Looking for an adapter cable

[1Kurgan1]

See if anyone had ever seen anything like this.

I run a USB 5.1 Headset. And I want to have my game sounds and skype/TS sounds on their own channels for when I record videos, so I can turn the game or voip sounds up/down/off independently.

I have been using Virtual Audio Cable for this. But it's a pain since it gets overflows sometimes. And I can't seem to get 5.1 working with it, so my game sounds basically just get turned into stereo going through it defeating the purpose.

I could just run Skype through my speakers, but then the headset will be blocking out some of the sound, so I will have to have the volume higher and people I'm talking to might be able to hear themselves. So my plan is basically to do this.

Run Skype/TS to my front sound out. Then run that into my headset as well. If I was using a 3.5mm headset it would be super easy doing something like this.


That is minus the dual split at the end, I wouldn't use that part. But since my headset is USB and it's 5.1 I don't want to just buy a 3.5mm to USB adapter and run my headset off that, to do the setup above as once again I will just end up being on stereo then. So I'm looking for a adapter that will allow me to mix that 3.5mm front jack right into my current usb headset, without forcing me to change my headset from usb.

I was wondering if buying a USB to 3.5 would work. Then I would use that, then the split mentioned above, then another 3.5 to usb adapter to get it back into usb. I'm just not sure if the headset would maintain it's 5.1 after being passed through a 3.5mm like that for a while. Anyways, ideas here? And if you get a head ache thinking about this, or even reading it, I'm sorry, I been trying to put it all together in my head, and finally made sense of it, just cant find the adapter I want.

[Jetster]

How about a separate PC just for Skype/TS. It wouldn't have to be much. That would solve all the issues right? Laptop maybe

[1Kurgan1]

Already run 3 PC's in the house, plus the PS3 as a Media server, adding another is a no go. Also would add complications recording audio to a different PC.

But got another idea here. Would something like this work?

I plug my headset into the female end. Then one of the male ends into a USB, and the other male end I get a 3.5mm adapter for that goes to my front 3.5mm.

In theory that should work, but anyone know if it really would? Doing that method is making the adapter I'm looking for basically.

**EDIT**
Seems all the USB Y Splitters like that are meant to deliver more power. The 2nd male USB only has the power pin active, so it won't transfer any information, so it won't work. But the concept is still solid and maybe easier explains what I'm trying to do.

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Same idea here, but seems this cable isn't just for power needs.


Only problem is, no female end for my Headset to connect to. But buying a female to female USB adapter fixes that. So now not sure if this would work though.

[Jetster]

So your headset has a DAC but I dont understand how you plan to get a audio signal out of USB for the 3.5mm

[1Kurgan1]

DAC? Also I don't plan to run USB to the 3.5. I want to run it the other way around, like this.



But I can't find any y type cable like that, that splits a 3.5mm into a USB. which is why I came up with the idea above. Which just adapts one USB to a 3.5mm then the end that goes to the headset adapts to a female. I just want to hear from soneone who hopefully knows more about this, if this will work or not.

[eidairaman1]

Windows 7 made it easy to assign programs to certain outputs

I have a USB Heatset here (no worries i wear it round my neck) with the TS Voice Com going through it

I had my speakers on the Mini TRS Output for games

[BazookaJoe]

What you need is not an adapter or any kind of cable - what you need is a MIXING DECK.

No I'm not being funny.

Simply joining the two sources together can actually damage your sound output devices and depending on a lot of other things even the motherboard power regulators themselves (via long and complicated issues of voltage back-bleed and harmonic sympathetic and non sympathetic resonance and all sorts of other blarby blarb blarb ,malarchy)

A cheap simple audio mixing deck is designed to safely mix multiple audio channels without letting signal bleed back to other sources, and you can find half reasonable ones pretty cheap if you dig online hard enough - for EXAMPLE and example's sake alone here is a Link

Here is another example - YES this device overkill - and I'm not saying buy this one - but something like this on the second hand pages can come up pretty cheap.

You can actually find some nice small hobby mixers if you look hard enough - 6 channels or so - and the beauty is you can adjust the volumes of all sources on the fly.

[Sinzia]

Radio shack... when I worked there in the early 2000's we sold quite a few DJ mixers for not that much cash.

Take all your inputs and put them into the mixer, adjust the volume on the mixer, have only one output that you can take and record/listen to.

[BazookaJoe]

Originally Posted by Sinzia

Radio shack... when I worked there in the early 2000's we sold quite a few DJ mixers for not that much cash.

Take all your inputs and put them into the mixer, adjust the volume on the mixer, have only one output that you can take and record/listen to.

Very true - even something as simple as this might do the job. Just ignore the video inputs.

[Ra97oR]

Please, he is talking about a USB headset, most likely one that requires to install drivers. An analogue mixer won't do a thing in this case.

[eidairaman1]

Originally Posted by Ra97oR

Please, he is talking about a USB headset, most likely one that requires to install drivers. An analogue mixer won't do a thing in this case.

most USB headsets ive encountered didnt need drivers as it installed them

[Jetster]

He might have to switch to a standard headset

[1Kurgan1]

Originally Posted by Ra97oR

Please, he is talking about a USB headset, most likely one that requires to install drivers. An analogue mixer won't do a thing in this case.

Exactly that. Any true 5.1 headset I have seen so far is USB, because they use their own drivers, I have yet to see one that runs RCA's or triple 3.5mm jacks (though they maybe out there). So I don't think any of these mixers would help.

Either way, this headset is only about a month old (and uses it's own drivers), and I also don't want to get virtual surround or just stereo headsets, really don't even want to buy another headset, simply because this one is great and new.

**EDIT** Got the front audio trick working
Updated my drivers, then ran front audio out into front mic in. Turned on Listen to this Device for the front mic. Then set Skype to the front sound out. And bam, now skype sends audio out front 3.5mm jack, into front mic jack, and that front mic sends it's audio to my headset. Problem is, that the mic is sent through the headset from the tower, so it's still recorded anyways.

Think I might just buy the cables and wing it, see if it works.

[Ra97oR]

If you are changing your mind of not getting something new, I would still recommend you doing so. Getting a better source with real set of headphones is a real change.

[1Kurgan1]

Originally Posted by Ra97oR

If you are changing your mind of not getting something new, I would still recommend you doing so. Getting a better source with real set of headphones is a real change.

Theres nothing wrong with my headset... It's just I'm trying to push an analog signal into a digital line, and it seems thats impossible to do. You make it sound like my headset is crap and is causing the limitation (it's very highly rated and is true 5.1 surround), but any USB headset will be the exact same way. And after much searching, I just realized that it will not work with a USB headset.

So I picked up a Trittron Ax Pro 5.1 set since it can connect to analog. And the analog connection I will branch in the analog connection from my front audio out on my case. And hopefully that should be it. Wish I could have found a way to adapt that analog signal into digital, but just doesn't seem possible unless done by the factory itself.