Listening Through Headphones

[SueBee]

I have a new Evesham PC running Windows XP. The CD-RW and DVD drives both have inlets for headphones but when I plug my headphones in the music still comes out of the speakers just the same. (I use the ordinary headphones you'd use to listen to MP3 files.)
How can I listen to music (either from the hard drive or a CD) thru the headphones please? You'll wait till hell freezes over before you can get thru to Evesham Tech Support! Any advice gratefully received!
Sue

[Beta Geek]

Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif

The quick solution would be pull the speaks out of the sound card and plug in your headphones in their place. However, depending on your setup, this may be quite a pain.

Two other options include buying speakers with a headphone jack on them. When you plug in headphones the speakers should automatically disable themselves. Otherwise check this out:
http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?T1=104+0425

[Fruss Tray Ted]

That's an outlet for your headphones not an inlet.

Check This (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27699) out.

[Beta Geek]

If I understand it correctly, you would plug your headphones, speakers, and mic into the switch. The switch passes the mic input straight to one of the audio cords, which you connect directly to the mic jack on your sound card. The other cord connects to the audio out, or speaker jack on your sound card. Then you push the button on top to toggle between the output from the sound card going to your speakers or your headphones. Or am I missing something?

It's basically the exact same thing as the stereo duplex adaptor you suggested, Fruss, except it has a toggle function to switch between the soundcard's output going to your headphones and speakers. And the 54" cords help if you have headphones with a short leash that won't comfortably reach to the back of your case.

On the other hand, the simple duplex adaptor (splitter if you prefer) would definitely be cheaper. Unless of course, you buy it at Radio Shack.

[Sylvander]

I wonder if your setup is anything like mine?
On my sound card I have:
1. SPEAKER OUTPUT
To this I should connect any UNAMPLIFIED loudspeaker or headset.
I connected my headset here. My headset has its own volume control which can reduce but not amplify. If your sound card or PC sound ceases working and you connect to the speaker outlets on the CD drives and they still work then you know the problem is not with the signal supplied by the drive.
2. LINE OUT
This should be used as a signal input to an AMPLIFIER serving loudspeakers. I have connected my amplified loudspeakers here. There is a volume control, and off switch, on the amplifier, so I can reduce the volume or switch off. The loudspeakers have a headphone output socket. If I connect my headset to this socket it disconnects the amplified signal going to the speakers and sends it instead to the headset. So the speakers go silent and the headset produces sound instead.
3. LINE IN
This should be used to input the signal from a pre-amplifier.
[A pre-amplifier takes a signal from a mic or record deck cartridge or whatever and boosts the signal (to line out level) to send it to an amplifier, which boosts it further (to speaker out level) and sends it to speakers.]
I have nothing connected here.
4. MIC IN
This should be used to input the signal coming from a microphone [or other producer of a weak signal like a record deck cartridge]. It has to be much more sensitive than LINE IN, which is less sensitive because it is designed to work with pre-amplified signals, whereas mic signals are not pre-amplified. They are just the very weak signals generated by the compressions and rarefactions of the air vibrations acting on the tiny mic mechanism.
My headset's mic is connected here.

So what do you have?

[SueBee]

Thanks for all your suggestions but I'm afraid I'm totally flummoxed! What is that little gadget (Y adaptor?) for, Fruss? I know I sound thick but is there a really simple solution to listening through headphones rather than the speakers without having to move the base unit out and unplug the speakers themselves? I am grateful to all of you but I must be viewed as a halfwit when it comes to things like this!

[Sylvander]

If your speakers have a volume control on them and you don't want any sound just turn down the volume.
If you dont want them in use just use the on/off switch to switch them off.
Do your speakers have such controls?

Alternatively, you could plug the headphones into the headphone socket on the speakers.
That should mute the speakers and send sound to the headphones.

[SueBee]

Thanks Sylvander and all, I've now resolved this. I checked the little volume control unit for the speakers and it has a headphone outlet in it - should have checked before! This works fine so I can now listen to Ken Dodd's Greatest Hits in private - joking of course, I meant Busted! Grateful for all the replies.

[Sylvander]

Happy listening:) :D :cool:

[Whyzman]

There should be a tab under audio settings that mutes the speakers when the headphones are plugged in...at least with the SoundBlasters...

I would suspect that the others have something similar...