usb ports
Home » computers » computer add-ons » io cards » usb ports » griffin technology imic usb external sound card
|
GADGET HAT
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Griffin Technology iMic USB External Sound Card The following report compares gadgets using the SERCount Rating (base on the result count from the search engine). |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
POPULAR HAT - 2006-02-13 11:21:00 | © Copyright 2004 - www.hat.net () | sitemap | top |
The driver came installed with Jaguar, so there was no installing to do - I plugged it into the USB port and the Mac OS immediately recognized it. It shows up in the 'Sound' pane of System Preferences and is easy to select. There's a handy level meter there, so you can twiddle the amplification just right.
I've used it for a couple months to DJ my live internet radio broadcast, which goes out over the "airwaves" as a 56K internet stream. I'm using it with a cheap Radio Shack combo phones/mic headset (nine bucks), and the sound quality is totally adequate. I'd agree with the manufacturer, though, that you oughtn't expect to use this for studio-quality sound; although I can't discern any distortion or hiss from the peripheral over my cheap speakers or headphones.
This device works best when plugged into its own USB port. I had trouble when using it on USB busses that already had a lot of activity.
It fails to get 5 stars because the cable is too short - only about 18 inches - not really even long enough to make it around to the front of the computer. Also, there's an occasional (once a week) bug/problem with sound degradation after the computer's been asleep. Unplugging and re-plugging in the peripheral fixes this problem, but it'd be nice if it wasn't there at all.
In short, if you need average quality mic-level sound input into your Mac, and price is important to you, this is the peripheral you need!