Splitting speakers between PC and TV

[greycobalt]

This can get confusing to explain, so I'll try to lay it out as basic as possible.

The speakers on my TV are dying, and they sound awful. However, I just got new speakers for my computer that sound great (Klipsch ProMedia 2.1), so I decided to split it with the TV/PC. Here's what I did:

I bought a Y splitter for the speakers, so the main 3.5mm is going into that. One standard 3.5mm is going into my computer from it, and the other is going into an adapter that turns it into an RCA (white/red) cable. I've plugged the RCA cable into the back of my TV under "audio out".

The problem is, with the Xbox on, the only way I hear sound is if the speakers are at maximum volume (which is ludicrously loud normally), and it just barely squeaks out. However, my computer still puts out sound normally, so the splitter is at least letting the sound through somewhere. I realize HDMI is designed to carry sound and video, so does the TV override that with an "audio out" port being occupied? Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about, or any ideas? Much appreciated! I drew a little diagram with MS Paint on my setup. Go easy on me. 😉

 

[photonboy]

I think your Audio from the TV is simply too weak of a signal to be amplified enough.

The TV is just taking whatever audio input it has (in this case through HDMI) and creating an output.

You have two volume controls:
1) The PC speakers, and
2) The TV itself


Other:
1) I'm guessing that you can DISABLE the TV speakers in the settings. Do that if you haven't done so and it's possible.

2) Also try the PC speakers with the TV only just to be sure there's no issues with grounding the audio signal through the PC (no idea).

 

[greycobalt]

I think your Audio from the TV is simply too weak of a signal to be amplified enough.

The TV is just taking whatever audio input it has (in this case through HDMI) and creating an output.

You have two volume controls:
1) The PC speakers, and
2) The TV itself


Other:
1) I'm guessing that you can DISABLE the TV speakers in the settings. Do that if you haven't done so and it's possible.

2) Also try the PC speakers with the TV only just to be sure there's no issues with grounding the audio signal through the PC (no idea).

That's what I thought as well. I guess I should have included that when I directly tied the speakers into the TV through the adapter, without the computer, it worked great. Sound came out of the TV speakers and the Klipsch speakers.

Just now, I tried turning off the TV speakers (which is just changing it from "TV Speakers" to "Audio System", and nothing worked. I still have to have my volume all the way up to have even a smidgen of sound.

 

[greycobalt]

So I got what I wanted to work...in a weird way. My TV is hooked to my PC through an HDMI cable. So I plugged the speakers directly into the TV, told the TV to use an audio system, and told the computer to get its sound from HDMI. When I did all this, The TV sound came through the speakers perfect, and the PC sound came through the speakers perfect.

The only problem with this setup is, the PC is only giving off sound when I'm on the PC input. If I'm on the Xbox input, no sound will come out from my speakers that originated on the computer. It seems trivial, but my ideal scenario would be to have sound coming out of both at optimum levels without it being input-specific.

 

[photonboy]

So I got what I wanted to work...in a weird way. My TV is hooked to my PC through an HDMI cable. So I plugged the speakers directly into the TV, told the TV to use an audio system, and told the computer to get its sound from HDMI. When I did all this, The TV sound came through the speakers perfect, and the PC sound came through the speakers perfect.

The only problem with this setup is, the PC is only giving off sound when I'm on the PC input. If I'm on the Xbox input, no sound will come out from my speakers that originated on the computer. It seems trivial, but my ideal scenario would be to have sound coming out of both at optimum levels without it being input-specific.

I'm not sure, but it sounds that because HDMI is digital that works, but trying to split 3.5mm (analog) doesn't work well because the signal is being reduced when attached to multiple devices.

In general, DIGITAL either works or it doesn't which is why a $5 HDMI cable is exactly equal to a $300 HDMI cable provided both work. Analog however can be changed.