A:
It is both, if you want surround sound you have to use the USB adapter. But I would only use the speaker jack, plug the mic straight into your computer. There are known issues with the head set and the manufacture doesn't seem to want to fix them. The USB adapter is basically the amplifier for the surround sound. And its sound output is very low, do a search on internet to get an idea. But they are very loud in a 2 channel sound, powered off your sound card.