Power Mac G4 MDD (FW 800) Sound Card

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Power Mac G4 MDD (FW 800) Sound Card

Please forgive me if this question has been answered in the past but I can't find any information on the forum site.

I have a Power Mac G4 MDD (FW 800) Dual 1.42. I would like to output sound to an amplifier / speakers so I may listen to MP3s from iTunes. Can you use a splitter on the audio cable and hookup analog RCA cables to an amplifier and get good quality sound? I tried a Monster Cable (Ditial to Analog) and hooked it up but I receive all kinds of interference noise. Do you have to buy a separate sound card for this purpose or am I missing something? I don't understand how to get clean audio from the machine.

Thank you for your reply and knowledge.

Power Mac G4 MDD FW 800 Dual 1.42, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jul 31, 2009 7:20 AM

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Answer 1

japamac

Level 7

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Jul 31, 2009 7:54 AM in response to cdMac

Hi-

A stereo mini jack to RCA cable is all that you need to connect the Mac to a stereo amplifier.
That is what I use to get sound from my QS2002 machine to my Onkyo stereo.
The sound quality is excellent.

If you are using the digital output, that jack is specially modified to accept only the Apple Pro speakers.
The jack of the monster cable mini jack is probably too short to properly ground, thus the noise.

You would be better served to use the analog line out.

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Answer 2

cdMac Author

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Jul 31, 2009 11:28 AM in response to japamac

Is the mini-jack to stereo adapter something you can pick-up from the apple store? Or can you recommend another place? Thanks again for your reply.

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Answer 3

cdMac Author

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Jul 31, 2009 11:40 AM in response to japamac

Sorry, one last question. When you mentioned the "analog out" are you referring to the headphone jack on the front of the computer next to the cd rom drive? Or is there another analog out on the computer? Thank you.

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Answer 4

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Jul 31, 2009 2:39 PM in response to cdMac

Hi-

The mini-jack to RCA is available at any store that sells stereo equipment.

In addition to the headphone jack on the front of the tower, there is an audio out jack on the rear of the tower.

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