Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Hardware › Speakers and Subwoofers › need a cable to make sub work
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

need a cable to make sub work

post #1 of 8
7/25/09 at 11:28pm
Thread Starter 
 i need to convert a usb to 3.5 mm so i can plug it into a headhone splitter and run my speaker system and my sub system all at once. the cord i am looking for is a female usb to 3.5 mm but they dont make one or i cantr find it. But i want to finf a cheap cable with a female end chop it off in the middle and add a 3.5 mm to the other end the only problem is i cant find a female usb anywhere except on online stores. i want to see the end in person before i buy it thaanks
Reply
post #2 of 8
7/25/09 at 11:42pm
USB-> 3.5 mm cable???  That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, which is why you can't find one.  Exactly what brand/model of speaker/sub are you trying to connect, and to what kind of device?  A computer presumably, is it desktop/laptop, what brand/model?  Do you not have a soundcard or built-in audio on the motherboard?

Most likely you either need to:
-plug somewhere else, not USB
-buy a USB soundcard device
-or buy an actual sound card.
Reply
post #3 of 8
7/26/09 at 11:36am
Thread Starter 
 i have a bose computer system that runs off a usb cord but my subwoofer runs off the headphone jack and my desktop imac wont put out sound throught both ports at once.
Reply
post #4 of 8
7/26/09 at 12:18pm
If this is the Bose companion 5, that has USB only, no output jacks for a subwoofer & no input jacks for std audio connections, basically you are screwed, you'll never be able to get it to work with additional speakers.

The reason is that the Bose has a built-in sound card device (the only way it can connect by USB), it takes over from your computer's internal sound card.  You can only use one sound card at a time typically, with multiple cards installed (don't know if OSX even allows this, I'm a windows user).

Typical Bose to do proprietary stuff compatible with no-one, one reason we bash the company so much here.

What "sub system" is it?  Is this only a single subwoofer, taking a 3.5mm input?
Reply
post #5 of 8
7/26/09 at 5:24pm
FYI, the Mac OS allows more than one output, but only in the sense you can have one output for regular audio and another for system sounds and alerts.  So, only one output for music.
Reply
post #6 of 8
8/2/09 at 9:13am
Thread Starter 
 it is a single sub that is using an onkyo reciever for the output of music to my amp
Reply
post #7 of 8
8/2/09 at 11:36am
Not quite sure what you mean by "output of music to my amp".  There is Onkyo receiver + a sub + ???  A power amp?  other speakers?  hooked up to other components?

The Bose just isn't designed to work with anything else.  If you want great sound, you're best off selling it. Use digital out from your computer to the receiver, play on a nice 5.1 speaker system.  It's not at all clear what you're after.  Is the bass just inadequate in the one room?  Are you trying to play music in multiple rooms simultaneously, or only one room at a time?  What is your goal?
Reply
post #8 of 8
8/2/09 at 12:28pm
Jordan, as has already been said, you can't do what you are saying.  Mainly, the Bose simply isn't built for it.  There are actually "usb to headphone" adapters, but they are just external sound cards.  With one you can connect the sub, but not the Bose system, so you would gain nothing.  Just replace the Bose with regular speakers and a sub & connect them to the receiver.  iMacs have optical digital output using a mini/toslink cable.  You can get them at monoprice.com.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Speakers and Subwoofers
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Hardware › Speakers and Subwoofers › need a cable to make sub work