# Speaker Out/Line Out Differences and Realtek ALC889 Questions



## Amon (Jan 16, 2010)

Hello all,
I am a newbie to all this audio calibration stuff and have been trying to calibrate the sound card and eventually take measurements. I have a few questions.
1) I am trying to use my onboard (built into the motherboard) Realtek ALC889 with REW. However, when I plug in a 3.5 mm cable, I do not see an option for Line Out. Each physical port can be configured through the Realtek HD Audio Manager software to be almost anything I want - mic in, front speaker out, rear out, line in, etc., but Line Out is not an option. Is Front Speaker Out not possible/bad idea to use for the soundcard calibration or connecting to my AV processor for measurements?
2) Is using the onboard sound a bad idea in general? What external sound cards with LINE OUT and LINE IN do people recommend?


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## fusseli (May 1, 2007)

Welcome to HTS!

Your onboard sound will work fine for general measurements. Yes, front speaker out is the same as line out. Configure that and your line-in/mic as you want them then open REW.


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## Amon (Jan 16, 2010)

fusseli, thanks for the quick response. Should I include the Xenyx 802 preamp/mixer in the chain of devices for the soundcard calibration? Wayne A. Pflughaupt in this thread states it should be included, but I do not see any reference in the REW Cabling and Connection Basics. If I wanted to include the Xenyx in the chain, would the speaker out on the sound card be connected to the line in on the Xenyx 802 and the Right Main Out on the Xenyx out be connected to the line in on the soundcard?


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## fusseli (May 1, 2007)

What are you measuring with? Is there an a/v receiver in your speaker setup or do you have the mixer going to a PA amp?


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## Amon (Jan 16, 2010)

fusseli, I am going to use an ECM8000 microphone after the soundcard calibration. I have a Denon 4310 Receiver that I was not going to include in the soundcard calibration, only in the actual measurements of my speakers. I was thinking of including the Xenyx 802 mic preamp/mixer in with the soundcard calibration as the other thread suggested, but need advice on the connections.


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