Project information
- Category: Hardware Design
- Project date: 2023
Megalodon Soundcard
The Razer Megalodon was my first "nice" headset. I still think the comfort of this headset is unrivaled. After some years had passed, I wanted to try something new and bought a replacement headset. However, I loved the comfort of my Megalodon so much, I wanted to keep it around.
The best way for me to keep this headset was to use it at work. Unfortunately, the USB soundcard prevented me from plugging this into my work laptop as is. So without too much forethought, I proceeded to cut the wires between the headset and soundcard assuming they were single-ended. I was wrong...
Converting the headset to a single-ended 3.5mm jack was as simple as soldering the wires on, and that quickly became my work headset. Converting the soundcard to a single-ended 3.5mm jack was much trickier. The main challenge was the soundcard only provided a positive voltage rail to power my circuit. I needed to part select a voltage inverter charge pump that did not oscillate in the audible frequency range (fairly niche). After that was figured out, it was a fairly straightforward differential to a single-ended op-amp circuit. I simulated the circuit on Texas Instruments' TINA Spice simulator first, just to avoid too much busy work. The simulation output shows a positive input signal (teal), a negative input signal (purple), and the output single-ended signal (red). Then I refined a 3D-printed enclosure to house the circuit and provide a fixed 3.5mm connection.