First Impressions of the Microsoft Audio Dock

Quick video on the Microsoft Audio Dock. Couldn’t find information or reviews about it, so decided to pick it up and put together a video going over the device. Spoiler…it’s a pretty solid dock, but has some noticeable drawbacks.

[@lucasherr3828]

Very helpful video, thanks!

[@anthonyparra4497]

I mainly use this dock for music in my office and the sound quality is great it fills the whole room and I really like music with a lot of bass and it handles that really well. I have gotten several complaints on the sound quality and have actually had to turn it down because it can be heard with my door closed.

[@BrendenKeene]

This was helpful. I couldn't tell on their website if it would both charge AND transfer data simultaneously through just the USB-C (the proprietary charger on my Surface Laptop 3 is busted, so the USB-C is all I have). Seems that it works just fine. I'll probably be picking one up for my new dual monitor setup.

[@deaksa]

The bird and that flashing led strip killed me :(

[@p4media_p4m]

That bird! You should know that isn't the greatest help to your audience. Thanks for this excellent review and time put into this, but the bird kills the video and I couldn't finish it.

[@carasiaone]

Thanks great comparison! But really, in that comparison, the AKG has so much background noise, the same as the notebook. I think that the Microsoft dock sounds much better. Have you tried turning it up in windows device manager? Or boosting it? It seems like because it is so quiet and noise free that it could really handle some boosting

[@alwaysdugar]

I am not able to configure it via Microsoft Accessories app, any help please?

[@mattleblanc31]

Does the Audio Dock work without power and only usb c? For example, if you want to bring into a conference room and use it for the speaker and HDMI and don't want to bring the power adapter?

[@Ibeard2differ]

Nada! I tried that, and it does need to be connected to its (rather chunky) power brick. I was a bit disappointed about this, since the size of the unit would seem like it could run off a USB C port. Now, my laptop doesn’t have thunderbolt ports, so not sure if that would make a difference.

[@Juanfernandoz]

@@Ibeard2differlatin guy here: .... aha ha He said "nada" he said it ..he said it....

[@not_another_dead_end]

can you please tell me what kind of monitor arm you're using?

[@Ibeard2differ]

Hi! It was the EleTab Single Monitor Desk Mount a.co/d/aGNwszU Unfortunately, it shows as not currently available, but I also bought it in 2020.

[@niatech5337]

How's it ? Is this useful for surface laptop 4 especially for charging and connecting external hdd?

[@Ibeard2differ]

Hey! I think it’s a solid docking station/ speakerphone solution, as long as the two ports (usb c and usb a) are enough for you. The uplink cable gives 60w charging, which has been fine for my surface laptop 3, and the usb c should provide fast enough transfer speeds for the external HDD. If you use Teams, than the integration is nice, but the speakerphone still works with any communication app.

[@niatech5337]

@@Ibeard2differ is 60w charging enough for Surface laptop 5 ? Also how is audio quality of this ? And can this be connected to any desktop PC as well ?

[@Ibeard2differ]

@@niatech5337 Surface laptops use 65w chargers, so this will charge the Surface 5. The audio quality sounds great for the unit size! I found the microphone lacking. If your desktop has USB C ports, I don’t see why this wouldn’t work with it.

[@niatech5337]

@@Ibeard2differ one last thing.if this is connected to laptop 5, does it need seperate power source ? And is the sound from this equal / better / considerably better from the surface laptop 4/5 laptop inbuilt speakers ?

[@Ibeard2differ]

@@niatech5337 Good question! Had to go test it. The dock does need to be plugged into the supplied power supply to work. I’d say the speaker sounds much better than the one on the laptop. While the Surface laptops tend to sound good, they still lack bass and can sound “tinny”. The Audio Dock has a warm, full sound that’s great for the size! It gives a nice added oomph to the listening experience.

[@MrDereks1]

Is there anyway to play audio from your phone on this?

[@Ibeard2differ]

It doesn’t have Bluetooth, but if your phone is USB C, it should recognize it as an output source!

[@tonilee9441]

Did an update come out to improve speaker/mic quality? If the microphone quality is worse than a laptop, then its a useless product in my opinion.

[@Ibeard2differ]

I honesty returned the unit within the return window. It worked fine, but I didn’t love it. Might try something else in the future.

[@poldilold]

how can i use it for mac ? i dont know how to set it up

[@Ibeard2differ]

I didn't have a Mac when testing the unit. But a Mac should recognize it when plugged in via USB C. If not, Mac has a Sound option under the command center where you should be able to select which device to output to.

[@RenCaballero]

Does it support 4k?

[@Ibeard2differ]

It supports 4k @ 60, yes!

[@lucabino]

the USB-C output for monitor can ONLY be used for a monitor ? Seems a waste of a port if you already have HDMI ..

[@Ibeard2differ]

Definitely! If you have a computer that does not have an HDMI output, then this works. The Surface laptops only have USB C out, so that's where I ran a cable from USB C to HDMI. But if you're using a computer with an HDMI output, then the USB C on the Audio Dock is a waste.

[@demi-qh9ni]

I also discovered this problem. You can find other USB-C output docks on the market that also support mobile phone charging, data transmission, HDMI, etc.

[@Sponsi_PL]

I am interested how it works with Surface Pro (8)...

[@brentmorris8626]

to be fair, you meed to stuff all 3 mics under your Monitor amd not just the Audio Dock.

[@peterm.7497]

$40 on ebay today. :)

[@SilverJoystix]

I definitely want to kill your bird 🦅. But, I appreciate this review

[@Ibeard2differ]

Weird comment…I get that the bird in the background is obnoxious, but maybe try some counseling if your first thought is to harm the animal.

[@caynik]

@@Ibeard2differ I think bird was the best part of the video. Thanks for the review, I'm going to buy and try the dock.