Help, Line-in won't work

[j26]

I can't get my audio line-in to work. When I plug in my headphone set i get nothing coming through (Sound preferences is blank), but when I plug in the headphone jack to it, I get something coming through, so it is working. I have tried to change the input in preferences, but to no avail.

I had the same problem in my PowerBook, so I assume it has something to do with the settings I brought across when I transferred over.

It was never really an issue for me before, but now I want to be able to use Skype, and this becomes a major problem for me.

Anyone any ideas on what to do??

 

[Sesshi]

I don't quite understand the question you're asking... but if I read it right, are you trying to use a headset mic? You'll need a preamp - the Macbook/Pro's inputs aren't preamplified. Better yet, swap your headset for a USB one.

 

[j26]

Basically I want to be able to put a mic into the jack in the side of my MacBook and use it to speak into for Skype. At the moment when I put in the mic jack I get no sound coming into the computer, but I've tried putting in the headphone jack and one of the headphones will operate as a mic. Obviously I would look pretty stupid if I put the headphone to my mouth, but amazingly it seems to work like that.

Are you telling me I can't do that, and the hole on the side of my MacBook is purely cosmetic? That doesn't sound right.

 

[CanadaRAM]

No, the hole in the side is not cosmetic it is Line in.
You are trying to feed it a Mic level signal which is about 50 times weaker than a Line level signal.
Like Sesshi said, you need to preamplify your mic signal up to line levels. Or, much simpler, just get a USB headset.

 

[killmoms]

Line-in != Mic-in

Mic inputs are pre-amplified, because mic-level signals are far weaker than line-level. That's why they have different names. Get a USB headset.

 

[j26]

No, the hole in the side is not cosmetic it is Line in.
You are trying to feed it a Mic level signal which is about 50 times weaker than a Line level signal.
Like Sesshi said, you need to preamplify your mic signal up to line levels. Or, much simpler, just get a USB headset.

Why does it work when I put in the headphone then?

I got this from the help (note nothing about preamps)

Audio in/optical audio in
You can use this port for both digital optical and analog audio input. For analog audio input, use a 3.5 mm mini phone jack or a stereo miniplug-to-RCA cable adapter to connect stereo equipment. For digital optical audio input, use a standard Toslink cable with a Toslink mini-plug adapter. Digital optical audio input uses the S/PDIF protocol.

I'm curious and it will annoy me if I have to go out and buy something else just to use it.