How should i get this audio setup?

[robrev6]

Hi, and thanks for looking at my question. I have a thermaltake level 10 gt case, and the front audio ports are broken. (apparently this has happened to a bunch of people according to reviews.) I need to get speakers for it, but i also want to be able to plug in headphones without unplugging the speakers. I am going to get a new monitor, so i got the idea of plugging it in using hdmi so i can use the integrated sound card that my gtx 770 has. (does anybody know if those gpu sound cards are decent?). The monitor i am looking at is an Acer S2 S242HLBwid

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009589&nm_mc=EMC-EXPRESS010414&cm_mmc=EMC-EXPRESS010414-_-EMC-010414-Index-_-LCDMonitors-_-24009589-L06C

If you have any suggestions for a different monitor in the same price range, please feel free to suggest them. Anyways, i am confused about whether or not this monitor has an audio out jack. If it does, could i put a splitter on it and plug in both my headphones and my speakers? ( Logitech Z506 75. Again if you have any suggestions for alternative speakers in the same price range i would be happy to see them.) I was confused again because if i plugged headphones into a splitter, would it still automatically mute the speakers? If somebody could help me figure out this whole situation, that would be great. Thanks!

 

[DarkSable]

Your GPU doesn't actually have a sound card, it just has a passthrough, so it takes the motherboard's sound output and sends it through hdmi.

You could either get a replacement front panel, turn your computer around and plug the headphones into the motherboard directly, or, the easier solution...

why not just get speakers that have a headphone port? That way you plug your speakers into the back of your motherboard, and when you want to use your headphones, you plug them into the port on the integrated amp. That seems like it makes a lot more sense than anything else.

 

[robrev6]

Your GPU doesn't actually have a sound card, it just has a passthrough, so it takes the motherboard's sound output and sends it through hdmi.

You could either get a replacement front panel, turn your computer around and plug the headphones into the motherboard directly, or, the easier solution...

why not just get speakers that have a headphone port? That way you plug your speakers into the back of your motherboard, and when you want to use your headphones, you plug them into the port on the integrated amp. That seems like it makes a lot more sense than anything else.

Do you have any suggestions for speakers in that price range with a headphone out?

 

[DarkSable]

Not a clue, sorry. I jumped straight from $20 2.1 computer speakers to a $2000+ 2.1 setup when I learned to solder and repaired my dad's old receiver - surround for me has always come from headphones designed for gaming, because I'd rather have my speakers just be good quality for when I'm listening to music.

That being said, however, take a look at the fifth picture on the newegg image list, of the two front speakers. Right there on the left speaker is, in fact, a headphone port. That means you're golden - just plug that set of speakers into the back of your motherboard like you would normally, and then when you want to listen through your headphones, plug them into the speakers. Only thing is that you might not have a mic connection that way - easily fixed with a standalone mic that's always plugged into the back of your computer, a webcam mic, or simply a 3.5" extender going from the back of your motherboard's mic-in to next to the front left speaker that you plug in your headphone to the speaker and your mic to the extender.