Q: Missing menu “Use audio port for”

For what its worth I too just bought an macnotebook pro 13" after convincing everyone how superior Apple is to Windows but now find myself eating humble pie cos I can't use the line in. I'm really dissappointed my £900 machine can't do some thing that a £299 Windows laptop can do. Get this sorted please Apple - help me to retore your reputation with my fanily!!.

mike1ac1 wrote:

 

For what its worth I too just bought an macnotebook pro 13" after convincing everyone how superior Apple is to Windows but now find myself eating humble pie cos I can't use the line in. I'm really dissappointed my £900 machine can't do some thing that a £299 Windows laptop can do. Get this sorted please Apple - help me to retore your reputation with my fanily!!.

Not to be argumentative, but how have you been prevented from using the "line in"? As has been explained in previous posts in this thread, Apple's implementation of one port performing dual duty is actually superior in many ways to the older means of two jacks. For those that might have older gear to interface, all that is needed is an inexpensive adapter.

I use the Line In on my MBA routinely.

I don't know who in Apple management had the bright ideea that removing the Audio in/out for the latest 13" Macbook Pro's will sell more 15" 's.

Paying 500 $ more for something that you can get on older models it doesn't make you feel smart.

Lame, Apple, very lame...

Hello, SP!

I know this is a few months old, but could you please point me to the "inexpensive adapter" you referred to? I am trying to use the line in port on an MBA.

http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/km-iphone-2trs.htm

Thanks, SP. This one is a tad over $32 with shipping, so would not exactly call it "inexpensive" But, nice to know it is there; in the meantime I will continue using my Griffin iMic USB adapter. It is a shame that Apple decided to do away with a dedicated audio input port.

Will this work on other devices like a drum machine or synth? I'm running into the same issue!

What are you referring to by "this"? The adapter pictured by SP? or the Griffin iMic?

I was referring to the Y adapter, but I'm seeing more people are buying the Griffin iMic as a solution.I posted the same question earlier today https://discussions.apple.com/message/20975235#20975235

That's your only choice, I think. The splitter adapter may work, but I believe it is Mono only in the Macbook Air and 13" Pro. So, if you are seriously into audio (like I am), it is useless. I did not realize that Apple in its infinite loop wisdom decided that Audio In was not a feature people wanted in the 13" format. They just took it out without saying a word about it. The product manager should be fired.

Also found this little guy for $30, Behringer U-Control UCA222.

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA222.aspx

http://www.behringer.com/assets/UCA222_WebBrochure.pdf

Yes, there are a number of USB interfaces in the market. Unfortunately, none of them support 88.4KHz sampling rate, unlike the built-in Audio Interface in the MBP 15". I will definitely miss that.

Interesting news about my audio issue...

I finally called Apple Support after googling around for similar issues and I couldn't find anything. I thought that I might have a hardware problem, but it turns out that my Mac works perfectly. One of the advisors I was talking with told me that the audio jack on the newer MacBook Pros (with the dual Line In/Line Out port) cannot simply have a 1/8th stereo audio cable and it reading as "Line In" under the Sound pane in System Preferences. He said that for whatever reason, Apple removed the option to do that.

He told me that my only option was to use a USB sound card with a Line In port on it, because that will show up under the Input tab in the Sound pane in System Preferences.

Then he said that this was something that the engineers could work on and told me to fill out a formhttp://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html and if they get enough of these feedback requests about the Line In issue, they might consider making a fix for it. I asked the advisor if they actually read these requests, and he said that all of the teams have to read these requests.

So in the meantime I ordered a USB sound card so I can record sound coming into the Mac.

So it would be cool if everyone could go to MacBook Pro Feedback and request to have the option to select what the Audio Input can be used for, then maybe they will consider making a fix for this issue.

Interesting news about my audio issue...

I finally called Apple Support after googling around for similar issues and I couldn't find anything. I thought that I might have a hardware problem, but it turns out that my Mac works perfectly. One of the advisors I was talking with told me that the audio jack on the newer MacBook Pros (with the dual Line In/Line Out port) cannot simply have a 1/8th stereo audio cable and it reading as "Line In" under the Sound pane in System Preferences. He said that for whatever reason, Apple removed the option to do that.

He told me that my only option was to use a USB sound card with a Line In port on it, because that will show up under the Input tab in the Sound pane in System Preferences.

Then he said that this was something that the engineers could work on and told me to fill out a formhttp://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html and if they get enough of these feedback requests about the Line In issue, they might consider making a fix for it. I asked the advisor if they actually read these requests, and he said that all of the teams have to read these requests.

So in the meantime I ordered a USB sound card so I can record sound coming into the Mac.

So it would be cool if everyone could go to MacBook Pro Feedback and request to have the option to select what the Audio Input can be used for, then maybe they will consider making a fix for this issue.

Glad to see this thread is still active - I'm sure many Mac users share the same concern.

I hope to add to the discussion with the following: recently I invested in a fancy headset (mostly for Skype and gaming purposes, no 'serious' audio), with the intention to use it on my Macbook Pro OS X 10.6.2. by using the Y cable / cable buddy similiar to the one SP Forsythe recommended. Even though now both audio in and out are connected, my headset is only recognised for audio output and the internal mic remains the only option listed in the input menu in System Prefs. Moral of the story: an easy enough solution it may seem, the external mic remains unrecognised.

Armed with an expensive headset and a Y cable that I cannot use, and having plenty of research hours on this issue behind me, I am deeply dissapointed to say the least. I'm guessing now the last option is to invest in a USB soundcard or converter, what are your thoughts? It seems that the iMic (mentioned often in related discussions) has more negative reviews than positive ones.

Funnily enough, I tried some crummy cheap headset with the Y cable, and lo and behold - we find the external microphone! Truly my Macbook is mocking me.