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Using internal speakers in conjunction with external
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I am afraid I do not know, as I have yet to own my first Mac (soon though, very soon), but I am curious about this also. Is it so you can have a fuller sound that you want both external and internal speakers to work as one?
Something I have been wondering since deciding to buy an iMac, and have it replace my ageing hi-fi, is could external speakers be set up to play only music, while the internal play only sounds made by the system, the bleeps etc? - basically all other audio not coming from iTunes. It always annoys and often alarms me when I receive an audible message of some kind, or when a website blasts out its own noise, while listening to music at high volume on my current computer. But I suppose if external and internal speakers cannot even work together simultaneously that is wishful thinking.
Something I have been wondering since deciding to buy an iMac, and have it replace my ageing hi-fi, is could external speakers be set up to play only music, while the internal play only sounds made by the system, the bleeps etc? - basically all other audio not coming from iTunes. It always annoys and often alarms me when I receive an audible message of some kind, or when a website blasts out its own noise, while listening to music at high volume on my current computer. But I suppose if external and internal speakers cannot even work together simultaneously that is wishful thinking.
After a little research through Google I have come up with very little. The only other asking of the question I could find was on a site the Mac Observer way back in 2000 (http://www.macobserver.com/columns/askdave/2000/20000519.shtml) in relation to an "iMac 350mhz w/OS9". The answer is intriguing, stating that the "feature has been missing from the Mac OS since QuickTime 4 was introduced and the new Sound Manager was installed" with no fix available. Obviously Apple could have changed things since then, but with Apple's philosophy of simplicity I am doubtful.
...
Ah, I paused to quickly search the forums here and found this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/340839/
So it seems it is not possible after all, and in the last post, mkrishnan wishes for, and regrets the lack of, the same sound set-up as I do.
Interestingly the exact thing you desire is/was deemed a problem while running Windows via Boot Camp:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/192378/
One last vague possibility, and I have to emphasize again that I have never owned a Mac and am very much not a computer whiz, lies in a complaint I found about Apple dropping support for the iSub subwoofer:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/audio/isub_problems_intel_macs.html
The workaround listed at the bottom of the page involves plugging the subwoofer and external speakers into an iMic (so many i's!). I have not researched the device in any detail, but it is a USB audio adapter, and there is something in the wording of the solution that suggests, just maybe, external speakers could be controlled independently of, and simultaneously with, those internal.
I hope some of this helps. When I saw your post I subscribed to it, my first subscription on the forums in fact, and when no one had replied, felt compelled to investigate!
...
Ah, I paused to quickly search the forums here and found this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/340839/
So it seems it is not possible after all, and in the last post, mkrishnan wishes for, and regrets the lack of, the same sound set-up as I do.
Interestingly the exact thing you desire is/was deemed a problem while running Windows via Boot Camp:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/192378/
One last vague possibility, and I have to emphasize again that I have never owned a Mac and am very much not a computer whiz, lies in a complaint I found about Apple dropping support for the iSub subwoofer:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/audio/isub_problems_intel_macs.html
The workaround listed at the bottom of the page involves plugging the subwoofer and external speakers into an iMic (so many i's!). I have not researched the device in any detail, but it is a USB audio adapter, and there is something in the wording of the solution that suggests, just maybe, external speakers could be controlled independently of, and simultaneously with, those internal.
I hope some of this helps. When I saw your post I subscribed to it, my first subscription on the forums in fact, and when no one had replied, felt compelled to investigate!