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Helpful answers
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Jun 17, 2016 5:48 AM in response to Lee Warren 500by lllaass,I am not aware of any such PCIe audio cards that will work with the recent OSX versions.
You can get USB audio adopters with optical out like:
https://www.amazon.com/External-Adapter-Optical-Windows-SD-AUD20101/dp/B006SF68P 2
https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Beach-Advantage-Digital-Adapter/dp/B0036VO4X4
Also see:
Connect your Mac to a home stereo, iPod, iPad, musical instruments, or speakers - Apple Support
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by John Lockwood,Jun 17, 2016 7:22 AM in response to Lee Warren 500
John Lockwood
Jun 17, 2016 7:22 AM
in response to Lee Warren 500
Level 6 (9,309 points)
Servers EnterpriseAs far as I can see the built-in sound interface of a Mac Pro can already do 24bit 96Khz. You configure this using Midi Audio Setup in the Utilities folder.
With regards to USB audio interfaces, these days these expect to use USB3 which of course the Mac Pro 3,1 does not have as standard. Yes it is possible to fit a USB3 PCIe card but I think trying to do it that way is expecting too much.
Previously FireWire audio adapters used to be available and would easily have done this, however they all seem to have been discontinued and most did not get updated drivers for newer versions of OS X, if you did find one you might be in luck with just Mavericks.
There are some PCIe audio cards but these are aimed at video/audio studio editing and overkill for this, see BlackMagicDesign.
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Jun 17, 2016 10:29 AM in response to John Lockwoodby Lee Warren 500,Thank you for the ideas.
According what I have found online, the newer versions of the Mac Pro received an enhancement to bring them better on-board audio capability up to 24bit 192khz, however, it is not clear what capability is actually in the earlier Mac Pro models.
Play high sample rate digital audio on Mac computers - Apple Support
It appears the Midi Audio Setup will allow 24-bit 96khz to be selected, but I don't want to assume the hardware will actually work at that rate without some help. It is clear that iTunes is not ready to get even close, so still need a 3rd-party solution for the software.
Finally, the Mac Pro 3,1 has an optical digital I/O, but from what I have read, a digital coax I/O is a better choice for longer cable runs, hence the desire for an expansion card to add this capability and also possible future capability at 24-bit 192khz. Thanks.