New Headphones - where should I plug them in?

flashdrive

New member
Member
Local time
6:59 PM
Messages
75
This post may seem a little silly, but I'm confoosed.

I'm getting a set of headphones (Sony MDRXB450AP) for my PC (Win 7 64-bit). I have a mobo (GIGABYTE P35-DS4) with a headphone jack in the front and also a plug in the back (I believe it's just a "line in" plug). I also have a Diamond Xtreme sound card (XS51), which also has a blue "line in" plug (I'm assuming the headphones get plugged into the 'line in' jacks?).

The mobo has the Realtek audio/audio manager (which I haven't installed yet) and then there's the soundcard, but I also have Logitech surround speakers which also have a jack. So I'm wondering what is the best place to plug these headphones in?

Thanks for any help
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 64BitIntel Core 2 Quad Q6600G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GBASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Motherboard
GIGABYTE P35-DS4
Memory
G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GB
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Sound Card
Diamond XS51 Xtreme 5.1
Monitor(s) Displays
(2) DELL S2340M 23" HD LEDs
Hard Drives
Seagate ST1000DM003-1ER162 1TB | Seagate ST500DM002-1BD142 500GB | ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD+R DL
PSU
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
Case
Ultra m998
Cooling
ThermalRight Ultra 120E
Keyboard
Logitech K811, K360
Mouse
Logitech Performance MX
Actually, now that I'm considering this, I realized that the jacks on the mobo were faulty. That's why I got the sound card, which my Logitech speakers are plugged in to. So I'm just wondering which place would be better for the headphones - the sound card, or the jack on the speakers themselves.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 64BitIntel Core 2 Quad Q6600G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GBASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Motherboard
GIGABYTE P35-DS4
Memory
G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GB
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Sound Card
Diamond XS51 Xtreme 5.1
Monitor(s) Displays
(2) DELL S2340M 23" HD LEDs
Hard Drives
Seagate ST1000DM003-1ER162 1TB | Seagate ST500DM002-1BD142 500GB | ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD+R DL
PSU
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
Case
Ultra m998
Cooling
ThermalRight Ultra 120E
Keyboard
Logitech K811, K360
Mouse
Logitech Performance MX
Because I don't the answer, I have an idea for you: just before you plug the headphones into each available port, turn the sound all the way down and very slowly turn up the volume while you're listening via the headphones. You can probably tell by what you hear from both ports which one is the best match.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Professional 64-bitDesktop i5; Acers i5 & i7desktop 16GB; 1 Acer 8GB & 1 Acer 16GB
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Antec desktop; Acer Aspire laptops
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
CPU
Desktop i5; Acers i5 & i7
Memory
desktop 16GB; 1 Acer 8GB & 1 Acer 16GB
Hard Drives
1TB split into 2 equal partitions [OS and data] usable by RJS
Internet Speed
AT&T DSL
Browser
FF, GChrome, msIE
Other Info
Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM/AV, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
Thanks, Roland. I'll do that. Like I said, it was a silly question, lol.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 64BitIntel Core 2 Quad Q6600G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GBASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Motherboard
GIGABYTE P35-DS4
Memory
G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GB
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Sound Card
Diamond XS51 Xtreme 5.1
Monitor(s) Displays
(2) DELL S2340M 23" HD LEDs
Hard Drives
Seagate ST1000DM003-1ER162 1TB | Seagate ST500DM002-1BD142 500GB | ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD+R DL
PSU
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
Case
Ultra m998
Cooling
ThermalRight Ultra 120E
Keyboard
Logitech K811, K360
Mouse
Logitech Performance MX
Thanks, Roland. I'll do that. Like I said, it was a silly question, lol.
Not at all silly, impedence levels do play a part from time to time; because often a particular plug and a particular jack works the best all-around -- your question is certainly not silly :)
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Professional 64-bitDesktop i5; Acers i5 & i7desktop 16GB; 1 Acer 8GB & 1 Acer 16GB
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Antec desktop; Acer Aspire laptops
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
CPU
Desktop i5; Acers i5 & i7
Memory
desktop 16GB; 1 Acer 8GB & 1 Acer 16GB
Hard Drives
1TB split into 2 equal partitions [OS and data] usable by RJS
Internet Speed
AT&T DSL
Browser
FF, GChrome, msIE
Other Info
Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM/AV, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
Thanks. Do you think if I get a longer extension plug for the headphones that it would effect the sound?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 64BitIntel Core 2 Quad Q6600G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GBASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Motherboard
GIGABYTE P35-DS4
Memory
G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GB
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Sound Card
Diamond XS51 Xtreme 5.1
Monitor(s) Displays
(2) DELL S2340M 23" HD LEDs
Hard Drives
Seagate ST1000DM003-1ER162 1TB | Seagate ST500DM002-1BD142 500GB | ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD+R DL
PSU
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
Case
Ultra m998
Cooling
ThermalRight Ultra 120E
Keyboard
Logitech K811, K360
Mouse
Logitech Performance MX
Other than maybe, possibly, having to turn up the volume a teeny tiny bit - should have no effect.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Professional 64-bitDesktop i5; Acers i5 & i7desktop 16GB; 1 Acer 8GB & 1 Acer 16GB
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Antec desktop; Acer Aspire laptops
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
CPU
Desktop i5; Acers i5 & i7
Memory
desktop 16GB; 1 Acer 8GB & 1 Acer 16GB
Hard Drives
1TB split into 2 equal partitions [OS and data] usable by RJS
Internet Speed
AT&T DSL
Browser
FF, GChrome, msIE
Other Info
Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM/AV, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
Thanks for your advice, Roland. Works great. Actually pretty decent headphones for twenty bucks.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 64BitIntel Core 2 Quad Q6600G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GBASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Motherboard
GIGABYTE P35-DS4
Memory
G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GB
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Sound Card
Diamond XS51 Xtreme 5.1
Monitor(s) Displays
(2) DELL S2340M 23" HD LEDs
Hard Drives
Seagate ST1000DM003-1ER162 1TB | Seagate ST500DM002-1BD142 500GB | ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD+R DL
PSU
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
Case
Ultra m998
Cooling
ThermalRight Ultra 120E
Keyboard
Logitech K811, K360
Mouse
Logitech Performance MX
Just one bit of clarification the Stereo Output port on Computer systems (Front & Back M/B ports) and Sound Card Ports are usually Green not Blue.

Blue is an input port and will generally give low volume, low quality sound if anything at all.

If you have disabled the on-board sound when you added the sound card, the front ports will be disabled, unless you connect the front port connector from the front panel to the correct Sound card connector, (on the card itself, not the back plate).

Once you have the connections for the sound card correctly connected you should be able to connect the existing speakers to the rear output on the card (Green). When you connect the headphones to the front panel Headphone jack the speakers will be automatically muted.

Also if intending to use a headset which includes a Microphone then you will need either a set with two plugs, green (Headphones) and Pink, (Microphone). If your headphones have an in-built Mic and have a single plug (is designed for use with Phones and tablets then you will need a special adaptor for computer use

If you look at the diagram below it shows the three main types of jack plug for audio use - The left hand is the one used on a mono Microphone the middle is the one normally used on a stereo output such as speakers, and the right hand is the one used on the headphones you have with a stereo output and a Mic.

As you can see the centre and right hand plugs have subtle differences Fitting either plug into the other's matched socket is likely to result in cross connection between the Ring and Sleve connections that can result in distortion and / or loss of sound channels

main-qimg-477ea063d3bb3390f70006bc99f6352a-c
 
Last edited:

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest Release and Releas...Ryzen 9 5950X, 3.8 - 5.2 MHz64GB [2 x 32GB] DDR4 3200MHz4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 Ti
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    ChillBlast - Custom to my design
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest Release and Release Preview]
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5950X, 3.8 - 5.2 MHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime X570-Pro
    Memory
    64GB [2 x 32GB] DDR4 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 Ti
    Sound Card
    On-board SPDIF to 5.1 System + HDMI [5.1 system]
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" UHD 32 Bit HDR Monitor + 43" UHD 4K 32Bit HDR TV
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 3840 x 2160 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    1TB M2 SSD OS, 500GB Fast Access SSD, 2 x 8TB Data + Various Externals from 1TB to 4TB, 10TB NAS
    PSU
    NZXT C750 80 PLUS Gold 750W Modular PSU
    Case
    Workstation Case [Matt Black]
    Cooling
    NZXT Kraken X63 280mm CPU Cooler +2x Quiet Case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless MX Keys & K400 + others
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless MX Master 3S
    Internet Speed
    920 MB Down 50 MB Up
    Antivirus
    BitDefender Total Security Pro
    Browser
    Chrome (always run latest Non-Beta)
    Other Info
    Also run ...
    Laptop - Quad 8GB - Windows 10 Pro x64
    Nexus 7 Android tablet x2
    Samsung 10.2" tablet
    Blackview TAB 8 4G Android Tablet c/w Keyboard
    Wacom Intuos Pro Medium Pen Pad
    Wacom Intuos Pro Small Pen Pad
    Wacom Expresskeys Remote
    Loopdeck+ Graphics Controller
    Shuttle Pro v2 Control
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro x64 Latest RPIntel I7 10750H 5.0GHz32GB [2x16GB] DDR4 2933 MHznVidia GTX1650Ti 4 GB GDDR6
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    Dell XPS 17 10750H
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 Latest RP
    CPU
    Intel I7 10750H 5.0GHz
    Motherboard
    Dell XPS
    Memory
    32GB [2x16GB] DDR4 2933 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX1650Ti 4 GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Stock [Realtek] 4 Speaker
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" IPS UHD+ Infinity Edge Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2400
    Hard Drives
    2TB M2 NVMe, 4TB External + various 500GB & 1TB External NVMe (also have access to spinner HDD from
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Stock XPS Aluminium & Carbon Fibre
    Cooling
    Stock - Active Fan Control
    Keyboard
    Backlit + Various Logitech
    Mouse
    Stock Track Pad + Logitech MX Trackball
    Internet Speed
    72 MB Down 18MB Up
    Browser
    Chrome
    Other Info
    Also run ...
    Laptop - Quad 8GB - Windows 10 Pro x64
    Nexus 7 Android tablet x2
    10.2" tablet
    Sony Z3 Android Smartphone
    Wacom Intuos Pro Medium Pen Pad
    Wacom Intuos Pro Small Pen Pad
    Wacom Expresskeys Remote
    Loopdeck+ Graphics Controller
    Shuttle Pro v2 Control Pad
    10TB NAS
After writing my initial post I remembered that the audio ports on my PC were bad and that's why I got the sound card. However, I have the headphones plugged into my Logitech Z506 surround speakers. Sound is pretty good. I played around with the XS51 card settings to boost the sound even more. I may be getting a extension cord for the headphones, but that's unclear at the moment.

Mainly because I've been shopping other headphones and have come across the wireless versions that are out there (like these Avantree Audition Pro bluetooth ones). In this small basement room I occupy with the TV and computer and speakers it would be nice not to have any more wires.
 
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 64BitIntel Core 2 Quad Q6600G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GBASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Motherboard
GIGABYTE P35-DS4
Memory
G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2 8GB
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
Sound Card
Diamond XS51 Xtreme 5.1
Monitor(s) Displays
(2) DELL S2340M 23" HD LEDs
Hard Drives
Seagate ST1000DM003-1ER162 1TB | Seagate ST500DM002-1BD142 500GB | ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD+R DL
PSU
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
Case
Ultra m998
Cooling
ThermalRight Ultra 120E
Keyboard
Logitech K811, K360
Mouse
Logitech Performance MX
...it would be nice not to have any more wires.
This reminded me of an earlier B&W Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode set in the future -- with long long cables for communications running behind the futuristic astronauts.
 
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Professional 64-bitDesktop i5; Acers i5 & i7desktop 16GB; 1 Acer 8GB & 1 Acer 16GB
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Antec desktop; Acer Aspire laptops
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
CPU
Desktop i5; Acers i5 & i7
Memory
desktop 16GB; 1 Acer 8GB & 1 Acer 16GB
Hard Drives
1TB split into 2 equal partitions [OS and data] usable by RJS
Internet Speed
AT&T DSL
Browser
FF, GChrome, msIE
Other Info
Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM/AV, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
Back
Top