I am attempting to digitally record audio our church services through a Mackie SR32-4-VLZPRO mixer board and a PC running Windows 7.
The mixer is connected to PC via cable that has RCA outs on one end (mixer side) and an 1/8" headphone jack on the other side (connected to the light blue Line In jack on the rear of the PC).
The recording is working fine - I am capturing everything I need to.
However, it seems that once the mixer is connected to the PC for recording, I have lost the ability to playback the recorded audio from the PC through the house speakers.
The PC has always been connected to the Mackie for playback by using an 1/8" male to 1/4" male cord. The PC side is connected at the light green jack on the rear of the PC and the mixer side is connected to a 1/4" jack on the rear of the mixer.
But, since I have added to connection from the mixer to the PC on the other jack for recording, I am not able to playback anything from the PC through the mixer/house.
Currently, I am not in front of the PC and mixer board unit. However, I will attempt your suggestion this afternoon, when I am in the building.
As for your question about what I am attempting to playback…
After recording audio through the mixer board, I would like to be able to replay through the system to make sure it captured correctly. I have tried to play back through Audacity and also Windows Media Player (after converting to .mp3), but have had no success with either. However, I am able to move the file from the PC to my laptop (which is not connected to anything), and play back the file in both Audacity and Windows Media Player - and both as an .mp3 and as an Audacity project file.
The house speakers are connected to the Mackie board, as normally would be in an auditorium/church sanctuary setup, through a power amp, power conditioner, etc. This particular part of the setup has been in place for over 15 years without issue.
I was finally able to try your suggestion of switching out the lines in the headphone (green jack). Nothing seems to help.
I can right click on the sound icon in the taskbar (next to the clock) and open the Playback Devices, and then right click on the playback device listed - Test - and I can hear the test tones through the house speakers. The signal registers on the Mackie main - but not on the channel that the PC is connected to.
I suggested connecting headphones to the green jack. If you can hear the test tones there, try configuring Audacity to send its playback to the green jack.