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Your cart is empty.The Vantec USB External 7.1 Channel Audio Adapter is an amazing audio accessory for any computer or laptop. Simply connect this device to any USB port to enjoy true audio bliss with its amazing 7.1 channel audio technology. Sound will never be the same with full-duplex playback, giving you a cleaner and more dynamic sounding experience. Movies, music, and videos will sound surreal; supporting 48/44.1 KHz sampling rates for not only playbacks but recordings too. Combining high quality audio recording and playback capability, the Vantec USB External 7.1 Channel Audio Adapter is the ideal for anyone looking to take their audio experience to the next level.
ian
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2025
I've owned this for over three years now and it still functions like new. I initially purchased it to as a very cheap alternative to a real audio interface for recording music on my laptop.By plugging microphones/guitars/etc into a powered mixer I was able to run an RCA to 3.5mm TRS jack from the Rec Out on the amp to the Line In on this sound card. The only complaint on the input side is it has some hiss and whine, but it is typically lost in the mix, or easily removed with a noise gate if necessary. This is of course to be expected with something like this.I have also used it in conjunction with a Monsoon 5.1 surround sound set, which functioned well and sounded great. The only complaint on the output side of things is that the there is crackling through any speakers (or headphones) under heavy work loads- especially mid-project if you have a lot of tracks and effects opened at once in your DAW.I know that music production is not the intended purposes of this device, so that is why I don't consider these negatives to be real downsides or effect my rating of the product. I finally have a proper audio interface now and no longer need to use this anymore, but it has served me well for years.For just listening to music or watching a movie it sounds great and has no problems whatsoever, and being able to hook up a full 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system to a laptop, or anything really, is pretty cool.This is definitely worth the money. If you're just looking to hook up proper speakers to a laptop, tablet, or netbook then go ahead and buy it. If you want to record music with it, consider my experience and maybe save up $100+ and buy a Scarlet Solo (or better) instead, but it'll work in a pinch if you're poor like me.
Miss C Downes
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2024
If you have an old amp with no hdmi in and your running Plex it just works converts HDDTS/Dolby HD somehow without loosing quality down and optical line into my amp and it sings!
ciel
Reviewed in France on July 9, 2023
En connectant le Vantec sur un port USB d'une Shield TV Pro (le nouveau modèle), je pensais pouvoir avoir un son Dolby Digital 5.1 sur la sortie optique. Et bien non ! Stéréo au mieux.Par contre ça fonctionne en le connectant sur le port USB d'un PC sous W10 mais c'est pour moi sans intérêt.Je retournerai donc le produit.
Roland
Reviewed in Germany on July 28, 2021
Update 31.07.2021:Die Shield-Geräte haben keinen optischen Audio-Ausgang.Falls ein solcher Ausgang direkt am Shield benötigt wird ist dies für Shield-Besitzer wohl der wesentliche Grund diese Vantec-USB-Soundkarte zu kaufen.Leider konnte ich (immerhin Informatiker i.R. ;-) dem NBA-200U bei dem älteren Shield-Gerät keinen Surround-Sound über den optischen Ausgang entlocken. Nur wenn das Quellmedium in Stereo bzw. PCM 2.0 vorliegt (also z.B. alles bei Youtube) gibt der optische Ausgang die Signale an z.B. den Denon-Receiver weiter. Angeschlossen am neusten Shield (2020) war Surround über den optischen Ausgang des NBA-200U möglich, warum auch immer. Die beiden Shields bzw. die Kodi-App waren auf RAW-Passtrough eingestellt und alle Surround-Sound-Protokolle waren erlaubt (DTS, E-AC3, DD Atmos .. erlaubt.)Wenn auf dem älteren Shield Passtrough innerhalb Kodi (19.1) abgestellt wurde ergab dies eine erfolgreiche Tonwiedergabe (2 Kanalige ?) über den optischen Ausgang. Nehme an, Kodi hat den Stream dann umgewandelt in einen PCM-Stream.Manchmal zeigte das NBA-200U durch Blinken einen Signaleingang auch bei einer Mehrkanal-Quelle an. Aber über dessen optischen Ausgang kam kein für den AV-Receiver erkennbares Signal (getestet am älteren Shield) heraus.Die analogen Ausgänge des NBA-200U habe ich nicht getestet, auch weil dort von einer qualitativ schlechten D/A-Wandlung auszugehen ist und analoge Signale an dieser Stelle höchsten z.B. für einfache Zwecke zu gebrauchen sind. Jedenfalls erzeugte ein qualitativ höherwertiges 48 KHz Stereo-Signal ausgegeben über den USB-Audioausgang des älteren Shield und via den LWL-Ausgang des NBA-200U- an den AV-Receiver weitergeleitet sofort Tonstörungen. Das normale (geringer aufgelöste) Stereo-Signal funktionierte hingegen (am alten Shield getestet).Da ich das Teil dennoch für einen Youtube-Musik-Stream gut gebrauchen kann (zum einfachen Musikhören via LWL bzw. AV-Receiver und ohne Beteiligung eines über HDMI angeschlossenen TVs) werde ich es nicht zurückschicken und vergebe ich 3,5 Sterne.Gerne hätte ich 5 Sterne vergeben aber die beschriebene Surround- und 48 KHz-Problematik kann ich nicht eindeutig zu Lasten der Shields verbuchen. Für eine bessere Problem-Eingrenzung wären ggf. weitere Tests und ggf. Messgeräte nötig.
Magic Review
Reviewed in Australia on July 20, 2020
I like the VANTEC USB external audio adapter, works like a charm, the only complaint I have, I couldn't purchase it locally, had to buy it from the US of A, but only took one week to arrive, that's cool, the price tag is very affordable, They even have a web site for this product should you need support, Oh and it works on Windows 10 32/64 Bit systems. Installation and use worked with out any problems, in 5 mins I was up and running, I'm a happy camper now.
Customer
Reviewed in Canada on February 23, 2020
For apartment TV (58 inch Hisense), the headphone output is 2.0.Using and old laptop, with the Vantec NBA-0200U Usb device plugged into a usb 2.0 port, ... it became a new external audio device to use with regular headphones with a 3.5 mm male plug.Using the SPDIF TV output to the NBA-200U(cable not included), FosPower (0.9M/3FT) 24K Gold Plated Toslink Digital Optical Audio Cable (S/PDIF) - [Zero RFI & EMI Interference] Metal Connectors & Ultra Durable Nylon Braided Jacket.Once the external audio device is properly configured, the NBA-200U Adaptor front panel headphone jack, provides an incredible 7.1 "clean" sound field ... that can only be believed once heard !The result is that now, ... in an apartment setting, the audio output from any TV source fed into NBA-200U Adaptorbecomes a "surround experience" that will rival a big buck audio system, ... in stealth mode.The unit is an old school 2012 type of unit, and the software looks dated, BUT IT SURE WORKS FINE !Such an inexpensive solution to achieve a sound field of astonishing proportions.What a GREAT device and RESULT !
Leisa
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2013
My new PC only supported 2.0 sound, so I was looking for something that would support the 5.1 speakers from my old PC. I looked at internal cards first, but they all seemed to be a bit more than I wanted to spend, so I tried this external audio device and it works great. I put a couple of movies in the DVD player and the 5.1 sound is excellent.The housing is about the size of a pack of cigarettes, which should be fine, but it is almost too compact. The USB and optical ports are on one side, the speaker and headphone outputs are on the other side, and the third side has the microphone jacks, so no matter how you attempt to situate the box, you're looking at cables. I ended up putting it under the desk on top of the PC, but that makes it hard to get to the volume buttons on top. Minor inconvenience.The software setup is a bit disconcerting. It comes with a setup CD, but I downloaded the newest drivers from the manufacturer's website and ran the setup.exe file. A reboot is required, and after the reboot I started getting a lot of pop-ups asking permission to run "cm106eye.exe." Windows was alerting me that the file was not digitally signed. Before allowing it to run, I searched the internet to see what this file was and almost every search result said this was some sort of virus. Cautious, I didn't allow it to run. Although I got sound from the speakers, it wasn't correct. The center speaker and subwoofer were playing the same thing, and there was no sound from the back speakers. I also didn't have any access to the audio settings for the device. I checked and saw I had a restore point from a two-day-old Windows update, so I rebooted and allowed the unsigned files to run. There were no complaints from Microsoft Security Essentials. The surround sound started working and it is now allowing access to all of the features on the soundcard! I checked the files and they appear to be authored by C Media Inc...C M Eye.Great sound in a small package.
Christian
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2012
WOW!!! I have never been so blown away in my life by such a little device! the drivers are simple and diverse, the sound is absolutely amazing for every genre of music and gaming, plus it is portable and easy to install! The only downside is that a headphone and speaker shouldn't be plugged in at the same time on the device, it doesn't prioritize the headphones. This little device is durable, portable, and sounds fantastic! the cheap price isn't because its discounted, its because its a STEAL! I'm not joking when I say this is completely worth the investment, buy this and take full advantage of your speaker set!Edit 10/6/14:Welp, after over a year, this little card is still satisfying as ever! However, I have some gripes I've found over the initial acquiring of this product:* The sound drivers are only meh. While they offer plenty of options to customize the type of sound, the EQ filters, the environment, and microphone and line-in settings, I've had issues forcing it to remember my profiles! It always tends to self-delete my customizations if I either plug it in to a different USB port, or if I try to reboot my computer. Sometimes it remembers, other times it doesn't. Also the UI of the program is not all that polished, but it is easy to use.* The Microphone is surround input, which means you need a splitter to actually make the audio input stereo instead of mono. There are 2 jacks on the side of the device for microphones, so you either need 2 microphones or 1 microphone with a 2 male --> 1 female 3.5mm splitter. Also, there are no settings for this in the driver program.* The headphones jack does not stop the audio output to the other speakers plugged into the device, so you can't use your headphones without having the other speakers still turn on, which is VERY annoying.Other than those major complaints, it's been working fine for me! Still sounds good, there are no issues with the jacks falling loose or becoming duds, the device is still very easy to use, and the line-in and S/pdif features work very well! Overall, still highly recommend it, but it's not quite as poise and polish as I thought it was when I first purchased it. Still a good value!
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