RutSum

Combining 2 Audio Outputs To Get A Single Audio Stream

I got this simple yet effective idea when recently I bought a 3.5 mm converter and earphones for my Sony Ericsson K530i. I was annoyed by the fact that I had to remove my headphones whenever I received a call and then had plug in the hands free earphones and then pick up the call. This was all very annoying and made it impossible to do both simultaneously, like a situation where you are gaming as well as talking on the phone, you need audio from the game for effective gameplay and you obviously want to talk. I do this quite often and the complexity of the situation was irritating.

So I found out a really simple way of getting the audio output from my phone as well as my MacBook (or PC or whatever other audio device you want to use) in the same headphones or speakers.

For this you need :

1) For the input from your phone, you need a 3.5 mm converter for your phone. It is available at common mobile phone shops and provided as an accessory by popular brands such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung. Mine cost me Rs 100, and is worth it because it can be a lot of use as 3.5 mm is the standard for audio output. The converter also has a built-in mic and a button for answering/ending calls, and also performs the function of voice dialing.

2) For the input from the other source, in this case, my MacBook, you will need a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm wire, which is really cheap and can be bought from a computer/audio equipment shop.

3) To combine the audio, ironically, you need a 3.5 mm SPLITTER. Though the purpose for this thing is to split an audio output, it effectively interconnects the 3 terminals it has. I used this property to combine the audio from 2 sources.

4) Of course you need something to take the combined output in. I use the Altec Lansing AHP524 Studio Headphones, you can use anything that gives audio output through a 3.5 mm jack.

I’ve marked the terminals to connect with numbers for easy understanding. Let the output port from my MacBook (or whatever your device) be 9 and the output from the phone be 10.

i) Connect 3 to 9.

ii) Connect 4 to 6.

iii) Connect 2 to 5.

iv) Connect 7 to 8.

v) Finally connect 1 to 10.

Now put on your headphones and enjoy a true hands and hassle free experience!

BTW, the downside is that your workspace becomes clogged with wires, so you need to make sure everything is arranged neatly and that the wires don’t get entangled.

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