Using 2 Mics on 1 sound card with a splitter

[techievamps]

Hello everyone.
Im here to see if any one knows how i would be able to setup 2 standard Mics on a Sound Blaster Audigy card. I have a headset and stand up mic and would like to be able to switch back and front while others in my house are sleeping to not wake them. splitting the output sound isnt a problem.
If any one knows how to(of course we are doing this the poor mans way) please let me know.
Thanks for all your help.
Vamps

 

[Zinosys]

Hello and welcome to the Tom's Hardware Forums.

If your case has a front panel, the best choice would be to plug your desktop mic into the back, and your headset into the front. Plug in your headset when you're ready to use it, and voila! That's what I do, and even though it's a bit silly, it's very effective.

This should do, or you could get a more expensive one:

http://www.amazon.com/RiteAV-3-5mm-Splitter/dp/B000V1O1KS

Just google "3.5 splitter".

Cheers.

 

[techievamps]

I do have a 3.5 splitter that i bought at radio shack, very similar to the one you linked. i am thinking that by what your sayin that i could just plug the splitter in to the mic in port and plug in both mics leaving one muted(both have on off switches) while not in use?
yes my pc does have a front panel audio, but its not the SB that is linked with the front audio. which concludes i have 2 sound cards in my pc.
lemme know and thanks for the response Zino

 

[Zinosys]

Not a problem.

i am thinking that by what your sayin that i could just plug the splitter in to the mic in port and plug in both mics leaving one muted(both have on off switches) while not in use?

Exactly. That should definitely work. You might notice if you leave both of them on, that 1. You'll get sound from both mics, and 2. The the sound will be really faint and quiet. Turn on only one mic at a time, and you should be good.

Is your PC custom? If you have a modern sound card, it might have a front panel connector.

Like this one: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006

But yes, to answer your question, you can absolutely split the mic in, and turn on only one mic at a time.

In order to significantly decrease your future level of frustration P), you can see if your better sound card supports a front panel connector. Most likely, you have an onboard sound card and an external one. In most cases, the front panel audio is connected to the onboard card, leaving your poor external one without a panel connector. So, if you have the time, it's definitely worth the 5-15 minutes to remedy this situation.

Cheers, and good luck!

 

[techievamps]

my Dell pc does actually have a front panel audio, as mentioned it is connected to the onboard sound card, which is not the sound blaster. the onboard card is a Sigmatel card. the card i'm using for voice communication is the Sound Blaster(secondary card) not the Sigmatel. but in windows the Sound Blaster is set to default/primary card. hopefully this all makes sense.
thanks agian Zino.

 

[Zinosys]

Again, not a problem!

Makes perfect sense. Is it possible you could get the model of the sound card? I think Device Manager should be able to say what model it is...

Hopefully the SB has a Front panel audio connector, and the connector in the dell is not proprietary.

But if it doesn't bother you to turn on and off the mics, then it's not worth it. If we can do it, why not?

Cheers.

 

[techievamps]

Zino,
Device Manager show it as a SB Audigy and i know from the card the model number there says sb0570. I do know there is a white cased pin set at the end of the card which i believe is a panel connector pin. as for the Front Panel of the dell, i've not yet looked at that. i will be lookin in to that soon to see A where it leads to and B what the adaptor end looks like. I would agree that i would much rather plug a headset in to that front panel then to have to runn a few extra cords to do almost the same.

 

[Zinosys]

Eh, bad news (don't shoot the messenger )

The white jack is proprietary. I'm not really sure if you can connect your front panel or not. More info: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/242327-28-front-panel-sound-ports

Well, you have to decide from here.