How exactly do USB sound cards work? What do they do?

Question

Do they send sound to speakers or headphones and if so do they have to be special speakers or what?

Answer 1

You plug the USB into the USB slot and it has some jacks on it. One for headphones and one for microphone.



You can also buy USB powered speakers but the power output isn't very good since it is only what the USB can provide which isn't alot.



I don't think I've come across any USB sound cards that have a speaker output jack, only headphones.

Answer 2

External sound cars is like a box.



Theres a usb plug that goes into your computer, and depending on the card, it'll have 1 or a few audio jacks for your speakers. Some may even have a mic.



These external cards are generally not recommended because of poor quality.



I have used 1 which is quite good. it was $170 though :P

It's maker was Creative. I bought it so my laptop could have 5.1 audio.

Answer 3

USB sound devices have places where you can plug in traditional speakers, line-in devices and headphones. You typically don't need any kind of special "digital" speaker to work with a USB sound device.

Answer 4

make the sound come out your speakers