Weird HDMI audio question: please help!

[wrathofvulk]

Hey all,

I am soon building my own computer, and with it getting a monitor with built in speakers. Now, I know that if I connect my GPU to the monitor via HDMI and change the default audio device, then the speakers will play with the HDMI audio no problem.

My only issue is, most of the time I will not be listening out of the speakers but out of my earbuds, which I plan on plugging into the computer's audio out jack (which goes with the mobo's audio, right?) So, how would I have both audio outs enabled simultaneously like with a laptop, so when I have my earbuds plugged the audio plays from them, and when I unplug them it comes out of the speakers?

The monitor I want is the Asus VH232H...I looked and it has an audio in on it with a picture of headsets...but doesn't audio in mean that that will be the source that it is drawing from? Or am I wrong and will plugging my earbuds into there resolve my issue?



Thanks!

 

[kiezz]

if your running windows it will work auto no problem

 

[wrathofvulk]

So it will auto default to the mobo audio? I'm missing something here.

 

[Paperdoc]

"work auto no problem" does not understand your problem. You are right to ask about this. You do not say how you will get and feed an HDMI signal to your monitor, and that's part of the issue. If you mobo has an audio system built in, AND a video system with HDMI output, it's likely this will all work OK. But if you are planning to install your own video card with HDMI output on it, your video card will have its own audio chip on it to provide audio to the HDMI port. That gives your machine two audio chips, and Windows can only use one at a time. So you set it to use the audio on the video card, and then your front-panel jack probably will not have any signal.

Now, that's OK. No matter how your system is set up, the earphone jack built into your monitor is the solution. The monitor specs appear to say that it can receive audio from your computer two ways - as separate audio feed from an audio out jack, OR as part of the HDMI signal on that cable. In both cases, it will play that audio on its speakers AND feed it to the earphone jack in the monitor. It does not say so directly, but I'm guessing when you plug your earphones into the monitor's jack, its speakers will shut off. So just plan to do that, and forget about the computer case's front panel jack. This will work no matter how your system feeds audio and video to the monitor.

When you get it set up, in your audio system configuration, set it to 2-channal (stereo) audio output. That is what both your monitor and your earphones will use.

 

[wrathofvulk]

Best answer selected by wrathofvulk.

 

[wrathofvulk]

Ah, that makes sense. And yes, I am connecting the monitor via HDMI through the PCI Express GPU.

I'll try that out! Thanks!

Just a quick question, how would I go about setting it to 2-channel? Does it do it by default?

 

[Paperdoc]

OK, then after you get set up, be sure to set that audio system to the Windows default audio. Click on Start (lower right) ... Control Panel ... Sounds and Audio Devices, then choose the Audio Tab. There you can set the default playback and recording devices.

To set the type of audio output (how many channels), that is in the configuration utility that comes with your audio device - in this case, the video card. It may have a application you launch from the Start Menu like so many others, or it might even install an icon in your system tray to reach it easily. Check the instructions with your video card.