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Mac Mini Audio: 3.5mm/Optical Jack

B

BPresley321

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 23, 2007
147
0
Fort Worth, TX
I just picked up a new 1.83 core 2 duo at a price I couldn't pass up. I am going to use it as a HTPC so I have my hdmi cable, etc. all hooked up and ready to go.

Last bit is the audio but I am having a bit of trouble. I bought a standard miniplug y cable and assumed it would plug in just like my macbook. The problem is that the miniplug doesn't fit in the jack on the mini. I understand that the jack on the mini is a combo analog/optical jack but as you see below, it seems as though a standard miniplug y cable should work.

From the Apple support website:

The headphone / line output jack accommodates digital optical audio output, analog audio output with a 24-bit, 44.1-192 kHz D/A converter, digital audio output up to 24-bit stereo and 44.1-192 kHz sampling rate and supporting encoded digital audio output (AC3 and DTS). For analog headphone / line output a standard audio cable with 3.5mm metal plug should be used. For digital audio, a standard toslink cable with a toslink mini-plug adapter can be used.​

I have done my research and some reading and can go out and buy an optical cable plus a miniplug/optical adapter but would rather go the analog route (I understand the quality difference) because I already have the cables and don't have a receiver or speakers, just my tv speakers.

Anybody had this problem before? Or have any solutions?

Thanks for your help!

EDIT: Everything is working now. The 3.5mm cable did work...just required some patience and maneuvering.
 
I am afraid of that but think that might be the problem. Thank goodness there's an apple store across the street from my work...

Anybody know of big national retailers that sell the toslink cables and the toslink/miniplug adapter?
 
Your jack is certainly not faulty. It does not fit in my jack on my iMac 3.06, too. I've read about such problems several times on different forums. I think this mini-toslink cable is not standardized at all. I went to an Apple store and told them my problem. I think they will get a working cable.
 
I don't know about the Mac Mini, but on my Unibody MacBook, the analog plug goes in and then it CLICKS in place, unlike other jacks I've used.
 
I have tried more than one 3.5mm cable from my house and no luck. Went to the apple store across the street from my work today to see if they had a toslink and/or the toslink miniplug adapter but no such luck. Regardless, I should be able to plug in a 3.5mm, right?

I might schedule an appointment with a genius to have them take a look and see if something is wrong - brand new unit so it's not like it worked and then stopped working randomly one day. I've had no luck since day I purchased the machine.
 
yea annoying
Had a pc for media center and now i got the mini mac...
I had a week of Hell with resolution prob's wich i still have but i compromised and i now have problem with the audio jack. I thought that my optical cable would work but no no no just like the DVI adapter... I have to buy a new one. The problem is here at Greece and in my town they don't have this kind of cable so %*#&$#(*@&$*#@*&$*#@(!*....
So 849 euros for the mini.
32 euros for the VGA adapter and some more for the optical cable...
And go on....
I hope that this will be the last....
So i said it...
 
Ok i found the cable... lucky me... 10 euros.... but i have to buy a new one or a Y optical adapter, another 10 euros.
As i recall the mic in, is and an optical input. Right?
the problem here?
the toslink cable is 1,5 metters only (what i managed to find) so from my device (lg dvd recorder) to the mac mini and than to the speakers... Hm a long way to go... Hope it's enough.
Does anyone know if there is an opical hub - switch or something like that?
The point is to have 4-5 optical inputs (I have 3 devices with optical out) and one output.
Arty out.
 
ok this is getting me on the nerves.
I have my dvd player and optical out this goes with the toslink to the optical in of the mini mac then from the optical out of the mac it goes to my speakers. Why the %$#$%$#@$ i only hear the mac and not the dvd?
in sound options (system prefs) i see in the sound input the sound bar playing according to the input from the dvd but i can't hear it.....
Any solution?
 
no one guys?
I'm the first?
I searched everywhere for audio pass through but all are wrong. They just talk about audio encoding and vlc audio decoding ac3 or dts audio and use of 5.1 speakers but no where for audio pass through from input to output.
Sad...
 
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