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.