USB Sound Card

USB sound card for connecting a timer

This small adapter lets you connect a timer to your computer or laptop via a USB port. The USB sound card has 3.5 mm mini jack sockets, including a microphone input. This is the input Stackmat-type timers use to send your solve times. A program on your computer, such as csTimer, then reads the result straight from the timer, so you don't have to type it in by hand after every solve.

Why a separate sound card?

The timer sends the time as an audio signal, so your computer needs a standard microphone input. Most laptops and newer computers don't have one. Instead, they have a single combo socket (headphones and microphone together) or no audio socket at all. The built-in sound card can also distort the timer signal so the program can't read it correctly. This can cause random times or stop the timer from being detected at all. An external USB card avoids both problems because it gives you a separate microphone input that doesn't depend on your computer's sound card.

How to connect it

• Plug the card into a free USB port on your computer.
• Connect the timer to the card with a jack cable. Plug it into the microphone input, not the headphone output. This is the most common mistake when connecting for the first time.
• In your timing program, choose to read times from the timer. In csTimer, this is the Stackmat option in the timer settings. Your browser will ask for microphone access: select the USB card as the audio source.

Important: the cable is sold separately

This offer includes the adapter only. To connect the timer to your computer or laptop, you also need a suitable jack cable. Before you buy, check which data socket your timer has. Popular Stackmat timers usually have a 2.5 mm socket, so you need a 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable.

Who is it for?

For anyone who has a timer with a data output and wants to save their results on a computer. All your solves then go into a session in the program, together with averages and statistics. The card is especially useful if your laptop has no separate microphone input or if a regular cable plugged directly into the computer doesn't work properly.

Tested with our timer

While testing our free cube timer, we came across laptops where the combo socket didn't detect a microphone at all - neither the timer nor a regular headset - and even new drivers didn't help. In such cases, a USB sound card with a separate microphone input is the simplest solution.

• After connecting: on the timer page, select "Timer na kabel" (wired timer) and choose the USB card in the "Wejście" (Input) field. In Windows, set its input volume to about 30% and turn off audio enhancements - a signal that is too loud makes the time freeze.
• Work via cable: SpeedStacks G4 and G5, QiYi, QiYi Mythical and Sengso.
• Don't work via cable: MoYu and YJ timers - in our tests they didn't send any signal through the socket.

Specifications

• Type: external USB sound card (adapter)
• Audio connectors: 3.5 mm mini jack, including a microphone input
• Colour: black
• Included: adapter only, no jack cable