Two sound cards in one machine?

[dscline]

I have a PC that is loosely performing HTPC duties. It has a sound card in it already, and it's output is connected to my home theater system. I also have some applications that provide text to speach output. I'd like that output to be present even when the a/v system isn't on. But I don't want to simply connect a set of (always on) speakers to the same sound card, because I DON'T want that output to mix with the output of the home theater system, degrading the sound of music & HT audio. What I want is the output from the sound card going to my system, like it is now, but a second set of cheap, powered speakers, that only do TTS output. I know in the TTS settings of Win2K (which is what's installed on this PC) I can select an output device for the speech. Can I either install a second sound card, or better yet (from a limited PCI slot perspective) a set of USB speakers, and have those second speakers ONLY handle TTS output? Based on the option in the TTS control panel, it seems like I could direct TTS to another audio device, but I'm not sure if a) two sound cards in one system would cause problems, and b) how I would make sure OTHER audio would ONLY go to the existing sound card.

Alternatively: this is a 5.1 sound card. The only 5.1 sound it needs to output is through the optical connection (DD pass-through). I only need L&R (front) for analog outputs. Would there be a way to utilize the unused rear outputs as a second audio device that the TTS could be directed to?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Ummm... why don't you just get a set of speakers with a power button?

I have my chaintech AV-710 hooked up to my HT via optical and I could have a set of normal computer speakers hooked up to the analog outputs of the card.

Do you have setup that's prohibiting this or a reason you wouldn't want to do this?

 

[harrkev]

I believe that you can (but have not tried it). I see no reason why it should not work. Look in Winamp, for example. You can select the sound output device.

But it sound like you need a cheap pair of USB speakers. I have seen these for as little as $10. That would be the cheapest and easiest solution.

 

[dscline]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Ummm... why don't you just get a set of speakers with a power button?

Do you have setup that's prohibiting this or a reason you wouldn't want to do this?

Yes, a few: One: I don't want the speakers where they can be seen, or any extra wires/switches visible. I don't want to have to switch them on/off every time I decide to listen to music or watch TV. And the system they are hooked up to does multi-room/multisource... I still want to be able to hear TTS in the main room but not necessarily have to listen to, for example, music that may be being played from the HTPC in other rooms. I may want it quiet, or I may want to listen to another audio source, but STILL get the TTS alerts when they happen, all while music may be output for use in other rooms. Essentially, I want two separate "sources" of audio from this PC: TTS, and everthing else (music, etc.) that can be output independently, not mixed together.

Obviously, if this is not possible, I will have to look at alternatives, but first I want to see if what I PREFER is possible.

 

[dscline]

Originally posted by: harrkevLook in Winamp, for example. You can select the sound output device.

Hmmm, ok, then I guess I just need to check in each application I use (like winamp, media player, DVD playing software, etc.) to see that they can each be set to use a specific audio device. If so, then it seems that worst case, I'd just be getting system sounds from both outputs? I could live with that. If I couldn't I could turn them off. So is the consensous that two cards (or preferably, one card, and a separate set of USB speakers) won't conflict with each other?

 

[artimusbill]

I think it depends on the sound card(s). I have an Audigy, and an M-Audio card that do not play nice together.

 

[dscline]

Just wanted to follow up and let everyone know that I got this pair of USB speakers, and added them to my system with an existing sound card, and it works just fine! I've got text to speech and system sounds going to the USB speakers, and a/v audio (like ouput from winamp, media player, etc.) going through the sound card to my home theater system. The speakers didn't even need any software, there's a built-in USB speaker driver in Windows, and they don't even need power, as they are powered from USB. Obviously, they aren't the best speakers in the world, but for system sounds & TTS, they are just fine. The only oddity I've had: my sound card's installation had replaced the built in windows volume/mixer app with it's own mixer that had some additional controls for it (selecting 2/4/5.1 output, digital in/outs, etc.). The normal volume control that resides in the systray was replaced with a different icon for that app. After I installed the USB speakers, the normal windows volume control returned to the systray, in addition to the new icon for the mixer app for my sound card. Double-clicking the std. volume control brings up the traditional windows mixer, though it only has three channels, since obviously there are no extra inputs for the USB speakers (no mic in, CD, etc.). BUT, when I double-click the volume icon for the sound card, the same Windows mixer with only a few channels pops up, and it's also mapped to the USB speakers. Once it's open, I can change the device it's attached to to the sound card, which enables the additional channels, but it's still the windows version, and doesn't have the # of speakers control, or the digital in/out control. And once I close it, then re-open it, it's back to being mapped to the USB speakers, and back ton only three channels. Even running the mixer.exe file in the sound cards program folder now brings up the windows mixer.

It's not a huge deal at this point, as everything works. In fact, I never even adjust the volume of my sound card outputs, as it just provides line-level to my A/V receiver, and I adjust volume there. But at some point soon, I'm going to connect the optical cable from the sound card to the a/v receiver, and I'll need to be able to get to the settings somehow to enable it. Perhaps re-loading the sound card drivers will correct this. For now, I'm happy.