Possibly defective device. It was working without issue for 2 months. Now it will not output to rear or sides after reboot, fronts still work. I have to unplug USB cord and the 3.5mm cords and then re-configure in windows 11. Sometimes the rears won’t recognize even after a couple tries.
Is this thing fried?
Hello @teedoe and thank you for your interest in our Community.
Sorry to hear you’re running into this issue after it was previously working fine. As a first step, I’d recommend testing the ICUSBAUDIO7D on a different PC with a fresh driver installation (latest from our web site). This can help determine whether the issue is related to the current system’s software configuration or the hardware itself.
It would also be a good idea to test the unit with a different surround sound system or a different surround audio source to your current system (if available,. of course) to rule out any potential speaker or wire-related concerns.
If the issue continues after these tests, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Support team we’ll be happy to assist further and explore warranty options if needed.
Emmanuel B.
StarTech.com Support
I was able to do some testing, but I am limited to the equipment I have available. I found when the PC boots with everything connected (ICUSBAUDIO7D and speakers) only the front speakers (L & R) will work. At that point, if I power cycle one of the connected surround speaker sets (rears or sides) Windows will make a notification chime and then speakers are all recognized (both rears and sides). Is there a setting for the USB 7.1 device to recognize these speakers without the speakers being power cycled? It is a workaround for now, but not ideal.
Hello @teedoe,
When you say that you need to power cycle one of the surround speaker sets, can you explain in further details what does this refer to? You are not power cycling our ICUSBAUDIO7D, but rather the speaker itself?
Please confirm the brand and model of your surround system as well as an overview of what is connected where (which wire, from → to). This will help me better understand how power cycling a set of speaker could trigger a re-detection in Windows.
Emmanuel B.
StarTech.com Support
Correct, I only power cycle the speakers (actually only 1 set), and then Windows will make a notification chime noise. Then both sets of surround speakers (side and rear) work again. The ICUSBAUDIO7D is never unplugged or any buttons pushed, etc.
I am using two ZK-1002T Amplifier Boards for only the rear and side surround channels. The front (L&R) speakers are directly out of the ICUSBAUDIO7D device without additional amplification (fronts work on PC boot without issue). The surrounds are both connected to the ICUSBAUDIO7D with 3.5mm audio cords (male to male) to each amplifier board.
Hello @teedoe,
The ICUSBAUDIO7D does not support jack-sensing in analogue 7.1 mode. Once 7.1 Surround is configured in Windows and in the Xear application, the channel configuration should remain fixed regardless of what is physically connected to the 3.5mm outputs.
Since you mentioned that Windows plays a notification sound when you power cycle the amplifier board, this suggests that the system may be detecting a brief USB refresh or device reinitialization rather than a speaker detection event.
When this happens, could you please check whether the ICUSBAUDIO7D briefly disappears and reappears in Device Manager?
In the meantime, I would recommend:
If the problem persists, please contact our Technical Support for a LIVE troubleshooting session.
Emmanuel B.
StarTech.com Support