What is a loopback cable, and how do I use it on a Soundblaster Fatality?

[earwicker7]

Hey, all.

I've just received (well, it's at the post office, I'll have it tonight) the Adjust+ software for cartridge azimuth setup. The instructions that I downloaded mention a "loopback" cable, something I've never heard of. I emailed the company that makes the software, and they said it's a cable that feeds the left channel output to both channels simultaneously. It's for calibrating the software to your soundcard.

Here's my question... how would you get this to work on a Fatality soundcard? My first guess would have been an RCA Y cable; however, there are RCA inputs but not outputs. I haven't really been able to get much of an answer out of the company... they're German, so I think there may be a language barrier.

 

[Nick 214]

I THINK it means that you just take your left channel output and "loop it back" into the inputs. So it'll be a Y-splitter, use whatever connections you need to accomplish the task.

 

[earwicker7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick 214 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I THINK it means that you just take your left channel output and "loop it back" into the inputs. So it'll be a Y-splitter, use whatever connections you need to accomplish the task.

That's kind of what I was thinking, but I'm still a little confused... am I supposed to use the 3.5mm jacks on the backside? There doesn't seem to be any way to do it with RCA jacks, optical jacks, or any of the other stuff on the front panel.

 

[infinitesymphony]

That is pretty strange... I don't know that there's an easy solution for 1/8" plugs like the ones on the back of your sound card, which are the ones that you would ideally use. It's simple enough to get the left channel alone by using a mono 1/8" TS plug, but how do you duplicate it to the right channel and plug it into a single stereo 1/8" TRS input?

This would be easy with RCA plugs or any kind of technology where only one channel is being sent per plug. Hmm, I guess that's one possibility... Get a stereo 1/8" TRS to two RCA y-cable, a RCA y-adapter (connected to the white 'left' plug on the y-cable), and connect the RCA outputs of the y-adapter to the RCA inputs on your sound card.

+

Edit: Or you could go the easy route and just buy the one that they sell.

It's a mono 1/8" TS to stereo 1/8" TRS cable... Can't say I've ever seen one before in person.