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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-04 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
• CableCreation Type C External — biggest strength: It's a true external sound card with two jacks, so you can run a separate 3.5mm microphone and a separate headphone at the same time. That's a real advantage for streaming, where a dedicated mic usually beats a headset mic.
• CableCreation Type C External — biggest trade-off: It's an adapter, not a headset. It adds a small dongle to your bag, and the sheet explicitly notes Apple AirPods and similar earphones only pass audio output through it, not microphone input.
• Avantree C171 — biggest strength: Everything is in one cable: the drivers, the mic, and physical in-line buttons for volume, play/pause, track skip, calls and your voice assistant. Nothing else to carry.
• Avantree C171 — biggest trade-off: Compatibility is narrower than it looks. It won't work with iPhone 11–14 (Lightning) or 3.5mm ports, and the sheet warns it may not be compatible with the Samsung S24.
• Who each pick is for: CableCreation Type C External for the tinkerer with existing wired headphones and a real microphone; Avantree C171 for the person who wants one cable, one pair of earbuds, and controls at their fingertips.
The CableCreation Type C External is, at heart, a sound card in a tiny aluminum shell. Its whole reason to exist is that newer computers and phones dropped the 3.5mm jack, and most people still own perfectly good wired headphones and microphones. Instead of rebuying your audio gear in USB-C form, you plug this in and keep using it. The sheet lists a qualified DAC chip and a lossless audio signal path, and the glossy black USB-C body is small enough to leave attached to a laptop or toss in a pocket.
Who should skip it: anyone who wants a self-contained listening solution. It has no drivers, no microphone, no controls, and no earhooks — it's a pass-through. It also isn't the answer if your main earphones are Apple AirPods-style, because the sheet is clear that those were tested for audio output only through this adapter, with no microphone input. And if you want to walk around untethered, a dongle with a cable hanging off your phone is the wrong shape for that.
Avantree C171: Who It's For
The Avantree C171 is a pair of wired USB-C earbuds with an earhook design. It's built for movement: soft eartips plus a hook that keeps each earbud seated, which is exactly the kind of fit that survives a run, a workout, or a long session where you're shifting around. The earpiece shape is listed as "hook," the driver is dynamic, impedance is 32 ohm, and the frequency range spans 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz — a normal full-range spec for earbuds, with the sheet describing the tuning as well-balanced.
The control story is the real draw. Physical in-line buttons handle play/pause, volume, track skip and replay, call answer and reject, and voice assistant activation. That means you can run a stream, take a call, and adjust everything without touching your phone — genuinely useful when your hands are busy or your phone is across the room. There's a built-in microphone for calls, and the sheet notes sound isolation as the noise-control approach, which is passive blocking rather than active cancellation.
Who should skip it: iPhone 11–14 owners, since those are Lightning, not USB-C. Anyone with a 3.5mm-only device. And Samsung S24 owners should be careful — the sheet flags that the C171 may not be compatible with that phone. If you need to plug in a separate microphone, this isn't that product; the mic is built in.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for using headphones you already own → CableCreation Type C External. It exists to keep your existing 3.5mm gear alive on a USB-C machine.
• Best for a single-cable, nothing-extra setup → Avantree C171. Earbuds, mic and controls are all one piece.
• Best for active use and movement → Avantree C171. The earhook and soft eartips are designed for sports and active scenarios.
• Best for hands-free control while streaming → Avantree C171. Play/pause, volume, track skip, calls and voice assistant all live on the in-line buttons.
• Best for the widest device list → CableCreation Type C External. The sheet covers iPad Pro, MacBook Pro and Air, Surface Pro, Razer Book, LG, Honor, Galaxy S9 through S24, iPhone 16 series and more.
• Best for iPhone 15/16 and most Android USB-C phones → Avantree C171. It's explicitly built for USB-C phones and tablets — just not the Lightning era.
• Best for someone who hates dongles → Avantree C171. One cable, no adapter to lose.
If I were buying for streaming on a USB-C laptop — a MacBook, say — and I already owned a decent wired headphone and a real microphone, I'd buy the CableCreation Type C External. In my opinion, the two-jack sound-card design is the more capable tool for talking and listening at the same time, and it keeps gear I already trust in the loop. But if I wanted zero fuss — one cable, earbuds that stay put, and buttons I can hit mid-stream without looking — I'd take the Avantree C171, provided my phone or laptop is genuinely USB-C. My honest pick for the widest range of streaming setups is the CableCreation, because it adapts to what you own instead of asking you to start over.
how to use headphones for macbook
On a USB-C MacBook with no headphone jack, you have two routes. The CableCreation Type C External plugs into the USB-C port and gives you a black 3.5mm jack for your headphones — or a pink jack for a mic plus the black jack for headphones. Alternatively, the Avantree C171 plugs straight into USB-C as a complete earbud set, no adapter needed.
how to connect headphones macbook air
Same idea, since the MacBook Air is listed as compatible with the CableCreation adapter. Push the adapter into the USB-C port, then plug your wired headphones into the black 3.5mm jack. If your headset has a single TRRS plug, it goes into that same black jack. If you'd rather skip the adapter, the Avantree C171 connects directly via USB-C.
how to connect headphones macbook pro
The MacBook Pro is explicitly named in the CableCreation compatibility list. Insert the adapter into any USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 port, then connect your 3.5mm headphones to the black jack; use the pink jack if you're running a separate microphone. For a one-cable alternative, the Avantree C171 is a direct USB-C plug-in with its own built-in mic and buttons.
It depends on your gear, not on hype. In my opinion, the CableCreation Type C External wins if you want a dedicated microphone and your own headphones running together, since it has two separate jacks. The Avantree C171 wins if you want everything — mic, drivers and in-line controls — in one cable with nothing extra to carry. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding, since the page provides a button for that.
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