Customer reviews from startech.com
StarTech.com - ICUSBAUDIO7D 7.1 Channels 16-bit 48KHz USB Interface Audio Adapter External Sound Card
Average customer rating
3.7
(41 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 41 reviews
5 Stars
22
4 Stars
4
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
4
1 Star
7
Customer Reviews for StarTech.com - ICUSBAUDIO7D 7.1 Channels 16-bit 48KHz USB Interface Audio Adapter External Sound Card
Customer Rating
2
Not working properly in Windows 10
on July 12, 2019
Posted by: JEddie
I bought this item 2 days ago. Since the DVD in the package only support the OS up to Windows 7, I downloaded the separate driver from this website. Installation of the driver seems to be fine. But, the device only output 2 channels of the sound only. I tried to fix this problem by 'USB Multi-Channel Audio Device' program. Still, it only stream the sound through 'front' aux output even I have set the analog output as 4, 6, or 8.
Response from startech.comBy Matt, Customer Support, July 16, 2019
We're sorry to hear about the difficulties you're having with our ICUSBAUDIO7D. We've found your conversation with us and hope that we were able to solve these problems but if you still require assistance, please feel free to contact us back at www.startech.com/support where our Technical Advisors are available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week to provide support.
Written by a customer while visiting startech.com
Customer Rating
5
Really good upgrade
on July 7, 2019
Posted by: Schwarz2503
Bought this card to take advantage of my Logitech Z506 5.1 Surround audio, however the drivers have not been necessary in my case since windows handles this device so far without problems
Written by a customer while visiting startech.com
Customer Rating
2
Win 10 keeps messing up this device
on May 11, 2019
Posted by: j_j_
I have used this device since Feb 2016. It works great when the drivers are correct. However Microsoft updates keep messing up the drivers and it's next to impossible to restore the driver settings. Until a better driver install is available, I suggest avoiding this product or be ready to waste hours upon hours installing drivers.
Response from startech.comBy Matt, Technical Support, May 13, 2019
Thank you for taking the time the leave feedback on the ICUSBAUDIO7D. We apologize for the issue you've experienced, and we want to help.
I see that our support department is already in contact with you and we are happy to continue to work on this issue until we find a solution. We are sorry for the frustration this has caused but we are looking into this for you and will be reaching out to assist with further troubleshooting.
I see that our support department is already in contact with you and we are happy to continue to work on this issue until we find a solution. We are sorry for the frustration this has caused but we are looking into this for you and will be reaching out to assist with further troubleshooting.
Written by a customer while visiting startech.com
Customer Rating
2
buzzing sound and only stereo is working
on January 28, 2019
Posted by: michael9
I bought this external card to be able to use my Logitech Digital Audio controller for my 5.1 speakers and my new Dell Optiplex 7060, which apparently offers no internal sound card option with a digital audio connection. No problem, except that I get an annoying buzzing sound at any volume, and it's only working in stereo mode and pretty low quality from what I can tell, Something isn't right, but I can't figure out what to do to fix it.
Response from startech.comBy Brian, Customer Support, January 29, 2019
We're very sorry you ran into some problems. For analog 5.1 surround sound to work with this product, you will need to install the software application and set audio playback to be 5.1. You will also want to set this in Windows within Control Panel, Sound.
If this doesn't help or you wish to troubleshoot the situation further, please reach out to us using the our live chat or call us directly.
If this doesn't help or you wish to troubleshoot the situation further, please reach out to us using the our live chat or call us directly.
Written by a customer while visiting startech.com
Customer Rating
3
Average product with hidden limitations
on November 21, 2018
Posted by: PhilsComputerLab
I purchased this unit because I use a Small Form Factor PC with limited upgrade options. On the photos I could see it has a lot of connections. I wasn't interested in the 7.1 features, but more for recording purposes, especially the optical input.
The C-Media Audio chip in this device is quite basic, limited to 16 Bit and 48 KHz. So it won't do 24 Bit or 96 KHz or any of that.
The specifications and manual mention that the S/PDIF optical input is only pass-through, yet it shows up as an input in Windows 10 and you can record just fine with software such as Audacity.
The specifications mention dual microphone inputs. Yes there are 2 ports, and you would assume that you can connect two microphones, but this is not the case. Windows audio properties show only a single microphone input. The way this USB audio device is setup is that the left mic port is for the left channel, and the right port for the right channel. Rather than have a single mic port that does Stereo. Very strange and means if you have standard Stereo Mic you need to get a Y-cable.
Finally the device has optical-in, line-in and mic-in. On a standard sound card you can use all the inputs simultaneously. For example receiving music from the line-in, while doing a voice over through the microphone. But this device only supports on of these at a time! So it's either optical in, either line-in or either mic in. But you cannot use two or three inputs at the same time. I'm amazed at this limitation and that this is not mentioned.
The driver seems to be quite old and mixer has just two sliders for volume and CD, which makes no sense. There are no sliders for the other ports. The software and driver doesn't seem to add much compared to the built-in functions that Windows 10 provides.
On the positive side the build quality seems solid. The buttons on the unit as handy, but most keyboard have the same volume and mute button. The mic mute button though can be very useful.
The power LED blinks all the time which is a bit strange.
All in all the product didn't meet my expectations, especially that you can only use one input source at a time and that this wasn't mentioned anywhere.
Response from startech.comBy Sam, Customer Support, November 27, 2018
Thank you for your review of ICUSBAUDIO7D. We're always looking for ways to improve our products, and we appreciate your detailed feedback. Please remember, if you have any problems with our products, our Technical Advisors are available to help 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. To reach one, go to www.startech.com/support.
Written by a customer while visiting startech.com
Customer Rating
5
Bought for the wrong reason, but supprised.
on November 15, 2018
Posted by: Hap Hazzard
I have an old Klipsh computer sound speaker system (whose sub is also an amp.) that was paired to a (at that time) high end gaming computer's sound card. Computer long gone now. Found a convoluted way to hook up these speakers to a retired HK receiver using only the pre-amp functions as the amp portion was dead. HK amp fully died. Needed solution to use speakers system. PS: this is still a very good sounding system for my bedroom. Found your 7.1 USB Audio Adaptor. Hoped I could just use it without the computer. No go. Disappointed. Used my notebook. Worked, sort of. Only 2.1 and no headphones. Hmmm. Drivers down loaded automatically were generic. Try the disc, not compatable with Win 10. Went to you web site, got Win 8/10 drivers. WOW. Impressed for such an inexpensive item. Everything works,. Controls the amount of speakers to use and can even use other audio players via the input. Still checking it out, but happy now. Can't run it without the notebook, but for the price, that's OK.
Written by a customer while visiting startech.com
Customer Rating
5
5.1 sound Rocks
on September 28, 2018
Posted by: Chris2018
I had purchased a new computer but it didn't have the output for 5.1 for my speakers so I purchased this nifty item. The disk that came with it didn't have the drivers I needed so I downloaded the software for it and I got my 5.1 sound back. I am a happy camper rock'in out to my tunes.
Written by a customer while visiting startech.com
Customer Rating
5
Raspberry Pi
on April 23, 2018
Posted by: asranetuk
My mate bought this for his windows system and I had my raspberry pi with me... Plugged it in and it worked without installing additional drivers... It doesn't say in the manual anything about Raspbian OS so thought I would let everyone know it worked...
Written by a customer while visiting startech.com