URGENT (please) - Audio Output??

wacjac · 23 Oct 2020 at 15:14

Hi folks, over the last couple of days I've had a couple of threads about moving away from built PC to a Lenovo SFF (M720q) machine.... I have one on order and due to be delivered in a couple of days, but possibly luckily I've just noticed on the PDF datasheet that there is no green 3.5mm phono jack for audio output!! There's a jackplug on the front for headphones. How the hell am I supposed to get audio out of the thing into my good 2.1 computer speakers? I notice that you can buy these things - https://tinyurl.com/y2974nbg or https://tinyurl.com/y6hax4hz - will these do the job? I'm out of touch with these kind of things nowadays and just can't belive there's no audio output on one of these PCs!! Anyone got one, if so how do you do it? I'll have to cancel the order if I can't sort this out very soon.

Cheers all

Arsonist · 23 Oct 2020 at 18:32

Doesn't it have the mic and headphone jack on the front? Appears to in all pics and in the spec on their website;

Front Ports

USB 3.1 Gen 2 (with up to 10 Gbps data transfer)
USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (with up to 5 Gbps data transfer)
Microphone
Headphone/microphone combo jack

Combat squirrel · 23 Oct 2020 at 18:59

Use what's on board or invest in some decent USB audio if you want decent sound

wacjac · 23 Oct 2020 at 20:16

Arsonist said:
Doesn't it have the mic and headphone jack on the front? Appears to in all pics and in the spec on their website;

Front Ports

USB 3.1 Gen 2 (with up to 10 Gbps data transfer)

USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (with up to 5 Gbps data transfer)

Microphone

Headphone/microphone combo jack

Yeah, it does, but I don't want to have to leave the speakers plugged permanently into the front of the PC...I get the impression that connection is just for occasional plugging in of headphones. I'm unsure if the output is of good enough signal strength/quality for larger speakers rather than just headphones. Very strange.

wacjac · 23 Oct 2020 at 20:19

Combat squirrel said:
Use what's on board or invest in some decent USB audio if you want decent sound

Since my original post I've been having a sniff around and it appears you can indeed get USB speakers which take their signal through the USB rather than the other 99% which all seem to require a 3.5mm audio jack input. Quite few and far between though.

Combat squirrel · 23 Oct 2020 at 21:04

wacjac said:
Since my original post I've been having a sniff around and it appears you can indeed get USB speakers which take their signal through the USB rather than the other 99% which all seem to require a 3.5mm audio jack input. Quite few and far between though.

Nooo usb sound card, not speakers, you can then attach any speakers you like to the USB sound card (most cards have 3.5mm audio jacks), also you get significantly better audio, speakers depending

several here to choose from:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/pc-components/sound-cards/usb-sound-cards

wacjac · 23 Oct 2020 at 21:33

Combat squirrel said:
Nooo usb sound card, not speakers, you can then attach any speakers you like to the USB sound card (most cards have 3.5mm audio jacks), also you get significantly better audio, speakers depending

several here to choose from:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/pc-components/sound-cards/usb-sound-cards

Cheers Combat Squirrel - So this is the answer then? External USB soundcard which accepts the 3.5mm audio jackplug? There are millions of these all over the internet, but I've yet to see one which doesn't show it expressly for headphones rather than actual computer speakers..? Is there even a difference?

adrichardson81 · 24 Oct 2020 at 11:39

A USB soundcard will also sound a lot better. Creative has some good options that won't break the bank. The Fiio e10k is also good value for money. Anything over £100 takes you into audiophile territory, in which case I recommend the Topping DX3 Pro.

Combat squirrel · 24 Oct 2020 at 11:42

wacjac said:
Cheers Combat Squirrel - So this is the answer then? External USB soundcard which accepts the 3.5mm audio jackplug? There are millions of these all over the internet, but I've yet to see one which doesn't show it expressly for headphones rather than actual computer speakers..? Is there even a difference?

Not much of a difference, as adrichardson81 says, you will get a lot better audio quality from a dedicated sound card - depending on your budget, from overclockers link, any of them upto £80 will do you a fine job sir. The £59 creative one looks good and will do a good job with speakers, but also in future if you decide to get new speakers or headphones your options are there.

geekyadz · 24 Oct 2020 at 12:43

wacjac said:
Hi folks, over the last couple of days I've had a couple of threads about moving away from built PC to a Lenovo SFF (M720q) machine.... I have one on order and due to be delivered in a couple of days, but possibly luckily I've just noticed on the PDF datasheet that there is no green 3.5mm phono jack for audio output!! There's a jackplug on the front for headphones. How the hell am I supposed to get audio out of the thing into my good 2.1 computer speakers? I notice that you can buy these things - https://tinyurl.com/y2974nbg or https://tinyurl.com/y6hax4hz - will these do the job? I'm out of touch with these kind of things nowadays and just can't belive there's no audio output on one of these PCs!! Anyone got one, if so how do you do it? I'll have to cancel the order if I can't sort this out very soon.

Cheers all

Ironically that's what the headphone jack is: a 3.5mm jack. I've had someone connect speakers to it in the pass and it has been fine.

Chaos666 · 24 Oct 2020 at 20:56

like others said ... connect an usb sound card on the back or just buy a splitter for the front panel (i imagine it should come with the case) and just route the cable nicely to the back..
USB soundcard will be a cleaner looking option though