Connecting Xbox 360e w/3.5mm Headset - Game Audio (Not Chat)

[Jagosaurus]

I recently went down this rabbit hole and wanted to share... hopefully it helps someone out there.

Surprisingly the Xbox 360e has a 3.5mm headset jack on the back... but it is listed as AV/component on spec docs. Mine even came with the AV cables shown below (composite video & stereo - red, yellow, white), using this port. I wanted to test out my existing 3.5mm headphones for game audio (versus chat only via the controller port). We likely all have a pair of these headphones around the house.

To my surprise... while using HDMI out for video, the 3.5 jack will still output an audio signal to a pair of 3.5 mm headphones. Unfortunately, I had no volume control. I am assuming when designing, they were thinking it would be feeding into an audio receiver with volume controls. Of course my headset cord was also WAY too short to reach the couch.

I set out on a cheap way to properly... well working way... to connect a pair of existing 3.5mm headphones with volume control. Keep in mind you'll need to turn down your TVs built in speakers.

I went with a KabelDirekt 10 foot 3.5mm male to 3.5mm female + Inline Volume Control for 3.5MM Headphones + Exiting Pair of 3.5mm noise canceling headphones.

$10.19 + $6.99 = $17.88 shipped on Amazon. Can't beat under $20 bucks.

Now I can crank up... or down... some Halo 3 without worrying about being too loud. It also reminds me of the glorious headset jack on the model 1 Genesis!

EDIT/ADD: I highly recommend you check out the thread below where I ask the RB resident audiophiles to chime in. They recommend amps to better get this set up done. We also discussed accomplishing this on ALL retro consoles with RCA cables:
Audiophile Help - 3.5mm Headphone on ALL Retro Consoles

[marurun]

You’ll notice that that connector has three black bands on it. Standard headphone jacks have only two black bands. Those bands separate the signals: ground, left, and right. The 360 has an additional signal for composite video, but the other signals are in all the right places to be picked up by an audio-only plug. That said, volume levels may be inappropriate for a headset.

[Jagosaurus]

You’ll notice that that connector has three black bands on it. Standard headphone jacks have only two black bands. Those bands separate the signals: ground, left, and right. The 360 has an additional signal for composite video, but the other signals are in all the right places to be picked up by an audio-only plug. That said, volume levels may be inappropriate for a headset.

I never would have notice the rings. Thanks for pointing it out.

For those wondering about the 360 specifically here, the single volume level initially was too loud for me during action parts of the game. The inline volume controller allowed me to turn in down in these, but then easily crank up during dialogue heavy scenes. Agree, if the single volume level is too low, this setup won't amplify it in any way.