adding subwoofer, but keep using internal speakers

[scott911]

just got a new 27" retina imac.

The internal speakers are actually better than I thought they would be, except for the bass. Blame physics.

Question is: can I supplement the built in speakers with a powered subwoofer?

A search of google indicated this wasn't really possible in the older systems (audio would be all internal - or all routed external) I wonder if that's still the case, anybody know?

I know the best option is the go full third party with external speakers all the way, but for my purposes, I'd like to try to just add sub-woofer and retain the clean desktop look...

 

[hfg]

This may be less than what you are looking for ... but I had a 12South "BassJump" from some time ago which I now use with my 27" retina iMac and it adds enough mellow bass for my taste.

https://www.twelvesouth.com/product/bassjump-2-for-macbook

 

[scott911]

thanks hfg.

That item did catch my eye - and I spent some time looking at it's reviews to see if someone would reference a bigger solution for a competitor. I found nothing. hello kickstarter?

That particular item is power by usb (so a couple watts) , and has a 3" paper "woofer" - so it's design is all about portability with your notebook.

But I value your opinion that it does add some meaningful bass in your imac set up - so I'll check it out.

 

[dmrowley]

Try installing Boom 2. It makes an amazing difference with stock speakers. Even better with powered externals.

http://www.globaldelight.com/boom/index.php

 

[keirmeister]

I recently upgraded from a 2011 21.5" iMac to the late 2015 27" 5K. I used the 12South BassJump with the 21.5" iMac and found it to add just the kick I needed.

But once I set up my 27", I found that it had enough bass in it so that I no longer needed the subwoofer. However I also now use Boom 2, which worked wonders on my old Macbook Air....now it just brings the sound out to exactly what I like.

Plus one less USB port being used!

 

[Sergey Khvatynets]

App Loopback just do the trick. I use build-in speakers with external DAC and it works flawlessly. But using internal speakers with bluetooth speaker causes delay in sound.