Wierd one - Headphones and that

[JamesDonkin]

Please forgive the title. I found this impossible to sum up easily.

 

We've recently installed a new IT suite and its lovely. PCs hidden under desks, monitors on adjustable arms with port reps and power buttons on the desktop. I expected that the headphone and microphone sockets on the desk would just plug into the front panel sockets while the speakers that are built in to the monitors would go in the back with the speakers working until some headphones are plugged in, closing the circuit and taking over from the speakers. Not so. Even without headphones plugged in, the computer thinks they are and silences the speakers. This is just a straight jack plug to jack socket lead. How on earth can the computer know that something is plugged in when the circuit is still open? Anyone dealt with this before? I'm baffled.

 

Thanks for reading

 

James

[difinity]

Depends on the make of motherboard. It does not work like a conventional circuit in an open or closed way.

[Chris_]

Some 3.5mm jack sockets are switched so that when anything is plugged in it completes the circuit.

[JamesDonkin]

Right. Thats a pain. Suppose thats the only way it could know really. Thanks for the replies.

[chazzy2501]

well, I still see people wiring up PCs audio front connectors using the legacy layout intead of the HD layout! it's normally a case of plugging it into the MB properly. I did this for my custom built PCs, it also worth putting the manufactures driver in for your soundcard as the headphone stuff behaves better. (esp Realtek)