User profile for user: Dlarus6
Dlarus6 Author
User level: Level 1
14 points

Can the 2014 Mac mini play sound through my soundbar?

Hello and thanks in advance. I'm using my 2014 Mac mini as a HTPC, I am having the hardest time trying to get my mini to play sound through my Harmon Kardon SB16 soundbar. Currently I have the mini connected via HDMI to tv and optical going from soundbar to tv. Works great but my goal is to control the volume via keyboard rather than use the tv remote. I tried optical toslink cable going from soundbar to the 3.5mm jack on the back of the mini changed both the settings in Sound through System Preferances along with the MIDI settings in the app in utilities. In system prefs Sound it shows optical but no master volume and needless to say no sound. I thought the 3.5mm Jack served as both headphone and s/pdif for digital output. Do I need a DAC converter of some sort to have this capability? I was looking into the Music Streamer lll by HRT high resolution technologies I called a few audio stores I found online and all said call Apple which I find rather strange since many people use Mac/PC for sound through sterero receivers. The soundbar has multiple connection types coaxial, fiber optic and source 1 rca one red one white. I'm thinking this may be only possible with a stereo receiver. sorry for my ignorance on this but I'm at my wits end trying to come up with a solution. my 2.1 soundbar has amazing sound and not looking forward to purchasing a receiver to have this functionality. User uploaded file


Music Streamer lll

User uploaded file

Cable used to connect soundbar to mini.

User uploaded file

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2), null

Posted on Dec 29, 2015 2:40 AM

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6 replies
User profile for user: SandsOfArrakis
SandsOfArrakis
User level: Level 4
1,258 points

Dec 29, 2015 2:36 PM in response to Dlarus6

You can. Looks like the soundbar has an analogue connection (source one) with a connection for left and right. All you need is to obtain a cable with on one side a 3.5 mm jack to connect to the headphones out on your Mini. And on the other side 2 jacks. One to connect to each Source 1 connections. This should do it 🙂


They look like this : http://www.reloop.com/reloop-cable-stereo-6-3-mm-jack-m-2x-mono-6-3-mm-jack-m-3- 0-m

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User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
21,027 points

Dec 29, 2015 2:39 PM in response to Dlarus6

For openers, any digital interface from the Mini (Optical or HDMI) will stream a fixed

format signal. In other words, it is assumed the receiving device will control volume.

Volume control will only be available if analog. The only way around this, is if the app

is controlling the volume as it streams. So, the "master" mMac volume won't work

but those within an app might (depends how the app was designed).


As far as the lack of sound, that could be still some setup issue in MIDI settings,

which can be misleading when connecting via digital pathways.

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User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
21,027 points

Dec 30, 2015 4:29 AM in response to Dlarus6

Dlarus6 wrote:


Thank you for your help. So I lose sound quality by using the 3.5mm?

That really depends on the DAC that is internal to the sound bar and

the format of the audio that you listen to. If you are listening to

256kbit/second or lower AAC (iTunes Store music) or MP3s, it really

won't perceptively make any difference. If you are listening to HiRes

digital or CDs, you may hear some different, however your listening

experience will be limited by the quality of the speakers in the sound bar.

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Can the 2014 Mac mini play sound through my soundbar?

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