Cheap optical speakers?

J

joker_927

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May 30, 2005
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I have been trouble shooting the strangest problem I have ever encountered in my 20 years of computer use. The long story short is that my PC will not produce sound through any analog plugs. Yes, I even added in a descrete sound card. Sound does however come from the digital (optical) port and the HDMI port.

The only option I see is for me to get an optical to analog converter (but those are $60 and arent exactly versatile gadgets to have around) or get a set of speakers that support optical input. I found a few through searching the net but was surprised they are all $100+.

Any speakers recommendations would be helpful. Or maybe a suggestion for something else.
 
Strange problem, one that I'd like to look at deeper. However, I think what you need is a cheap USB soundcard.

Search for "USB sound card" on your favorite retailer and you'll find plenty with a wide range of prices.
 
joker_927 said:
I have been trouble shooting the strangest problem I have ever encountered in my 20 years of computer use. The long story short is that my PC will not produce sound through any analog plugs. Yes, I even added in a descrete sound card. Sound does however come from the digital (optical) port and the HDMI port.
Click to expand...

Right click your Windows volume icon and select playback devices. For each device in the list, right click it and select "Set as Default Device." Close your audio player and re-open it. Check if it outputs sound over your speakers. Hopefully you just have it set to the wrong one.

Also, no offense intended here but I have no idea how familiar you are with audio stuff, so just to check: You are using the light green jack, right?

The suggestion of a USB audio device is terrible. At least without doing some troubleshooting first.
 
I appreciate the advice, everyone. USB sound cards are dirt cheap I bought one just to try it out.

dandragonrage, thanks for your suggestions. I have spent many hours troubleshooting this issue. I have quadruple checked that the correct output device is selected (this is the same config dialogue I must use to switch to optical). Not only am I plugged into the green jack but I a have rerouted the sound to other jacks using the RealTek audio software with no results. I have tried the front panel connector as well. I believe the on board audio has simply died but that doesn't explain how I get sound through the optical connection. Also why does plugging in another cheap used sound card not work either? Maybe because that sound card is busted too and I just have bad luck... Again, everything work a week ago and then just stopped.
 
Still odd that both onboard and an add in sound card would fail to work. Have you explored your windows sound device settings and volume mixer to rule out possible problems there?
 
Last edited:
John721 said:
Still odd that both onboardand an add in sound card would fail to work. Have you explored your windows sound device settings and volume mixer to rule out possible problems there?
Click to expand...

If he was using the same bad analog cable for both soundcards.. that could explain why both cards didn't work over analog.
 
Or maybe there is a needed file that is corrupted or infected for the analog sound to work.

Has a clean install of Windows been tried? (wipe drive or use a different drive)
 
Here's one for free, 100% optical:

animated-loudspeaker-image-0010.gif
 
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