This is my first post on this forum and I'm not sure where to put this. Anyway, I have a question that hopefully someone more knowledgeable about the specifics of computers and receivers can answer.
My mom had an old Fisher RS-727 receiver and some speakers lying around, so on a visit I hooked them up to use as the audio output for her TV. So far, so good, but she plays a lot of music through her laptop (Inspiron 8600), so I got a long RCA audio cable and an RCA to 1/8" stereo plug to use with her headphone jack. It worked fine, but here's where it gets tricky.
She has two other sets of speakers, aside from the laptop speakers themselves: cheap computer speakers, and a set of wireless speakers that connect through the headphone jack. She has a $2 Y-converter that she can plug them both into, so she can use them both simultaneously. I basically bought another one and plugged in all three speaker systems.
This setup worked for about a day. We were moving things around, and plugging and unplugging various parts, until the sound card suddenly fried. It still plays audio, but it's very scratchy and distorted, whether through the laptop's speakers, headphones, or external speakers. Since the sound card is integrated into the motherboard, she'll either have to replace the mobo completely, or try a USB sound card.
Here are my questions: 1) Is this a repeatable event? In other words, if we were to replace the mobo or get a USB card, is there something about this setup that would cause it to fry again? I assumed that the computer outputs a steady signal, and that having 3 systems would simply lower the signal that they each receive, but I could be wrong.
2) Should the receiver be safe by itself? I have a newer system at home that plays fine with my computer, but I am wondering if the older setups are a little riskier.
3) Is the USB sound card more likely to blow than an integrated card?
Thanks in advance. Sorry for the long post, but I didn't want to miss anything.
So at some point you had the laptop connected to the receiver? If so, how did you connect the laptop to the receiver (what input did you use on the receiver)? Sorry, just trying to understand your post.
Yes, sorry if I wasn't clear enough. The receiver has a couple of inputs available, I used "Video-2." The other available ones are Tape-1, Tape-2, and Phono.
Seeing as how the laptop was connected to one of the receiver's inputs, I'm not sure how this could fry the soundcard. But then again I could be wrong.