Connecting a PC/360/PS3 to a single monitor/speaker set-up

Evangir

I currently have my PC and Xbox 360 hooked up to my 22" monitor for HD gaming goodness. The monitor has VGA (360), DVI (PC) and an open HDMI port that will be connecting to the 80 GB PS3 I just bought using Airmiles points. Obviously the connection to the monitor isn't the problem.

The problem I have is that I need to connect all three to the same set of speakers, which are currently connected to my PC's sound card. I have my Xbox 360's R/W audio jacks hooked into a 3.5 mm adapter, which hooks into the sound card. I'll likely be looking at a similar connection with the PS3, and I've seen some Y-connectors for the 3.5 mm jacks, so they could (theoretically) share the same port on the sound card (assuming there isn't some problem with these that I'm unaware of).

So now, to the questions:
Is this a bad idea? Will I hear noticeable issues with sound quality (which in my original set-up was not an issue as far as I could tell)? So far with my PC and 360 on at the same time I have no issues, but I'm not sure if that would change with another console.
Will I run into issues if I attempt to turn on both the 360 and PS3 at the same time?

Hopefully there's an experienced audiophile (or another cheapskate like myself) hanging around that has some sort of answer.

Rotting Meat

I've done a similar setup with a gamecube and TV tuner card both going into my 3.5mm input jack (TV tuner didn't have internal leads). It never caused a problem individually, but I remember it sounded a little crappy if I had both going at the same time. No idea the cause or even if it was psychological... but there's one anecdote for you.

Ihmhi

It should not sound crappy so long as you do not use wires you bought from the dollar store or something. Considering the short distance the consoles likely are from your rig, you would want to debate whether or not gold wires would be worth the money for the better sound quality.

vonPoonBurGer

Ihmhi wrote: »

It should not sound crappy so long as you do not use wires you bought from the dollar store or something. Considering the short distance the consoles likely are from your rig, you would want to debate whether or not gold wires would be worth the money for the better sound quality.

The problem won't be with the cables, it'll be with any Y-connectors OP tries to use. For example, if he's got one 3.5mm input jack, he's going to need either a Y-connector so he can connect both the 360 and the PS3 at the same time, or he's going to need a switchbox to switch back and forth without having to fool around unplugging one and plugging in the other. I tried using a Y-connector for this purpose once, and the results were pretty awful. The signal from one device was propagating up the other side of the Y-connector and then reflecting back down, resulting in some pretty godawful distortion/echo/reverb effects. It may have been a problem with the Y-connector I was using, or with the equipment that was plugged in, but I'm inclined to anticipate problems with any sort of Y-connector setup. My suspicion is that Y-connectors are actually intended to split one signal into two, not combine two signals into one.