3.5mm -> USB Headphones?

[dfnkt]

I'm looking to take some headphones I have here that are currently using a 3.5mm universal jack and strip that off and try and get them to work with a USB connector. I've located the pinouts for USB and the 3.5mm jack. I know there are adapters available...but I'm looking for a very small DIY project and to spend no money.

The USB pinout contains a VCC, two data channels (+ and -) and a ground wire, while the 3.5mm contains ground and a left/right wire. Anyone have a guess at 1.) Whether it is even going to work to begin with and 2.) How would you rig it up? Would you wire the right or left signal from the 3.5 over to the + side of the usb? I know that you don't have to hook up 3.5mm jack headphones to power like to you do desktop speakers with the same connection, do they draw all the power they need through the jack and if so, how would you get power to them in the usb setup?

I think it is do-able, I'm just wondering about the ins and outs and any suggestions

 

[dighn]

Are you just using USB connectors in place of 3.5mm jacks? You are not talking about connecting to actual USB ports on computers right? Just wanted to make sure.

Anyway most headphones have 3 wires: ground, left and right. Suppose you could connect ground to ground, and left/right to the two data connections. Some headphones have separated grounds but you still got four connections in the USB.

 

[dfnkt]

Yeah im just talking about cutting the 3.5 off of the headphones and trying to put a usb on it. I'm just wondering, with usb the VCC is the power (up to 5v) that devices need, do headphones such as this draw power, is there any reason to worry about trying to power it? I guess I could just hack the connector off and give it a go..

 

[dighn]

Headphones don't use dedicated power inputs. The signal lines provide the power and they typically use very little power to begin with, so there's nothing to worry about.

 

[Viper GTS]

Assuming you're trying to make the headphones work with a USB port on a computer and make sound, you're totally on the wrong track.

A $30 USB DAC will do what you need, but no amount of wizardry is going to get you sound from a USB port without a DAC.

[EDIT]And if you're NOT trying to get sound from a PC or other USB equipped device what exactly are you doing this for?[/EDIT]

Viper GTS

 

[DivideBYZero]

YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

 

[zig3695]

i just bought 3 usb-to-3.5mm audio adapters for like $12 shipped somewhere. they look a lot like this- http://www.vpi.us/usb-audio.html

 

[corkyg]

Good link. I guess that is a "DAC?" (To me that is a "Department of the Army Civilian." Always spell out acronyms at first use. My guess is "Digital Audio Converter?")

 

[zig3695]

actually its not a great link. i found them for $4 shipped each. i think it was someone from this forum that posted it originally. i wish i could find the ones i got...

 

[Throckmorton]

Dude, a headphone is analog. The voltage from the jack is what creates the sound. This has nothing to do with USB, which is a data port. You might as well try to use a serial port, a parallel port, or an IDE connector. You need a small USB sound card.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

I think he might be talking about a miniusb for a cell phone. My cell phone is suposedly a music phone yet only has a miniusb output totally negating the music factor unless I use the crummy Motorola headphones. I would say see if you pick up a cheap pair of mini usb headphones and do a little switch around.

 

[dighn]

Surely the OP is talking about passing analogue signals through USB connectors, not connecting headphones to a real USB connection or vice versa.

 

[corkyg]

Why not use this and plug your headphones into it?

USB Adapt

 

[sciboi66]

The key is the audio codec chip which must be present in the circuit. That is the piece of hardware that give the instructions for how the usb device is used.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

he just wants to use the usb as a connecting interface instead of the 3.5mm jack

 

[djkrimson]

Hi All

I have USB headphone ..the USB plug broke so its useless now... Is it possible to connect 3.5 MM plugs to make it into a regular headphone.

FYI this broken USB headphone also has a mic.

thanks
djk

 

[uhohs]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Why not use this and plug your headphones into it?

USB Adapt

cheaper alternatives
1
2
3

 

[DivideBYZero]

OMG it's the bulk-beef of GG&P...