Laptop sound recording

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Laptop sound recording

quickymart

14954 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13986

ID Verified

#214544 16-May-2017 22:14

Ahoy,

Currently looking at replacing my trusty old dv3 laptop (as money permits - which at the moment will be quite some time).

The headphone/microphone jacks are separate on my existing system. However the new laptops (HP ones anyway) seem to have a combined microphone/headphone jack - which won't work if I want to use a 3.5mm cable (at both ends) to record audio - also means my existing Skype headset won't work anymore. Any way around this? Is there an adapter of some sort I can buy with two connectors, and do they actually work under Windows 10 (which is what I guess any new machine would have)?

Thanks in advance

1 | 2

6657 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3477

Trusted

#1783412 16-May-2017 22:23

Can't see why a 3.5 mm won't work. You just need to be sure you have the correct two terminals wired up on your cord so that when you plug it into your laptop you've got the signal going to the mic and not the speaker..

The other option is to use a USB interface.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

richms

29114 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10229

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1783419 16-May-2017 22:52

There are 2 wirings of 4 pole jacks, not sure which is used on laptops but I had to get an adapter to make a phone headset work on a xbox controller.

Plenty of adapter cables on aliexpress or ebay for about 70c including delivery. This type of thing - no idea if this one will work.

If you need adapter because you only get audio when pushing the headset button then its called a CITA to something adapter.

Richard rich.ms

richms

29114 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10229

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1783423 16-May-2017 23:00

actually, When you say record audio, are you talking about into the computer? In that case those adapters may be no use, as they are for a mono headset mic and stereo output. I have not seen jack retasking on a laptop to turn the 3.5mm into a line in.

Easiest solution is a USB sound card.

Richard rich.ms

quickymart

14954 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13986

ID Verified

#1783953 17-May-2017 23:44

Yes, I meant to say audio from the headphone jack into the microphone jack so I can record it. I think I'll probably just get an adapter to do it (would be easiest).

elpenguino

3579 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2943

#1783955 17-May-2017 23:59

Yeah, you generally don't want to do an external loop like that if you want to have any fidelity at all. The mike input is made for tiny signals at a different impedance - you don't get the right matching from a headphone output.

Even if you had a line input it is preferable to use Windows audio mixer settings to set the recording source internally which means no loop required.

I just went through this the other day and found my ancient HP doesn't support internal looping due to a basic audio driver - my desktop does though - but YMMV.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

quickymart

14954 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13986

ID Verified

#1784416 18-May-2017 19:08

This is what I have now:

5 being the microphone, 6 being the headphones. I just use a 3.5mm cable (both ends) start the audio and record it. Yes, it's not stereo, but it does the trick for me.

Whereas the new laptops only have this:

So, I suspect I'll need an adapter?

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

shk292

2916 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2040

Lifetime subscriber

#1784456 18-May-2017 20:09

As someone mentioned above, the line level of headphones is not suitable for a mic input - you'd be better with a "Line In" input.

Or, find a program that will record the aggregated sound output from the built in sound system

quickymart

14954 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13986

ID Verified

#1896454 6-Nov-2017 22:28

Thread bump. Still hunting for a laptop. As I travel from time to time, I have a few specific needs:

* needs to be small (13.3"-14")

* HP brand. Had lots of good experience with them and would like to stay with them

* Needs to support standalone microphone input. I do a lot of voice recording and need to just be able to plug in a microphone (not a headset) and record. A fair few of the new HP's I've looked at state in the manual "does not support standalone microphones"...which is what I guess I'm trying to use here.

Any suggestions? Note that using USB for audio is not an option as this needs to be fairly good quality.

Technofreak

6657 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3477

Trusted

#1896459 6-Nov-2017 22:44

Why can't you use the in built mic?

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

quickymart

14954 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13986

ID Verified

#1896465 6-Nov-2017 22:47

Because it needs to be near FM-radio quality - I can't use a webcam microphone, it won't work for what I'm trying to do (voicing commercials).

richms

29114 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10229

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1896466 6-Nov-2017 22:49

Any (well not a $10 piece of junk) USB mic will typically crap all over onboard sound quality. Blue yeti is a commonly used one that seems to work well. Onboard sound is very noisy because its in among all the other digital circuitry and you will get squeeks from drive access and CPU frequency changes etc.

Richard rich.ms

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

quickymart

14954 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13986

ID Verified

#1896469 6-Nov-2017 22:56

Hmm if USB sound isn't as bad as I thought it was...I will have a look into that.

Just seems strange they would remove support for a standalone microphone...why would they do that? Odd.

quickymart

14954 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13986

ID Verified

#1896470 6-Nov-2017 22:58

richms:

There are 2 wirings of 4 pole jacks, not sure which is used on laptops but I had to get an adapter to make a phone headset work on a xbox controller.

Plenty of adapter cables on aliexpress or ebay for about 70c including delivery. This type of thing - no idea if this one will work.

If you need adapter because you only get audio when pushing the headset button then its called a CITA to something adapter.

Having said that, I wonder if the adapter you mention here would work?

quickymart

14954 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13986

ID Verified

#1903067 16-Nov-2017 23:47

Thread bump...I found this:

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Labs-70SB173000000-Sound-Blaster/dp/B06XBZ38ZJ

This might do the trick? Anyone used one? If so, what's the difference between the 2 and the 3?

I recall Sound Blaster being pretty good - but that was back in the, uh, "olden days".

Goosey

3017 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 872

Subscriber

#1903105 17-Nov-2017 08:02

Right, get into digital age mate... (no offence).

Although I love the essence of Analouge audio, but using bog standard audio inputs on a laptop ....ok does the trick but thesedays you want to control that a bit more..

Just curious what sort of mic you use? (those handheld voice recorders e.g. TASCAM, are really neat).

Heres an example of an Analouge to Digital Converter (via USB). Heaps of options/brands and pricing bands for you to work with.

Perhaps go for a touch/feel/look at your nearest supplier of audio equipment and explain what you want to do then take it from there (to see how it will fit your needs for ease of use and compatibility into whatever you are using to record (software).

https://www.rockshop.co.nz/shop/behringer-umc22-u-phoria-audio-interface.html

1 | 2