I would occasionally like to use (wired) headphones, but 90% of the time I am fine with just hearing the audio that comes out of the crappy monitor speakers. If I plug the 3.5mm cable into the monitor’s headphone jack (even without headphones attached), then no audio will come out of the speaker anymore.

It is really cumbersome to plug and unplug the cable from the monitor, because I have to pull my desk away from the wall and bend upside down to even be able to see the port where I am supposed to plug it in.

Is there some simple solution to this problem, or am I just stuck using one or the other? I have a small desk and don’t really have room for external speakers.

  • @[email protected]
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    177 months ago

    Most operating systems let you choose the output device of the audio.

    So, you should be able to plug the headphones into the computer itself, then in software choose to have the audio go out of the HDMI when you want the monitor speaker, and line-out/headphone when you want the headphones.

    Which distro are you using?

  • @[email protected]
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    57 months ago

    You could get a small usb soundcard. You can get cheap ones on Amazon.
    Then, just swap your audio destination in your OS from your monitor to your soundcard when you want to use headphones

    • @EvilLootbox
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      27 months ago

      If you already have an Xbox controller with a 3.5 jack you can use that too as long as it’s wired, on Windows at least

      • neoman4426
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        37 months ago

        Also works through the proprietary wireless dongle. Doesn’t work if the controller is connected via bluetooth though I think

  • @MrQuallzin
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    37 months ago

    You can use a program like VoiceMeeter. You set up your inputs and outputs, then can change where your audio is routed as needed from your computer.

  • @[email protected]
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    17 months ago

    This is one reason I use computer speakers. Based on what you said, quality doesn’t matter but most of them will have a headphone connection so you can just plug into them. I much prefer high quality, hence why I chose the ones I did, but it will allow for easier plugging with potential, almost guaranteed, higher quality than the monitor audio.