[kurt1288]

Will an RCA cable work with a computer? The speakers in question work with my friends computer and he has the same jacks available as I do. I plug the speakers into the only port on my computer which fit the cable (which is the port labeled as S/PDIF, but no sound comes from the speakers. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[captthunderpnts]

You will have to go into your Audio control panel and set S/PDIF as your default output device.

 

[kurt1288]

I've done/tried that. I only hear something from the speakers if I turn them all the way up, and even then I have to put my ear next to the speaker and what I do hear is very static-y.

 

[shortfuse]

brush up wth ur mobo manual, there should be a jumper settng on ur mobo to enable ur digital out/spdif

 

[accskyman]

Might also want to check your volume mixer. If your getting any sound through it might be turned down really low.

 

[kurt1288]

Not the mixer settings. I'm looking through my motherboard manual now.

 

[TheFlyingWallaby]

S/PDIF is digital, so you shouldn't hear anything except noise if you're just connecting it to an amp. Computer soundcards use 1/8" minijack for analog output.

 

[kurt1288]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFlyingWallaby S/PDIF is digital, so you shouldn't hear anything except noise if you're just connecting it to an amp. Computer soundcards use 1/8" minijack for analog output.

I'm connecting them to speakers that only have a RCA cable.

 

[kurt1288]

There's nothing in the mobo manual about setting a jumper for S/PDIF. I've tried all the audio formats available in the settings but nothing works.

 

[TheFlyingWallaby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurt1288 I'm connecting them to speakers that only have a RCA cable.

Right, but the RCA connector on your computer is digital, and the speakers might need analog. Do the speakers have two RCA connectors, one red and one white, or something similar?

 

[kurt1288]

One red, one white.

 

[TheFlyingWallaby]

They need analog. White is Left channel, Red is Right channel. You'll need to get an adapter cable that goes from Stereo 1/8" to dual RCA. That plugs into the green (probably green, that's the standard) jack on the card.

edit:
here is a picture

 

[kurt1288]

Darn, well thanks for making it clear.

 

[xandypx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurt1288 I'm connecting them to speakers that only have a RCA cable.

That would be your problem. The S/PDIF connector as stated above is digital, and needs to be connected to an amplifier with a Digital to Analog Converter.

Most times, just hooking up passive speakers to a computer sound card (even the analog jacks) does not produce sound, or if it does, the sound is very low.

Most sound cards are designed to be used with amplified speakers, as the audio output is not normally enough to drive passive speakers.