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MBA headphone jack delay?

L

laxPANDA13

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 11, 2012
2
0
I just bought a new 13 in macbook air and when i plug in headphones, it takes about 5 seconds for the computer to recognize them and switch the sound over. is this normal? Should i get it replaced? Thanks
 
So i just talked to the apple store guy, and he said our MBA's have nifty little jacks that can accept optic inputs (how, idk. I'm not that savvy), and that the computer actually analyzes the jack input before switching to the appropriate format. Guess we just have to live with it.
 
happens to me too. in fact, it started when apple announced unibodies into their notebook line. so i think this is very normal.
 
laxPANDA13 said:
So i just talked to the apple store guy, and he said our MBA's have nifty little jacks that can accept optic inputs (how, idk. I'm not that savvy), and that the computer actually analyzes the jack input before switching to the appropriate format. Guess we just have to live with it.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's exactly what is happening. The 3.5mm jack port is actually Toslink capable, same as my iMac. the optical cables are pretty cheap on Amazon etc, and I use one to connect my MBA to my DTS system. My iMac has a permanent optical connection using the same type of cable. The delay is exactly what Apple told you....Your Mac checking which type of output you need,...It's perfectly normal..:)
 
Same here. Maybe it's taking time to figure out if it's speakers or not? : shrug :

EDIT: Ah, answer is in the post above.
 
Surely it should be faster than that. Can't take that long to figure out what was plugged into it.
 
Yep me too, on 13" mba. Sometimes have to unplug and replug the jack before the sound comes through the headphones...:mad:
 
I'd rather wait a few seconds for headphones than spend who-knows-how-long searching for the setting to turn digital audio on.

Count me in as one who thinks this is how it should work. Maybe it could be faster. But maybe people would complain even more so if it occasionally "got it wrong" and heard nothing but a loud hiss from the headphones.



Michael
 
laxPANDA13 said:
So i just talked to the apple store guy, and he said our MBA's have nifty little jacks that can accept optic inputs (how, idk. I'm not that savvy), and that the computer actually analyzes the jack input before switching to the appropriate format. Guess we just have to live with it.
Click to expand...

op9905.2.jpg
 
laxPANDA13 said:
So i just talked to the apple store guy, and he said our MBA's have nifty little jacks that can accept optic inputs
Click to expand...

I'm curious as to whether anyone is actually doing this on a MacBook Air since I'd like a way to get higher quality audio output without adding yet another USB device.

I have a 13" i5 2011 MBA, and looking on Apple's site under the specifications, the port is identified as a "headphone jack" with no mention of optic or even audio input. Looking at the user manual indicates the same. Seems odd that the MBA would have this ability but Apple wouldn't indicate it in their specs or manual.
 
Judging from a little bit of Googling, I don't think the MacBook Airs do actually support optical audio :confused:
 
Thanks, that's also what I think, in spite of what the "Apple Store guy" said. In fact, I don't think it even supports audio input via the jack. I tried searching Apple support and couldn't find anything that said it was possible. Is anybody here actually using the headphone jack on the 2011 MBA for audio input?

Well whatever, I just got an Alesis iO2 for my MBA and it does a great job for all my needs now.
 
I always thought that the MBP, Mini etc have the optical headphone jack and that the MBA only has a standard analogue headphone jack. The specs on Apple's sites confirm that as well. :confused:

----------
Boyd01 said:
I'm curious as to whether anyone is actually doing this on a MacBook Air since I'd like a way to get higher quality audio output without adding yet another USB device.

I have a 13" i5 2011 MBA, and looking on Apple's site under the specifications, the port is identified as a "headphone jack" with no mention of optic or even audio input. Looking at the user manual indicates the same. Seems odd that the MBA would have this ability but Apple wouldn't indicate it in their specs or manual.
Click to expand...

The only way to get higher quality sound from your MBA is via USB.

You'll need to get an external DAC such as this one:

http://www.arcam.co.uk/products,solo,dacs,rDac.htm
 
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