I have a russound single source hub with the amplified keypads for whole house audio. Everything works great except for the audio I have coming from my computer, I have it hooked up through the 1/8 inch jack with one of those rca adapter's. The problem is the audio isnt as loud as it should be, and if I unplug one rca half way the volume increases but it still isnt as loud as it should be.

Does the audio coming from the computer have a lower output voltage, and would a line driver fix my problem or is there another solution? And is the volume fluctuation when I unplug one of the rcas caused from a ground loop? I have a good understanding of ground loops and have done everything I can think of but can not resolve this problem. Any ideas or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

the output of the PC is probably too low, so add a line driver. if you are experiencing a ground hum, it may be due to the PC being plugged into an outlet that is on an opposing phase (electrically) as the A/V system, if that is the case, you can A) put the two devices on the same phase electrically or B) get a Jensen Transformers ground hum isolator with RCA input and output, problem solved.

Cool, I'll try that. Do you have any recommendations on a brand of line drivers and about how much they are? Thanks

I have my computer running to an amplifier exactly like you have your setup wired. No problem at all. Audio level matches the level of the tuner just fine.

Remember, the output of most computers is variable. Make sure the volume control in Windows isn't turned too far down before buying extra parts.

If you are not getting the audio "quality" you would like out of the 1/8 inch jack of your computer/sound card I'd highly recommend any one of the USB Audio devices from Xitel.

I own the HiFi-Link, Pro HiFi-Link, and Ground Loop Isolator myself. All work as advertised and then some! Money well spent. These products won't boost the line level, but will give you crystal clear audio, something that is rarely the case outputting from the 1/8 inch jack of your computer/sound card.

-Lowpro

wow.

"The problem is the audio isnt as loud as it should be, and if I unplug one rca half way the volume increases but it still isnt as loud as it should be. "

There is a problem with your cable, it shouldn't do this.

You didn't mention hum, so why is everyone calling this a ground loop?

You don't need a 'booster', the output from the PC should be enough...if you didn't have the faulty cable/connector somewhere.

" will give you crystal clear audio, something that is rarely the case outputting from the 1/8 inch jack of your computer/sound card."

This is just a load of crap, you can get perfectly decent audio from a PC sound card.

Exactly, sounds like you haven't configured the PC gain staging properly.

I never fixed the problem. I ended up buying a media server and said the hell with it! (I wanted one anyways). I like this way alot better, I can stream all my pics,video and audio through wifi.

This is info I should have shared on the original post but I had the audio running through cat5e with the leviton rca 110 jacks. I never tried another cable either so I would say that without me doing a good process of elimination it was wrong of me to prematurely ask such a question. I did check the gains on the media player.Thanks for all your input!