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Mac mini G4 Noisy 3.5mm, What USB Audio Out Options Do I Have?

alex_free

alex_free

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 24, 2020
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I looked this up online and it seems that at least one other person has this issue. I feel like it has just gotten alot worse recently, it basically is unusable at this point. Sounds like a grounding issue, I think it has something to do with the video card as when different things are displayed on the screen it changes.

So I guess I need to get some kind of USB audio out. I need it to work in OS 9 and Mac OS X. Does anyone have a specific model they can recommend or a possible fix for this?
 
mustagcoupe said:
Try changing the power brick if you can and check the capacitors inside the mac mini for leaking or bulging. In my experience the computers that buzz the most from the audio jacks have dying capacitors.
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Will do. Before I buy another one could I test with a 110w brick from a 2006 or 2009 Intel mini?

I'm going to open it up as well but If it is capacitors I won't be able to fix it myself.
 
mustagcoupe said:
Yes. The 110 watt bricks work perfectly on the g4 mini.
EDIT: Try a different wall outlet as well. There could be some interference on the line.
Click to expand...
I tried with the different brick and got the same results. I will try with a different outlet next.
 
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Back in the day, the go-to for a USB to audio output was the Griffin iMic. It has a separate line out and a microphone input and was PPC OS X compatible.

12-778-002-02.jpg


But realistically, every cheap USB audio adapter should work as they all use the same basic chipset. My understanding is that the Apple USB drivers in OS9 were not complete enough to use USB audio adapters as these benefit from Core Audio. There were some proprietary audio adapters like the M-Audio Transit that had their own OS9 drivers if you can find one cheap enough.

One other alternative is via Firewire. The LaCie Poulton Firewire speakers will give you audio out if that is all you want and there are a few cheap audio interfaces like the Behringer FC202. Again, I am not sure whether OS9 works well enough with these.


lacie-firewire-1.jpg

index.jpg
 
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I’ve been using one of these with my iBook G3. It’s pretty straightforward and offers the combo option to switch from output to input, much as one might find with 13-inch unibody MacBook Pros. The web site indicates it will work on Mac OS classic as low as 8.6. I have no way of testing this, however.

Note: it’s analogue-only. It does not have TOSLINK capability. But it does support 24-bit input/output at up to 192K bitrate. I’m not sure if my G3 can handle that, though, as I’ve never tried to record at that rate.

1648994396344.png
 
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If you’re running a G4 Mac mini with the OS 9 hack - there are many noted problems with the line-level-out signals (headphones, patch cords, etc.). Might want to check / clean the female port… your male insert plug AND the cable itself / to whatever you’ve ported the sound out to. Invariably have often discovered bad (partially or intermittently) grounded shielding in certain “cables” around here.

AND especially if you’re getting similar noise via OS X… check / clean all your connection points and that cabling. I use the M-Audio Transit with my OS-9 hacked G4 Minis and no problems. However, the alternative USB devices mentioned by both Dronecatcher & BS Magnet above do look interesting. (Especially that £2.99 one.)

I’ve yet to try the Behringer UFO202 (also pictured below) with the G4 Mac mini.

MA-H.png
 
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I have tried with a set of USB speakers - The Logitech V20 in my Mac Mini with the updated 9.2.2 release from MacOS9lives. Although there is no entry in the control panel for any USB speaker input/output, the speakers just work although any control settings would have to be in the application you are running.

I tried also with the LaCie Poulton Firewire speakers but no go. Those seem to need OS X as there is a system sound setting you would have to switch on to get these to output sound.
 
alex_free said:
I looked this up online and it seems that at least one other person has this issue. I feel like it has just gotten alot worse recently, it basically is unusable at this point. Sounds like a grounding issue, I think it has something to do with the video card as when different things are displayed on the screen it changes.

So I guess I need to get some kind of USB audio out. I need it to work in OS 9 and Mac OS X. Does anyone have a specific model they can recommend or a possible fix for this?
Click to expand...

I probably know a lot about audio options since I am into hi-fi stuff, but I need more details to reply something relevant.

You can get audio out via Toslink directly (same jack, but use Toslink cable), via Airport (Airplay, via Airport Express, Toslink from there), via Firewire (requires FW DAC or DDC to DAC, or a FW audio-card) or via USB (DAC or DDC to DAC). Firewire options are rather exotic, other are easy. Specific choice would depend on what you want and what is the budget.
 
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