Hello,

i have a speaker, which is mounted on the monitor i use. That speaker is connected to an USB-port on the monitor. Monitor is connected to Linux-Laptop via HDMI. In that manner "i am not able to use" the speaker from the Linux-Laptop as neither
nor seem to discover that device. In comparison a MacBook is "able to discover that device" and can be used without any complications.

Could somebody give me please some advice how could i "debug" that situation?

Yeah, that wouldn't work . You don't want one speaker, you want two. USB ports are decidedly digital (0 or 1)and low power while speakers are decidedly analog (4 or 8 ohms to ground) and carry higher currents. Converting usb to audio is not trivial and needs electronic hardware.

Is there a 'monitor' or 'line out' connection on the monitor? Otherwise, buy stuff. Stuff is cheap.

As for the Macbook, my bets are that's a Mac Monitor, and they make a point of being incompatible.

There are a bunch of single USB speakers available. Plug the speaker directly into the laptop. The hub on the monitor may not provide enough current to run the speaker.

Dear @business_kid,
monitor is not a Mac one, but a Dell one. So is the speaker (DELL-SB-AE515M). In fact it is a sound bar which has also a microphone and not only a speaker. When i connect that monitor to the Mac-Laptop, it gets charged via the monitor, in that way no need of a dedicated charger.
What i saw on the monitor is also somethng like a plug looks like audio. Perhaps if i buy an additional cable and connect it from monitor to in-audio of Linux-Laptop, it could work?

Did you plug a USB cable from the monitor to the linux laptop?

Why would a monitor that doesn't have built in speakers even have an Audio Input? If the monitor does have speakers that you prefer not to use that doesn't constitute an input that will likely get to the USB connector of the monitor. I've seen many monitors and TVs that have USB connections dedicated to a limited number of uses, so it seems you need either an Owners Manual or a Service Manual for the monitor.

It's also important to know what inputs the speaker(s) have. Is the only connector USB? If so, it is unlikely that current wwill affect anything other than charging as audio outputs will be microphone or line level at best. The speaker(s) must have their own power amplifier internally that uses/delivers the needed current for speaker level audio output (likely just a few watts). So does this speaker work anywhere else with only a USB connection? I don't know of any circuit design that has HDMI to Audio pass-through capability. Usually it is one or the other.

It would be interesting to see what lsusb would report, all right. But speakers need hundreds of milliamps. 500mA into a 4 ohm speaker gives 1 watt (using I^2 R) and 500mA would blow away conventional usb devices. I think anything usb plugged into a 4 ohm speaker might as well be short circuited - you'd never see a high level.

On the Mac, does the sound go when you remove the usb cable?

I'd rather not advertise, but if you search for "Hdmi To 3.5mm Audio Adapter" you'll probably find one.
There's an adapter for anything these days.

Here is the user's guide for the sound bar.
https://dl.dell.com/manuals/all-prod...uide_en-us.pdf

It is powered by 5V from the USB port at 500 ma. From the other link posted by the OP I assume it is only compatible with certain models of Dell monitors.

You can find lots of USB speakers on the internet.

Page 10 of your link makes clear that an audio cable is required for audio in.

FWIW, the 500mA spec is the total current draw from the +/- in the usb. But the OP is saying he plays sound with his Mac through the usb with no audio lead (see post #1). I was pointing out that the signal leads on usb are not capable of high currents. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

That specifically is labeled an aux-in port which and shows what looks like an MP3 player, phone and or tablet.

Hi,
i found an audio-cable and connected Linux-Laptop audio-out with sound bar audio-in and it is working.

Something i forgot to mention in my OP - Mac-Laptop is able to play sound on that bar without any additional audio cables. The USB-cable from SB is connected to Monitor USB-hub. Then that monitor is connected via USB-C to Mac-Laptop and audio can be played even with microphone.

I do have other audio speakers which have a charging unit and additional audio input, which i could use.

Purpose of this thread was to ask if that would have been possible directly via the SB - now i know i need an additional cable, which i was able to find.

Other opinions will be wellcome , if there is any, otherwise, i'd mark this post as solved.

Thank you all!

BR

It should work the same for the linux laptop as the Mac laptop. Are you using the same cables? If not could the cable from monitor to the linux laptop be a power only cable?

Macs are not fond of cables & sockets and do stuff using bluetooth. My son frequently suffers periods of silence as he tries to get Whatsapp running.