So i know the MBP has headphone output and optical audio output, but can i get it to output to line out? In that it would be analog line out, not digital, so i can hook up external speakers without the built in volume control?
Thanks
MacBook Pro 15 Inch 2.16Ghz C2D,
Mac OS X (10.4.8),
Homegrown PC Win XP Pro
if you mean in a way as a audio conrtroller that will disable the onboard control sound then yes this is possible.
for instance, alot of professional audio interfaces like my Digidesign MBOX 2 and so with others like M-Audio etc will control the audio internally and disable the control of the MBP.
So now my digidesign mbox is the main output of the MBP which controls the level of sounds etc.
Plain and simple, i want to know if the MBP can output audio as "line out" not headphone output. Like with my MP3 player, i can switch the audio output from headphone to line out, and the line out is very loud, in that it is meant to be hooked up to speakers, not headphones and there is no volume control for it would be done with the speakers. Also receivers have line out for recording on external devices. Just wondering if the MBP could do this in analog mode instead of digital.
If you run a toslink cable out of the line out (headphone jack), it will automatically disable the volume controls and treat it like a line out rather than a headphone jack, but as far as analog is concerned, there is no way to my knowledge.
the audio i/o connectors on the MBs and MBPs are multi -purpose.
if you plug in headphones to the output, it works as a headphone output.
if you plug in a stereo minijack cable with whatever connection you need at the other end, you can use it as a stereo line out to connect to a hifi system. set the volume to maximum and leave it there to get the best signal to noise ratio, and then use your hifi's volume control to control the overall level as you would with any other device.
if you plug in a toslink cable, the output with give you a stereo digital sp/dif signal. if you need to use this, then you will already know what it means and how to use it. if not, then you probably don't need it.
bear in mind that the 'line out' analog (or headphone for that matter) is never going to be the greatest quality. it's got a pretty poor converter, and if you are an audiophile, you will probably hear the RF interference that comes from the internal workings of the computer. if you're after best quality, then you'll need either a 3rd party audio interface of some type, or you'll need to use the outputs as optical sp/dif, for which you'll need a converter.
