Unusual feedback problem with TRRS splitter... :D

[FuzzyQuills]

Hello guys! Not necessarily LMMS-related, but I ask of you audio guys out there if you know what's going on here...

So to put it bluntly, my TRRS splitter cable does seem to work... But I have a few issues with it.

In more detail:
- if there is only a device plugged into the mic jack on the TRRS splitter, works!
- if there is just earphones plugged in, nothing in the mic port, works!
- if I have both plugged in... mic jack signal drops in volume (about 80%)
- if I have both plugged in, and have the mic set to listen... it feeds back through the mic port, completely ruining the
signal!

So does anyone know what's going on? audio hardware limit/bug? or perhaps the splitters wiring's faulty or crossed over?

My audio card is the IDT HD audio codec, inside a Dell Latitude E6220 laptop with a combo headset plug on the left side. (The combo jack being the reason I got the splitter so I could listen to my guitar through a virtual stomp box plugin)

[umcaruje]

Seems like you are using a cheap splitter... I never had expirience w/ TRRS jacks, but it seems like a bad cable.

Also if you want to listen to your guitar properly, you should definitely invest into an Audio Interface of some sort. http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202- ... B000KW2YEI is the cheapest AI that I know, and it should be much better than your built in soundcard.

Also in TRRS the mic is allways mono, so that's another drawback from it.

[Eino]

This may be a little pricey, but for good quality recording. I use Allen & Heath ZED 10FX mixing board, hook up via usb, with Audacity. I have not tried it in conjunction with LMMS. I just do my live recordings with it. I also have a couple studio grade microphones. It makes a big difference in quality.
http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/zed-10fx/

[Sti-Jay]

Well if your TRRS actually seem to work... but not when other things are plugged in, it is more likely a problem with the soundcard (or drivers or programs accessing the soundcard). I know fairly little, but it just seems like that. An audio interface could definetely be the way to go as umcaruje says.

[FuzzyQuills]

Unfortunately, I don't have any money at all to get those audio interfaces.

BTW, It does work by itself, but with the headphones shorted to ground (i.e. plugged in) the headphone jack somehow feeds it's signal back into the mic!

And I can't do any more testing with the TRRS splitter anyway... some moron at my school broke it! :'(

EDIT: On second thought, I might be able to repair the cable myself, as whoever broke it somehow managed to bare the wires perfectly in the process... No joke!

[softrabbit]

So to put it bluntly, my TRRS splitter cable does seem to work... But I have a few issues with it.

In more detail:
- if there is only a device plugged into the mic jack on the TRRS splitter, works!
- if there is just earphones plugged in, nothing in the mic port, works!
- if I have both plugged in... mic jack signal drops in volume (about 80%)
- if I have both plugged in, and have the mic set to listen... it feeds back through the mic port, completely ruining the
signal!

There are 2 ways to split the sleeve in a TRS to get TRRS, could it be that your laptop jack is wired left, right, mic, gnd and the splitter is left, right, gnd, mic (or vice versa)? I think that would fit your symptoms.

[FuzzyQuills]

Oh yea! I did not think of that...

But only issue is, I can't find any info on my laptop's combo jack, so I don't know what pin's which. (Thanks, DELL, for being so useless!) But if it's the same as an iPod/iPhone combo jack, then one of their splitters might work.

The only DELL laptop of which I do know it's pinout is the latitude e5420, of which it's pinout is same as the iPhone/iPod splitter. I have yet to find info on my e6220 jack...

In the meantime, I will have to find an iPod splitter. (I was also thinking of modding my iPod shuffle USB connector, since it's a TRRS jack, and has four pins on the other end...)

[FuzzyQuills]

You are kidding me!

After I started having an issue with my audio driver, I forced windows to fall back to the default one, and... NO ISSUES AT ALL! So it was obviously some silly driver problem causing this...