Question

Audio switch between headphones and quad speakers

Asked by: AntonioP

According to the nice people at my local electronics/computer shop, a lot of people have asked for this but no one anywhere sells it.  Maybe someone here can help.

I (like many, many people) have my computer audio going to a setup with speakers in front and back.  My sound card has two outputs, a stereo output for the front speakers and one for the rear speakers.  What I want is a device with a knob or button; when I turn this knob, I select between headphones disabled and all four speakers active, or headphones active and all four speakers disabled.

Regular switches will not work (i.e., don't put this link in your answer http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&category_name=CTLG_004_002_007_000&product_id=26-204).  Every single headphones switch I have seen will only acccept ONE (1) line from the computer.  As I described, I've got a line for the front speakers and a second one for the rear.  Ideally, when the speakers are disabled I'd like to have a mix of front and rear sent to the headphones, but I'd be happy enough if only the front went to the phones and the rear got lost.

I'll accept either of two answers to this question:
 1 - a link to a product page where I can buy it
 2 - a schematic for a circuit to build it, but only from a design that has actually been built and used

Note: if you've got the schematic, you may want to start a small home business.  www.unicornelex.com will place an order for a bunch of them, I'm certain.

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2005-04-02 at 08:58:37ID21374078
Tags

switch

,

headphones

,

speakers

,

between

Topic

Miscellaneous Hardware

Participating Experts
2
Points
300
Comments
5

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Speakers work, headphones don't.
    I can listen to the music using speakers. There is no sound if I connect headphones to the laptop. Any ideas how to fix it? Headphones are good and plugged in properly. When I connect the headphones, the internal speakers do turn off. Thanks in advance.
  2. Speaker to Headphone conversion, powering speakers?
    Have 3 questions I hope hardware- audio people can help me on - 1. What type of resistor is needed to cut standard 8 ohm speaker output down for a headphone jack, and is this done on the 2 stereo live line, or also the ground? in nother words, how many resistors, where. 2....
  3. Play audio in speaker AND Bluetooth headset
    My Vista can either play audio in bluetooth headset or the speaker, depending on which device I set as the default. Now can it send audio to BOTH the headset and the speaker? Thanks.
  4. Sound coming from both internal speakers and headphones/
    I have plugged in my headphones to the headphone socket on the front of my Desktop PC. When I listen to sound I can hear it through both the internal speakers and the headphones. How can I turn off the internal speakers and only hear it on the headphones. I am using XP

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: DabRainPosted on 2005-04-02 at 12:12:34ID: 13689226

Sorry no circuit available, but get yourself a 4pole 2position rotary switch, socket to suit your headphones (6.5mm or 3.5mm ), 2 3.5mm sockets for your speakers out and 1 cable with 3.5mm male plugs, and a project box to put it in. Next the wiring, all earths are connected together as commons, and follow the rough diagram below,

                                                                ___________ Front right
                                       Right    _______/  
                                                                ___________Headphone right

            Front stereo in                               ____________Front left
                                        Left     _______/
                                                                ____________Headphone Left



                                                                ___________ Rear right
                                       Right    _______/  
                                                                ___________Headphone right (or not connected)

             Rear stereo in                               ____________Raer left
                                        Left     _______/
                                                                ____________Headphone Left (or not connected)

I know that this is not exactly what you wanted but it will work

 

by: WatzmanPosted on 2005-04-02 at 13:30:52ID: 13689479


A normal closed-circuit stereo headphone jack will do what you want for two speakers (the left and right front speakers), but would not cut off the speakers other than the main left and right speakers (by the way, I am assuming that you are driving the speakers with line-outs, and that the speakers have internal power amps).

Suggestion -- you won't like this now, but it do it you will love it later -- Get a new sound card, a Soundblaster Audigy Platinum with the "live drive".  These have a headphone jack that does exaclty what you want built into the live drive.  But the live drive has a LOT more -- it has Toslink optical digital inputs and outptus, mic inputs, headhphone jack (that cuts off the speakers) with a real knob volume control, Line inputs and outputs, SPDIF digital inputs and outputs, IR remote control, midi inputs and outputs and a firewire input and output.  All in a very sexy looking control panel that mounts on the front of your computer in a 5.25" drive bay.  This is the ultimate in sound cards.  You can get this in an Audigy, Audigy 2 or Audigy 2 ZS, list price is $199, but you can find the Audigy 2's for about $50 to $70, in fact the factory sells refurbs on E-Bay with a factory warranty (search for "Audigy Platinum").

 

by: AntonioPPosted on 2005-04-02 at 14:49:50ID: 13689717

DabRain, doesn't attaching all the grounds together lead to crosstalk between the channels?  If there is such a thing as an 8-pole, 2 position switch, that would do it, right?  If i need to build this, I'd actually rather not deal with circuitry and ICs and relays, and this sounds promising...

Watzman, that live drive is awesome... just a little too rich for my wallet at this time.  It won't work with my Live! soundcard, so I'd need to get both.

 

by: WatzmanPosted on 2005-04-02 at 15:03:54ID: 13689761


No, attaching all the grounds together is fine.  They are connected together already anyway.  If you were going to do this with a switch, you only need a 4-pole switch (because you don't have to switch the grounds).  However, there is an implicit assumption here that the same signal is suitable for driving the headphones and the speakers, and that's not automatically the case.

As to the live drive, yes, you would have to get a whole new sound system (the livedrives are not even interchangeable between the different Audigy boards -- an Audigy livedrive won't work with an Audigy 2, although they LOOK superficially identical.  However, you can buy a complete used or refurb Audgy system -- sound card, live drive, remote, cables, the whole works -- for about $50 to $70 on E-Bay.

 

by: AntonioPPosted on 2005-04-03 at 21:53:03ID: 13694985

All right, I think I've got a plan.  This seems pretty easy to build: I just need the switch, three stereo jacks (to speakers and headphones), and three stereo plugs (to pull off the sound card).  I can even run the headphone jack and switch inside the case to a blank drive bay and make it look swanky like the live drive. I can machine an expansion port cover like the one here to connect to the sound card...
http://www.frontx.com/cpx073.html

The whole thing should cost about 15 dollars, plus be a lot of fun!

Thanks for the help!

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...