Problem connecting microphone to laptop.

[Pinetreebob]

I got tired of the tinny speakers and people not being able to hear me and me hear them in Zoom meetings on my HP laptop. I connected some external speakers I already had and bought an XLR to USB cord for my ribbon mic. When i hooked up the microphone I got a message that files were being downloaded. Once that message disappeared I tested my sound in Zoom and it worked great! Nice sound and everything. When I was using the mic the blue light in the USB cord flashed and I thought I all set to go.
Problem is when I went back to my computer I had no sound from my speakers and the microphone stopped working also. I could not hear audio from Youtube or other sites, not just Zoom. When I back went to Zoom to test mic, I got message to connect a mic. If I disconnect the mic the speakers start working, when I reconnect the speakers stop working. I should add that when I disconnect the external speakers with the Mic still connected, there is still no sound. I should add that the speakers are powered through a usb connection in my laptop.
Any one have any idea what's happening? I assume it's some kind of internal usb conflict f some sort but I'm lost here. Thanks in advance!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Pinetreebob

I got tired of the tinny speakers and people not being able to hear me and me hear them in Zoom meetings on my HP laptop. I connected some external speakers I already had and bought an XLR to USB cord for my ribbon mic. When i hooked up the microphone I got a message that files were being downloaded. Once that message disappeared I tested my sound in Zoom and it worked great! Nice sound and everything. When I was using the mic the blue light in the USB cord flashed and I thought I all set to go.
Problem is when I went back to my computer I had no sound from my speakers and the microphone stopped working also. I could not hear audio from Youtube or other sites, not just Zoom. When I back went to Zoom to test mic, I got message to connect a mic. If I disconnect the mic the speakers start working, when I reconnect the speakers stop working. I should add that when I disconnect the external speakers with the Mic still connected, there is still no sound. I should add that the speakers are powered through a usb connection in my laptop.
Any one have any idea what's happening? I assume it's some kind of internal usb conflict f some sort but I'm lost here. Thanks in advance!

Hi PT-Bob
Point-n-shoot-sound-control is less of a reality the more complex the operations I am asking my computer/software to do…apparently my computer cannot read my mind. And Zoom (or any other chat software) is designed to NOT allow you to hear your sound (eliminates feedback). It's called "Mix Minus" …the mix minus your input.

Some interfaces have a loop-back function which will allow you to monitor your sound via a headphone jack. This is valuable for musicians.

I still pull sample recordings from the streaming software and play them back to hear and adjust myself, so I don't need to wear headphones while playing live.

I often need to adjust the audio input settings in both my computer, and in Zoom (or other hardware/software) connected to it. So I'm adjusting my interface, my computer and my software settings to get a solid mix which sounds better-than-average.

I use an interface to connect external mics to Zoom, and have to go into my computer audio settings to specify the default in/out, and then go to Zoom and specify (in audio settings) in/out devices and levels.

Hope you get it figured out…

[PeterM]

What else is installed on the laptop?

Skype has been known to hose up your mic (permanently in one case of mine) so that in order to get Zoom or Goigle chat to respond to the mic, Skype had to be uninstalled.

Remember, not all is well all the time in computer land...

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by Pinetreebob

I got tired of the tinny speakers and people not being able to hear me and me hear them in Zoom meetings on my HP laptop. I connected some external speakers I already had and bought an XLR to USB cord for my ribbon mic. When i hooked up the microphone I got a message that files were being downloaded. Once that message disappeared I tested my sound in Zoom and it worked great! Nice sound and everything. When I was using the mic the blue light in the USB cord flashed and I thought I all set to go.
Problem is when I went back to my computer I had no sound from my speakers and the microphone stopped working also. I could not hear audio from Youtube or other sites, not just Zoom. When I back went to Zoom to test mic, I got message to connect a mic. If I disconnect the mic the speakers start working, when I reconnect the speakers stop working. I should add that when I disconnect the external speakers with the Mic still connected, there is still no sound. I should add that the speakers are powered through a usb connection in my laptop.
Any one have any idea what's happening? I assume it's some kind of internal usb conflict f some sort but I'm lost here. Thanks in advance!

If you are using a Windows machine, then you can only have ONE USB audio device plugged in at a time. I don't think it makes a difference that one is input and the other output.
If you are running a Mac, you can do 'aggregate' devices to allow more than one USB audio device.

[Pinetreebob]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi PT-Bob
Point-n-shoot-sound-control is less of a reality the more complex the operations I am asking my computer/software to do…apparently my computer cannot read my mind. And Zoom (or any other chat software) is designed to NOT allow you to hear your sound (eliminates feedback). It's called "Mix Minus" …the mix minus your input.

Some interfaces have a loop-back function which will allow you to monitor your sound via a headphone jack. This is valuable for musicians.

I still pull sample recordings from the streaming software and play them back to hear and adjust myself, so I don't need to wear headphones while playing live.

I often need to adjust the audio input settings in both my computer, and in Zoom (or other hardware/software) connected to it. So I'm adjusting my interface, my computer and my software settings to get a solid mix which sounds better-than-average.

I use an interface to connect external mics to Zoom, and have to go into my computer audio settings to specify the default in/out, and then go to Zoom and specify (in audio settings) in/out devices and levels.

Hope you get it figured out…

Thanks! I will look into what you do. I'm going to tackle it again this afternoon.

[Pinetreebob]

Originally Posted by PeterM

What else is installed on the laptop?

Skype has been known to hose up your mic (permanently in one case of mine) so that in order to get Zoom or Goigle chat to respond to the mic, Skype had to be uninstalled.

Remember, not all is well all the time in computer land...

No, no Skype but will double check. Thanks!

[Pinetreebob]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

If you are using a Windows machine, then you can only have ONE USB audio device plugged in at a time. I don't think it makes a difference that one is input and the other output.
If you are running a Mac, you can do 'aggregate' devices to allow more than one USB audio device.

I suspected it was something to do with a USB conflict. I will be tackling it again this afternoon and will try powering up my external speakers via a wall socket converter and see it that works. What was weird is it initially worked but didn't several minutes later. Thanks!

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by Pinetreebob

I suspected it was something to do with a USB conflict. I will be tackling it again this afternoon and will try powering up my external speakers via a wall socket converter and see it that works. What was weird is it initially worked but didn't several minutes later. Thanks!

But how is the sound signal getting to the speakers - via USB?

As to the speakers working, then not - that's the USB device confliction.

[Pinetreebob]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

But how is the sound signal getting to the speakers - via USB?

As to the speakers working, then not - that's the USB device confliction.

The external speakers are only powered by the USB, the speakers feed into the HP laptop via the speaker mini 3.5mm input. Today I tried powering up the speakers by connecting the usb into a converter and into a wall outlet. It didn't make any difference. When I plug in the mic via the usb connector, it silences the speakers and the mic does not work but when playing audio, the usb cord to the mic flashes like it's trying to play audio through the microphone. If I disconnect the external speakers it makes no difference. The internal speakers are still silent when the mic is plugged in. Unplug the mic and the speakers, both internal and external work. Very strange.