Sound card and mobo question

nvarras7

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Apr 19, 2008
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I just want to not have to unplug my headphones everytime I want to listen to my speakers. I want to upgrade the sound of my computer but don't want to lose the convenience of two jacks that shut off my speakers when i plug the headphones in.... Thanks
 

nukemaster

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Many internal cards can still use the front audio jacks on your computer. Some also allow you to swap from headphones to speakers in software.

Are you on a notebook by any chance? If on a desktop getting a normal sound card may give you the upgrade you want without loosing features.
 

mickypheonix

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Mar 9, 2014
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4,660
Hi nvarras7
Get a 3.5mm audio splitter like this and you can have both working at the same time
P511-3008-main-sp.jpg

plug the male end into your green audio 3.5mm socket
then the headphones into one female and the green speaker cable into the other :)
 

nukemaster

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Those work on most systems, but some onboard cards will actually drop voltage when both are connected(so far they have both been ALC892).

I think some designs toss a resistor(lets say 100ohm as a standard) inline with the output to reduce possible noise on long cables or if you are running a y cable to 2 sets of speakers.

On 10k ohm speaker inputs this extra 100ohms does almost nothing, but on 16-32 ohm headphones it causes a voltage drop. It is a basic voltage divider.

Just a fair warning, with any luck you will never have this issue.
 

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