Hi there,

I am running Ubuntu Studio 11.10 on a ThinkPad with combo audio jack, which the jack combined input and output in one, it uses the Apple standard but Lenovo does not provide an adapter to split them into 2, so that I can record with external source. I got a 3rd party audio splitter but it doesn't seems to work with Audicity, I can capture audio but I could not monitor during recording. Finally I get an USB audio adapter, it is too able to record with external source but I can't get audio with the notebook build in speaker, I played with the audio setting but still can't monitor during capture, is that the design of the OS ? The combo jack design really sucks btw, I am more prefer the old school type with seperate input and output jack, it is far more flexible.

Take a quick look at your jack. Does it have one or more black bands on it just a few mm above the tip? If not, it is a mono plug. That's a start. Or you could check your computer specs.

This is likely set up for use with a headset - mic on one channel, sound on another, both input channels. So you'd have to have a speaker in your PC to monitor. First check your Fn (function) keys (there might be a two key combo) to see whether your speaker is muted, otherwise, your audio settings are the only possible answer in this case. On almost all systems the headset blocks the speaker output. You might be able to set your audio card to allow the speaker though.

You might be able to solve this using "Jack". Install the package "qjackctl" and the package "jackd". Also install rhythmbox. When all is installed start up from your menu "Jack Control". In that window choose maybe "monitor" under parameters in "setup". You can also set input and output hardware ports. What you do with Jack Control is by using a GUI make imaginary patch cables from one device or media software to another. You could patch an input to two different outputs, for example. patching the input to rhythmbox would monitor, but speakers needed, unless you could set the audio output to a system speaker. Patch to Audacity also to record. Maybe you can patch also to the "system speaker" if you can find the "device" for that, but I'm not sure how. I do feel that Jack is the answer, if there is one. You have a strange setup it seems. I cannot give detailed instructions here, but there are a lot of tutorials on the internet by Googling. For your special circumstances, you might also have to experiment around with it. Also make sure to run Jack in real time mode- an option you set in "setup".

In Jack you click on an input in one pane then on an output in another pane and it forms a line drawn between the two. Can have mutiple lines from an input or output. No input device or output device will be available to choose until you start up a software program/s to run the input or output; so for instance open a player as input and a recorder or listener as output. Also check out any .deb packages using Jack that might help.

See tutorials first.

By the way Jack can also be run from the command line in terminal if needed. If you use the GUI, to close the window, click "quit" and it will close the window and Jack.

Thanks for the tips, the plug is a 3 bands 4 conductors in Apple type wiring, even when I completely bypass this with an USB audio adapter I still can't get monitor audio so this is a s/w issue, I'll try Jack to see what comes.

So you definitely have an input and output - both stereo, on the same jack. This USB device you're using. Is it internal or external HW? And does it have separate in and out jacks for mic and stereo? Because the bands are different on a plug that does only in or out, you probably aren't going to be able to use that same jack with three bands to do what you want here.

It is an USB dongle with mono in stereo out, also volume control and mute buttons, I have not test the output jack, but if it works then why not the speaker ? I tried to disable the output hopefully the audio will route to the speaker but it didn't.

Can't you put a regular stereo audio splitter on the dongle's stereo out and split to both an external speaker and recorder?

Huh ?? the dongle already provide separate in and out jack I just have not test it, but I want audio from the speaker instead, and the dongle may not provide enough power to drive an earphone I guess, need to test.