Question How to Support Current Audio Devices with a New Sound Card?

[MikeA01730]

Hi,

I have a tower PC with on-board audio. The on-board audio has failed so I need to install a new sound card. However I'm not sure how to do that and still use my mic, speakers, and headphones.

I use speakers plugged into the 3.5mm audio out jack on the back, a mic plugged in to the back, and sometimes headphones from the front panel. I also use a Logitech camera for Zoom calls plugged into a rear USB-A port. The speakers have 3.5mm TRS plugs and the headphones use TRRS (extra ring connection for the mic). I can get along without the mic on the headset if I have to but I'd rather not, and if I have to physically turn down the headphone and speaker sound individually on each device that's ok.

I'd think I want an audio card with a headphone jack, a mic jack, and a speaker jack (or 2 if there's no headphone jack), but I can't find that. Actually I don't see anything with a headphone jack, or 2 mic jacks, or 2 speaker jacks. So what do I buy and how do I connect everything? Can I use a splitter to split a single speaker jack to make 2 speaker jacks for the speakers and headphone, or is there a problem with an impedance mismatch or insufficient power if I do that? Also could I use a splitter to combine the headphones and mic input or does that have problems? I see a lot of splitter cables but their descriptions seem to precisely describe how they can be used and they don't cover my case. Also am I right to assume that the Logitech camera will continue to work correctly?

This is an HP tower with an Intel LGA1151 Q270 Desktop Motherboard, Intel i5-6500 CPU at 3.2GHz, (1x16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti display card, 1 TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD, 250W PSU, and Win 10 Pro.

Can anyone tell me how to handle this?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Eximo]

Yes, the camera is its own device.

99% of sound cards do what you want. The front panel connector is probably not going to work any longer. Dell doesn't always use standard connectors, though I might be surprised.

If you provide the precise model of Dell I can take a look. Also need to know if that is a low profile system or not, that will determine the size of sound card you can install. (I assume it isn't, but they did make low profile 1050Ti.)

You really need a second stick of memory, you are robbing yourself of a lot of system performance by limiting the CPU to single channel mode.

 

[hotaru.hino]

You can use a splitter for the output. And if I were to believe this post, impedance matching is something you don't need to worry about anymore.

The main problem is the requirement for two microphone jacks. I'm aware of no sound card that has such. They might at most have separate microphone and line-in inputs, but you can't change which one does what.

 

[Eximo]

Headphone jack plus a line in is all he needs for two microphones. And you can tell them what to do with most sound solutions.

This would cover both scenarios, and is on the cheaper side.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EO6X4XG?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1

 

[MikeA01730]

Hi,

I believe the article about impedance matching. Good to know that I can split the audio output with no problem.

This is an HP EliteDesk 800 G3 tower model Y1B39AV, not low profile. Don't know if the connectors are standard or not.

Re the Sound Blaster card, the second input is labeled Line In. Isn't the signal level difference so large that using a mic input in Line In jack wouldn't work?

Re the second stick of memory, are you saying that I can just buy and install a second stick of memory, double my memory capacity, and also make my system run faster? The system performs decently but faster would be better. Is it that simple?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Eximo]

Re the Sound Blaster card, the second input is labeled Line In. Isn't the signal level difference so large that using a mic input in Line In jack wouldn't work?

Re the second stick of memory, are you saying that I can just buy and install a second stick of memory, double my memory capacity, and also make my system run faster? The system performs decently but faster would be better. Is it that simple?

Thanks,
Mike

You may have to invest in a pre-amp for a second microphone, or use a splitter. Or simply get a break out box that puts the connector closer to you so you can swap it as needed.

Generally you don't want to mix memory sticks, but Dell OEM memory is usually loose enough timings that another stick of JEDEC 2400 should just work.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/16gb-ddr4-2400mhz-dimm/apd/a9434545/memory

However, this is pretty much guaranteed to work and it is cheaper.

Crucial 32GB Kit (16GBx2) DDR4-2400 UDIMM | CT2K16G4DFD824A | Crucial.com

Buy Crucial 32GB Kit (16GBx2) DDR4-2400 UDIMM CT2K16G4DFD824A. FREE US Delivery, guaranteed 100% compatibility when ordering using our online tools.

www.crucial.com

 

[hotaru.hino]

Re the Sound Blaster card, the second input is labeled Line In. Isn't the signal level difference so large that using a mic input in Line In jack wouldn't work?

I was going to mention something about this, but I found out at least with Realtek, it has software configurable ports and it asks you what you plugged in when you do plug something in.

It might be the same for the SoundBlaster card, but I don't have a way of knowing.

 

[Eximo]

I've not had issues with that in a while myself. But my last actual sound card was am ASUS Xonar.

When I pick out motherboards I always get the audio chip that is one up from the cheapest at the time. And they all do the what have you plugged in thing, so they may have built in pre-amps.

 

[Paperdoc]

As others have said above, the audio chip used on most mobos has that feature called "Port Re-assignment". With that many (or at least most) of the 3.5 mm sockets can be set for any function. I expect that same feature is available for many third-party sound cards, but read their specs and manual to be sure.

HOWEVER, Windows has a limit that impacts your microphone situation. (See also comments below on one of your units.) At any one time Windows can use only ONE device as the Default Sound Input device, no matter how many things you have plugged in wherever. So even if you had a sound card with TWO mic input jacks, Windows itself could not use both at the same time. There IS a setting you can change easily to choose WHICH device is used for Sound Input so you can change without a lot of hassle. BUT you MAY find that a sound card's software that comes with it allows the CARD to act as a "mixer" to use two or more mics and combine them into ONE sound input device that Windows can handle. ALTERNATIVELY IF you need to use two mics simultaneously you could get your own small separate mixer and feed two or more sound sources like mics through that as ONE combined stream into the sound card's single Mic jack.

The headset you have with a TRRS (four-contact) male jack normally can NOT work well with the sockets on a computer. Almost all such computer sockets are the 3-contact TRS variety and the TRRS male jack simply does not make the right connections inside the TRS socket on the computer case. The same applies to sound cards. How this has been working for you so far is a puzzle. MOST will deal with this by getting an ADAPTER that looks like a Splitter of sorts, like this

https://www.amazon.com/MillSO-Headp...854&sprefix=trrs+adapter,aps,107&sr=8-11&th=1

It has one female TRRS socket to plug in the 4-contact TRRS jack on your headset, and then two TRS 3-contact output male jacks that go into the green Earphone (speaker) and the pink Mic In sockets on you computer or sound card.

Regarding Splitters, using such a unit to connect both speakers and earphones to a single green Front Left / Right socket on the sound card WILL work. These days impedance matchjng is not much of an issue. There is a POSSIBLE issue of not-quite-perfect audio over the whole audible range, but for normal uses you would never hear a problem. I do this all the time with my system just becasue I wanted to have my headest eaphone and mic lines plug in at the back where my speakers do. Just check this one detail. A single jack and socket for speakers actually contains lines for TWO audio channels, Left and Right. Make sure the splitter you get splits BOTH channels so both speakers pairs get full 2-channel stereo. You do not want a different device that can "SPLIT" the two channels into spearate one-channel outputs.

A SPLITTER for two MICS into one Mic Input socket MAY be another matter. I am not so sure that can work well. PART of that is the many circuits today can adjust themsleves to different Impedance devices, and combining speakers and earphones is not a big issue because their impedances and signal voltage specs are similar. But there are many DIFFERENT types of mics out there amd combining ones with very siferent electrical characteristics might not work well. That is why you MIGHT find it does not work, and you need a small mixer (either built-in in the sound card or as a separate unit) that can deal with each mic differently and let you do the final balancing of loudness.