Registered: Jun 2002
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Posts: 82

Soundblaster Live! Series

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I've got a "Soundblaster Live! Series" sound card in my Gateway 1.1Ghz machine. It outputs only a digital signal, so I have digital speakers (both the card and the speakers came with the machine when I bought it about 2 years ago). I'm seriously considering attending the next game date and I was wondering if anyone else has a sound card that only outputs a digital signal and what they do for headphones, since I see that speakers aren't allowed at these things. Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

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Registered: Oct 2001
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Posts: 630

How sure are you that this card is digital out only? Do you have additional plugs available for analog speakers and they just don't seem to work?? I've never heard of a card not allowing you to utilize analog speakers. My Live! card has 5 plugs (black, orange, green, pink, and blue). The digital out is the orange one, which actually does go to my subwoofer, even though the speakers are not digital. I plug my headphones into my green plug (front speaker out). Check your card for those plugs and post back. If you've got the additional plugs (I can't imagine why you wouldn't; I can't find anything on Gateway's site about a Live! card that doesn't have all the available plugs), try your headphones in the green one and see if that works.

This is what I did find on Gateway's site:

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Easily connect to Cambridge SoundWorks DTT3500, DTT2200, and other Dolby Digital-ready 5.1 home theater systems Features and Benefits Dolby Digital 5.1 and Analog Surround Sound The Sound Blaster Live! provides a full 5.1 surround-sound experience in either digital or analog mode for all your audio entertainment needs. You'll get superior sound quality with Dolby Digital 5.1 technology in movies by connecting a Creative Inspire 5.1 Digital speaker solution to the digital-out connector on Sound Blaster Live! Or, connect the Sound Blaster Live! to analog devices such as the Creative Inspire 5.1 5300(my speakers) speaker solution to experience 5.1 audio.

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Registered: Mar 2002
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The card you have should have several plugs on it. There is a setting in the AudioHQ application that will enable/disable digital output on the card, you will need to disable the digital output and then your headphones should plug into one of the jacks on the card. I don't have one of the cards here in front of me, so I can not tell you which spot to plug it into. what you could try is set your card to 2 speaker (or headphones, i can not remember if headphones was/is an option in audiohq) then, start up an mp3 or some other sound and simply plug your headphones in to each jack until you hear sounds...


Oh, you might jot down your current settings before doing any of this so you can put it back the way it was so your speakers will work.

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Registered: Jun 2002
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I was making an assumption that it couldn't do analog because I tried to get it to drive some analog equipment a year or so ago and had no success with it at all. In retrospect, I may merely have been attempting it incorrectly. I'll check on it again.

Thanks for the advice.

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Registered: Oct 2001
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Posts: 227

I have the same card - go to your audio headquaters and "uncheck" digital only. It is a pain in the ass to switch back and forth, but you can leave the headphones plugged in the green port, and switch as you need.

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Registered: Oct 2001
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quote:

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Originally posted by DarkPhan
The card you have should have several plugs on it. There is a setting in the AudioHQ application that will enable/disable digital output on the card, you will need to disable the digital output and

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Oh yeah. Forgot about that part. Thanks .

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