Headphone Jack on Mac Pro dont'work!

Got to go into system preferences, click sound and choose the output.

I thought the same thing too when I got mine. I've found that Rogue Amoebas freebie Soundsource has become indispensable:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/

It installs a menubar item that lets you choose all the sound inputs and outputs.

kered22 said:

I thought the same thing too when I got mine. I've found that Rogue Amoebas freebie Soundsource has become indispensable:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/

It installs a menubar item that lets you choose all the sound inputs and outputs.

Click to expand...

thanks for that tip! downloaded and installed...

kered22 said:

I thought the same thing too when I got mine. I've found that Rogue Amoebas freebie Soundsource has become indispensable:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/

It installs a menubar item that lets you choose all the sound inputs and outputs.

Click to expand...

Same thing here...Thanks for the tip. Also I wish they would have included a real microphone jack!

mobi said:

Same thing here...Thanks for the tip. Also I wish they would have included a real microphone jack!

Click to expand...

An XLR input? Phantom power? don't hold your breath.


ha, j/k

kered22 said:

I thought the same thing too when I got mine. I've found that Rogue Amoebas freebie Soundsource has become indispensable:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/

It installs a menubar item that lets you choose all the sound inputs and outputs.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for that kered22, I've been looking for that exact thing!

Why do they do that?? It has been driving me crazy that every time I want to put in headphones, I have to go into system prefs. Couldn't there be a way to switch it automatically, (like on my old PC)?

hessdesigns said:

Why do they do that?? It has been driving me crazy that every time I want to put in headphones, I have to go into system prefs. Couldn't there be a way to switch it automatically, (like on my old PC)?

Click to expand...

I wish there was, that was the way it worked on my G5. I just left my headphones plugged in and when I wanted to hear something through them, I turned my speakers off. I'm not sure why it was changed, it's possible it's just a first version fluke (either hardware of software) like the MacPros Firewire issues.

No headphones in Parallels

When I boot Win XP in Parallels, the sound comes out through the external speakers, even when headphones are selected as output in OS X at the time I boot Win XP. Anybody else has the same problem? Is there a fix?

I'm sure is easy to fix. In Windows XP when i plug the headphones in it defaults to the headphone port.

WHY DOES OSX NOT DO THIS AND WINDOWS DOES?????????

The headphone jack is the "Built in Output" under Output. If you unplug the headphones, then sound will just come out the built in speaker. You can just play around with the settings to get acclimated with them.

kered22 said:

I thought the same thing too when I got mine. I've found that Rogue Amoebas freebie Soundsource has become indispensable:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/

It installs a menubar item that lets you choose all the sound inputs and outputs.

Click to expand...

Thank you!!!

My Mac Pro arrived the other day and this has been annoying the crap out of me. This little app is amazingly simple ... it even has a feature to auto-switch to headphones when you plug them in ... just like on my old Powerbook! Thanks SO much for linking the app. It's a life saver.

By the way the Mac Pro is an incredible machine ... simply amazing, I couldn't be happier. Sorry, just wanted to gush a bit.

AFIK, most PCs only have 1 sound output, so the signal is switched between 2 sockets, one on the rear for speakers, and one on the front for headphones. Certainly all the PCs I've had have been this way


Where as on the Mac Pro I have music playing through my speakers connected to the rear socket, have IM audio chat through my headphones connected to the front socket, and have system beeps come through the built in speaker.

I find this to be super useful as it's very easy to distinguish audio from the different sources, i always used to find IM chat was getting lost in my music, or i'd miss system beeps etc.


It would seem the price of this is non auto stitching between the rear output and the front output, but this is purely a decision apple made at some point during MacOS development, if you don't like it you can use Rogue Amoebas SoundSource, but then, you can just leave everything plugged in and use the menu to switch outputs

I really like the fact that you have to use System Preferences to change the output. This way, I can leave my external speakers always plugged in, while still being able to use the internal speaker when doing everyday work. On my old PC, I had to crawl under my desk and unplug my speakers all the time.

beige matchbox said:

Where as on the Mac Pro I have music playing through my speakers connected to the rear socket, have IM audio chat through my headphones connected to the front socket, and have system beeps come through the built in speaker.

I find this to be super useful as it's very easy to distinguish audio from the different sources, i always used to find IM chat was getting lost in my music, or i'd miss system beeps etc.

Click to expand...

You can output different things to different ports at the same time? If yes, how do I do this?

Depends on the software,

If you go into the iChat prefs theres a menu with the outputs in, same with EyeTV, some games too, such as World Of Warcraft allow you to choose an output device

Just ran into the same issue. The first issues I ran into is that the headphones pop into the jack with some resistance. After I worked that out, I ran into the software issue.

I have RA's Soundsource installed as well, it has a "auto-switch to headphones" setting which seems to fix the issue.

Problem With Front Audio Socket - MacPro

I can't seem to get my MacPro to play anything through my headphones (front socket) - it doesn't even see the headphones plugged in ... help!?


--- I just found out why, hahaha! I didn't know that you have to keep pushing the jack until you hear a pop (its a new MacPro, i dnt wanna damage it!!)

The headphone jack on my 1966 MAC PRO is shot after 5 years of plugging and unplugging headphones and it looks very difficult to access it on the motherboard to fix it. I tried bending the tabs inside the jack with a paper clip without much success. So I am forced to use the line out on the back of the machine and do the SYSTEM PREFERENCES - SOUND - Built in line output routine. I suggest using an adapter to plug into the machines jacks and leaving the adapter in all the time so you are plugging and unplugging from the adapter and not the machines jacks eventually ruining them. I know that this will deactivate the internal speaker but live with it.

If you don't want to install SoundSource, you can alt-click on the volume icon in the menu bar, and choose your output and input.

P.S. You can also alt-click the airport and bluetooth menu bar icons for extra options.

Mac Pro headphones jack

oliverj777 said:

I can't seem to get my MacPro to play anything through my headphones (front socket) - it doesn't even see the headphones plugged in ... help!?


--- I just found out why, hahaha! I didn't know that you have to keep pushing the jack until you hear a pop (its a new MacPro, i dnt wanna damage it!!)

Click to expand...

Excellent advice! I have been fooling with this for days. I thought I forced it in as far as it would go. That last millimeter on the plug must be in so it's flush. After reading your post, I gripped the handle on the Mac case to force the plug in, and voila! Finally success. I can't thank you enough for posting this!

kered22 said:

I thought the same thing too when I got mine. I've found that Rogue Amoebas freebie Soundsource has become indispensable:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/

It installs a menubar item that lets you choose all the sound inputs and outputs.

Click to expand...

Exactly the fix I was looking for, awesome.

macenforcer said:

Got to go into system preferences, click sound and choose the output.

Click to expand...

Your the MAN!! Thanx so much- Since 1995 I've been using Windows OS, (Ya I'm Old) Anyhow, I LOVE My MAC! Thanx for all the help your all so nice to offer!

CityCat said:

Your the MAN!! Thanx so much- Since 1995 I've been using Windows OS, (Ya I'm Old) Anyhow, I LOVE My MAC! Thanx for all the help your all so nice to offer!

Click to expand...

How are you old?