How can trying to use "Headphones" be such a pain in the A**??

[Se7en01]

I know this sounds stupid but I can't figure out how to use my headphones. I use to have Monsoon speakers and an older SB Live card and the monsoon speakers had a headphones connector on the "volume" control. When I plugged the headphones in they overrode the speakers and sound ONLY came out of the headphones.

NOW.... I have a SB Audigy and Creative 5.1 speakers. The speakers have NO headphone plug on the volume control so I have to plug them into the sound card. However, I must UNPLUG the speakers from the input in order to plug in the headphones. When I do this, the volume coming out of the headphones is a constant barely audible level with no control.

My question is two fold....

1. Is there anyway to plug in my headphones without unplugging the 5.1 speakers???

2. How do I get the sound in the headphones to have control??

This is the craziest thing Ive ever seen. I pay $99 for the card and $99 for the speakers, and I can't even use headphones without digging around to the back of my computer and unplugging the speakers???

This is suppose to be the age of convenience and advanced technology...however, this is the most inconvenient thing i've seen as far as computing goes.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

Your best option would be to buy a Live Drive and hook it up to your Audigy. It fits in your 5 1/4 bay and it has a headphone jack with adjustable volume control. It can deliver significantly louder output than through the speaker level out because of the added volume control nobs. it is truly a godsend for those of us who do use headphones. Otherwise, you could get a y-adaptor from radio shack that splits the signal, but i don't reccomend this because it might degrade the sound quality.

 

[Se7en01]

Thanks for the reply. I gues thats what I will have to do. It amazes me that I have to go ths route after paying over $200 for my sound system on my computer.

Thanks again

 

[Bulldog7000]

Go spend $4 on a headphone splitter and plug it into your sound card's Front out. Plug your Headphones in one side and the front speaker cable input into the other side. Problem solved. Cheap too.


BDOG

 

[Cat]

1.) Where can you buy the Live! Drive separately? 2.) It works with the Audigy (seamlessly)?

 

[stevewm]

The outputs on PC soundcards are always at line level, not enough to drive headphones at a usable level. Its not just the Audigy, its all PC soundcards!

 

[Cat]

The Audigy drives my Sony 7506's (same thing as the V6's) just fine.

The Audigy's external and internal drives are about 150 bucks at Creative's online shop, seems a bit steep to me.

 

[iluvdeal]

This is why I love my TB Santa Cruz. I can keep my headphones and 4.1 speakers plugged in at the same time, you pick the one which receives the sound via software.

 

[HumbleFish]

Get a $4.00 Splitter at Radio Shack, like Bulldog7000 said... Problem solved!!!

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

see if you can buy a used live drive 2 off of ebay or here on the forums. They shouldn't run for more than $50.

 

[boran]

Originally posted by: iluvdeal
This is why I love my TB Santa Cruz. I can keep my headphones and 4.1 speakers plugged in at the same time, you pick the one which receives the sound via software.

the hercules fortissimo and muse series of sound cards also has this feature, there are even different 3D positional algorythms used when u use your headhones (because naturally they have another position towards your ears than what boxes would have)

 

[BHeemsoth]

Get a nice USB headset. The one i have can be had for about $50 at staples or best buy. It is great for gaming, and for listening to music.

 

[Se7en01]

USB headset??? Wow, thies sounds promising... You mean I can buy a headset, plug it into ANY usb port and listen to the sounds without having to unplug my speakers?? Tell me its true!