3.5mm audio extension cable

[Linux711]

My computer only has a sound port in the back, so I purchased an audio extension cable so that my headphones could reach. The problem is that the quality of the sound is really bad through the extension cable. It is also much quieter. I have to turn my volume up to full to hear anything. I tried the same cable on a different machine to see if that was the problem, but it wasn't. So my question is: Do you think I got a defective one or do all audio extension cables reduce sound volume/quality like this? Should I go buy another?

[quaxo]

The plug of the extension cable might not be making good contact in the jack of the computer. With it plugged in and something play (keep the volume at a medium level) move the jack around a bit and see if that helps.

[Salmon Trout]

The plug of the extension cable might not be making good contact in the jack of the computer. With it plugged in and something play (keep the volume at a medium level) move the jack around a bit and see if that helps.

The metal of the jack should be clean and bright.

If you plug your headphones directly into the sound port, do you hear the sound at acceptable volume?

[Linux711]

The plug of the extension cable might not be making good contact in the jack of the computer. With it plugged in and something play (keep the volume at a medium level) move the jack around a bit and see if that helps.

I actually found that I can make it sound better when the cable is only plugged half-way in.

If you plug your headphones directly into the sound port, do you hear the sound at acceptable volume?

Um. No, I don't. That's the whole reason I am writing this post.

[quaxo]

I actually found that I can make it sound better when the cable is only plugged half-way in.

If it doesn't work right with just the headphones, and adjusting the plug position helps, it's likely the jack is messed up.

[Salmon Trout]

If you plug your headphones directly into the sound port, do you hear the sound at acceptable volume?

Um. No, I don't. That's the whole reason I am writing this post.

In your first post you specifically said that the sound is bad when you use an extension, so I asked if the sound was also bad if you bypassed the extension and plugged the phones in directly. You appear to not understand the question.

[rthompson80819]

There's only two answers to this problem.

Either your jack on the computer is bad, or you got the wrong plug on the extension cable.  You never did fully answer if it worked OK when the headphones were plugged in without the extension cable.

[Salmon Trout]

We don't know if he's using a line-out socket or a proper headphone output, and what make, brand and impedance his headphones are, and whether they have ever worked OK with that computer, and what kind of computer and sound card it is.  We also don't know if the extension is a proper stereo cable or not.