Creative Play! 4 Review // Best Mobile HiFi Solution?

Creative was kind enough to send this over for review and I have to admit, this thing exceeded my expectations in many ways! Watch the video for the complete breakdown!
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My Twitch:
/ homebrewedhero
My Gaming Crew:
/ @coalitiongaming

[@acomingextinction]

Just wanted to say thanks for the detailed breakdown. I picked up a Play 4 to use as a DAC with my work ultrabook, and that heads up on the sound "leak" probably saved me an awkward conversation about music.

[@CMDPromptify]

Great review. Exactly what i was looking for. Right balance: ample detail but not TMI!

[@talitm]

Great review as always.

[@jmannUSMC]

That smart comms is nice!

[@AndyBaedal]

If u plug in to desktop PC does it makes any electrical noise while recording?

[@llazorik93]

Hi and thanks for review.. I come from audiophile community (primarily headphone sub) and I must admit that we desperately need reviewers like you.. technically educated, highly informative and with great attitude..

[@gaborszeles6387]

Hi! Thx for video does it have an amp? Increase the overall output volume on all device?

[@Rafael.Bernardino.]

Can this be used to record from an audio mixer into a audio program like Audacity?

[@roobaba5415]

Can you connect to PC speakers or is it only for headphones?

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Will this work on smartphones with USC C ? Site says Android phone will do everything when put into Mode 1 Software extras stuff is Windows only.

[@0farmerjohn0]

When you save the settings and use it on another laptop that doesn't have the software. Will it carry over the settings?

[@livemusicweeklycalendar]

Can it be used with an andriod tablet?

[@thiagopradoprof]

My soundboard of macbook 2011 stoped working. Can I use it as a sound dispositive?

[@yourdecentralizedreminder5623]

If i program EQ on play 4 from pc and save it and same EQ on phone ?

[@Masata240]

Could you provide alternatives in that price range?

[@jacobfield4848]

CREATIVE Sound Blaster Play vs Soundmagic A30? Anyone know which is better?

[@itachimetall]

The problem is CROSSTALK I don't know if can be fixed with driver update but fisicaly is fixed when they use resistor on the mic pin 'cause the mic use the same pin from the phones

[@JessicaFEREM]

Do you know what features work without the app, like if you unplug from the PC and plug into a phone? the Asus AI mic dongle has the noise cancelling features without the need for a program (the configurator only changes the hardware features) but the audio quality isn't as good. I think the "auto mute" feature works without the software.

[@YOGA47]

Will all the settings saved and works on mobile

[@Altamimi911]

All the settings will work only with pc connection? Or it will be saved inside the dongle to use with my iphone also ?

[@camilobustoshoger]

Si lo conecto a un movil android funciona? con un adaptador puerto C?

[@LawAbidingSociopath69]

we can't use speaker for this?

[@sohaibakram92]

Question I have a headphone that has 2 wires 1.For Headphone 3.Mic How can I connect to it there is only 1 input ?

[@zaibi4800]

Hi please anyone help me I bought IEM QKZ HBB Khan i am using with iPhone 14 pro max but the volume is too low. Will this Dac solve my problem?

[@rymrym9072]

normal not to be able to remove the noise from your dog playing.. the noise clean out only works for constant noise like your vacuum, fan, hair dryer or airplane. otherwise it can only reduce or totally wont work.

[@martinrakovicky1189]

I am kinda worried about that music problem. How does it work when you are playing a game with a friend - does he hear your audio as well? That can be a big no no - if a friend I am playing with (and on call on discord) is hearing double sounds - from his game and from discord call from my game... hm..did you try it this way?

[@brunoscarparo7409]

Work for Xbox Series S ?

[@1bubatruba]

great video, thanks

[@Snake-eyez97]

I use the play 4 on my arcade cabinet. The sound on my games sound so much better in terms of soundstage and clarity.

[@198922655]

thanks for the video. Can creative sound play 4 support Mac Apple Music High Res playback ? I wanna connect it to my iLoud MM speakers

[@nyctophantom]

Yes you can. 192khz 24bits

[@SouravTechLabs]

Very nice one, but the thing that's most important for me is if it supports Linux 6.0+ kernels.

[@vladpiero9216]

is this better than the SoundBlaster G3? Thanks for the review!

[@LawAbidingSociopath69]

have u found answers bro?

[@kamilchrostowski4378]

Why the hell the revew is o out MIC?

[@vizas101]

Is it better than Play 3 especially sound quality?

[@musikmitadrian1351]

Play 4 has higher sample rate (192khz 24bit instead of 96khz 24bit) but tbh that doesn't really matter because most streaming services only offer you 44.1khz 16bit sampling rate anyway. Also Play 4 doesn't seem to have sbx, a virtual surround feature for stereo headphones (which doesn't really improve positional hearing or sound quality but can give you a more immersive experience when playing rpgs)

[@chanderbhuvan7304]

Can someone pls share link for the software.

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

He is a Foley artist too it seems. Impressive.

[@Ronickon]

Does it have some android app?

[@MMFITuk]

Is this will make my pc headphones louder? Then my built-in pc sound card

[@AngelGarcia-uz8gv]

Is this better than the realtek ac1220 that comes with the b450 f gaming mobo?

[@LawAbidingSociopath69]

have u found answers which one is better sound blaster/usb sound?

[@KingTairun]

cool review, so there is cross talk on sound card and you spotting it shows that you do test what you review

[@ivankar7324]

Great review, thanks for making the video. It is a very useful for few gamers, like me, with Realkek 887 on board , the sound is just terrible. This thing might help a lot, but could you recommend me other thing to consider before i make the purchase? And can you compare it with the previos PLAY 3 version? Thanks.

[@josephtorralba5337]

Good suggestion. Play 3 vs play 4.

[@abrarjunejo]

Link to wallpaper plz

[@Altamimi911]

Its work with 15 pro max ?

[@xenakil3563]

i have a question! is there any settings for equalizer or something like that???

[@BoomBox02]

One year and still no one has answered. Just recently the Play 4 has peaked my interest, but if it does not have an eq, it basically good for nothing as all that pre set stuff is garbage. Also that bass boost setting is also useless unless you can control the cut off frequency like you could on their older Play devices. This just looks like a glorified communication device that tries cashing in on the console gamers.

[@xenakil3563]

@@BoomBox02 well guess what sir there is no eq and I don't recommend it buying pxpxp

[@xenakil3563]

@@BoomBox02 the only audio card to purchase is probably one that has 32 bit like blaster g6. Or something that is higher than 80$ those are good ones

[@1122334455da]

Whether this is compatible with Android? Its not mentioned in their website. Thanks

[@lazars4579]

it is, and it's also mentioned on their website.

[@QuantumBraced]

How are you supposed to use the headphone and mic at the same time if there's only one jack? If the answer is one of those splitter cables, I'll look elsewhere.

[@1xBossup]

Get the SoundBlaster Play 3 it has both.

[@MrFester]

Is that your beard I hear rubbing across the mic during the test?

[@grivetytech2401]

which is better? play 3 or play 4?

[@grivetytech2401]

neither

[@LawAbidingSociopath69]

@@grivetytech2401 why neither?

[@grivetytech2401]

@@LawAbidingSociopath69 coz I got an audio interface which is better than both, So no more interested in this product! But let me tell you that play 4 is better.

[@CoalitionGaming]

He's back!

[@HomeBrewedHero]

Accurate. Good times!

[@mgyanaung]

Basically, software does all the job and may not even need the DAC if the software allows. But hey, it's the selling point.

[@EpicTyphlosionTV]

How can a piece of software let you hear hi-res audio?

[@mgyanaung]

@@EpicTyphlosionTV , fair point. I was referring more on noise cancellation and stuffs. Let me know if u happen to try for video conferencing features without the software. I'm interested for such usage as my work pc doesn't allow to install non-work related software. Thanks!

[@CrashCarson14]

I’m planning on buying for the Amp and a little for the dac. I want consistent volume and audio controls with multiple laptops and possibly iPhone and other headphones. Hopefully as long as the audio isn’t digitally altered it should be good

[@DarkStarProGamer]

This thing is hot garbage. Teams and Zoom have their own settings to clean up audio, and those work much better. The king of the hill is Nvidia RTX voice though. Bass boost is enabled by default. Features such as auto volume levelling aren't natively supported unless you install their Creative suite , and Creative software is bloatware. Typical Creative nonsense. With microphones socketing into 3.5mm jacks, you will ALWAYS have a little bit of contact noise no matter what. Teleconferencing software usually get rid of this by default but the top end will take a tiny hit. USB headsets have no contact points, so don't have this issue. There are USB headsets such as the Klim Puma and Corsair HS60 that have great microphones, and even better post-processing baked in, that make you sound like a Rockstar with no configuration changes needed. The top end is clear as a bell, male vocals take a nice bass boost and female voices sound smoother. Creative does offer mic EQ but this is only available in SOME of the higher priced XAE line up. You don't need the Creative for anything.

[@koningklootzak7788]

Useless if you use TWS or wireless headphones

[@TheHappyKamper]

No shit

[@AMbiencesRadio25hz]

I guessed and got perfect review, Thank you sir.

[@zaibi4800]

Hi please anyone help me I bought IEM QKZ HBB Khan i am using with iPhone 14 pro max but the volume is too low. Will this Dac solve my problem?