M4 Mac mini & Audio

[weaztek]

Can anyone suggest a inexpensive DAC?

Sure. The one Apple makes for $9 is excellent.

Buy USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter

The USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter lets you connect a standard 3.5 mm audio plug to your USB-C devices. Perfect for headphones or speakers.

www.apple.com

 

[EugW]

Yeah, I couldn't get myself to run the wire from the front jack around back to the amp. It just looks stupid and cluttered.

So I tried my ancient Griffin iMic. It's almost a quarter century old, but it works! However, there is an annoying pop when the computer is rebooted so that's out.

Then I ordered this:

Sure. The one Apple makes for $9 is excellent.

Buy USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter

The USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter lets you connect a standard 3.5 mm audio plug to your USB-C devices. Perfect for headphones or speakers.

www.apple.com

But then I realized that my monitor has an audio jack too. So I'm just using that for the moment. Works fine and quality is fine too. I went back to cancel the Apple dongle order like 5 minutes later but by then it was already preparing to ship. That was fast. Oh well, whatever, it's cheap and I will eventually get a USB iPhone anyway, and I like to carry an adapter around with my Uncourage. (Right now I carry around a Lightning to headphone jack dongle.)

So, check your monitors people. If you don't need a fancy DAC and don't want to use up a USB port on the Mac mini (or your hub), maybe you can plug into your monitor.

 

[BrianBaughn]

So, check your monitors people. If you don't need a fancy DAC and don't want to use up a USB port on the Mac mini (or your hub), maybe you can plug into your monitor.

Good tip!

Not using that jack on my monitor and I wish I could get macOS to forget it's there.

 

[EugW]

Sure. The one Apple makes for $9 is excellent.

Buy USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter

The USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter lets you connect a standard 3.5 mm audio plug to your USB-C devices. Perfect for headphones or speakers.

www.apple.com

Got one today. Works well with the Mac mini (although as mentioned, I'm using the audio output from my monitor instead).

 

[skeptic68]

If you have money to burn & lots of space on your desktop buy the external DAC. Or buy a decent set of desktop speakers like the Edifier R1280T set on Amazon:

Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers - 2.0 Active Near Field Studio Monitor Speaker - Wooden Enclosure - 42 Watts RMS Power

Now you don't have to deal with the trouble of keep plugging and unplugging your speakers to listen to different devices, including your TV! Edifier powered bookshelf speakers allows you to connect to two devices at the same time. Connect to any devices such as your phone, PC, laptop, tablet with...

www.amazon.com

and a generic stereo splitter cable to connect them with the M4MM audio port.
I bought a pair of Cable Matters right-angle TRRS adapters for $7 on Amazon & used them to turn the right front corner on the M4MM.

Cable Matters 2-Pack TRRS Right Angle 3.5mm Adapter in Black (3.5mm Right Angle Adapter, 90 Degree 3.5mm Adapter, 90 Degree Audio Adapter)

Cable Matters 2-Pack, Angled 3.5mm Audio Adapter

www.amazon.com

Fits snug; looks cleaner than a USB-C cable adapter permanently sticking out from the front of the M4MM. Just sayin'.

 

[danb1979]

If you have money to burn & lots of space on your desktop buy the external DAC. Or buy a decent set of desktop speakers like the Edifier R1280T set on Amazon:

Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers - 2.0 Active Near Field Studio Monitor Speaker - Wooden Enclosure - 42 Watts RMS Power

Now you don't have to deal with the trouble of keep plugging and unplugging your speakers to listen to different devices, including your TV! Edifier powered bookshelf speakers allows you to connect to two devices at the same time. Connect to any devices such as your phone, PC, laptop, tablet with...

www.amazon.com

and a generic stereo splitter cable to connect them with the M4MM audio port.
I bought a pair of Cable Matters right-angle TRRS adapters for $7 on Amazon & used them to turn the right front corner on the M4MM.

Cable Matters 2-Pack TRRS Right Angle 3.5mm Adapter in Black (3.5mm Right Angle Adapter, 90 Degree 3.5mm Adapter, 90 Degree Audio Adapter)

Cable Matters 2-Pack, Angled 3.5mm Audio Adapter

www.amazon.com

Fits snug; looks cleaner than a USB-C cable adapter permanently sticking out from the front of the M4MM. Just sayin'.

I’ve got those Edifier speakers in my garage and they’re superb little things - for what they are and their cost, they sound superb and that’s via BT (so no cables needed)

 

[transmaster]

I’ve got those Edifier speakers in my garage and they’re superb little things - for what they are and their cost, they sound superb and that’s via BT (so no cables needed)

I have a FiiO K7 hooked into my Mac Studio. I use it as a headphone amp, but it also has Toslink, coaxial Digital, USB inputs, and I/O in RCA jacks, which can be used to feed an external Audio amp or amplified speakers. Superb sound.

Desktop DAC and Amplifier K7/K7 BT

The K7/K7 BT has a six-stage audio circuit with truly balanced analog and digital sections – which helps to reduce crosstalk and reproduce music to a great extent, allowing you to better enjoy the purity of your music.

www.fiio.com

 

[danb1979]

I have a FiiO K7 hooked into my Mac Studio. I use it as a headphone amp, but it also has Toslink, coaxial Digital, USB inputs, and I/O in RCA jacks, which can be used to feed an external Audio amp or amplified speakers. Superb sound.

Desktop DAC and Amplifier K7/K7 BT

The K7/K7 BT has a six-stage audio circuit with truly balanced analog and digital sections – which helps to reduce crosstalk and reproduce music to a great extent, allowing you to better enjoy the purity of your music.

www.fiio.com

The FiiO DACs have always been good. I used their FiiO D3K when it first came out many, many years ago and still have it now in my spare room system (Arcam Alpha 10 integrated, Neat Motive 2 speakers, ATV optical out to the D3K and that into the Arcam amp via RCAs); it’s been faultless and sounds superb

My office system is as in my signature; M4 iMac to my SMSL DAC and they feed my JBL 308P MkII active monitors. The SMSL is a superb DAC

 

[bapegg]

I'm using my old Logitech 5.1 surround sound speakers with my M4 Mini and they work just fine plugged into the headphone jack. I used the same speakers with my 2018 Mini with no issues.

You are not going to get true surround sound out of the single jack but you do get good stereo sound.

 

[Miles Fu]

Topping. I really love the sound from my Topping E30 II (and the headphone amp L30).

I've been working with audio most of my life, had my own studio 1990-2005, and I know a bit about digital audio. I've worked with lots of DACs and AD/DAs, and I was shocked to hear this sound quality at this price. I've retired, but I still have my Dynaudio studio monitors and a small mixing setup, and it lets me judge the quality of devices like this. You might not really be able to tell the difference between a OK DAC and a great DAC with a more average listening system.

Are you sure you won't be needing inputs also, perhaps in the future, for microphones? In which case you'll want what's known as a 'computer audio interface', and not a DAC. A DAC is only digital-to-analog, remember.

May I know which headphone you are using with L30?

 

[paulcons]

Well, I did get the 9 buck DAC they fruit sells, I may get ambitious and try and see if there's any difference in audio quality between it and the headphone jack on the front of the unit. Somehow I'm thinking they'll sound pretty much identical.

 

[Macalway]

Apple audio headphone jacks are the best. Automatic impedance matching is the real deal, and they did this to accommodate large and small headphones: high impedance, over the ear, and IEM. You kinda have to have this, otherwise you need external stuff. Apple doesn't cheap out.
I would avoid going outside of the ecosystem, not because it's too expensive, but you don't want to downgrade do you?

 

[paulcons]

But the issue I raised was the Apple DAC vs. the headphone jack. What I need from the 3 Tbolt ports is one to run to my KVM (where I have the option of having at least 3 more USB ports), one for my backup drive and one for the Apple DAC. That leaves the front of my unit (BTW, they JUST delivered my mM4 Mini) clean which I kinda prefer.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

There are abundant hubs to attach to that M4 Mini. Just about all of them are going to have a headphone out jack as part of the mix of connections. That could offer a way to get audio out as desired as well as add a bunch of connections for other stuff. Many hubs are inexpensive (just one of MANY examples, this one under $30).

 

[phrehdd]

Stereo can come out of the jack. However, it is really limited in ability and quality. Better off, others indicated similar, to use USB out and then let external devices handle the signal. In my case, I use a pair of active speakers on my desktop that can take USB input and the speakers have their own digital to audio converter (DAC) up to 24/96 which is sufficient for most things I throw at it. Alternatively, there are very small DACs out there that you can plug into a USB protector and the other side, can take an analogue jack (headphones etc) and give superior results (same with speakers that come with analogue jack).

 

[FreakinEurekan]

However I have come across posts saying that it only provides mono sound. Am I correct in thinking this is bogus?

Yes, that's bogus as others have pointed out. The headphone jack output is stereo and sounds "Fine" for most purposes.

The difference in the jack from the M4 Mac mini to older Macs, is that Macs used to have a "Headset Jack" which contained stereo audio plus a mono microphone (e.g. you could plug in a TRRS 4-pin stereo headset with mic). The mic channel is gone now.

Going back even further, some older Macs had a "Combo" headset & optical jack, where you could plug in a fiber optic SP/DIF cable. That's been gone for a decade or so.

 

[Cave Man]

Ok, I just spent some time with my M4 mini listening through the built-in headphone jack, the $9.00 Apple USB-C to 3.5mm jack, and my AudioEngine DAC3. Headphones, Sennheiser HD 560S (open back). Files were both CD rips to Apple Lossless Audio Codec (16/44) and hi-res AIFF (24/192). Here's the clear ranking, top to bottom (IMO):

1. AudioEngine DAC3 (no contest)
2. Headphone jack (clearly better than USB-C adapter, but not as great of difference between AudioEngine and front jack)
3. USB-C to 3.5mm

The big advantage of the DAC3 is that it's also an amp, so plenty of headroom for audio.

 

[klspahr]

AirPlay is an option that leaves your USB ports open and reduces that rat’s nest of wires behind your desk.

 

[MajorFubar]

It's also unreliable, and limited to 24-bit/48 kHz. For reliability and quality, literally nothing beats rigging devices together with physical cables..

 

[Mgdca2350]

Yes I plan on getting the new Mini. I see they call the audio output a headphone jack. No I do not plan on using headphones this way, but my intention is to feed external, amplified speakers. Not really thinking about a 5.1 or similar type of system. However I have come across posts saying that it only provides mono sound. Am I correct in thinking this is bogus?

For anyone who is experiencing this issue. I have had Mac for years an never had this problem that I just encountered today. I just got the M4 Mini yesterday and set it up and used my most used Microsoft bluetooth headphone with the pull down mic on one side. Wish I knew the exact model but low and behold it played Stereo wirelessly. Today I tired a pair of Beats solos and discovered the mono. Tried others and had the same result as others. So end of story apparent ly Microsoft headphones are the only compatible company for stereo sound I was of course relieved and they have a pretty decent sound also. I am Canadian and they were only $90 Canadian so USA would be cheaper. I hope this helps someone in this situation.

 

[Cave Man]

So end of story apparent ly Microsoft headphones are the only compatible company for stereo sound

This is simply not true. My Sony headphones and Denon earbuds are both in stereo over Bluetooth on my Mac mini M4.

 

[Mgdca2350]

This is simply not true. My Sony headphones and Denon earbuds are both in stereo over Bluetooth on my Mac mini M4.

My mistake. I only said I tried ones I had which were not either of your's. It's good then that there others that people will find out about. My intention was not to post a false claim.

 

[jonh229]

This thread seems more suited to Audio Out. I'm trying to find something for Audio-In (Line-In). Or mic. I want to record music from CD's or the radio even. I've been poking around for info but not getting anywhere. Those cheap ones on Amazon do have a mic input but the mic is mono. Seems like the Griffin iMic was good but it apparently is long gone.

I'd be interested in knowing about a solution if it exists

 

[Chancha]

This thread seems more suited to Audio Out. I'm trying to find something for Audio-In (Line-In). Or mic. I want to record music from CD's or the radio even. I've been poking around for info but not getting anywhere. Those cheap ones on Amazon do have a mic input but the mic is mono. Seems like the Griffin iMic was good but it apparently is long gone.

I'd be interested in knowing about a solution if it exists

You need an audio interface. The Griffin iMac is like an extreme simplified version of such. There is a variety of cheap to feature rich to professional gear. You probably should spend some time to research, since you may find out there are features that are helpful to you but didn't already think of. Any USB interface will do, if it is still on USB3.0 or even before with an USB-A plug you can still use a simple A to C adaptor connecting to the Mac.

 

[BrianBaughn]

This thread seems more suited to Audio Out. I'm trying to find something for Audio-In (Line-In). Or mic. I want to record music from CD's or the radio even. I've been poking around for info but not getting anywhere. Those cheap ones on Amazon do have a mic input but the mic is mono. Seems like the Griffin iMic was good but it apparently is long gone.

I'd be interested in knowing about a solution if it exists

Yeah cheaper ones have a mono mic input.

There's a Behringer (U-Control UCA222) for less than $20 that has L/R for both inputs and outputs (RCA plugs).