[SOLVED] Remap AORUS X570 Master rear port for headphones?

[GregP74]

Running Windows 11 here and I've got a Gigabyte AORUS Master x570 motherboard. I've installed the latest Realtek audio drivers.

I don't care to use my front headphone jack on the pc. It's hard to get to with this desk and the cord on my headphones doesn't reach that far. My brilliant idea was to plug an extension into one of the rear audio ports, run it through the cable management hole in the monitor stand, and have a ready to go place in front of the monitor to plug my headphones in.
The difficulty is that I've tried all the ports in the back there, and none of them want to be remapped as "Headphones."
Is there something I'm missing? Or is it just not possible? I could run the extension cord to the headphone jack on the front of the case but it wouldn't look as clean as having it in the back.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

plug an extension into one of the rear audio ports...
I've tried all the ports in the back there

the rear I/O green audio port is the stereo out port.

run it through the cable management hole in the monitor stand

your monitor doesn't have a 3.5mm audio bypass?
most offer a 3.5mm in that will connect to a motherboard audio port
and a 3.5mm out that will allow devices to be plugged there.

using this method the system should recognize the audio device as whatever model your monitor is or just some generic label if you don't have actual monitor drivers installed.

none of them want to be remapped as "Headphones."

when plugging your headphones in directly are they recognized in Control Panel > Sound options?
and are they not recognized when using the extension cable?

the system may not recognize that these are actually headphones.
should be something like Realtek USB Audio even if it is not actually using USB.
may also be labeled as Speakers or something similar.

 

[GregP74]

the rear I/O green audio port is the stereo out port.

Correct. I've got my regular speakers plugged into that one.

your monitor doesn't have a 3.5mm audio bypass?
most offer a 3.5mm in that will connect to a motherboard audio port
and a 3.5mm out that will allow devices to be plugged there.

I actually just got this new Dell S2721DGF monitor last week and it's what me got thinking about different options. Its handling of speakers and headphones isn't the best. It'll bring in the sound via the HDMI or Displayport cables. It's got a line out port in the back for speakers and a headphone jack on the bottom of the front. Speakers work just fine with it, but plugging headphones in doesn't automatically mute them which is a pain. (Dell tech support suggested just turning the physical speaker volume knob down when headphones are plugged in, but those are up on a shelf and I haven't touched that knob in two years -- it's set to the highest I'll probably ever want the speakers, and I make my adjustments via the windows volume control.) I had assumed when I got the monitor that it'd just mute those and redirect sound to the headphones if I plugged them into their port on the front but no such luck.

using this method the system should recognize the audio device as whatever model your monitor is or just some generic label if you don't have actual monitor drivers installed.

when plugging your headphones in directly are they recognized in Control Panel > Sound options?
and are they not recognized when using the extension cable?

Plugging the headphones in directly or with the extension gives the same results. The various ports give me options as to what the device is when I plug something in, but none of those options seem to be "Headphones."

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

The various ports give me options as to what the device is when I plug something in, but none of those options seem to be "Headphones."

that's normal.
unless you have a set that uses some form of proprietary driver they usually won't be recognized as headphones or allow a custom label as such.
and a lot of those are using some form of USB surround option.

the rear I/O green audio port is the stereo out port.

I've got my regular speakers plugged into that one.

the other rear 3.5mm jacks are for built-in surround options.
none of those other jacks will give stereo sound.
but you can check your motherboard manual to be sure.

you can get a splitter to also plug the headphones in the stereo jack but then they will share the same volume level.
but if the headphones have their own volume control knob / power button you should be able to just turn them down or off.

maybe just get a Bluetooth set if the wired options available aren't working as you'd like.
last year i picked up a very nice set of Anker Soundcore Life Q20 that work great with either Bluetooth or wired.

 

[GregP74]

that's normal.
unless you have a set that uses some form of proprietary driver they usually won't be recognized as headphones or allow a custom label as such.
and a lot of those are using some form of USB surround option.


the other rear 3.5mm jacks are for built-in surround options.
none of those other jacks will give stereo sound.
but you can check your motherboard manual to be sure.

you can get a splitter to also plug the headphones in the stereo jack but then they will share the same volume level.
but if the headphones have their own volume control knob / power button you should be able to just turn them down or off.

maybe just get a Bluetooth set if the wired options available aren't working as you'd like.
last year i picked up a very nice set of Anker Soundcore Life Q20 that work great with either Bluetooth or wired.

I think my best bet is probably to just plug the extension into the front headphone port on the pc. It might not look great but it's the port that was meant for them and (should) do what I need it to. The extension I got is 10' so there should be plenty of room.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I think my best bet is probably to just plug the extension into the front headphone port on the pc. It might not look great but it's the port that was meant for them and (should) do what I need it to. The extension I got is 10' so there should be plenty of room.

yeah, you can always tape it to a side of the system that may be out of view or do some kind of custom cable routing through or along your desk to keep them out of the way and/or out of sight.