![]() ![]() The Micro II was displaying a horrible linearity problem. When I dropped the level to see if the distortion would drop, I found the problem. Then I checked the 1 Khz THD and while it wasn’t great it also wasn’t bad enough to explain the poor sound quality. #Turtle beach audio hub device error driver#POOR DRIVER DESIGN (updated): I first checked the Micro II’s frequency response and it was reasonably flat out to 15 Khz so the poor sound was still a mystery. ![]() I was really curious to measure the Micro II and find out why it sounded so obviously bad. Playing familiar well recorded audiophile tracks the Micro II made them sound shrill, glaring, and harsh regardless of what headphones I used. The sound quality, however, was seriously odd. SUBJECTIVE SOUND QUALITY: There was moderate hiss with my Ultimate Ears IEMs but the Micro II was fairly quiet with less sensitive headphones. The only sample rates and bit depths available are 16/44 and 16/48 as shown to the right in Windows 7. Windows reported it as a “USB Sound Device”. WINDOWS INSTALLATION: The Micro II installed smoothly in both XP and Windows 7 without needing any drivers. There’s no volume control, other controls, or inputs of any kind-just a blue LED. It has a single 3.5mm jack which serves as line out, headphone out, and an optical digital out (using a supplied 3.5mm-to-Toslink adapter). TURTLE BEACH MICRO II: The Micro II is a small “dongle” with an attached 2 inch “pigtail” USB cable. I also have updated how I test and present DAC results. According to Turtle Beach, it’s supposed to provide “higher quality sound” compared to internal PC audio. The $25 Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro II is just such a DAC. The DACs are all small, easily portable, and USB powered. The idea is to test the DACs with a high impedance load (such as the O2 Headphone Amp) and a typical headphone load. INTRO: This is the first in a series of inexpensive portable USB DAC reviews I’ll be publishing in the next week or two. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |