Bizarre XBOX 1 sound problem (EDIT, maybe not XBOX's fault)

[Chuplayer]

Here's the problem. The left channel outputs to both the left and right speakers. The strange part is that it does this when only the left channel RCA jack is plugged in. When the right channel jack's connected, it only outputs to the right speaker. When both audio connections are connected, the left channel sounds doubly powerful, and directionality is negated.

It happens when I use the official XBOX composite AV cable. It doesn't happen with a Monster component AV cable. It happens with one of those Gamestop universal composite AV cables. It seems like the composite video might be playing a part in this.

It's not the TV. When connected with composite video to the two TVs I tried it with, the audio is screwed up no matter what. No other game consoles give me this problem. I best confirmed this by using the Saturn Daytona USA CCE's sound test with the specific left and right passing sounds.

What's really bizarre is that it can output the one channel to both speakers through just one connection. I don't know how the system is forcing that to happen. Nothing is getting fed to the right speaker, and yet it still receives the same sound the left speaker is getting. It's weird.

Anybody have any advice?

EDIT: I confirmed my cable box is doing this on my other TV. I suspect it's a ground loop problem through composite video only. I already fixed the video problems on my PS3 by snipping the third prong. Maybe this is something related. I'll see what plugs these things have. Still, the last time I checked, the Saturn (through composite) did not have this problem. But it doesn't have a third ground prong either. I don't know what the XBOX and cable box have.

EDIT 2: Unlike the XBOX, the cable box doesn't have a multi-out. I was able to take one audio cable out from the cable box's end of things at a time. The speakers outputted properly when I did that. When I removed the cables from the TV itself, it still duplicated the left audio on both speakers.

EDIT 3: I remembered that the cable box is fed through the VCR, so I removed the input plugs from the VCR. I had the audio problem. I removed the output plugs from the VCR, and there was no audio problem. So it seems like the problem is at the input of every device. Also, the XBOX and cable box don't have the ground prong.

[kendrick]

Check out the pinout we have here:

http://www.gamesx.com/avpinouts/xbox.htm

What's interesting to me is that the left-audio signal is on the opposite side of the connector from the right-audio ground. If I had to guess, I'd say there's a short that isn't exposed with the Monster cable because it's properly isolating each ground connection, whereas the crappy Gamestop cable (and the OEM one) both consolidate ground connections outside of the console. Couldn't tell you how to fix it though, apart from pulling off the port entirely and wiring up standard connectors (and switches to fool the console into thinking some cable type is connected.)

[Chuplayer]

Yeah, I had a look at the pinout. I looked best I could between all three cables and the port on the console, and I couldn't see anything. Unfortunately my multimeter's test leads aren't quite small enough to see if I can find a short or unexpected low resistance between two somethings.

Worst case scenario, I'll just use this console on my component-capable TV and get another console for proper audio with composite. I'm not going to open it and fix it. I could (I've fixed worse), but I don't want to risk screwing it up when I could just get another console.

The only reason I got the Gamestop cable was because I thought there was something wrong with the OEM cable

[l_oliveira]

Wolfson WM9709 (AC Link compliant D/A converter)   datasheet:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.datasheetcatalog.org%2Fdatasheet%2FWolfson%2FmXyzqyyr.pdf&ei=JuSISqmxLN-BtgeG3NjnDA&rct=j&q=WM9709&usg=AFQjCNGZrCUihgTRIOSsny11MHi0hCwFpw
which is the chip used on the classic XBOX as analogic audio output.


Being the audio circuitry so simple I think the only thing that might be happening on your setup is that when your cable is connected it somehow tells the XBOX there's a mono cable connected (the XBOX A/V port has ID bits to allow it to know which kind of cable is connected...) and it behaves accordingly.

So one of the three bits aren't connecting to the cable "configuration jumpers" when you're using your stock cable.
I'd say check the connector on the console for dirty, bent or missing pins.

[Chuplayer]

The pins didn't look missing or dirty. Also, have a look at the mode chart. NTSC mono is pin 19 while NTSC stereo is pin 17. There's a lot of space between them.

And it still doesn't explain why it's able to output the same channel to both speakers when there's only one cable connected. That's just bizarre. It's jumping speakers. I seriously doubt it's my TVs because it happens on both when the console is connected, and no other consoles have that problem with either TV.

Maybe there's some sort of freaky ground loop sort of thing going on like on the PS3 and how it affects its video? I don't even know if the XBOX has that third prong. It does have the "oops we screwed up and caught somebody's house on fire" replacement power cable.

[l_oliveira]

Do you happen to have a A/V switch of any kind ?

I happen to own a Recoton SVS1000 and it has a mechanism that detects the mechanical insertion of the RED cable on the connectors at the inputs.
If the RED cable is omitted/not connected, the blade inside the connector shorts both L and R channels at the output making the audio mono.

[Chuplayer]

Do you happen to have a A/V switch of any kind ?

I happen to own a Recoton SVS1000 and it has a mechanism that detects the mechanical insertion of the RED cable on the connectors at the inputs.
If the RED cable is omitted/not connected, the blade inside the connector shorts both L and R channels at the output making the audio mono.

No, I don't have any AV switcher.

A little update, too. See my first post. I edited it. The problem might not even be with the XBOX to begin with.

[Chuplayer]

Well, I'm at a loss. I doubt it's a mechanical detection of the red cable (or lack thereof). Maybe I could try measuring the depth of the pits in each plug. Not entirely sure how I'm gonna do that, but whatever. And that still doesn't explain why compoonent stuff works flawlessly.

[l_oliveira]

The problem might not even be with the XBOX to begin with.

Yes, because the XBOX is doing exactly what it's supposed to do when it detects a monaural cable.
Did you check your XBOX cable with other XBOX console too ?
I have to agree that your problem is pretty confusing.

[Chuplayer]

The problem might not even be with the XBOX to begin with.

Yes, because the XBOX is doing exactly what it's supposed to do when it detects a monaural cable.
Did you check your XBOX cable with other XBOX console too ?
I have to agree that your problem is pretty confusing.

I don't have any other XBOX consoles, so I can't check it.

Another thing came to mind. The smaller TV I use the XBOX on (and tested and confirmed working with the Saturn), that TV came with a mini mono splitter cable. It splits the mono audio from an NES into two matching audio streams for each speaker. So, at least with that TV, it wouldn't make sense for it to have a built-in mechanical mono audio detector. And it certainly doesn't explain why I get left audio on both speakers when only one cable is connected. I mean, that shouldn't happen. I have the red cable disconnected, and yet the white cable is outputting on both speakers. It's jumping somewhere. I don't know where, and I don't know how. It's bizarre!

I think I'm going to have to unplug a whole bunch of random things and see if I can find out what might be causing this problem, if anything is to begin with.