usb to rca adapter

[scott]

I am wanting to run my dell laptop to my stereo through my usb port.
Is there a way to do this, like maybe an adapter from usb to rca cords
that i can buy? I am only wanting to get sound out of the stereo, not
record or anything fancy from my stereo. thanks, scott

[Dennis McCandless]

Post by scott
I am wanting to run my dell laptop to my stereo through my usb port.
Is there a way to do this, like maybe an adapter from usb to rca cords
that i can buy? I am only wanting to get sound out of the stereo, not
record or anything fancy from my stereo. thanks, scott

Scott,

There are a lot of products that can do this now. Creative makes the
Sound Blaster Extigy, but it's expensive. There are many professional
products, also pretty expensive. Maybe the simplest is made by Edirol:

http://www.edirol.com/products/info/ua1d.html

These are supposed to work very well.

[The Amazing Seismo]

Post by scott
I am wanting to run my dell laptop to my stereo through my usb port.
Is there a way to do this, like maybe an adapter from usb to rca cords
that i can buy? I am only wanting to get sound out of the stereo, not
record or anything fancy from my stereo. thanks, scott

I am not expert at this Scott, but I am pretty sure that USB is an all
digital protocol. Maybe someone else will jump in that knows. If you know
different, I apologize to you ahead of time.

The easiest way to run stereo audio to your home stereo is to buy a cord
that has a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo plug on one end and two RCA phono plugs on
the other end. This should be an on the shelf Radio Shack product. All
laptops that I know of, which is not that many, have an audio output and a
mic input built into them. Using this cord is simply a matter of plugging
the 1/8" stereo male plug into the appropriate female jack on the laptop.
Sometimes these jacks are labeled headphones, speakers, headset, etc. I am
assuming that you do not know this, so please do not be offended if you do.

I bought ten such cords a while back from www.allelectronics.com for about
$13 plus shipping. They are fast too.

Ed Cregger

[Matthieu Villeneuve]

Post by The Amazing Seismo

Post by scott
I am wanting to run my dell laptop to my stereo through my usb port.
Is there a way to do this, like maybe an adapter from usb to rca cords
that i can buy? I am only wanting to get sound out of the stereo, not
record or anything fancy from my stereo. thanks, scott

I am not expert at this Scott, but I am pretty sure that USB is an all
digital protocol. Maybe someone else will jump in that knows. If you know
different, I apologize to you ahead of time.

That's right, USB is a digital interface. The only way to get sound
out of it is to get an USB sound card, and to plug it on your stereo
using a Jack 3.5 <-> RCA adapter cable.

Post by The Amazing Seismo
The easiest way to run stereo audio to your home stereo is to buy a cord
that has a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo plug on one end and two RCA phono plugs on
the other end. This should be an on the shelf Radio Shack product. All
laptops that I know of, which is not that many, have an audio output and a
mic input built into them. Using this cord is simply a matter of plugging
the 1/8" stereo male plug into the appropriate female jack on the laptop.
Sometimes these jacks are labeled headphones, speakers, headset, etc. I am
assuming that you do not know this, so please do not be offended if you do.

A little note: many sound cards have 2 outputs, one labeled "line out"
and one "headphones". The one to use is the "line out" one.

Other than that, sound quality on most sound cards (especially on
laptops) is quite poor. An external USB sound card may be a good
investment, depending on your laptop and on your needs.


--
Matthieu Villeneuve