How to hear myself from speaker as I speak to the mic?

Question

Level 1

9 points

How to hear myself from speaker as I speak to the mic?

Hi,

I have an iMAC G5 with a built-in mic. I wonder if it is possible to output my voice to the speaker as I speak to the mic...

Basically i'm trying to use the iMac as an amplier, so as i speak to the built-in mic, it will play my voice instantenouslly through its speakers.

I'm wondering if this feature exists or if there is a 3rd part add-on that will make it work.

Thanks for any inputs!

iMAC G5 Mac OS X (10.4)

Posted on Jul 14, 2006 10:20 PM

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Answer 1

Ed Beale

Level 4

1,065 points

Jul 15, 2006 7:23 PM in response to tien_33

Here's samething you can use for free: LineIn from Rogue Amoeba ( link to downloads page). It has a passthrough feature that plays mic inputs to your output source. I use it while previewing tapes before I use Sound Studio to record (sound studio has a passthrough feature too, but not free and many more features than you need).

Let us know if this helps!

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Answer 2

tien_33 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 15, 2006 11:22 AM in response to Josh Mccoppen

Hi, thank you for helping out!

Yes, I should use a headphone instead. I went to System Preferences->Sound->Input and adjusted the Input volume such that I see the input level in the mid-range.

I also tested my headphone with iTunes, which works nicely.

However, I still can't hear myself from the headphone. Is there an application that I should open first?

iMAC G5 Mac OS X (10.4)

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Answer 3

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Jul 15, 2006 7:24 PM in response to tien_33

Hi tien,

you should be able to accomplish this with a little freeware app called "Playthrough"

If you want something a bit more "upmarket" then "Profcast" should also be able to do the job.

Under Panther it used to be possible to achieve this end using Apple's own "Audio Midi Setup" utility, but this is no longer so under Tiger.

AudioHijack is another option.

Cheers

Rod

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Answer 4

Ed Beale

Level 4

1,065 points

Jul 15, 2006 7:26 PM in response to Rod Hagen

Something to remember is that a normal mic plugged into the mac line in port needs some kind of amplification to line level. Either an external pre-amp, or a USB input that converts mic levels to line levels, such as the iMic from Griffin. I had that problem with a new headset mic but luckilly I had an iMic sitting around.

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Answer 5

tien_33 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 15, 2006 10:34 PM in response to tien_33

Thank you Ed and Rod!

I downloaded LineIn and it works! very happy! ^-^

There is just this annoying background noise... I don't think it is the application's problem, but rather, a problem of the iMAC, because when I open System Preferences->Sound->Input, I can see the Input level fluctuating in small scale even if I say nothing...

Is there a way of removing this background noise?

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Answer 6

Jul 15, 2006 3:34 AM in response to tien_33

Try going to system Preferences->Sound->Input & set your volume levels.

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Answer 7

Jul 15, 2006 4:55 AM in response to tien_33

I dont think you would want to do this because you would get feedback noise.
I think you can only hear your voice with headphones.

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Answer 8

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Jul 15, 2006 7:26 PM in response to Ed Beale

Ah yes. "LineIn"

Forgot about that one Ed. Probably the simplest of all , in fact. Good call!

Cheers

Rod

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