Is there an efficient way to switch between 2.1 speakers and a headset with mic?

Dóminion · 29 Mar 2017 at 12:31

Hey all,

As the title suggests I want an easy way to switch between a 2.1 speaker set and my headphone with mic without unplugging anything. I am currently unable to use my front panel mic input and would prefer not also. What I'm looking for is a way to take all my audio from the onboard sound card (Supreme FX 2015) and feed it through to some sort of switch, whereby I can plug in my headphones and speakers and switch between them without any need to plug and unplug devices. Bear in mind I would also need to plug my mic in too. I also have a 2nd pair of headphones without a mic that I would also like to have plugged in too. Is anyone aware of such a bit of kit existing?

Many thanks to anyone that reads this or comments.

ttaskmaster · 29 Mar 2017 at 13:45

Standard 3.5mm audio switch box - Hundreds on Google.
You just want to make sure it has one input for each port from the soundcard (ie, one audio and one mic) and however many outputs you need (sounds like 3 audio and one mic).
Connect up, then switch at will.

Some even have 'mixers', being volume dials so you can output to one, two, theree or four sets of headphones, or even all of them and the speakers...

Shop around.

Dóminion · 29 Mar 2017 at 16:39

Yeah I was looking at those. My concern however is that the speakers plug into the left and right on-board outputs, while the headphones plug into one of these channels and the mic output. These devices seem to only be viable when you are using the same outputs for each device. Does that makes sense?

Demon · 29 Mar 2017 at 19:31

Not sure I completely follow your setup description, but if the 2.1 speakers and headphones are effectively on seperate audio outputs according to windows, then a software solution is 'Audioswitch', a small tray applet that allows very quick changing of the current audio in/out to whatever audio devices you have.. I use this to switch between my 2.1 setup for music or 5.1 gaming headset, or even the Monitor (It's a TV so has built in speakers).. It can also quickly switch audio in's as well..

Dóminion · 30 Mar 2017 at 09:42

To explain, I have a headset with microphone that has two leads, a microphone jack (pink) that connects to my on-board soundcard via the rear panel and another for the headphone drivers (a green jack which plugs into the port which is I believe is normally the speaker out, again on the rear panel). My 2.1 speakers have 2 jacks, a green and a black one, which plug into the black and green port on the on-board sound respectively. So as you can see when I need to plug in my headphones in I have to unplug a green jack and plug in the other.

The problem I see with the splitter described is that I actually need 3 outputs, one for the microphone and then the other 2 for the speakers and headphones themselves. My understanding is that for a switch it will only allow you to switch when the output is the same for all devices. So for example I could run multiple 2.1 setups on a hardware based switch.

The software solution won't work, because as outlined for some reason my front panel doesn't work for mic input and there is a hum on headphones and as explained above I cannot run all the devices from the back panel. Also I don't want wires draping all over the front of my desk. I was hoping there would be a hardware solution, but I'm not knowledgeable enough about how these devices work. I'm sort of fumbling around in the dark at the moment.

ttaskmaster · 30 Mar 2017 at 11:38

What's the black one for?
Does it do anything if only that one is plugged in?
If not, I'd imagine only the green one matters and you can simply use a switch on that as needed. I can't see there being a problem with leaving just the mic permanently connected.

DONOHUE07 · 30 Mar 2017 at 12:04

Demon said:
Not sure I completely follow your setup description, but if the 2.1 speakers and headphones are effectively on seperate audio outputs according to windows, then a software solution is 'Audioswitch', a small tray applet that allows very quick changing of the current audio in/out to whatever audio devices you have.. I use this to switch between my 2.1 setup for music or 5.1 gaming headset, or even the Monitor (It's a TV so has built in speakers).. It can also quickly switch audio in's as well..

I game on my living room tv, and use my PC as a 'Kodi box' for the family as well as my gaming rig. I have to do this a lot

Demon · 31 Mar 2017 at 11:27

Dóminion said:
To explain, I have a headset with microphone that has two leads, a microphone jack (pink) that connects to my on-board soundcard via the rear panel and another for the headphone drivers (a green jack which plugs into the port which is I believe is normally the speaker out, again on the rear panel). My 2.1 speakers have 2 jacks, a green and a black one, which plug into the black and green port on the on-board sound respectively. So as you can see when I need to plug in my headphones in I have to unplug a green jack and plug in the other.

The problem I see with the splitter described is that I actually need 3 outputs, one for the microphone and then the other 2 for the speakers and headphones themselves. My understanding is that for a switch it will only allow you to switch when the output is the same for all devices. So for example I could run multiple 2.1 setups on a hardware based switch.

The software solution won't work, because as outlined for some reason my front panel doesn't work for mic input and there is a hum on headphones and as explained above I cannot run all the devices from the back panel. Also I don't want wires draping all over the front of my desk. I was hoping there would be a hardware solution, but I'm not knowledgeable enough about how these devices work. I'm sort of fumbling around in the dark at the moment.

How about a £10 USB audio dongle, that would allow both to be plugged in simultaneously and you can use audioswitcher to set which is used by windows easily?

Or a pure audio switcher:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5mm-Headphone-Headset-Speaker-Switch/dp/B00FX0FOBW