Differentiating USB Soundpods

Reply

mmarkoe Posted: 06-12-2008 10:47 AM

rated by 0 users

 On the newly updated eMicrophones Chat Forum the following was asked:
"I understand why I am supposed to use a USB pod. There are four USB pods mentioned on the Internet and I just want to know which one is the best?"

We responded with:

As far as audio input performance is concerned, the four pods I assume you're speaking about provide equal accuracy for speech recognition purposes. There are differences in form factor and wiht the Andrea pod the lack of direct audio playback. I will discuss these advantages/disadvantages.

1. The oldest USB Soundpod, but still running strong, is the Andrea USB pod. This USB Soundpod is half duplex which means the black USB cable only inputs audio from the microphone. Audio playback is accomplished either through separate speakers or to the headset via a separate cable to the sound card. As this is the least expensive USB Soundpod available we recommend it for the microphone only Sennheiser ME3 and the Samson Airline 77.
2. The Buddy USB 6G is the least expensive ($44.99) full-duplex USB pod. It is relatively small, has a short cable and two indicator lights. One light when Green indicates good connectivity to the USB port and the other amber light will flash when you use the built-in mute switch. The Buddy USB pod works well with all PC headsets with analog connectors. The Buddy USB Soundpod is a good choice for use with notebook or tablet PCs because of its small form factor and short cable.
3. The VXI full-duplex USB Soundpod is also full-duplex. We recommend this for use with desktop PCs because it has a much longer cable for reaching a tower that is stored under a desk or further away than a notebook.
4. The Andrea PureAudio USB-SA USB Pod, available from Andrea Electronics and other dealers. We began testing it in January. In terms of its audio ability to reproduce sound and playback sound it is the equal of the other two full-duplex USB pods. eMicrophones at this point in time has decided to not offer this unit. The simple reason is we see no compelling reason that differentiates it from the other 2 USB full duplex sound pods.

Martin

Reply

KnowBrainer replied on 06-12-2008 12:27 PM

rated by 0 users

Just adding to Martin's advice... as far as NaturallySpeaking is concerned, from a voice recognition point of view, all of these USB Pods are equal but we were the 1st vendor (and probably still the only vendor) to introduce the Andrea Electronics PureAudio USB-SA Pod ~ http://www.knowbrainer.com/ShopOnline/index.cfm/product/110_22/andrea-pureaudio-usb-sa-usb-pod.cfm external soundcard which is full-duplex 16-bit quality in and out and also sells for $45 (the same low price as the full-duplex Buddy USB 6G). You will also find our review on the previous link. We can understand why Marty feels that the world probably doesn't need another USB soundcard but the reason why we carry the PureAudio USB-SA soundcard is because it is extremely small (is shown in actual size on our website). It is about the size of a thumb drive and is ideally suited to notebook and tablet computer use for individuals who want less weight to carry around and additionally wish to avoid a dangling wire. The profit margin on the PureAudio USB-SA external soundcard is lower than most other USB Pods and this may be one reason why other vendors may not want to sell this impressive soundcard but it is our personal favorite and we felt the need to make it available to our clients.

In our testing, we found the PureAudio USB-SA had the lowest noise floor of any USB soundcard. BUT if you already own a Sound Blaster PCI card or other USB soundcard, we do not recommend purchasing the PureAudio to increase your speech recognition accuracy because it just won't happen. We market the PureAudio USB-SA soundcard because of its compact size. It also works great for music playback on powered external speakers and when it comes to cute, it's unbeatable. You can compare all 4 USB soundcards in one place ~ http://www.knowbrainer.com/ShopOnline/index.cfm/category/22/sound-cards.cfm