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Audio Out as Audio In

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DrakonSan

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 8, 2005
Messages
340
Does anyone know of any kind of virtual audio device that would allow me to use my audio out as my audio in? Essentially, I want to recreate creative labs "What U Hear" recording option on my laptop's crappy integrated sigmatel/IDT audio.

What I am not looking for: Audacity, TotalRecord or any other program that RECORDS off the audio out.

I have tried Virtual Audio Cable, but it requires any program that creates audio be able to specify one of its virtual cables as the target device. It will not do what I need.

I need to be able to select my Audio Out as a recording device.
 
just to clarify here:
you want to plug a source component (like a CD player or the output of an electric guitar preamp) into the "Audio Output" jack of your laptop, and record the signal from the source component INTO your computer?

doesn't work that way, unless the jack is designed to go both ways, a very select few are
 
I want to plug nothing into my computer, but I want it to act as though I've plugged a male-male cable from my headphone jack into my mic jack WITHOUT disabling either jack.
 
application called AudioRepeater or something like that, should be freeware still
 
on my Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, it allows you to reconfigure audio ports. you can reconfigure an audio out into an audio in, vice versa, et cetera. I dont know if you can do this if its not supported on the hardware level, so i really dont know man.
 
hmm. ok, so you want a stereomix recording option. That shouldnt be hard at all. You want to record audio streams?
 
marylandman said:
on my Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, it allows you to reconfigure audio ports. you can reconfigure an audio out into an audio in, vice versa, et cetera. I dont know if you can do this if its not supported on the hardware level, so i really dont know man.
Click to expand...
marylandman said:
hmm. ok, so you want a stereomix recording option. That shouldnt be hard at all. You want to record audio streams?
Click to expand...
marylandman said:
you made no sense. you said you dont want to record off the audio out, but you need to be able to record from the audio out? http://www.sound-recorder.com/
Click to expand...

Three posts in under ten minutes...

1st) My hardware on my laptop is a crappy onboard chip as I noted in my OP. Hardware does not naitively support what I want to do.
2nd) Yes, that's what I want, but my hardware/driver do not support the standard stereo mix option that would usually solve my problem.
3rd) As mentioned in my OP I do not want to RECORD audio. I want to stream the Audio Out (what plays through my speakers) as my Audio In (what comes in over my mic) without using a hardware cable to plug between the two jacks.

ajhodges said:
You mean like a stereo mix?
Click to expand...
Yes, but my driver doesn't support that. I need a 3rd party solution or a hacked driver for a Gateway P-171X FX's "IDT High Definition Audio CODEC" onboard chip.

obobski said:
application called AudioRepeater or something like that, should be freeware still
Click to expand...
AudioRepeater is a part of VirtualAudioCable that will allow me to repeat a Line-In as a Line-Out. I need the opposite, to repeat a Line-Out as a Line-In.
 
he wants to stream audio from the PC's wave/etc mix, like mp3s, over his input mix (i.e: what software views as "the mic"),to simplify: so when he's TK'ing he can blast MC Hammer - Can't Touch This, or trolling Vent he can blast Chris Hansen soundboards or Ted Stevens - Series of Tubes

it actually is recording, except the data isn't being stored anywhere, its just playing back, AudioRepeater/your sound drivers should handle this functionality, if it doesn't, your options are A) get a cable for $0.50, B) see A
 
obobski said:
he wants to stream audio from the PC's wave/etc mix, like mp3s, over his input mix (i.e: what software views as "the mic"),to simplify: so when he's TK'ing he can blast MC Hammer - Can't Touch This, or trolling Vent he can blast Chris Hansen soundboards or Ted Stevens - Series of Tubes

it actually is recording, except the data isn't being stored anywhere, its just playing back, AudioRepeater/your sound drivers should handle this functionality, if it doesn't, your options are A) get a cable for $0.50, B) see A
Click to expand...

Got the gist of it. Unfortunately, AudioRepeater only lets me stream my Audio In to my Audio Out (aka mic loopback so I can hear how I sound over the mic). Using a patch cable means I can't hear any of the audio output and can't use my mic.

I talked to my local audiophile and ran the following scenario by him: 2 Y cables and 1 patch cable:
Code: 
To headphone  To Mic
           |  |
            YY
To Head Jack  To Mic Jack
He says it won't work, that the Y splitters will convert the stereo stream into two monaural streams and joining the mic up with the other splitter will just cause massive problems for recording/streaming. I want a second opinion, though.
 
the y splitters won't make it mono streams unless you get a Y Stereo -> 2x Mono splitter, but you can get Stereo -> 2x Stereo splitters (kids use them all the time with ipods)

you'll just have the mic/line input with the audio output and the mic plugged into it, the mic is mono and will probably end up on one channel unless you build something to take care of that, and you'll have to turn mic gain off or otherwise toy with the signal coming back into the line input (ok so say you set the PC's output volume at 50%, and then the mic plugged in, turn gain boost on, and turn the mic input to 100%, something like that)

and then another Y splitter, stereo to 2x stereo on the output, one goes to feed the input, and one goes to feed your speakers/headphones/whatever, adjust the playback volume externally or you risk damaging the mic preamplifier section by driving it way too hot
 
Right, so

1) 2x Y-splitters Stereo in, stereo out, 1x stereo patch cable.

2) Start volumes low on the PC end and test record until playback is balanced between the wave mix and the incoming mic feed.

3) Handle what /I/ want to hear on my headphones with the headphone's volume dial.

4) ????

5) PROFIT
 
yeah, thats basically it

I can't stress enough to be careful with the "output" volume from the PC and the damage you could cause to the mic input, if you have to raise that to amplify the micrphone up higher, lower the PC volume a slight bit as well, go slow, and toy with it until it works how you want (or roughly how you want)
 
Sweet! I <3 you! Totally deserving of that Gawd title.

I'll start by getting the mic volume up to what I want, then adding the pc volume (from 0% in 5% units) until it meshes well.

My audiophile said that as long as I'm not using an external amp (which I'm not), that the output and input jacks should be just fine with whatever the PC's volume is set at, but I've read other warnings elsewhere about the same thing so I'ma defer to the "slow and steady" process.

EDIT: Would "mic boost" in the sound panel on Windows be what you mean by the "microphone pre-amp" or "gain boost"? (I'm assuming mic boost = gain boost for now. I usually have it on all the way up because my mic is a cheapo logitec headset and I sound like a mouse in a warehouse.)
 
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mic boost is just extra gain (probably digital gain) in order to compensate for the microphone's drive requirements (think of the microphone as a backwards speaker, instead of taking a signal and moving air, its taking moving air and creating a signal, it needs power to do this (has to be able to create a voltage difference from "something"))

the issue is driving a "line" signal (say 100% 0.0 dB output from your line out port, which is probably something like 2 or 3 Vrms) into the mic input at 100% + 6dB or 8dB boost, you'll risk burning something up

I would just set the line input/etc at a suitable level, say 70-80%, and add the line insert as you planned to do, the only issue might be getting the mic loud enough, you'll really just have to play with it (and basically accept whatever level output your amplifier is getting for headphones/speakers, this shouldn't be a huge problem if your amplifier isn't a total piece (it should be able to handle a somewhat undervolted signal without burning itself up))
 
I tried the setup and this is what happened:

Everyone could hear the stream from the audio out through the mic, nobody could hear the mic. This was when the audio out was at 5% and the mic was at 80% (no boost). Unfortunately, even with my headset volume all the way up, I could not hear the audio out.

Magically, if I unplugged the loop from the audio out to the mic, people could hear my mic again. The poorman's mixer didn't work :(
 
The reason you're not able to hear your mic in that configuration is because of the difference between line level and mic level voltages. Basically, line level=loud, mic level=quiet. To properly mix the two you would need to attenuate your output signal to mic level voltage and then combine it with the output of your microphone before it hits your soundcard input.

So if you want to do it in the hardware realm, you'll need to figure out what resistors are needed to drop your output level. There's some good reading here:

http://www.uneeda-audio.com/pads/

and here:

http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/line_to_mic.html

To combine your signals look here:

http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/linesum.html

I'm curious though, what exactly is the limitation you're finding with VAC?
 
Laird said:
I'm curious though, what exactly is the limitation you're finding with VAC?
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VAC requires that the program specify VAC's virtual cable as the output device. I need something that will capture all sound WITHOUT requiring the program to target it.

Even if I use audio repeater, I can't select my wave out as my wave in. Here's a picture:
repeater.png

If I could select the speaker option as one of the "Wave In" options and the mic option for the "Wave Out," everything would be golden.
 
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