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I want to use itunes with an xp box and have the audio play out through two soundcards at the same time (one internal, one USB). Is this possible?

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3 Answers

It isn't the fault of iTunes, but rather a limitation of Windows XP. Windows only allows for one audio output at a time. There are no hacks I know of that can solve this problem.

If you are not set on using iTunes, you could use Video Lan Client's streaming features (play music on one PC and simultaneously stream to a second one with your USB audio device). The advantage is that you can scale this solution to many more PC's if you want and they will all play the same audio (not accounting for network lag of course).

On the other hand, if you really insist on using iTunes, I'm afraid you'll have to use the splitter or mixing panel as John T suggested.

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Not true. It's not the fault of XP. I always use two sound cards, and it works with the programs that recognize them (most DJ mixing programs do) – PA. Nov 3 '09 at 16:01
In my experience with XP I've never gotten two cards to work together. On the other hand, both Vista and Windows 7 were both very willing to accept multiple audio outputs. Which DJ mixing programs did you use? We might be able de see how they tick and find a solution! – Jaspio Nov 3 '09 at 22:09
mixxx, ultramixer, virtual DJ, disco XT – PA. Nov 10 '09 at 10:59
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Are you trying to jury-rig together a make-shift surround system? If so, then you should check to see if either of your sound cards can be configured to do surround sound on its own (eg, Control Panel->Sound…->Speaker Settings: Advanced)

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It's possible to use two sound cards, but I believe iTunes will only use one device at a time. If you're trying to play audio from two separate applications at the same time you're fine, just set each one to use a different device. If you're trying to send the same thing out of two sets of speakers, have you considered using a single device with a jack splitter?

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I would love to know for sure if iTunes supports multiple sound cards. The splitter is an option we had considered, but we want many lines out, and would likely split both sound card outputs if we could. Thanks for the suggestion. – Anonymous Oct 16 '09 at 20:30
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