Sharing speakers between xbox 360 and computer

kdsns88

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Apr 7, 2011
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Hey,

So I have a set of speakers that use a 3.5mm jack for input. I wanted to know what the cheapest and most simple way of hooking up my xbox 360 and computer to this one set of speakers would be. So far, I've heard suggestions of using some kind of audio switch, although i'm not sure how expensive or easy to use those are, using a splitter which would simply have 2 female ends for each device and one male end for my speaker jack, or routing the xbox 360 through my sound card.

Thanks for any help in advance!
 
it all depends on what connections you have available.


what output connection does the xbox 360 have ? there is probably a second type of cable with an alternate connection type included as well, what is this?

your speakers take one single 3.5mm to drive them? (sounds like the klipsch promedia 2.1 set i tested out awhile ago)

what are you running for a screen? more specifically does it have an audio-output 3.5mm jack? if so, what input jacks does it have and which are you planning to use? is this a shared screen for both pc and xbox?

you said you have a soundcard for your pc, are you using the headphone out port for your speakers currently?

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what i'm thinking is that you should be able to get your xbox output down to a 3.5mm, and your pc is already a 3.5mm so either a switch or a splitter should work.

the problem with a splitter is that i've heard people say they lose alot of volume even with the other source turned off. the good thing is they are only $1-5

a 3.5mm switch will run you more money but will allow you to manually select which source to use for your speakers. this is probably the best way to do it. google only showed one result but try looking on amazon.com for something like "3.5mm switch"

you can route your xbox through your soundcard as well but do you really feel like having your computer on while playing your xbox? i don't believe that port is a simple passthrough that acts like a splitter.