The StarTech 7.1 USB Audio Adapter External Sound Card creates a connection with a computer’s USB port to your speakers to deliver 7.1-channel surround sounds. This external adapter lets you add high-quality audio to your notebook or desktop without having to open the system for installation. It supports analog as well as digital audio and has 44.1 and 48 kHz sampling rates for both playback and recording. Additionally, StarTech has equipped it with onboard buttons so you can easily control the volume.
This external sound card sports 3.5mm output connectors that provide front, surround, rear, and center/bass connectivity. It comes with a mic right-channel jack and a mic left-channel jack, letting you record sounds that have depth with two microphones. Included along with the adapter are a USB cable and an installation CD for a hassle-free experience.
Lester Torp (verified owner) –
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 setting on my computer. I am now enjoying fantastic sound form my laptop. This sound card is a MUST HAVE if you enjoy music!!
Reid Daugherty (verified owner) –
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 installed the USB driver available on this StarTech.com site, rebooted Win10 as instructed, and once again, Audacity recorded the sound input as monophonic audio. Two stars lost because Line-in is mono and the docs do not say either stereo or mono. IT would be far more useful to provide stereo line-in.
Ottis Koch (verified owner) –
Got this so my Imac could get my (G51 Surround Sound Speaker System) to work like it did with my Pc
Isabelle Medhurst (verified owner) –
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 around a bit for sound cards, I came across this one. I just received it today, and following the advice posted by DaveE1 on this site got things plugged in & tuned up. Now the drum and bass actually has some bass (OK, the speaker set isn’t great, but at least it’s being fully utilized now).
Clifford Christiansen (verified owner) –
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.
Brain Hodkiewicz (verified owner) –
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 enclosed CD, installation was a breeze, the program has plenty of tweaks to keep me busy. i should have bought this usb StarTech years ago!
Eryn Jaskolski (verified owner) –
The instructions with it say it supports some MacOSX versions, but they are ancient. It sort of halfway works — you can get sound out to headphones. Pressing the volume control makes the volume indicator on the Mac go up and down, but has no actual effect until you get to 0. I called mfr and they flatly said doesn’t work on Mac. Don’t know what else doesn’t work, I’m returning it.
Ella Parker (verified owner) –
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 using are not great. Works nice with games, Netflix. Very pleased.