How would I mix two sources of audio so that I can listen to them through my headphones at the same time?

April 11, 2006 1:53 PM

I have audio coming from two sources; a Bell satelite receiver (RCA outputs) and my computer (phono?). I would like to listen to both audio sources so that I can watch TV and play games at the same time while not disturbing my family.
posted by cbushko to technology (6 comments total)

Everything you need can be bought at Radio Shack The Source by Circuit City. You'll need something to convert phono to RCA, and then some splitters to gank everything together. Then a simple converter from RCA to your headphone.

However, this can make adjusting relative volumes rather tricky. A better bet would be to get a really simple two-channel mixer. Plug everything into that, and then listen off the headphone jack. Should let you mix your audio nicely. If you go for a higher-end model, you can even route your TV to one ear, and your computer to the other.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 2:04 PM on April 11, 2006

If you have an input on your computer, you can input the satellite receiver into the computer and listen to both through the computer -- most "decent" sound cards support internal sound mixing.
posted by RustyBrooks at 2:27 PM on April 11, 2006

Building off RustyBrooks' answer, you should be able to connect the RCA outputs to the line-in input on your computer sound card with a RCA-to-3.5mm plug Y-cable adapter. Your computer sound card will mix everything internally - just make sure to turn on the line-in audio and adjust the volume up.
posted by junesix at 2:39 PM on April 11, 2006

Thanks guys.

I don't think that I can use the line-in on my computer as it is used for my microphone for internet chat.

A two-channel mixer may be what I need.
posted by cbushko at 3:20 PM on April 11, 2006

Your computer isn't outputting phono, by the way. If you use the line-out jack it's a standard line-level audio source. Phono refers to completely unamplified audio sources like a turntable which need a specific, standard amplification curve.
posted by mikeh at 6:33 AM on April 12, 2006

I bought a 4 channel mixer (which is actually what you want, since 2 stereo channels is really 4 mono channels) from radio shack a few years back, for more or less the same purpose. It sucked but it worked. For $50 or $60 you can actually get a pretty nice one from a music place like music123.com or musiciansfriend.com. I have a cute little 8 channel mixer that I use for home recording that I don't think cost me more than $60. Probably way more features than you need though.
posted by RustyBrooks at 6:00 AM on April 13, 2006