[Solved] 2 Speakers vs Headphone (Xonar STX)

Forum CPU & Components : Sound Cards [Solved] 2 Speakers vs Headphone (Xonar STX)

Hi, I'm a bit confused on what I should be using to connect my headphones to my Xonar STX.

The STX comes with a 6.3mm adapter and the adapter to split the line in into L/R speakers - I have a Sennheiser PC 161 headset. Should I be buying another 6.3mm adapter, to connect both my mic, and line in to the 6.3mm ports? (If I don't, then I don't have a jack for my mic, because the card doesn't have a 3.5mm mic jack, only the 6.3mm. The reason I ask this is of course because I'm using headphones, and not a 2 speaker setup. But I can't use my headset/phones in the headphone jack and have a mic as well without another adapter.

So basically with what I have right now. It's either,

Line in > adapter split into L/R > card
Mic > 3.5 to 6.3 adapter > card

or

Line in > 3.5 to 6.3 adapter > card
No spot for mic without another 6.3 adapter.

Can someone tell me if there's a difference/should I be doing this differently?

Reply to c1o5ry1991

Best answer

I have the Xonar Essence ST, and as you describe, it has a 6.3mm headphone port and a 6.3mm mic in port. To connect a headset to it, you would have to plug the headset into both the headphone port and the mic-in port. So what you need

Headphone line in > 3.5 to 6.3 adapter > card (headphone port)
Mic line in > 3.5 to 6.5 adapter > card (mic in port)

In other words, you'll need to buy a 3.5 to 6.3 adapter. They're pretty cheap on Amazon.

Reply to Bordee

I see, but, is there any benefit to it? My STX came with an adapter that splits the left and right speaker from a single jack (where my headset line in is plugged in right now, because I can use my mic with it.

Reply to c1o5ry1991

The benefit of using the dedicated headphone jack over the split L/R is that you'll get higher quality sound in your headphones using the headphone jack. In games, this might not matter to you, but I find that the sound quality of games using headphones + headphone jack is outstanding using the Xonar Essence. It's your call, but consider that if you plopped down money on a high end soundcard with a headphone amplifier, you might as well use it.

Reply to Bordee

Yeah when I got just the single 6.3mm I was confused because then I had no space for my mic. I'll be ordering another adapter, thanks.

Reply to c1o5ry1991

Best answer selected by c1o5ry1991.

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Reply to c1o5ry1991