Looking for a USB sound card that will pass through input

**bloodshot710** · 11-15-2008, 04:42 AM

Like the title says, I need a USB sound card that will pass audio through the input "live" to the output so that I can use my HD radio. I am hoping for something fairly high quality without spending too much (<$100).

I have spent the last couple hours searching and havent been able to find one that says for sure whether it is supported or not.

Thanks for the help guys!

**Sicarius** · 11-15-2008, 11:57 PM

Just curious. Why do you need "live" passthrough? I'm using line-in on my motherboard for the HD radio and passing it to the USB sound card for output.

**bloodshot710** · 11-16-2008, 03:39 AM

right, what you are doing is exactly what I'm talking about, but unfortunately my motherboard doesn't support that. It will only record then play back, I need it to pass straight through. I am hoping to find a USB card that will accomplish this without spending too much.

**FPeter** · 11-16-2008, 04:57 AM

pass through what? analog or digital input to analog or digital output?

**bloodshot710** · 11-16-2008, 11:36 AM

I just need analog from the HD radio to pass analog on to the amps through the pc.

**FPeter** · 11-16-2008, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by bloodshot710

I just need analog from the HD radio to pass analog on to the amps through the pc.

what type of mobo (and sound chipset) do you have? i have never met integrated sound without this option, only some USB based... try to check the mixer settings again, this should work...

**Sicarius** · 11-16-2008, 09:27 PM

Well, in RoadRunner, here's what you do.

Install the Winamp Line-in plugin. Yes, it's old. Yes, it works.

Under "Radio" in RRConfig:

Set "Line used for Radio audio" to "Disabled".
Check "Use Line-in Plugin". In the text box next to it you'll need something like "line://dev=1,title=Radio,srate=44100,bps=16,nch=2".

You may need to change the dev=# to match your sound card. To find the right number, launch Winamp and configure the line-in input plugin. All your sound devices should be listed there with their device number.

If that works, all well and good. If not, make sure that your motherboard is set to record on line-in:

Double click the speaker icon in the task-bar.
Select Options->Properties
Use the drop-down to select your motherboard's Mixer Device.
Click the Recording radio button.
Click OK.
Make sure "Select" is checked for Line-in and nothing else.
Close the Recording Control window.

BONUS: Winamp visualizations and mixer controls will work with your radio with this setup.

**bloodshot710** · 11-25-2008, 04:07 AM

Originally Posted by Sicarius

Well, in RoadRunner, here's what you do.

Install the Winamp Line-in plugin. Yes, it's old. Yes, it works.

Under "Radio" in RRConfig:

Set "Line used for Radio audio" to "Disabled".
Check "Use Line-in Plugin". In the text box next to it you'll need something like "line://dev=1,title=Radio,srate=44100,bps=16,nch=2".

You may need to change the dev=# to match your sound card. To find the right number, launch Winamp and configure the line-in input plugin. All your sound devices should be listed there with their device number.

If that works, all well and good. If not, make sure that your motherboard is set to record on line-in:

Double click the speaker icon in the task-bar.
Select Options->Properties
Use the drop-down to select your motherboard's Mixer Device.
Click the Recording radio button.
Click OK.
Make sure "Select" is checked for Line-in and nothing else.
Close the Recording Control window.

BONUS: Winamp visualizations and mixer controls will work with your radio with this setup.

Thanks! Just got the chance to work on it tonight, got it all working!

Unfortunately there is a lot of noise in the line, almost sounds like it's clipping, but the volume is even lower than winamp. Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot for the help!

**Sicarius** · 11-25-2008, 01:55 PM

Let's check the silly stuff first.

Is the radio in the car yet? Is it hooked up to an antenna? Does the antenna need power?

**bloodshot710** · 11-25-2008, 03:26 PM

Yes, everything including the radio is set up in the car. It is hooked up to the original antenna that came with the car. As far as I know the antenna does not need power, I used it with this same HD radio before I had my carpc set up and it worked perfectly.