StarTech.com USB Stereo Audio Adapter External Sound Card with SPDIF Digital Audio

Pros: -Sounds great -Works wonderfully (AFTER FIX)

Cons: -Did take a while to find the fix -None other than that

Overall Review: -FIX: Step 1: Install the Windows 10 drivers off of the website. Step 2: Open and extract the WIN-8-10 folder from the ZIP file Step 3: Run the setup application the bottom of the list (This is located inside the Win-8-10 folder) Step 4: Install it and make sure to restart your PC Step 5: After the restart, you should see an Applet that has appeared in your system tray (in the bottom right) Step 6: Open the USB multichannel applet and you should see a menu that pops up to show audio settings. Step 7: Set the appropriate amount of speakers that your system uses (if this works then awesome!) Step 8: Go into windows playback devices and select the Speakers (NOT the digital output) Step 9: Configure the Speakers to the same amount of speakers (2, quad, 5.1, 7.1) Step 10: Test the system. I hope this works for the rest of you!

Pros: Quality sound,useful volume control knob for headphone output,16/24 bit 44.1,48 and 96khz sampling rate for great sound recording and playback(HD Audio), compact unit housing.

Cons: Doesn't have a line-in.

Overall Review: I make music using software like Propellerhead Reason and Cakewalk Sonar X2 so latency is most important. At 96khz/24 bit on an inexpensive laptop, you usually run into serious latency issues.But none on this product.There is an excellent headphone amp built-in with enough milliwatts to power my 30mm headphone drivers well.The optical S/PDIF output works with no cracking.(the optical out has latency, but that's the nature of that type of digital out, and I would never use that to compose songs with, only use that to listen with) The microphone in works fine with a cheap consumer microphone. I personally have no use for the bass and treble boost switch but they also sound good at medium volume. The sampling rate indicators work as advertised and switches the moment a program outputs at one of the selected sample rates.I bought this unit because my headphone jack on my laptop is broken.This sounds way better that the onboard soundcard. I only wish it had a line-in.

Pros: Excellent value for the price as it solved the problem of having a 3.5mm based headset and needing to use it on a Macbook Pro. Good sound quality and the sound options in Snow Leopard recognized it immediately. Another bonus was the packaging was very easy to open.. I didn't need to take a pair of pliers and an army knife to it to get it open.

Cons: Initial unit is kind of wide but it comes with a slim usb extension that handles the problem.

Overall Review: Anyone who purchased a high-end set of headphones only to realize that on a MBP the voice input is insufficient needs to get this to solve the problem.

Pros: This USB Sound card is very easy to install (honestly just plug it up and voila!) Sound works and it sounds great! Good for computers with damaged jacks or if you need multiple outputs. The removable cap is great for travel/portable use (cap actually goes on one way). Even comes with an USB extension if you don't have enough space around the USB ports.

Cons: Doesn't take an egg off but the size of this one is kind of big compared to others. Then again that is why the extension cable was included.

Overall Review: Used this to fix a customer's sound problem on their Windows XP machine. Just plugged it in and bam! No need to even use the install disc! Cool that they provided the installation CD just in case!

Pros: Just plug it in and automatically works, for mac, windows and linux, its universal. Overkill for the purpose, but I did a benchmark test to find out its suprisingly better than my onboard soundcard, with slightly better dynamic range and a more flat frequency range. It's still not great, but it's good to know its not terrible either, therefore the music is more neutral and not too sharp or bassy.

Cons: You shouldn't expect great sound. In actually listening the treble may be a little splashy and messy, but good thing not sibilance. And the bass is not very punchy. But the sound is acceptable for the price.

Pros: Does exactly what it should. No echoing or any real problems. Working on Win XP 32 bit. Two ports: 1 is for headphones other is for microphone.

Cons: Occasionally, i hear the windows "removed hardware" sound about 30 minutes after i actually removed it....kinda weird but really not a problem.

Overall Review: I bought this to fix echoing in ventrilo from an onboard sound card. Works fine!

Pros: It was much easier to hook up than I thought it would be. Maybe if I had read the tiny, tiny font of the instructions I would understood better.

Cons: Did I mention that the font of the instructions was tiny? That, plus the fact that it had been years since I set up a sound system made the process difficult but not impossible. I never realized how much of the very basic stuff I had forgotten.

Overall Review: I'm not sure I ever got to 7.1 as opposed to 5.1. But I had been putting up with really poor stereo for two or three years so anything was a vast improvement.

Pros: -About as good as my onboard sound which I had 'lost' so that's a big plus

Cons: None

Overall Review: Worked right out the box with my Linux MInt 18 DE. Perfect if you somehow lose your audio after dumping windows for Linux.