Edit: Problem solved! Worked with Apple's support rep via online chat, and he had me do an SMC reset, then a PRAM reset, then a test via new Admin account. I don't know which step fixed it, but it's fixed.
Hey MacRumors, I'm getting pretty desperate and hoping someone here can shed some light on my issue.
Yesterday, the sound quality on my brand new iMac for my headphones suddenly "degraded", for lack of a better word. The audio sounds a lot closer, flat, and low quality in general. This issue only happens when playing audio through my headphones.
- The issue doesn't seem to be with the headphones (Steelseries Siberia V2). I hooked them up to my laptop, and the sound is perfectly normal, both through the audio jack and an iMic Griffin adapter. I also bought a new headset today (Sennheiser PC 350; was due for a replacement anyway, thought this might fix it), and the issue persists. I've tried connecting both headsets via USB and audio jack, but it makes no difference.
- Regular internal out-put (speakers) has no issue. The audio quality is the same as before. I've also tried my Panasonic earbuds that I use when outside - again, no issue.
- I've looked in Audio MIDI setup, and all the channels/frequencies setup is still the same as before, nothing has been changed. I also compared it to the settings on my laptop, and they were the exact same.
- I've restarted my computer numerous times to no effect. I've tried unplugging all my USB connections, starting with iMic in/out, etc. - nothing.
- iTunes equalizer has no effect on it. The equalizer does still change the audio, but the low quality issue still persists regardless of setting. Comparing the same song on my iMac to my Macbook has a noticeable quality difference.
It's almost as if the audio channels/frequency for *just my headphones* were changed, yet their settings are no different in Audio MIDI. I think it might have something to do with surround sound capabilities since both my headsets utilize them, but my earbuds don't. I have no idea how I would go about fixing that though.
Does anyone have any insight on this? I've tried googling my issue but since it's very specific (and frankly I don't know how to describe it via keywords), I can't find anything related to it. All the headphone issues are with no sound, headphones not being recognized, etc.
I remember having had the same issue on my Macbook a while back. The problem fixed itself after a short time though, so I have no idea what caused it and what fixed it. This time however, it doesn't seem like it's going to fix itself.
Hey MacRumors, I'm getting pretty desperate and hoping someone here can shed some light on my issue.
Yesterday, the sound quality on my brand new iMac for my headphones suddenly "degraded", for lack of a better word. The audio sounds a lot closer, flat, and low quality in general. This issue only happens when playing audio through my headphones.
- The issue doesn't seem to be with the headphones (Steelseries Siberia V2). I hooked them up to my laptop, and the sound is perfectly normal, both through the audio jack and an iMic Griffin adapter. I also bought a new headset today (Sennheiser PC 350; was due for a replacement anyway, thought this might fix it), and the issue persists. I've tried connecting both headsets via USB and audio jack, but it makes no difference.
- Regular internal out-put (speakers) has no issue. The audio quality is the same as before. I've also tried my Panasonic earbuds that I use when outside - again, no issue.
- I've looked in Audio MIDI setup, and all the channels/frequencies setup is still the same as before, nothing has been changed. I also compared it to the settings on my laptop, and they were the exact same.
- I've restarted my computer numerous times to no effect. I've tried unplugging all my USB connections, starting with iMic in/out, etc. - nothing.
- iTunes equalizer has no effect on it. The equalizer does still change the audio, but the low quality issue still persists regardless of setting. Comparing the same song on my iMac to my Macbook has a noticeable quality difference.
It's almost as if the audio channels/frequency for *just my headphones* were changed, yet their settings are no different in Audio MIDI. I think it might have something to do with surround sound capabilities since both my headsets utilize them, but my earbuds don't. I have no idea how I would go about fixing that though.
Does anyone have any insight on this? I've tried googling my issue but since it's very specific (and frankly I don't know how to describe it via keywords), I can't find anything related to it. All the headphone issues are with no sound, headphones not being recognized, etc.
I remember having had the same issue on my Macbook a while back. The problem fixed itself after a short time though, so I have no idea what caused it and what fixed it. This time however, it doesn't seem like it's going to fix itself.
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