This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by Doug Thews. Original Post: When Does a Video Plug Affect Audio? Feed Title: IlluminatiLand Feed URL: http://apps5.oingo.com/apps/domainpark/domainpark.cgi?client=netw8744&s=JETBRAINS.COM Feed Description: A technology blog for people enlightened enough to think for themselves Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by Doug Thews Latest Posts From IlluminatiLand

I was spending some time customizing playlists and ratings for my iPod, when I decided to connect it to my Harman/Kardon AVR 65 receiver and listen to some tunes for awhile.

I used the connectors I recently purchased from xtremeMac.com (a 1/8" stereo mini-jack to 3-RCA out Y/R/W cabling adapter - I guess the yellow video connector is for future use) and proceeded to connect them to my Video 3 Inputs on the front of my receiver. To my surprise, I got only a distorted, muffled signal. I checked to make sure that both the red & white plugs were securely plugged in and then checked for a secure connection between the iPod and the 1/8" stereo mini-jack. Nothing.

Then, just out of curiosity, I decided to plug in the yellow video connector from the iPod adapter, and viola - great sound! Now, I realize that there's probably some type of circuit that needed to be closed using all 3 inputs because I was using the front panel Video 3 Inputs (Yellow/Red/White), but most hight-end receivers have these three sets of inputs for external devices (except CD & Phono - which are usually in the back, and mine happen to be full anyway).

So, I'm going to test it out on another audio-only receiver in my Game Room and see if this is caused by the cabling adapter or the Harman/Kardon receiver. So, if you have an iPod and are having trouble playing audio using the wired audio adapter set, you might try this trick.

And for those who are wondering where's the wireless option, I do have the iTrip adapter which you plug into the iPod and it broadcasts over a configurable FM frequency. This works fine for close proximity, but the sound signal is noticeably better when directly connecting to the receiver. Plus the iTrip adapter sucks battery life like a pig!