Run 5.1 Speaker on 2.1 supported motherboard notebook - Multi plug for Audio output
Recently I went out for a little vacation, I took my ZUNE 30 with me… As I was with my cousin brother, and while on a long distance bus ride, seating beside him enjoying the zune, a question came to my mind…
Why cant we both enjoy the same music or video ??
Infact there is a nifty little tool which makes sure that we can enjoy 2 head or ear phones with a single output device such as ZUNE or iPOD…
Same tools also works for another purpose… Suppose you have a notebook which only has support for single output or rather 2.1 support and you want to run 5.1 / 4.1 on the 2.1 channel supported speaker !!!
The technology is really simple… Multiplug… Same idea as what you may see at wall mounted electrical solutions…
The idea is, take a single input, and provide 2 or more out puts… Bellow is a simple diagram or the idea for Audio out put layout for most of the notebook / Laptop or 2.1 supported motherboard…
As you may see A is Line in, B is line out (which is the jack where you plug the speakers or head phone or ear plugs), C is Mic in…
So basically what this multiplug does is, it gives you 2 outputs in place of one, so that in case of a portable Music player (PMP), such as Zune / iPOD / Zen, 2 ear plugs or head phones may work simontaniously…
And in case of a notebook, it allows you to plug in 5.1 speakers to a single output… As 5.1 speakers would have 2 audio plug or jacks, Rear speaker connector and front speaker connector… !!! So now you may plug in both the Rear and front speaker to the notebook via this multi plug…
How does a multi plug look like ??
Its a nifty little tool…
How much one costs me ??
In local Kolkata (India) computer market is between Rs. 5/- to 10/-… Which is USD 0.25 each…
If you feel confuse, and have any question, drop them as comment !!!
they do accept paypal 
Ankur Gupta said
am December 27 2007 @ 6:30 pm
That was really cool!
I though it must have been some virtualisation through software but this is amazing!
Anindya said
am December 27 2007 @ 7:02 pm
A very practical knowledge u gave us! Even i had thought once for my Zen Vision M but never went forward after thinking
Choto Cheeta said
am December 27 2007 @ 8:07 pm
thnx for the comment !!!
ravi said
am December 28 2007 @ 2:58 am
really gr8 find………..
Ashish Mehta said
am December 28 2007 @ 11:49 am
I have been using this dual pin since more than 8-10 years now
vasudev said
am December 28 2007 @ 12:54 pm
Have been using this 1to2 since long for listening to radio commentary while traveling but haven’t tried the idea of running 5/1 on 2.1 supported.
prasanth said
am December 31 2007 @ 8:08 pm
hey choto, remember me? nice info. thanks.
Choto Cheeta said
am January 1 2008 @ 4:34 am
hello sir, welcome to the blog…
arun said
am January 9 2008 @ 5:19 am
Yes, this is a good solution if you are just using the Headphones similar to the provided by the iPOD/Zune to connect to the Two new out put ports.
Cautions:
1. Headphones that are not similar(in impedance rating) to the original iPOD/Zune/Zen headphones may load the player.
2. There may be low noise on the headphones.
Most of the Portable Player have circuitary to take care of impedence mismatch though. So Use the similar impedance rating headphones.
And if you do not get optimum sound quality with two people listening (using the 1:2 multiplier plug), you know what the problem is.
Arun
Satyam said
am January 14 2008 @ 7:14 am
Hello,
Can you Please tell the Name of this Small Device
I went to Lamington Road, Mumbai
but was unable to found one since i dont know its correct name
What do you call it in Local Language ?
Choto Cheeta said
am January 14 2008 @ 12:49 pm
Audio Multi plug or in Mumbai, 1to2 Audio Jack for PC / Notebook as said by Vasudev….
sabret00the said
am January 28 2008 @ 11:25 am
I have been using a dongle like this to support my MHC GX2000 from my 7.1 sound card lolz….but mine is a stereo to AV
Akash said
am April 11 2008 @ 10:39 pm
Hi,
I would just like to add something. What the device is actually doing is giving the stereo output to ur 5.1 rear speakers. Its like playing two 2.1 systems at the same time one at front and the other at back. U can in no way get the surround effect from a 2.1 output. if the motive is just to get sound from all ur speakers then its fine.Even for that 5.1 speakers now have switches to do that by connecting frm a 2.1 source. It would be a waste to use a 5.1 setup with his device. better go for a gud 2.1 setup.
mark szpak said
am May 5 2008 @ 3:05 am
is this product good for iPods to connect to two other speakers
Avadhesh said
am May 13 2008 @ 9:04 am
How To run 7.1 speakers on 5.1 compatible board?
Answer Urgently plz!!!!!!
Modmadmike said
am June 17 2008 @ 1:56 am
I found a way to run 4.1 off a laptop. Using linux you can configure the sound card in a way that bolth the headphone port and the speakers are always active. Thuc you could use your laptop speakers as front and connect the rear speakers to the back and eventually have not just cloned output but once programed a fully separated output (In a move you would be able to hear the speakers at the front and the music at the back).
Ive done this with headphones and it adds a second deph.