Looking to get a pair of M-Audio DX4 monitors for my PowerBook G4 but was wondering if I'll be able to hook them up to it. They say they come with an RCA to mini-jack cable, but does mini-jack mean it'll plug into my headphone port or some special port not available laptops.
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M-Audio DX4 monitors for PowerBook G4
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Yes. Minijack means headphone jack.
You may have to experiment with the output levels on the Powerbook so you don't overdrive the inputs of the speakers.
Hi
Am a newbie to using reference studio monitors with laptops.
Just gotten my new macbook pro and would like to connect a studio monitor to it for final cut edit work as well as for movies.
How do i go about connecting 1 pair of speakers to the headphone jack of my macbook pro?
What kind of cable should i be looking for? And what kind of inputs do i need on the studio monitor to perform such a connection?
Tks!
Am a newbie to using reference studio monitors with laptops.
Just gotten my new macbook pro and would like to connect a studio monitor to it for final cut edit work as well as for movies.
How do i go about connecting 1 pair of speakers to the headphone jack of my macbook pro?
What kind of cable should i be looking for? And what kind of inputs do i need on the studio monitor to perform such a connection?
Tks!
Are your monitors powered or passive?
If they are passive, you need to connect the Mac to an amplifier, then the amp drives the speakers. You will need a stereo mini-jack to 2 x RCA cable
If the monitors are powered, then you will need a stereo mini-jack to 2 of whatever type of connectors the monitor uses - 1/4", RCA or XLR, depending on the monitor.
Alternatively, if your amplifier or powered monitor set have an optical digital input (mihgt, on higher end equipment), then you can use an optical cable that comes with the Mini-jack Optical adaptor at the MacBook Pro end. Optical output from the MacBook Pro has the potential of being cleaner.
Your next step is to go beyond using the headphone mini-jack output, and use an external USB or firewire audio interface. Search in the Digital Audio forum for many threads discussing these.
If they are passive, you need to connect the Mac to an amplifier, then the amp drives the speakers. You will need a stereo mini-jack to 2 x RCA cable
If the monitors are powered, then you will need a stereo mini-jack to 2 of whatever type of connectors the monitor uses - 1/4", RCA or XLR, depending on the monitor.
Alternatively, if your amplifier or powered monitor set have an optical digital input (mihgt, on higher end equipment), then you can use an optical cable that comes with the Mini-jack Optical adaptor at the MacBook Pro end. Optical output from the MacBook Pro has the potential of being cleaner.
Your next step is to go beyond using the headphone mini-jack output, and use an external USB or firewire audio interface. Search in the Digital Audio forum for many threads discussing these.
The DX4 ships with a short length of regular 2RCA > 3.5mm jack cable which you can plug directly into computers. It will work with your Powerbook, as shipped.
Any specific interface you'd recommend? I always heard that the mini-jack option distorted audio. Will you get cleaner sound purchasing a "slightly higher end" (not uber pro) pair of active monitors with digital jacks, or purchasing a high-end more consumer speakers and plug in MBP via FW interface?
Well if the monitors have digital jacks, they are more likely to be inputs. 
If you can go optical digital from your mac to a decent quality audio system, that takes the analog minijack cable AND Apple's D/A convertors out of the equation, so assuming the optical cable is undamaged, the sound quality is going to be dependant on the digital decoder in the receiver or powered speakers.
THe Mini-jack (analog) output doesn't distort audio in genmeral, but it is using the Apple D/A conversion in side the Mac, which may not be as good a quality as a good external D/A convertor.
Please do search the Digital Audio subforum for discussion on USB and Firewire interfaces, it's not possible to recommend a single, best product.
If you can go optical digital from your mac to a decent quality audio system, that takes the analog minijack cable AND Apple's D/A convertors out of the equation, so assuming the optical cable is undamaged, the sound quality is going to be dependant on the digital decoder in the receiver or powered speakers.
THe Mini-jack (analog) output doesn't distort audio in genmeral, but it is using the Apple D/A conversion in side the Mac, which may not be as good a quality as a good external D/A convertor.
Please do search the Digital Audio subforum for discussion on USB and Firewire interfaces, it's not possible to recommend a single, best product.