audio jack extensions

DisrupTor75

DisrupTor75

DisrupTor75

Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2009
Posts
2,906
Location
Merseyside. UK
Anyone know of or where to get some kind of extension plug running from back of my soundcard jack's to an easier place that i can plug in to? reason being it's awkward having to drag the pc out every time i need to swap between headphones and speakers. There are 2 jack sockets in my old speaker's wire-remote but the mic one does not work. :/

Looking into getting some new speakers anyway but just in case i have the same problem with them i could do with some extension thingymebob.
 
Ta Lemin but it's not the same thing. it's a type of extension plug i am after not a splitter. Something similar to this i suppose would be best to describe it.

http://www.overstock.com/Electronic...ble-Pack-of-2/5458279/product.html?cid=133635

I would need two of them: one for the headhphone's and one for the mic.

As for "best bet is to use google." well that was really helpfull thanks i never thought of that :rolleyes:
 
Before i had this sound card i could use the front panel, as it ran the onboard sound on the motherboard, which is fine. But with the card it no longer works as i have to plug the speaker jacks directly into the sound card, like i did with the ones that come with the motherboard.

The only real issue i am having is that it just makes swapping between either speakers or headphones awkward as the computer has to be dragged out and im rummaging around with a torch trying to plug them in :)

Regarding my current speakers they are getting on a fair bit in age, had them nearly 5 years (an old creative set) and on the remote the mic socket wont work, can use the headphones but not the mic which is a pain if you want to do any gaming with friends. so was looking to get some new speakers with all the modern bells and whistles that go with them and, hopefully, alble to use both mic and headphones at the same time (it's a headset with 2 jack's on it)

Failing that, some kind of extension leads that i can plug into the back of the sound card for the audio / mic ports that reach around and i can plug them in there. :)
 
Extensions are by far the easiest way to do this. Run the leads into a strip of acrylic, aluminium or something and glue them in place. Mount the strip on your desk with screws or something. Then run the audio leads from your devices into the same location. Plug in whichever you need.

Or you could fashion or buy a switch that can accept all inputs and outputs and switch between them. This can change the impedance if not done properly.

I just used to use an extension hanging to the side of my PC which was easy to get to, although still a bit of a pain it worked.
 
as mentioned by tealc , i have a switch that plugs into my sound card, then has inputs for a headset and speakers, you then switch between whichever one you want to use.

unit has decent length cables on it so it runs from the back of the pc and sits on top of my desk.
 
DisrupTor75 said:
Before i had this sound card i could use the front panel, as it ran the onboard sound on the motherboard, which is fine. But with the card it no longer works as i have to plug the speaker jacks directly into the sound card, like i did with the ones that come with the motherboard.
Click to expand...

Does your soundcard not have a socket into which you can plug the front panel audio headers? That'd solve all your problems, unless I'm missing something?
 
Tealc said:
Extensions are by far the easiest way to do this.
I just used to use an extension hanging to the side of my PC which was easy to get to, although still a bit of a pain it worked.
Click to expand...

That would be the easiest solution for me Tealc thanks.

mp260767 said:
as mentioned by tealc , i have a switch that plugs into my sound card, then has inputs for a headset and speakers, you then switch between whichever one you want to use.

unit has decent length cables on it so it runs from the back of the pc and sits on top of my desk.
Click to expand...

Does the length of the extension cause any problems? just a 1 - 2ft extension shouyld be fine i think

chigley said:
Does your soundcard not have a socket into which you can plug the front panel audio headers? That'd solve all your problems, unless I'm missing something?
Click to expand...

Actually that's a good point :) i rushed the soundcard into the machine and didnt know it does have a slot for the front panel.

http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audi...cts/FiWODUF4uhiJVJKD/rynYTfbvfm6qvU5X_500.jpg

It's The Asus Xonar DG 5.1 card. And while it does support this, an extension is still the better solution for me. but at least that option is open.
 
DisrupTor75 said:
Actually that's a good point :) i rushed the soundcard into the machine and didnt know it does have a slot for the front panel.

http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audi...cts/FiWODUF4uhiJVJKD/rynYTfbvfm6qvU5X_500.jpg

It's The Asus Xonar DG 5.1 card. And while it does support this, an extension is still the better solution for me. but at least that option is open.
Click to expand...

There you go then! That card supports jack sensing too.
So why would extensions still be the better solution? :confused:
 
Goto a well known jungle/river website and type this in "audio extension cable" tis where I got mine from, I wish I'da got them in white now though but they work.. I got quite a few now, one of them I use for my 32inch wall mounted tv from my pc but thats another story :D
 
DisrupTor75 said:
Does the length of the extension cause any problems? just a 1 - 2ft extension shouyld be fine i think
Click to expand...

Indeed. A few feet or metres doesn't have much of an effect even if you have high impedance equipment at the other end. The plugs and sockets are generally the worst offenders for signal loss so make sure you get decent connectors and ensure it's shielded cable.

I made the mistake of buying a cheap eBay 5M audio cable extension and while it did have Gold contacts it had an intermittent circuit fault on one of the channels which caused the sound to go completely muddy and sound like it was distant. I thought it was my headphone amplifier for a while before I messed about with the cables.
 
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