Customer Reviews for StarTech ICUSBAUDIO7D 7.1 USB Audio Adapter External Sound Card
Item # : IM1BH3280
Model # : ICUSBAUDIO7D
StarTech.com USB External Sound Card - Supports 7:1 Surround Sound
- Audio input: 3.5mm audio line in
- Audio specifications: 8x16-bit DAC channels (7.1 surround sound), supports 44.1 and 48 KHz sampling rates for both playback and recording, 3.5mm output connectors for front, surround, rear, centre/bass
Price is $47.71
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42 reviews
Most helpful positive review
Posted Dec 2, 2023
Saved mu Computer
I have A HP Envy23 all-in-one that I love. It is now 11 year old and the audio card went on the one piece mother board. I installed the external sound card add WOW....everything is better then before. I did in fact educate The Geek Squad, they said WOW also.
VS
Most helpful critical review
Posted Jun 7, 2022
Burnt out two computers
We plugged this soundcard into an Intel NUC USB port and within five seconds could smell something burning. We unplugged it immediately, but within a minute the NUC had gone down. The sound card remained functional afterwards but the NUC was permanently damaged. We have not had the same problem with other sound cards or with this sound card on other computers. Unfortuna...
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Michael600
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Dec 2, 2023
Saved mu Computer
I have A HP Envy23 all-in-one that I love. It is now 11 year old and the audio card went on the one piece mother board. I installed the external sound card add WOW....everything is better then before. I did in fact educate The Geek Squad, they said WOW also.
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Tutcat
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Aug 21, 2022
Imac user
Got this so my Imac could get my (G51 Surround Sound Speaker System) to work like it did with my Pc
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csullivan
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Jun 7, 2022
Burnt out two computers
We plugged this soundcard into an Intel NUC USB port and within five seconds could smell something burning. We unplugged it immediately, but within a minute the NUC had gone down. The sound card remained functional afterwards but the NUC was permanently damaged. We have not had the same problem with other sound cards or with this sound card on other computers. Unfortuna...
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SethN
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted May 26, 2022
New Driver is HORRIBLE
The whole reason I use this USB sound card is that the Line in and Microphone could be activated at the same time. The disabling of this "feature" in the new driver is unacceptable. I have 2 computers and have my audio connected from the other computer and I use the mic at the same time.
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thecosmictrickster
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Mar 22, 2022
Brilliant!
I wasn't happy with the whole Realtek/Windows 10 thing & the fight to get a 5.1 speaker set working properly. I recently bought a set of Logitech Z607 speakers and have been disappointed with the output. There were flashes of goodness but it was inconsistent. The main complaint was the subwoofer seemed pretty capable but never seemed to get utilized. After hunting aroun...
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NeedCawfee
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Oct 1, 2021
Very happily surprised!
Sound is on par with the famous name PCIe card, best of all I don't have to uninstall drivers/software then reinstall every few boots like I did with that expensive card. Sound is def better than the OEM/Intel/Realtek offerings--not to mention it's a snap moving from 1pc to another (try that with an internal card)...I downloaded the StarTech zip file rather than the en...
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Howie
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Jul 23, 2021
Fantastic Customer Support!!
I had a connection issue. I contacted customer support and first chatted with "Chris". I am not computer savvy like I'd like to be, so he took over my computer and installed the software that was necessary. That didn't completely solve my problem, so I re-contacted them and got connected to "Justin". He troubleshooted my problem and figured out my issue was a settin...
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Dreamer of Pictures
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Jun 25, 2021
Monophonic line-level input!!!!
I bought this a couple of years ago while seeking a sound device to use with an iPhone through an OTG cable. I tested the mic inputs and headphone output at the time.
On 6/24/2021, I plugged it int my Win10 box. The Sound dialog window showed it as Line-In USB Audio Device. I sent stereo sound in through the Line-in. Win10 Audacity recorded it as monophonic audio. I ins...
On 6/24/2021, I plugged it int my Win10 box. The Sound dialog window showed it as Line-In USB Audio Device. I sent stereo sound in through the Line-in. Win10 Audacity recorded it as monophonic audio. I ins...
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jjk13
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted May 7, 2021
Perfect (once I got new drivers online)
I just this box and, so far, it's been working great. I needed to download new drivers off of the Startech website to make it work with Windows 10, but once I did, no problems.
I have a Dell laptop and I got some 5.1 speakers secondhand so I needed a USB solution to give me 5.1. This was exactly what I needed. The sound quality seems fine, although the speakers I'm us...
I have a Dell laptop and I got some 5.1 speakers secondhand so I needed a USB solution to give me 5.1. This was exactly what I needed. The sound quality seems fine, although the speakers I'm us...
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kurts
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Apr 25, 2021
dont buy this
the audio station that comes with it decided it will no longer recognize 5.1 - no support articles, etc. speakers are fine, used different usb ports, uninstalled and reinstalled - only a few months old.
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Response from Staples :
Hi,
We are sorry to hear that the audio interface is no longer working for you. We'll reach out to see if we can offer some assistance to get things working again.
Dan, April 27, 2021
DaveE1
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Dec 14, 2020
When you get it working it's great!
I got this to reuse a 7.1 surround sound system that was collecting dust in my loft. I plugged it in on my Win 10 machine (Version 1909) and it seemed to auto install. Problem is it would only output as "headphones" no options to output in any other way. I then installed the startech drivers from the website, still nothing. After half an hour of troubleshooting I conta...
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dlld
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Oct 18, 2020
Just what I needed - Line In
I have my own preamp and needed something to digitize line-level signal.
Startech does it fairly well, with excellent low-frequency response -
which is great for my application.
Startech does it fairly well, with excellent low-frequency response -
which is great for my application.
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3V0_Official
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Sep 26, 2020
Customer service helped solve my issues with the e
I am here writing again because i left a decent review of this little device. It almost didnt work for my DJing applications as the line in port didnt work. They contacted me and i was able to work out EVERYTHING on how to get this item to work. I would recommend buying this product and if you have issues, contact their customer support. They were very helpful and amazi...
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3V0_0fficial
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Sep 22, 2020
Sound works amazingly, drivers are hard to find.
I've had this for about 3 months now and it works great as my PC's built in sound card did not work at all when I built it. The quality of the sound is great, however there are some caveats. I am using Windows 10 as an operating system. The drivers are not on the disc for Windows 10 and on the website, the drivers do not fix the issues that are present. Line in doesnt w...
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Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Aug 22, 2020
Works Perfectly But Easy To Think It Doesn't
I've just inherited a new PC which unfortunately has no native support for the 5.1 surround sound set up I had with my previous computer. Received this external sound card today and it's working a treat within 20 minutes.
Connected using the USB provided in the box, tried running the driver install from the provided CD but received an error message as it appears window...
Connected using the USB provided in the box, tried running the driver install from the provided CD but received an error message as it appears window...
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chuckit
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Jun 10, 2020
Windows 10 Build 2004 Breaks Aduio
Great device - however the new 2020 Windows 10 Build 2004 the device stopped working - no audio - uninstall - re-install drivers / usb audio drivers - still no audio - device appears in sound control panel and device manger.
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Response from Staples :
Hello,
I'm sorry to hear you are having audio issues. We offer free lifetime support with our products so we're reaching out directly to see if we can assist.
Stacey, June 11, 2020
alevi
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Jun 7, 2020
WORKS GOOD BUT NEED UPDATE FOR WINDOWS 10
i bought this item for my pc who doesn't have a very good sound card, this product is the response for that work beautyful but the software for windows 10 is difficult to install or is missing and my sound card it's not working the way should be
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JimandWilson
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Apr 15, 2020
this item is pretty much useless when using the spdif output as it only supports 2 channels
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Response from Staples :
We apologize for any confusion when purchasing our ICUSBAUDIO7D. While we do not list a specific level of support for the SPDIF port on this sound card, it should work with 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. However, it depends on the source material as well as the audio device you're connecting the sound card to as they must both support the same audio format. If you're playing a Blu-ray that uses DTS but your sound system/TV only supports Dolby Digital then you won't be able to achieve more than 2-channel audio.
Matt, April 17, 2020
colburnk
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Mar 13, 2020
Just need to know what your doing! Works Great
I have a Surface Pro Book and I have two docking stations, one for my car and one for my office. I have the Logitech 5.1 surround system and I bought this switch to utilize this system. This thing was fairly straight forward to hook up. I have the best surround sound I have ever had including my full desktop systems with Soundblaster cards. The tech support is aweso...
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Navyseai
Reviewed at:
startech.com
Posted Nov 5, 2019
Stereo on win10 only
Win 10 only works with stereo. It only seems to use 2 channels making the product pointless. The software from cmedia 2012 doesn't seem to do any difference.
Im using SPDIF in
Im using SPDIF in
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Response from Staples :
We always try to ensure our customers have exceptional experiences with us and our products and we apologize for the difficulties you've had with our ICUSBAUDIO7D. The SPDIF input is a stereo-only pass-through port as SPDIF technology only has the bandwidth for stereo sound without compressing the audio. This sound card does support 7.1 surround sound when using the analog outputs and audio on the computer but it needs to be set in both the C-Media software as well as Windows to function properly. If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at www.startech.com/support. Our Technical Advisors are available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week to provide support.
Matt, November 8, 2019