Attach USB speakers to 3.5mm "audio out" socket?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jarro
  • Start date Start date
I use a small pair of USB speakers which are just the right size
The speakers only use USB for power. It'll be pins 1 and 4.
http://www.interfacebus.com/Design_Connector_USB.html#b
Click to expand...


The problems I have with USB speakers are:
(a) using an extra USB socket - even on an USB extender hub
(b) not being able to use apps which want to break into the "sound path"

My speakers are a pair of ultra-crap cheapo speakers (each is about 3
inches high and 2 inches wide) although they are just fine for me as all
I want to hear are PC warning sounds.

The speakers look crummy with drivers which look like 20mm piezo units
that I would be surprised if they have an amp inside although there may
well be a very small amp in there.

If they do need power from the USB socket then I reckon it's far too
messy to have one pair of wires attached to a USB socket for power and a
second pair to the audio-out jack socket.
 
AZ Nomad said:
[...]
Click to expand...

For all USB speakers I've seen, they *only* have a USB cable.
Windows XP has USB drivers for standard audio output devices like
these. If you only hook up the USB power, the speakers will still
be silent since they won't be receiving the expected (digital)
audio via the USB connection.
Click to expand...

Yes, my speakers have only a USB plug.
 
I use a small pair of USB speakers which are just the right size for me.

I would like to plug these speakers into the 3.5mm "audio output"
socket. (The speakers will probably sound quieter but that may not be a
problem for me.)

Which pins on the USB plug do I connect to the 3.5mm stereo jack plug
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if that's really an option. Speakers with a USB
connector are typically "digital" speakers. Digital speakers were
computer speakers that incorporated a sound card into the speaker set
that was accessible by USB connection. The idea was to improve sound
quality by having the audio generated at the speaker end, rather than
having an analog signal have to go through wires to the speaker set. I
haven't seen such speakers in about 2 years, so I guess they never
caught on.

Some of these had an analog connection, but since you're asking this
question, I guess yours doesn't. There is a way to connect such
speakers to a 3.5mm stereo miniplug, but you'd have to wire up your
own connection to the speakers themselves (or the amp if it's separate
unit rather than integrated into the sound "card"). You can't use the
USB connection, because it's a digital connection intended to receive
commands from a computer. The 3.5" miniplug signal is typically
analog audio.
 
The problems I have with USB speakers are:
(a) using an extra USB socket - even on an USB extender hub
Click to expand...

How is that a problem?
A powered USB hub is about $15.

(b) not being able to use apps which want to break into the "sound path"
Click to expand...

?? Something very wrong there, whether they're USB or not
should not effect this, unless you're not running Windows.

My speakers are a pair of ultra-crap cheapo speakers (each is about 3
inches high and 2 inches wide) although they are just fine for me as all
I want to hear are PC warning sounds.
Click to expand...

I suggest buying a $5 set of analog replacement speakers,
since you can't just wire the USB to the analog port on
yours, since as you mentioned they are only USB.

The speakers look crummy with drivers which look like 20mm piezo units
that I would be surprised if they have an amp inside although there may
well be a very small amp in there.
Click to expand...


There is definitely an amp inside, it is mandiatory for them
to work. It may not be a powerful amp- certainly not for
them to run from <=500mA @ 5V, but it's there.

If they do need power from the USB socket then I reckon it's far too
messy to have one pair of wires attached to a USB socket for power and a
second pair to the audio-out jack socket.
Click to expand...

Not only too messy, completely impossible. You could hack
apart the amp circuit, maybe- if there' a separate DAC and
amp chip and put the analog system feed into the analog
input on the amp chip but I think this is beyond most
people's skill level. It'd also be a misguided effort on a
cheap set of USB speakers.
 
Jarro said:
AZ Nomad said:
[...]
Click to expand...

For all USB speakers I've seen, they *only* have a USB cable.
Windows XP has USB drivers for standard audio output devices like
these. If you only hook up the USB power, the speakers will still
be silent since they won't be receiving the expected (digital)
audio via the USB connection.
Click to expand...

Yes, my speakers have only a USB plug.
Click to expand...

If your computer has no USB sockets, then I'd return the USB speakers and
buy normal speakers.

Jeff
 
My speakers are a pair of ultra-crap cheapo speakers (each is about 3
inches high and 2 inches wide) although they are just fine for me as all
I want to hear are PC warning sounds.
Click to expand...

Does the computer have a rudimentary speaker for going "Beep" at
bootup? I seem to remember once installing a dodge that made that
the default audio device. Terrible quality, but OK for system
sounds. And with music you could at least tell what the tune was :-)

Anyone know about this, before I start digging?
 
Thinking further, my computers are primarily running audio
applications. I always disable system sounds, and don't miss them in
the slightest, even when running non-audio applications.

If these speakers are just for system sounds, why bother?
 
Laurence said:
Does the computer have a rudimentary speaker for going "Beep" at
bootup? I seem to remember once installing a dodge that made that
the default audio device. Terrible quality, but OK for system
sounds. And with music you could at least tell what the tune was :-)

Anyone know about this, before I start digging?
Click to expand...
Have tested it on WFW 3.11 , worked nicely,
but: WIN was locked during play.
Google for speaker.drv, the first hit I found,
was it.
Whether one exists for XP????????
 
Wrong. You cannot do that successfully. You have to hook the USB speakers
up to a USB port; NOT to the soundcard.
 
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