I did it with a 1/8 stereo to 1/8 mono adapter plug I picked up at Radio Shack for $2.99. The signals just merge.

The only way you will get stereo in is with an external sound card or audio interface.  I ended up buying an M-Audio Mobile PreUSB for recording instruments and vocals.

Message Edited by NilsE on 09-17-2005 06:18 PM

No microphone for VOIP, and no line-in for audio.

Unbelievable.

I got one too, if it's any pathetic consolation.

And should I mention that the warranty, including any extended warranty, is not transferrable? So you can't sell it?

Great company, this Dell. [Insert heartfelt stream of naughty words here.]

cf. http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_audio&message.id=24110

Henry,

You're right that the integrated audio is capable of receiving stereo line in signals. It has a pair of pins dedicated to that purpose.

About an external solution, some people have reported problems getting that audigy pcmcia card to work with the Inspirons. I haven't read of any problems with any Soundblaster usb cards since their mp3+ card (which didn't work with the i8600).

Jim

AT_Wolfgang. . . .

I've read a lot of other posts about lack of an internal microphone. Actually I don't mind that so much because my previous notebook did have an internal mike, but it was next to useless. The distance between the user and the notebook makes for a lot of background noise. SO using the internal mike just didn't work well.

If you want good speech input you just about have to go with a good headset.

Understand, I'm not trying to rebut your post, but rather to maybe make you feel a little better about the loss of the internal mike. Of course YMMV, and I'm still incredulous they didn't hook up line in. After all what would it have cost? Maybe nothing if the audio chipset is capable of receiving a stereo signal - which I'll bet it is.

Anyway - regards.

Henry

I agree with AT_Wolfgang

---

@AT_Wolfgang wrote:
Henry,

How about future posts on the microphone topic, if any, go in one of the many threads dedicated to that, such as:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_audio&message.id=24110

---

This argument about whether or not Dell should have included a internal mic on their new laptops is getting out of hand and needs to be moved to someplace else. Im not choosing one side over the other or pointing fingers. The problem is interfering with new users who at this point may be happy with their new Dell system and may have a problem (as most new things in general do) and are trying to resolve it, they want to find the information they want and fix their problem, not have to sift through an argument about internal mics to try and find a solution. We are all entitled to an opinion but it need not be forced upon others.

That's my 2 cents

Henry,

I appreciate your trying--fruitlessly, alas ;^>--to make me feel better about the incredible lack of a microphone, but the old "the audio's bad on them, anyway--buck up!" won't work, because the audio quality in built-in microphones in almost every computer that I'm used to has been extremely serviceable indeed.

I never have to use a headset for HQ voip, nor do any of my interlocutors. We get great results every time with built-in microphones in various ThinkPads and (non-new) Dells. I've no doubt there are lots of bad microphones out there (built-in and otherwise), but it's not even close to some general rule that they're bad, even though that seems to be the strange conventional wisdom. And the good ones--e.g., the Latitude D800 that my friend in Korea has, and which always delivers better than landline quality over Google Talk--are good every time.

And it's a HECK of a lot more convenient:
* call initiation/response time is about 1 second, rather than 20-30 seconds;
* you can stand up, move about, roam about the room or even nearby rooms (though you're then fairly quiet on the other side, of course);
* travel's much easier, since there's nothing to pack/unpack, connect/disconnect, or protect from damage;
* and it's more comfortable not to have to wear something. (Er, not to have to wear a headset, I mean. [ahem.])

Of course, in a noisy environment, or with a bad VOIP service, or with a bad internal microphone, or if you need more privacy in a public place, say, a headset is wonderful. But for most home and many office users, that situation is the inconvenient exception, not the rule.

But Dell's stealthily making a headset a requirement by dropping the expected microphone and not telling customers is not only dishonest, its radically dysfunctional.

Though I wish desperately that I didn't know that--then I wouldn't be so crestfallen at how poor this machine is, even/especially in comparison with my 4.5-year-old ThinkPad A21p. (It's internal microphone is also great for VOIP, as a friend of mine in Switzerland demonstrates with his every time we talk.)

Surprisingly missing a microphone (unbelievable), surprisingly missing a trackpoint (very unfortunate for those of us who have mastered it), and now surprisingly missing line-in (wow--some multimedia powerhouse)--Dell's cut so many corners I'm surprised these machines aren't spherical.

How about future posts on the microphone topic, if any, go in one of the many threads dedicated to that, such as:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_audio&message.id=24110

Is there any way to get internal access to the chips and crudely run a wire or something? That has "void the warranty" written all over it, of course :(, but if there happened to be unused "full size" pins on the motherboard, and those happened to be near a door in the case...?

A ridiculous longshot, I fear, but has anyone searched? Any motherboard diagrams out there?

At least I don't personally require line-in right now--yet another area in which my 5 year old ThinkPad outmatches my new high-end Dell. (But then, my ThinkPad A21p was genuinely a multimedia powerhouse (S-video in and out, e.g.), and the Inspiron 9300 would never be advertised that way....)

BTW, SilverBullet, I don't think anyone is seriously defending Dell's defeaturing re the line-in or the microphone, so in that sense I don't think there really is much debate or argument over it--Harry was just trying to make me feel better, which I very much need. :^/ And while off topic here, at least those many legitimate complaints don't much leave the sphere of "microphone or headset" kinds of searches.

Message Edited by AT_Wolfgang on 09-17-2005 10:18 PM

To see the schematic for the Sigmatel chip (i don't know if 9300 uses that or Crystal but it's the same thing basically) go to sigmatel.com and look under products/documentation. The chip Dell had been using is STAC9750/51. The 2 mic pins (int. & ext.) are 21 and 22.

Jim

Jimco,

Thanks for adding that information.

Referring to the block diagram for the STAC9750/51, I see there is an input for stereo as well as one for mono. What would be required to hook the audio jack to the stereo side?

Could it be you would need to add only one connection - the other stereo channel?

I guess this would involve cutting PC board traces and soldering to the motherboard right?

Thanks again for your contribution. Hate to have to buy an external device because Dell hooked the audio jack to the mono input on the chip, and interesting if it would be fixable by a simple hardware hack.

Regards,

Henry

So lets say you was able to get at the hardware to rewire it with line-in.  How would you get Windows to recognize there is now a line-in audio device?

Is there any chance that there are pins on the motherboard (relatively easy to solder), and not just the chip (may be mugh tougher), for line-in?

AT, one would probably have to attach to the integrated circuit chip and I have no idea how one might retrofit a jack or mic to it.

Henry, as far as Dell attaching the line-in jack to the mono pin, they didn't. They attached the mic jack to the mic pin which is mono per design of the chip.

St John, the Windows built-in audio drivers will show line-in on the volume control.

Jim

St. John,

It would make it available it there were a jack connected to the stereo line-in pins on the chip. It won't convert the existing mono mic jack into a line-in jack.

Actually the Sigmatel driver also has this line-in option. This is how to make it show up.

Open the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties box (right click on the volume icon on the taskbar, or go through the Control Panel).

Select the Audio tab.

Click on 'Volume' under 'Sound recording'. The Recording Control opens.

Click on the 'Options' menu, then 'Properties'.

Select 'Adjust volume for recording'.

Put a checkmark next to all of the volume controls you want to have appear on the Recording Control.

I'd forgotten because I mostly use a usb Soundblaster card which has its own driver. The Windows driver I referred to is the Intel AC97 driver which is already in XP and is easily installed, but no driver can create a line-in if the wiring isn't there.

Jim