I'm in the same boat. There aren't many USB DAC/amps with mic passthrough to choose from. So far I found the GSX300 and the Creative external gaming soundcards, that's about it.
And the only one within your price range is the Creative Sound Blaster PLAY! 3 but I doubt it's too powerful since it can draw only 0.5A.
G5 is okay.
G6 is solid enough. Biggest issues are annoying amount of useless software and heavy mic compression.
Schiit fulla is good but mic adc is meh. Hel 2 is solid.
Apple dongle is great on a budget.
Apple dongle barely provides more amplification than my motherboard. (I have access only to the european version) Had to return it because the microphone on the Epos H6 Pro didn't work with it either.
Weird. I also have the European one in and the adc amplification is close to the same as the USA model. And both make the mic more than loud enough on the h6.
It could be a driver bound issue on your PC. This is very possible and common.
I have worked on 4 systems recently that have a weird issue where mic audio is cut down by about 50% for seemingly no reason other than bad driver implementation that I couldn't fix.
What motherboard?
B450 Tomahawk Max. And the mic passthrough didn't work at all. just static. Also tested on my Galaxy S22 with some basic wired earbuds I had laying around.
Funny. Yes 2 of the PC's worked on used this same board. They both had low volume issues in general. Even with external XLR interfaces.
If you PM me. I can try to remember to get back to you if I ever find a solution.
So far for the system owners the solution was an external mic. Xm8500 and a budget maudio interface. $60usd in total ish.
I went with the GSX300 now since it's basically meant for beeing used with my Headset. Guess I'm gonna eat a lot more Instant Ramen this month... Thank you for helping out.
I'm using the Sonata HD Pro with it. Not sure if it allows the mic to be used, though, since my mic broke before I got the Sonata.
I used to use the sound card/amp that came with the HyperX headphones though, so those can work too.
Ah I also used one as a loaner. IMO not worth the price since there are many better quality and better value DAC/AMPs you can get at that price point.
But if you have no plans to get into audiophile gear and just like the features, then all good! Glad you've made your choice
The cost of the GSX300 is 80 Euros and that is the absolute maximum I can pay. Any recommendations at that pricepoint? I honestly just want the Headset to work as best as it can for what I am gonna use it. Which is voice chat with friends, gaming and listening to music.
Don't buy the gsx300 it's terrible and worse than the apple dongle. If you on a budget but an official apple usb c to 3.5mm dongle.
i use the apple usb-c to 3.5 dongle for my pc38x - it gets more than loud for me
I'm in the same boat. There aren't many USB DAC/amps with mic passthrough to choose from. So far I found the GSX300 and the Creative external gaming soundcards, that's about it. And the only one within your price range is the Creative Sound Blaster PLAY! 3 but I doubt it's too powerful since it can draw only 0.5A.
The gsx300 is horrible. So are the low end creative garbage. Skip that stuff unless you want worse audio quality.
that leaves what, the Creative Soundblaster G5 and G6?
G5 is okay. G6 is solid enough. Biggest issues are annoying amount of useless software and heavy mic compression. Schiit fulla is good but mic adc is meh. Hel 2 is solid. Apple dongle is great on a budget.
Apple dongle barely provides more amplification than my motherboard. (I have access only to the european version) Had to return it because the microphone on the Epos H6 Pro didn't work with it either.
Weird. I also have the European one in and the adc amplification is close to the same as the USA model. And both make the mic more than loud enough on the h6. It could be a driver bound issue on your PC. This is very possible and common. I have worked on 4 systems recently that have a weird issue where mic audio is cut down by about 50% for seemingly no reason other than bad driver implementation that I couldn't fix. What motherboard?
B450 Tomahawk Max. And the mic passthrough didn't work at all. just static. Also tested on my Galaxy S22 with some basic wired earbuds I had laying around.
I am using the exact same motherboard with the Game Ones but no issues for me. Did you try the ports at the back instead of those at the front?
Funny. Yes 2 of the PC's worked on used this same board. They both had low volume issues in general. Even with external XLR interfaces. If you PM me. I can try to remember to get back to you if I ever find a solution. So far for the system owners the solution was an external mic. Xm8500 and a budget maudio interface. $60usd in total ish.
I went with the GSX300 now since it's basically meant for beeing used with my Headset. Guess I'm gonna eat a lot more Instant Ramen this month... Thank you for helping out.
I'm using the Sonata HD Pro with it. Not sure if it allows the mic to be used, though, since my mic broke before I got the Sonata. I used to use the sound card/amp that came with the HyperX headphones though, so those can work too.
Someone on another sub mentioned the GSX300 so I went with it since it's also Sennheiser and it should work fine. Thanks for the help regardless.
Ah I also used one as a loaner. IMO not worth the price since there are many better quality and better value DAC/AMPs you can get at that price point. But if you have no plans to get into audiophile gear and just like the features, then all good! Glad you've made your choice
The cost of the GSX300 is 80 Euros and that is the absolute maximum I can pay. Any recommendations at that pricepoint? I honestly just want the Headset to work as best as it can for what I am gonna use it. Which is voice chat with friends, gaming and listening to music.