Apple Pro Speakers help

I recently got rid of my flat panel iMac, but kept the little round pro speakers that came with. I went to plug them in to my Mac Mini and discovered the mini plug on these pro speakers is more like a "super" mini size. There is also a sheild around the plug that would appear to make an adapter to convert it to a standard mini plug difficult.
Any ideas?

You'll need an adaptor called iFire to use these with any Mac other than a PowerMac G4 or iMac G4. iFire is no longer for sale but regularly appear on ebay (link). You might find USB versions of the Apple Pro Speakers for less though (which were shipped with the PowerMac G4 Cube).
I have seen a pair of Apple Pro Speakers sold on ebay with a 3.5mm jack soldered on. I contacted the buyer and he was very disappointed. These speakers need a high power port to drive them to a reasonable volume. There is a little ROM chip inside so that a suitable Mac can recognize they are connected.
regards
mrtotes

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Using Apple Pro Speakers with MacBookPro - Adapter Help???

I just got a brand new MBP which is awesome! I am having a lot of fun with it.
However a real bummer I noticed is my old Apple Pro Speakers would not connect into my MBP jack. I have done some initial research on this and it seems like the only way to have them connect is get an adapter, Griffin iFire? I looked into that a little and unless I missed something that product isn't being made anymore.
Can anyone offer any other links / ideas on how I get get these speakers to work? They worked great on my G4 and have an iSub so I would hate to not be able to use them anymore and have to outlaw more money for newer speakers.
Thanks again for any help!!!
-C

The iFire adapter by Griffin did the trick, and it works like a charm. Although the iFire is no longer being manufactured, you can still find them on eBay or through some online computer retailers. Thanks everyone for their help.

Apple Pro Speakers Question???

Hello-
I was recently trying to connect my Apple Pro Speakers to a intel-iMac G5.
They don't seem to fit in to the external speaker port. Is there anyway
to connect the speakers? Your help would be appreciated.
c.coupe

Griffin Tech made a USB based audio system that can be used with the Apple Pro Speakers. It actually has that same connector and provides power for the speakers. Unfortunately, it is no longer offered, but maybe you'll see one on eBay. It's called the PowerWave. I have one.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4969110/
It connects by USB and is powered through USB and through an external power adapter. It has input and output connections galore (an audio Swiss Army Knife). That connection for the Apple Pro Speaker can be used with an included breakout cable for connecting a pair of regular +living room+ audio system stereo speakers (the unpowered type). I have mine connected to decent large speakers with the other RCA connector output connected to a stand-alone sub-roofer. Pretty nice sound.
I bought it back when I was using a G3 iMac, but it still works fine on my Intel iMac.
Note: Griffin also makes a device called FireWave. It does not provide powered output for speakers like PowerWave.

Apple Pro Speakers Dual Query

Hi Everyone,
Wondering if you could help me with the following: I have a set of apple pro speakers connected to my Powermac G4 and would like to connect a second set up that I have at the same time and just wanted to know whetehr this is possible.
Also, would it be possible to connect up and use an external speaker system to the Powermac at the same time as the pro speakers, as I would like some extra bass, without having to use an ifire and a headphone splitter
Hope to hear your feedback
Thanks

I had the same issue a few years ago, I cut the speakers off the cable just above the security box at the bottom the cable and got hold of an old JBL donut type iPod speaker thing.
I gutted the internals of the JBL and wired the pro speakers in... (hint - longer cable!)
Thankfully the jbl also had a remote and a line in so worked a treat! no more wrong connections and as long as your soldering is up to scatch you can make a great sounding system, it was quad internal speaker so one for one they ran fine, a couple were running mids and highs and the others were on mids and lows.
make sure your power is correct, you don't want some nasty tinny little dock as the pro speakers will sound dreadful.
I think they were ~3w each but I could be totally wrong!
good luck if you try it!

Apple Pro Speakers and iFire adaptor

I am using an iBook G4 and hooked it up to external Apple Pro speakers (the clear orbs by Harmon Kardon) via an iFire adaptor.
I have been having problems since I purchased the adaptor in June. Griffin has been VERY helpful, and has replaced the unit three times. The first two worked about two weeks apiece, and then cut out completely. The third worked for about a week and then went quieter than the internal speakers. The one I just received worked for one song, then after I disconnected it and plugged it back in it fails to work.
Is there something wrong with my iBook? I have had it a year and have had no other problems with the computer or peripherals...
Any ideas would be helpful.
Mark

I have successfully cut off the Apple Pro Speaker's jack and connected it to a mini plug. Keep in mind that part of the "trick" with the Apple Pro speakers is that is uses an amp inside the iMac G4 to amplify and drive the speakers.
To compensate you can plug it into an amp
or do what I do.
I have my iTunes audio turned all the way up combined with the software "Volume Logic" which also amplifies the signal further. Lastly, I have the Powerbook's own volume turned all the way up. It works and gives me better sound than the built in speakers and is about as loud as it is on it's own loudest setting, which is loud enough for me.
Also, please don't attempt this if you are not willing to make a mistake and render your speakers useless. I am an audio engineer and not everybody has the patience to play with wire and get them to connect adequately to create a signal.
The right speaker has:
shielding on the outside
a layer of foil
a brown wire
a yellow wire
The left speaker has:
shielding on the outside
a layer of foil
a blue wire
a white wire
Pull the foil away and when connecting these wires MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT TOUCH WIRES THAT THEY ARE NOT PURPOSELY ATTACHED TO.
Get a mini or headphones connector where the left and right wires are easily stripped and separated. I used one where the right wire is clearly red and the left is clearly white and both wires have shielding.
Make sure the stripped wires are stripped at least an inch above the shielding so there is less opportunity to touch.
Twist the shielding of all wires together and cover with electrical tape.
Twist the Brown and the Blue wires from the two speakers together and cover with electrical tape
Twist the white wire from the Apple Pro speaker together with the left (in my case white) wire connected to the mini connector, cover with electrical tape.
Twist the Yellow wire from the Apple Pro speaker together with the right (in my case red) wire connected to the mini connector, cover with electrical tape.

Apple Pro Speakers extension cable? Anyone?

Sorry. Meant to post this in the G4 forun instead, and I don't want to cross-post. Perhaps someone here can help...
Looking to extended the distance from the G4 under my desk to the Apple Pro Speakers sitting on top. I've come up empty on my research so far, other than to find Griffin's discontinued extension cable, variously listed as "17-APSE Griffin Apple Pro Speakers Extension Cable" or "(4012-EXT) APS Extension Cable for Apple Pro Speakers" -- they've been impossible to find anywhere.
That said, are there any other alternatives? Even a makeshift solution that will work with the proprietary jack?
Thanks,
Bill
G4 MDD 2x867 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Nope. Same result. Out of stock.
Thanks for the heads-up anyway. Always worth a try.
And the search continues...
G4 MDD 2x867 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Ibook g4/apple pro speakers compatibility

Im trying to hook my ibook up to my apple pro speakers using a griffin ifire.
However, somethings not right. The cable that came with the ifire has both a firewire port and an audio jack on each side of it, which it tells me to hook up between the computer and the ifire. then it tells me to hook up the ifire to the speakers. with what? My speakers have wires coming out of them that go right into a clear plastic box and out of that comes the usb cord that powers them. There is an audio jack on the other side of the plastic box, and there is a port on the other side of the ifire, but are the compatible, and if so what do i use to connect them with? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Hi Emily,
Are your speakers the ones that originally came with a Mac Cube?
From http://maczealots.com/reviews/iFire/ :
Didn't the Apple PowerMac G4 Cube come with Apple Pro Speakers?
No, the original Apple Cube came with a USB-based version of the Apple Pro Speakers, and requires an external power supply. From Apple's website:
"If you're wondering in what way the Apple Pro Speakers are different from the speakers that come with the Power Mac G4 Cube, here's a quick answer: While the Apple Pro Speakers look very similar to the Power Mac G4 Cube speakers, the Apple Pro Speakers get their power from the computer and thus require a system with an Apple speaker mini-jack (like the one that's on the new Power Mac G4). The Power Mac G4 Cube speakers, on the other hand, are USB-powered and are designed to work only with Power Mac G4 Cube systems. Also, the G4 Cube speakers have an external amplifier, whereas the Power Mac G4 has an internal amplifier that supports the Apple Pro Speakers."
If yours are the cube speakers, then they aren't compatible with the iFire, I'm afraid.
see also http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25236
Cheers
Rod

Hacking Apple Pro Speakers

hi all,
yah all know the Apple Pro Speakers (eye balls). They have that silly 1.2mm minijack and won't work with standard minijack plugs. They are apparently powered by the sound card in those machines they were intended for but not my old GigaBot Ethernet G4. I knew this when i bought them at a garage sale but as they were so cheap I could not help myself. So... there was a work around Griffin Tech came up with that drew 5v power from the Firewire connection while sound came thru via the standard mini jack... odd but it seems to have worked.
In order to work around this has anyone hacked these things? Two wires into the cones... can they be spliced into an alternate amp like my old Altec-Lansing... cut the wires and splice them together? Anyone try this?
D.

Thnx again.
I am watching the ebay auctions.... the iFire seems to be something that lots of folks want... so the price is silly.
I have the cases open on my desk. Tonight I am going to snip off the apple wires at the speaker and run some of my own to an old AltecLansing amp (blown speakers). I am going to wire in the AltecLansing speaker control in a litttle seperate box. I think it should work.
D
D.

Can I use my Apple Pro Speakers from my G4 on my Mac Pro?

Hi. I would like to use my Apple Pro Speakers (with iSub) from my old G4 on my new Mac Pro, but the jack is too large for the plug. I spoke to someone at Apple who said that she thought there was an adapter available in the Apple Store, but I have not been able to find it. Does anyone know if it's possible to connect these old speakers to my new machine, and where I might be able to locate this adapter? I'm really trying to avoid having to shell out money for new speakers when I was quite happy with the ones I have. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Mac Pro. 2 x 2.66 GHZ Mac OS X (10.4.8)

What size is the plug, on the speakers? Is it smaller than the 3.5mm jack on the Mac Pro? If so, you could try getting a 2.5-3.5mm adapter from an electronics supplier. Should be really cheap. Alternatively, cut the plug off, and solder on a new 3.5mm plug.
Good luck!

Apple Pro speakers with mini jack connect to new Intel iMac ?

I would like to be able to connect the pair of perspex globe Apple Pro Speakers with mini-jack that came with my PowerPC G4 Mac to my new Lion desktop Intel iMac.
However, the mini-jack is too small for either the ' audio in / optical digital audio in port ' or the ' headphone out / optical digital audio out port ' (I'm not sure which is the correct one to use !)
Is it possible with an adaptor, or by some other means, to connect them ?
If it is unfortunately not possible, any cheap alternative speakers recommended would be appreciated.

There are no adapters that are readily available to use the old Apple Pro speakers with other computers or newer Macs.
The only adapter that worked but has long been discontinued in the Griffin Technologies iFire.
These are even harder to find now and if you do, indeed find one, you're going to pay an outrageous amount of money just for an adapter that used to sell for $40!!
For the cost of this adapter, you could just buy new speakers.
The big problem with the old Apple Pro speakers is that Apple went out of its way to make sure you couldn't use these speakers with anything else but certain G4 Mac models. The connector and subsequent wiring make these speakers very proprietary and limited use without spending gobs of time altering some of the components and purchasing external computer audio amps and connectors.
Apple simply made these unusable on anything but their own hardware at that time.
It's simply not worth the effort.
Look in the Apple Store online. There are a lot of decent priced, good-looking speakers to use with your iMac.
Good hunting!

I have the old clear apple pro speakers, and I want to find an adapter so I can use them as speakers for my iPad

Is there an adapter I can use for the apple pro speakers that will allow me to connect them to my iPad

It would be so much simpler if you'd provide some elementary detail in these sorts of questions, things like what do those speakers use for audio input now? If you're someone who doesn't already know the answer to that question, someone like me for example, then pretty much all I can do is this .....

Apple Pro Speakers from G4 Cube with Mac mini

To listen music with my Mac mini, I used Apple Pro Speakers that originally came with the G4 Cube.
But since june 2010, my system (Mac OS X) does not recognize these speakers.
The error message (via command 'dmesg') is :
Couldn't alloc class "AppleUSBTrinityAudioDevice"

It's a problem with Mac OS X 10.6.4:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2467178
We are waiting a patch from Apple...

Apple Pro Speakers

I've recently noticed that I am not able to choose the audio output to my Apple Pro Speakers through System Preferences. They are obviously plugged into the minijack, but I only have the option of Line Out. Are these speakers not supported in Tiger anymore?
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Apple pro speakers specs?

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http://www.welovemacs.com/speakers-pro.html
 Cheers, Tom

Apple pro speakers. Make them work D.I.Y.

I picked up a pair of apple pro speakers today for five dollars. I didn't realize at the time the 2.5mm jack was just that. Needless to say it didn't plug in, nor could it. I'm an audio technician by trade an decided to delve into rewiring them to work. I cut the cable to find six wires(brown, yellow, blue, white, black and red). I could clearly see the br & y went to one the bl & w to the other, the bk & r look like power but there's nothing inline after the jack the requires power nor do those run to the speakers. I had a pair of usb powered el cheapo speakers on hand, they became the donors. I pulled the i.c. amplifier from the housing and rewired the apple pro speakers to it. After a test drive and rewiring it, it worked. I cut down the original speaker housing for the amplifier, stuffed extra cable in the housing closed it up and viola. The el cheapo amplifier isn't robust enough to drive the apple pro speakers properly, but it sounds really good at low to moderate volume. So for roughly a thirteen dollar investment in both sets of speakers I have one good set and another mostly in the trash.
If you want to try this I can give more detailed info. It took me roughly an hour and simple tools.

Hi, could you send me some detailed information on how you did this.
If you have the time or the inclination, it would be worth putting the information on a site somewhere, as there must be a lot of people with set of these speaker sitting uselessly in their closets.
Cheers
Chris

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