Choosing an USB Soundcard & Stereo Audio Mixer (3.5mm)

[elfensky]

Hi.

Please take a look at this picture:

 

The microphone will most likely be the Aukey GD-G1.

 

What I need help with, however, is getting a USB Soundcard that wont distort either the outgoing or incoming audio too much, and an audio mixer that could take 3.5mm inputs.

Could you tell me your thoughts on this setup, perhaps some changes you would suggest?

 

My total budget is around 50€, though I could maybe stretch it to 60€. I shop at Amazon.de

 

[anothertom]

So you want a decent soundcard and a mixer for €60? Good luck with that...

 

I would suggest spending the money you would spend on a mixer on a decent receiver with multiple inputs and use that to switch between sources.

 

Alternatively if you can connect everything to the monitor over HDMI, and send audio as well you could then use an output from the TV/monitor and a passive switch to switch between that and a Bluetooth receiver.

[elfensky]

58 minutes ago, anothertom said:

So you want a decent soundcard and a mixer for €60? Good luck with that...

 

I would suggest spending the money you would spend on a mixer on a decent receiver with multiple inputs and use that to switch between sources.

 

Alternatively if you can connect everything to the monitor over HDMI, and send audio as well you could then use an output from the TV/monitor and a passive switch to switch between that and a Bluetooth receiver.

 

Are they that expensive? I mean I'm not requiring anything audiophile-grade, just something that'll make music played on youtube sound decent enough. I currently stream my laptop to my speakers using bluetooth, so it's already going to be lossy.
 

I was thinking of
this for the USB Soundcard
and
this for the mixer.

Since you're laughing at my budget, should I assume those are bad?


Perhaps I'll start small - maybe only a good soundcard first so I can get my laptop's mic and headphone/speaker situation sorted, and get the mixer later?

(Soundcard -> Y-splitter to headphones and speakers.)

[Guest]

The budget is quite small, there are devices like Sound Blaster E5 and E3 but both are over your budget easily.

[elfensky]

2 hours ago, xH4wK said:

The budget is quite small, there are devices like Sound Blaster E5 and E3 but both are over your budget easily.

 

I don't need bluetooth in the Soundcard or Mixer though, I already have a BluetoothTo3.5mm receiver.

[anothertom]

For that budget you won't get a better soundcard than what the onboard audio will have, so there's no point unless you're having issues with the onboard audio.

 

As for the mixer, do you really need to listen to more than one device at a time? if not then a passive switch will be fine.

 

I would suggest you don't want to use a splitter to feed both headphones and speakers as you'll be turning the speakers on and off every time you want to switch. A second switch back to back with the first would be a slightly better solution.

[elfensky]

20 hours ago, anothertom said:

For that budget you won't get a better soundcard than what the onboard audio will have, so there's no point unless you're having issues with the onboard audio.

 

As for the mixer, do you really need to listen to more than one device at a time? if not then a passive switch will be fine.

 

I would suggest you don't want to use a splitter to feed both headphones and speakers as you'll be turning the speakers on and off every time you want to switch. A second switch back to back with the first would be a slightly better solution.

 

Let me explain:

 

The way my laptop and desk is set up, is that when I come from school, I only have to plug in the power, HDMI and a single USB3.0 cable leading to a hub to which all my peripherals are connected to. I want an external soundcard so I wouldn't have to plug in two extra cables on the other side of the laptop - instead, the USB3.0 hub kind of acts as a "docking" station.

I don't need to listen to multiple devices, I just want to. It would make like easier, but so far it seems out of my price range. I'll deal with it in the future.

 

Why would I turn the speakers off? They're always on, all the time. I'd just set them to a lower volume/mute.

 

In any case, thank you for the suggestions. I've ordered a 7€ soundcard to see the soundquality changes (if at all), and depending on that I'll continue tinkering with my setup. I've also looked into second-hand mixers, clubs that are upgrading their sound systems and so on. Seemingly many options there.