Peavey USB-P - USB Playback

If you run a professional sound system and need to play audio from a laptop, then you'll know that on-board soundcards are usually poor quality and typically have high levels of background noise. In addition, laptops can introduce noise and mains hum into the system through the use of cheap, switched-mode power supplies etc. This unit contains a high quality USB soundcard (for playback only), with ground-lifted, transformer isolated, balanced outputs, which solve both of these issues. You could spend a lot more on a top-end Radial Engineering USB-Pro, or you spend a fraction of that amount on this unit. Its well built, sounds great, and requires no drivers when plugged into a PC. I tried it with Windows 7 64-bit, and Windows 8 64-bit, and it worked straight away. Absolutely brilliant.

I chose it for colleagues at work it's a necessary piece of kit - we use it for our clients work

The Peavey USB-P item arrived almost before I had ordered it, the service was that brisk.This is the sort of item that is almost invaluable (and like Christmas every day) once you realise how much messing around it saves...and believe me, if you are touring a venue and doing both sound and lx one handed and obliged to put up with a late get in then having one of these could be a face saver, lol.Hitherto, as the great majority of sound techs will be aware, if you wanted to cobble in a laptop into a sound desk, without a usb "B" connector, the majority of times you needed a mini jack to a pair of 1/4" jack plugs.That solution works perfectly from the physical point of view but all soundcards and PSUs are not created equal and despite getting an audio signal into a sound desk very easily there are the, almost, inevitable problems of ground loops and possibly electrical noise from the switch mode power supply getting onto the audio signal.Enter the Peavey USB-P; proper galvanic isolation from source to destination, and, the bonus of still being able to run the audio signal thru' the channel strips. Also the additional bonus of running XLR to XLR (or 1/4" jack) and not one of the fairly fragile mini jack plugs.The USB-P has the facility of summing the stereo to mono if desired. The unit is powered by the laptop via the usb connection so does not need an additional PSU .Some live sound disciples of high end pro PA kit might have you believe that Peavey is not a front line runner in this market, and it may be they claim their tech standards are higher and only something like a Radial usb Di box (complete with Jensen transformers) or a Sonible ml:1 is "good" enough. So what?If your sound files (sound effects) are only mp3s then would you gain any real benefit? Plus you are, most probably, using a PA system and not hifi kit.Two minor-ish points deprive the final score of a star; one of which is the usb connection (and possibly I am being over picky on this point). The XLR audio connectors are locking Neutriks and something similar could have been used for the usb connector. Neutrik do in fact make such a plug connector, a "NKUSB-* side 2 with USB type B" and the complimentary face mounted socket. (Sonible use this connector and their claim of "insurance" does make some sense.)Might put the price up a bit but at least you would have this insurance of knowing the usb plug could not be pulled out of the Di box by accident. Mind you, the usb lead could still pull out of the laptop but we are discussing the USB-P...The other issue, to me, is the lack of a rubber base or chunky-ish rubber feet; the addition of which may/might prevent the unit being kicked about if it had to sit on a stage...and you might then appreciate more having a locking usb connection as well as.I have played several "genres" of music through the USB-P and have not been disappointed ref my expectations. Couldn't compare it against really high end kit as mentioned above but for the money the sound is very acceptable...and lot better than the output from the vast majority of onboard sound cards.In essence, just buy one and use it.