[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 4 Nov 2020 06:55:38 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

Note: I do NOT have a microphone, nor am I using the loopback cable;
but I do have a 1/8th-inch jack tying the motherboard (green) output
to a powered speaker on my desktop.

Why does Audacity only record streaming audio when a 1/8th-inch stereo
cable is connected to the speaker out (even if the other end of that cable
is hanging in mid air)?

I am NOT an audiophile... so this may be a dumb question...
o Can someone _explain_ why I need a cable (& nothing else) to record?

a. I have a desktop with no microphone
b. I have a green speaker-out 1/8th-inch stereo jack on the motherboard
c. I set up Audacity to record whatever is playing on the computer

If I leave the green speaker-out jack empty, Audacity won't record audio.
o Yet, if I plug in a male:male cable, Audacity records audio just fine.

Note that the _other_ end of that male:male cable goes nowhere!
o So Audacity needed _only_ "something" (anything) plugged into the jack.

Why?
o I'm sure there's a mechanical "switch" involved on the jack - but why?

Why does Audacity record audio _only_ when a cable is plugged in?
o Where that cable can be connected to headphones, speakers, or nothing!

This is the specific test I ran, but I don't think it matters:
1. I arbitrarily checked out the election news he
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/election-results-flux-progressive-groups-mobilize-n1246434
2. And then played this Twitter feed (which is NOT a YouTube video):
https://twitter.com/i/status/1323752027655229445
3. My results we
a. With no cable connected to the green jack, Audacity recorded nothing.
b. With a jumper cable connected to the green jack
(but connected to nothing else on the other end)
Audacity recorded the streaming audio just fine.

Why does Audacity only record streaming audio when a 1/8th-inch stereo
cable is connected to the speaker out (even if the other end of that cable
is hanging in mid air)?