me this is something i would keep off the only time i found dsp switch to benefit my listening style is if i'm listening at lower volumes that way everything sounds a bit warm and more full body but uh if i'm playing a game or listen to something quite loud i prefer it off all right so now that's out of the way let's talk microphone quality all right so let's start with the full of three this one is incredibly sensitive so be careful not to blow your teammate's eardrums when speaking into the microphone uh it has some noise cancellation properties applied and some compression too so yeah moving on to the gsx300 this one sounds slightly better than the 403 it's not as sensitive and the tones are a bit more natural without too much compression moving on to the siba sonic gaming dac this one's impressive because it's much cheaper than the gsx 300 but in terms of microphone quality they sound almost identical like to my ears listening back to them i couldn't tell a difference so yeah it's a very impressive mic pickup on this subsonic around the 40 mark next up is the sound blaster x3 this is my favorite out of the bunch i would say it's like one of the best on the market right now with beautiful tones the natural sounding just the right amount of compression so you don't like hear everything all the echo in this environment but it compresses that uh sort of almost like a condenser microphone capsule but it's coming from a 59 dollar headset so really really like how this sounds moving on to the sennheiser gsx 1000 this one is just as sensitive as the full of three but with more aggressive noise cancellation and like compression i don't particularly like how this sounds all right so this is the hell the only sound card that allows you to actually control the level of the microphone which is great but you have to know what level you're in and there's no pass through into the headphones so if you have any sort of audio recording program that way you can see the level and adjust the level accordingly i also will say it is an upgrade over the full of three because this is a stereo mic uh recording instead of mono on the fuller three and finally we have the mayflower arc mark ii it has upgraded preamps for the microphone versus the previous generation which is great and the reason why i'm using the black shark v2x headset is because at 59 you can hear how fantastic the microphone sounds across this range of sound cards i'm actually quite surprised at how low the level is for the mark ii given its most expensive sound card in this roundup but in terms of the vocal character it's fantastic i think it's right up there along the sound blaster x3 but still i would choose the sound blaster x3 because it has just better volume across the range and i wouldn't have to boost this in the software all right so based on everything you heard which one sounded best to your ears now i want to conclude with a few surprises along the way the best sounding deck amp slash external gaming sound card is the fosse audio q4 deck which has a lot of power and beautiful front forward character very similar to what the arc mark ii does but without that smooth highlight control here the controls on the treble is a bit harsh but that's why we have the little dial so i can reduce it and i'm not blasting the music anyway so i'm like if this had a mic input this would be a fantastic combo for around 50 the mayflower arc mark ii is easily my second best choice in terms of audio quality which is the best in this roundup is just a little bit on the expensive side the bass boost for me is a bit too much but i would say it would complement many v-shaped lovers so you know it's there i still love my sound blaster x3 for comms because to my ears it has the best most natural and really neutral noise-canceling microphone input without needing to enable any additional noise cancellation while the offerings are pretty unique because of their simplicity and neutral sound if you want surround sound for gaming the gsx 1000 will not disappoint while the little brother it's okay in terms of surround sound but just keep in mind that it's not very powerful so for gaming headsets it'll be fine but for anything beyond nope while the seba sonic gaming dag is feature packed but at 40 dollars it sounds like it too i'll leave links below for you to explore if you're in the market for a new external sound card also we've done plenty of other videos about sound you can check out right over here i'm a dimitri thanks so much for watching let me know if you are in the market for one and which of these would you pick and if you have anything else on your mind about an external sound card let us know potentially we'll check it out i'm dmitry thanks so much for watching check out this other relevant content i'll talk to you youhello good people today we're taking a look at the best gaming dac amps that i've collected over time now these external sound cards give you the convenience of physical volume control interesting audio features and the microphone input for comms i have always said that gaming and audio is just as important as having proper aim so if you're looking for an external dac amp solution you my friend have come to the right place we have a wide range of products that vary in complexity price and size i've even gone ahead and played the games only with the best audio in my entire library and used both a generic gaming headset like the black shark v2x from razer and my favorite headphone the hd58x from drop just to see how each amp keeps up with each headphone i will keep things simple since i don't understand half the specs anyway but i will keep this analysis subjective based on these different sized ears okay so don't judge so the contestants will include the funny name fuller 3 and the hell the mayflower arc mark ii the sound blaster x3 both gsx units from epos to 300 and the 1000 and of course some best-selling amazon items like the seba sonic gaming amplifier plus this really interesting foci audio q4 deck i've covered some of these in detail so links below to those videos plus everything you see in this video can also be picked up so explore those affiliate links thank you very much let's begin right after this say hello to proper airflow with be quiet purebase 500dx a compact mid tower with a mesh front panel and three 140 millimeter pure wings two fans that are silent and capable enjoy tasteful argb illumination a type c port and an easy case to work in check it out below all right so first of all let's begin with the most basic unit here the fuller three it's a driverless plug and play compact solution with that really cool industrial frame no gaming bling whatsoever large volume wheel that's been blacked out so you can actually see the volume level tick mark that's appreciated but it's a bit scratchy during rotation and that's the only con of the build you hear that it's powered with the micro usb at the back so it's perfect for notebook setups as it doesn't need additional power there's an analog input at the back if you want to use this as an amplifier plus a second micro usb port for power with like a battery bank if you want to use this while on the go with mobile the headphone and mic inputs are the front almost discreetly labeled and for both my headphone choices it has plenty of power to drive either beyond volumes i'm comfortable with overall the sound signature is leaning towards that neutral and flat response the bass is well controlled nice smooth high end as well so no harsh treble even with loud volumes this is an easy recommendation for me if you're looking for like the really simple almost pull the line this if you're looking for a simple full of three this thing should satisfy with any gaming headset also my two warnings here include the scratchy volume wheel which was not present on my previous copy which had a defective microphone input that died after several days of use so just keep that in mind and i will be performing the mic test in the end so you can hear how they sound versus each other moving on to this next interesting device we have the fosse audio dac q4 the only reason it's in this roundup is because of the two additional knobs at the front that add over move bass and treble i normally never play around with eq because i prefer my headphones to give me the desired sound signature but having these knobs actually benefited with the black shark v2 headset because i lowered the bass and increased the treble for slightly sharper more brighter sound from the headset without having to worry about downloading any of the drivers or doing anything in game the knobs have tactile steps while the main volume wheel is really nice and smooth the headphone jack is at the front with three input selections as we have usb optical and rca inputs which is quite nice at this price point there's a five volt dc input that is required for operation even when you have the pc usb plugged in but from an audio perspective this thing is impressive it has a lot of power to drive my hd5 at x and beyond headphones with slightly lower sensitivity and high impedance and uh being able to like control the treble and bass is actually quite uh intuitive like sure you can add the bass and destroy the entire lower end but because we have that fine adjustment you can just add a little bit or remove a little bit and either high-end or the low-end scenarios and that basically gives you a really cool way to personalize your open headphones uh to sound a bit more bassy and slightly sharper or remove some of that bass and treble from your closed headphones depending on what type of sound signature you prefer overall for the price point the sound is absolutely impressive the only downside and i'm putting that in quotations for a gaming roundup is that it's quite forward so you don't get that massive sound stage expansion like you do with other amplifiers that delivered that by default but for competitive gaming even with an open style headset it is absolutely not an issue for me personally and to be honest the character refinement based on the headphones is a bit more important to me than the really open sound stage my two warning points for this unit is that the front io is a bit crowded and also there's that tactile power on switch so if you go just below the tactile switch when the thing is powered on it will lower the volume and then if you were to crank that back up it will take a moment to catch up to that desired volume again so careful not to blow your eardrums when you lower the volume and when you crank it back up also this is the only unit that does not have a mic input from this roundup otherwise it would make it a fantastic killer combo for gaming but if you're looking just for audio this is an easy recommendation next up is the small plastic unit the gsx300 from epos it's powered with micro usb at the back with separate audio jacks here as well it's the only device with an angled body so the volume wheel is easy to handle blue illumination indicates stereo mode while red means surround and you activate it with a button at the front that does a really good job with audio expansion with not totally destructive properties for games where a larger sound stage is beneficial for the environment like in little nightmares too it really helps to bring an extra level of like satisfaction from the game since it helps to simulate this larger speaker setup instead of headphones so you get really big sound while wearing headphones and that's a really cool feeling especially when it comes to open style headphones i would categorize this to sound a bit more full especially on the low end compared to the two sound cards we just talked about uh but the only thing it lacks is power so with hd5 at x 100 volume for me to be comfortable and like even want more when it comes to gaming headsets the black shark v2x also has to be almost running at 100 to give me the desired volume so this isn't for your enthusiast level audiophile great headphones but for gaming headsets it should satisfy also because the unit is super light pressing the front button requires you to actually hold it because otherwise it just slides around and my only warning here is about the software because i've experienced plenty of bugs without recognizing my surround sound and plenty of the other sliders not working moving on to the next sound card that really surprised me from a performance and feature standpoint here we have the siba sonic gaming amplifier at around 40 it is driverless powered with mini usb has both digital and rca out at the back while at the front we have a line in mic in headphone out and even a full size 6.3 mm headphone out as well the toggle on the left changes between the three hardware eq modes with bass boost default or direct and treble boost i would normally advise against it but i'm sure many gamers would appreciate this feature adding more bass or adding treble for slightly brighter sound extension on the black shark v2 in my experience adding the bass was a bit too much it made everything too muddy on the low end while adding treble just became too harsh so i appreciate the finer adjustment on the q4 dac but in the direct line it was perfectly fine now the volume wheel on my unit was kind of all over the place for the first 50 it has this weird resistance then it gets smooth to about 80 and then again it gets scratchy and this is kind of a perfect example where features outweigh the build quality and the sound quality because out of this entire roundup i prefer the sound quality of this thing the least yeah that's right on a positive note it has plenty of power to drive my hd58x and beyond so that's good but it just kind of has no life to it in terms of audio so you might want to add treble or bass to your headset to give this thing a bit more character so it sounds kind of boring in an almost non-layered audio representation but kind of ideal for competitive stuff where you just need to hear audio cues and running my v2x and tarkov gave me wonderful hearing senses to know from which direction they're gonna eat my bullets honestly for a gaming sound card around 40 dollars it is excellent value just don't expect perfection now let's move on to the more high-end sound cards starting with the sound blaster x3 this is the most feature-rich gaming focused unit and the one i've used the longest as you can see by all the dust on the top and around the glossy parts of the volume wheel for under 150 this is an easy recommendation almost like an instant recommendation because the amplifier is beautiful with lots of warmth behind it and also a lot of power too it's the only sound card with a type c connection we have all the line out ports a line in and optical the headphone and mic jacks at the front are kind of weirdly separated but the volume wheel has tactile rotation steps and is also a button for mute while the three buttons at the front control your mic volume mode for direct audio plus this sxf5 button for surround sound the x3 has entire gaming software suite with eq profiles custom surround modes based on pictures of your ear and face lots of microphone options in here as well but it's honestly a little bit overwhelming when it comes to software so i removed it and i just run the x3 in its default configuration because the stereo imaging is fantastic with beautiful layering and really nice natural sound stage that doesn't go beyond what i'm comfortable with in terms of gaming movies and i also edit with this uh sound card for all these videos when it comes to surround sound i honestly cannot tell the difference between the surround modes on the x3 versus like the gsx 300 because of all the added reverb to grow your environment i would recommend you try it if you have the x3 because for games that don't require really precise audio it's a nice fun factor when it comes to like expanding your audio environment with surround that doesn't sound super natural but uh it does expand your environment and makes things more distant doesn't feel like you're wearing headphones but feels like you're listening to massive speakers beside you probably the only con with the x3 would be the usb issues i'm experiencing on my amd systems where the sound control panel would just crash and would require me to unplug the sound card from the computer for to work again and this is something i've experienced from one amd machine to the other and then we have the legendary gsx 1000 it's a very cool driverless unit with a touch screen and this is still the only device i would recommend for surround sound the binaural expansion and the engine that's built in just sounds absolutely fantastic to expand your environment without totally destructing it that's not a word without totally destroying it it has a really interesting and unique way of removing headphones from your head where it sounds like you're listening to the room and not to the headphones and that's a fantastic feeling for open world games or where you just want to feel like in this massive audio space instead of audio coming right from here you have multiple settings for reverb and you can even save profiles on each corner it has similar warm tones as the gsx 300 but with slightly wider sound stage and it's also a bit more powerful in terms of the amplifier really the only downside of like the gsx 300 and the gsx 1000 is power output especially compared to like basically all uh the sound cards in this roundup they don't have enough power to drive anything beyond a standard gaming headset as soon as you introduce like slightly more sensitive headphone it the you know i i always want more volume and so this is where we get units like this hell this is a legit powerhouse of an amplifier targeted towards gamers with good taste in headphones and this one requires wall power sucks that it's still using a micro usb but is absolutely gorgeous with that metal casing and red accents both on the sides and the power led it's also four times the power of the fuller three with smoother volume wheel a gain switch beside the full 6.3 millimeter headphone jack a stereo mic input with a gain knob to control your level so this is one of those devices you get if you want performance no bling no bs whatsoever i mean it's also driverless so that's awesome uh so incredible layering fantastic bass although i prefer the slightly warmer representation of what sennheiser offers but this is what you get if you want to go beyond the traditional gaming headset and want to plug in more more premium headphones into this later on and finally we have the fanciest one on hand the mayflower arc mark ii i've used the previous one for years before switching to something else to try out different features especially for surround sound but the mark ii is like on a whole different level so first it's the only unit in my collection that has a 4-pole headset jack aside from that mic input meaning you don't need separate headphone and my cables and this is a huge thing for a gaming product since most gaming headsets today have the 4-pole connection and you are given a splitter cable but here you just plug in the 4-pole into the headset jack without needing to use the splitter cable the volume wheel is beautifully smooth with rubber rings for better finger control at the back we have rca jacks with a switch at the front auxiliary in and mic out and optical in for most setups you don't need the power supply so just connect with the usb but the power supply you can get is an optional accessory to my ears this sounds more pleasant and more defined versus the hell vocals in particular sound more forward and slightly closer with much better layering which is impressive because the sound stage while it is slightly more closed off versus the hell i prefer that really beautiful absolutely detailed environment that you get submerged in with the mark ii arc versus something like the hell which is still sounds fantastic but with slightly wider representation so you don't get that you don't hear everything like right in front of you everything is slightly more more pushed back but you don't really realize it until you hear something like the arc mark too it's weird overall this is a very impressive amplifier and almost like a league of its own at how beautiful everything in game sounds we also have a bass boost dps switch at the front illuminated in blue when active that would turn any open style headphone into bass heaven with lots of warmth introduced into the base that bleeds into the mid-range so it's not something that i prefer especially with the black shark v2x nor the hd5x but i'm sure some people would appreciate that if you're on a really bright headphone or a headset that's like really sharp boom dps introduce a lot of warmth onto the lower end but for me this is something i would keep off the only time i found dsp switch to benefit my listening style is if i'm listening at lower volumes that way everything sounds a bit warm and more full body but uh if i'm playing a game or listen to something quite loud i prefer it off all right so now that's out of the way let's talk microphone quality all right so let's start with the full of three this one is incredibly sensitive so be careful not to blow your teammate's eardrums when speaking into the microphone uh it has some noise cancellation properties applied and some compression too so yeah moving on to the gsx300 this one sounds slightly better than the 403 it's not as sensitive and the tones are a bit more natural without too much compression moving on to the siba sonic gaming dac this one's impressive because it's much cheaper than the gsx 300 but in terms of microphone quality they sound almost identical like to my ears listening back to them i couldn't tell a difference so yeah it's a very impressive mic pickup on this subsonic around the 40 mark next up is the sound blaster x3 this is my favorite out of the bunch i would say it's like one of the best on the market right now with beautiful tones the natural sounding just the right amount of compression so you don't like hear everything all the echo in this environment but it compresses that uh sort of almost like a condenser microphone capsule but it's coming from a 59 dollar headset so really really like how this sounds moving on to the sennheiser gsx 1000 this one is just as sensitive as the full of three but with more aggressive noise cancellation and like compression i don't particularly like how this sounds all right so this is the hell the only sound card that allows you to actually control the level of the microphone which is great but you have to know what level you're in and there's no pass through into the headphones so if you have any sort of audio recording program that way you can see the level and adjust the level accordingly i also will say it is an upgrade over the full of three because this is a stereo mic uh recording instead of mono on the fuller three and finally we have the mayflower arc mark ii it has upgraded preamps for the microphone versus the previous generation which is great and the reason why i'm using the black shark v2x headset is because at 59 you can hear how fantastic the microphone sounds across this range of sound cards i'm actually quite surprised at how low the level is for the mark ii given its most expensive sound card in this roundup but in terms of the vocal character it's fantastic i think it's right up there along the sound blaster x3 but still i would choose the sound blaster x3 because it has just better volume across the range and i wouldn't have to boost this in the software all right so based on everything you heard which one sounded best to your ears now i want to conclude with a few surprises along the way the best sounding deck amp slash external gaming sound card is the fosse audio q4 deck which has a lot of power and beautiful front forward character very similar to what the arc mark ii does but without that smooth highlight control here the controls on the treble is a bit harsh but that's why we have the little dial so i can reduce it and i'm not blasting the music anyway so i'm like if this had a mic input this would be a fantastic combo for around 50 the mayflower arc mark ii is easily my second best choice in terms of audio quality which is the best in this roundup is just a little bit on the expensive side the bass boost for me is a bit too much but i would say it would complement many v-shaped lovers so you know it's there i still love my sound blaster x3 for comms because to my ears it has the best most natural and really neutral noise-canceling microphone input without needing to enable any additional noise cancellation while the offerings are pretty unique because of their simplicity and neutral sound if you want surround sound for gaming the gsx 1000 will not disappoint while the little brother it's okay in terms of surround sound but just keep in mind that it's not very powerful so for gaming headsets it'll be fine but for anything beyond nope while the seba sonic gaming dag is feature packed but at 40 dollars it sounds like it too i'll leave links below for you to explore if you're in the market for a new external sound card also we've done plenty of other videos about sound you can check out right over here i'm a dimitri thanks so much for watching let me know if you are in the market for one and which of these would you pick and if you have anything else on your mind about an external sound card let us know potentially we'll check it out i'm dmitry thanks so much for watching check out this other relevant content i'll talk to you you\n"