Do I need a separate microphone for pc?

TheGreenForest

Estimable
Dec 6, 2015
2
0
4,510
So I recently bought a headphone splitter thinking that I could use my built-in microphone in my earbud headphones to talk with my friends on such apps like Discord. However it doesn't seem to work no matter what method I followed. I've spent hours on different forums and I came to the conclusion that I may just need a separate microphone to talk to others, or use headphones with mics that are compatible with PC's. Any thoughts on the matter?

Just in case here's what my earbuds look like: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-earbud-headphones-blue/4909014.p?skuId=4909014
 
Solution


PC's usually only use seperate connections for audio and microphone input/ouput therefore the earbuds you have will not input your voice into the PC to allow it to...

shanetemple14

Estimable
Nov 2, 2014
4
0
4,520


PC's usually only use seperate connections for audio and microphone input/ouput therefore the earbuds you have will not input your voice into the PC to allow it to transmit over the internet. Your headphones will work on your phone/tablet etc because they will be designed to support the poles on your headphones jack whereas PC audio ports only support specific poles for specific roles (eg audio ouput, microphone input).

External microphones can be extremely cheap or extremely expensive depending on what you go for. You can get external on the desk mic's for less than $20.

Hope this helped :)
 
Solution

TheGreenForest

Estimable
Dec 6, 2015
2
0
4,510


So it would be possible to have my earbuds be plugged into the output on the back io port and have an external mic be connected to the mic in port? What if I use an audio interface, would I simply connect the mic to the interface and have that be connected to the mic in port?
 

shanetemple14

Estimable
Nov 2, 2014
4
0
4,520


Yes you can have earbuds in one port and mic in the other. Not sure about the interface option as I have never used one.