Ok. I've got my DP, music PC and family PC all dumping out audio. My (somewhat crappy) speaker setup has one audio in.

What do you guys use to switch audio?

Are you all using mixers?

I'm hoping to find something LOW profile and cheap and ideally NOT needing a visible switch...

I've seen some video switchers that toggle between inputs based on a priority scheme or whichever got turned on most recently.

But I'm worried they're working off the video signal instead of audio.

I only need 3 in, 1 out.

This has to be a fight that someone has already fought and won??

Thanks for any help (as always!)

...SteveH

Steve - yes, actually, I have an answer... and it sounds like you're the kind of fella who's willing to hack enough to implement it. A key component in my BEHEMOTH bicycle and the later Microship projects is the Auxbar, or Audio Crossbar network. It is described over here, with a link to schematics of the switching portion:

http://microship.com/microship/techinfo/microshipnet/auxbar.html

That unit shown in the photo has 32 inputs and 32 outputs, and can manage up to 8 simultaneous connections among them as well as rudimentary mixing (though not with the same flexibility as a proper mixer). Its primary purpose is to handle the diverse range of communications audio on the boat, and each physical board provides 16 inputs and 16 outputs (with 8 simultaneous connections, which is how they are stacked).

The Mitel 8816 crosspoint chip that I used is a bit long in the tooth now, but you can use the same concept with newer parts (check the telecom industries). If I were doing it again, I'd probably use SPI-controlled SMD analog switches connected to as many audio buses as needed (how many connections at once... 4 minimum if you're using a FireWire or USB interface to do stuff with your computer, which is the same logic behind buying a "4-bus" instead of "stereo" mixer). Fading and panning functionality can be handled with digitally-controlled potentiometers.

Of course, by the time you build and code all this, an off-the-shelf mixer starts to look pretty cheap... I find mine quite useful and well worth the money. Purely manual control is not a bad thing as you're sitting there in front of your keyboard anyway; it sort of becomes the nerve center of your whole setup.

Having said all that, of course, the other approach is to do it all in DAW software. This actually makes a lot of sense in a studio environment, but I find that I really like dedicated hardware for low-level stuff like audio routing... it ends up being handy for all sorts of other gadgets like your recorders, ham radio, laptop audio, video tools, microphones, vintage stereo system, etcetera.

Cheers,
Steve

Whoooah nelly...

I haven't built circuits since the 80s.
And those were simple little things from popular electronics on BREADBOARDS.

So, umm, is this somethin i really wanna try?

i need an analog stereo - 3 to 1 switcher.
Not a hardware project.

But if it's an EASY enough hardware project I might try it. Provided I can wire wrap or somethin. I was never so great at solderin'

Whatever that link was to was somethin, well, i ain't ready for !!

Got any pointers on somethin simpler?

By the way, after checking out SOME of that website of yours...
well...
man...

that's a lot of stuff you're into, there, mister !!

...Steve

I'm sure you can find a passive switcher at Radio-shack with 3 video-audio input or only audio input. When I bought my first CD player that is what I used, I didn't have enough input on my amp.

Serge

Take a look at the Behringer MICROMIX MX400. It has 4 inputs, and 1 output. Although it does require external power (active), it has gain controls.

If you are worried about hookups, there will be lots of solutions available at radioshack (or equivalent audio supplier)

Well, I just hit radio shack and got a 4 to 1 video switcher. i can't be buildin' circuits anymore I can't see why somethin like that ain't readily available (3 or 4 in, 1 out, switching based on signal, not a manual switch).

Anywayyyyyz, just gotta figure out how to cover the keys from dust and get a workable desktop on top of my rig, now.

cable ties - gotta love those things if you're a neat freak

...Steve