Audio-out quality

hello, i am a car audiophile that got an iPhone for christmas. i am looking for a way to deliver line-level audio output to the aux input in my stereo. right now, i am using the headphone jack on the iphone, and the sound quality is absolute garbage. and, in my experience, FM transmitters also deliver woefully poor sound quality. are there any products out there that utilize the 30-pin iDock male that can deliver a hardline to 3.5mm stereo male?
or are there any FM transmitters that are confirmably audiophile-grade quality?

Meaven wrote:
hello, i am a car audiophile that got an iPhone for christmas. i am looking for a way to deliver line-level audio output to the aux input in my stereo. right now, i am using the headphone jack on the iphone, and the sound quality is absolute garbage. and, in my experience, FM transmitters also deliver woefully poor sound quality. are there any products out there that utilize the 30-pin iDock male that can deliver a hardline to 3.5mm stereo male?
Belkin makes a few products that can do this. I personally use one and it works quite well, except for the unavoidable GSM interference.
or are there any FM transmitters that are confirmably audiophile-grade quality?
There are, though they are not made for the iPhone. I have one thats about the size of a textbook that broadcasts with so much power no radio stations work when its on. Its the only one Ive found that does a decent job.

Similar Messages

Connecting to iMac optical audio out/ overall audio quality?

Just curious if anyone has done this yet? The iMac says it has optical audio out through the headphone jack but without an adapter I can't see how that's possible. My speakrs accept optical audio in and I really want to connect them to my future iMac. If not, how's the optical from the headphone jack? Is it possible to get 5.1 surround from that port?

firefighterpilot1 wrote:
The iMac says it has optical audio out through the headphone jack but without an adapter
I can't see how that's possible.
There are two "standard" optical-digital-audio connectors -- the original "square" one is
still used in most larger audio/video components. The newer/smaller one, used mainly in
portable gear, is exactly the same size as a mini headphone plug. The iMac's audio jacks
support either analog or digital-optical connections -- depending on which type of plug
is inserted.
Radio Shack carries adapters/converters/cables of both types (usually at outrageously
high prices). For online vendors, try http://monoprice.com -- great prices and a good
reputation for quality/service among the HDTV-fanatics on avsforum.com.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?cid=104&cp_id=10423&cs_id=1042301&pid=2671&seq=1&format=2
Is it possible to get 5.1 surround from that port?
http://www.thismuchiknow.co.uk/?p=24
Looby

Audio out options question - HDMI + component?

I have looked thru the manual and forums, but have not seen the answer to my question.
If I hook an ATV to my TV with HDMI, and also use the Right and Left (red and white component) audio out cables to my stereo (which does not have TOS link digital audio capability), will I get sound delivered to BOTH units at the same time? Basically, I'd like sound to go to my TV and my stereo.
I see in the ATV manual that it is possible to use HDMI and digital audio out. DVI video and component audio out, but I need HDMI video/audio AND component audio out.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to use the HDMI cable from the ATV to the TV and then export the sound from the TV with with either RCA, toslink, or digital audio out cables to your stereo. That is what I do at home. I have a DVR cable box, DVD player, and PS3 Blue Ray player and a HD video camera all hooked up via HDMI to a HDMI hub to the TV and then I can switch the stereo from either the TV audio out (all of the above) or the airport express where I stream music to the Stereo. There is no doubt that the sound quality from the BR HDMI cable of the PS3 has a superior sound.
A tech at curcuit city told me there is a difference in sound between, a expensive Monster HDMI cable and the less expensive cables now available on line, but I have not tried a A/B comparison yet, but am planing to do so. $50-60$ vrs. a few dollars on line aftermarket.
Hope this helps.

Audio out from HDMI port?

I have connected my TV and Booklet via a standard HDMI cable. This same HDMI cable works fine with my DVD player. When I use it with my booklet, only video seems to be sent to the TV via the HDMI cable. Is the HDMI out port supporting only video, or audio as well? I understand the booklet supports HDMI 1.2, which should support an audio profile, as far as I know.
Let me know if you have been able to get audio to work over HDMI.
thanks,
John

I found your discussion attempting to find the answer to the same question.
I won 5 of these things at auction and wanted HDMI to be a selling point
I researched far and wide and now I think I have the answer now.
I had to reload the OS and all the drivers for all 5 units
I read some of the replies to this topic and with some people saying that they had audio and I didn't, I felt that either I was crazy or someone is not truthful. so i had a thought ,
after about the 3rd unit I tried to just try to hook it up to a TV bare without Nokia updated software
What do you know, it worked.
So I have come to the conclusion based upon using both units after testing them with and without the update, is with the stock driver provided, you will get the audio from the HDMI port; if you update the software from the updater(which I noticed it says the driver is MANDATORY)
You will not.
There is a plus and minus on both occassions
With the graphics driver update you can scale your video once hook to an HDTV to full 1080p HD; but you wont get any audio (at least for now)
Without the update you will get the audio out , however you will only get the same native resolution as the netbook 720p
So contemplate which feature is more important you and make your choice.
Higher picture quality(full HD) with the driver yet I need 2 cable (HDMI AND 2.5 to RCA)
OR lower resolution720p but audio as well
I hope this helps but i see my next challenge for both you and is to see if we can roll back the driver if we want audio over HDMI.

MBP audio out from headphone jack is extremely low in volume

i just sent my macbook pro 13in (mid 2009 model) to the apple store (out of warranty). my problem was that the audio out from the headphone jack was very very low and staticky. the problem arose about 2-3wks ago. i've owned the laptop since june 2009. i've never dropped or damaged it (no water damage, etc)
my local apple store told me they had to replace logic board which seems extreme for what my problem is. i've read numerous forum posts saying that their computers came back with flickering "kernel panic"
has anyone else had a similar audio problem with their computer, and if so was it resolved in this manner?
thanks!

I think you may be mistaken. the static coming from macbooks audio output port is as old a story as the macbook itself. IMO, epic fail on apple's part. I am debating complaining in a few months when I decide I deserve a better sound quality from a ridiculously overpriced laptop.

How to record audio out from a portable player

Hi, I have a MacBook Air. I want to capture the audio out (3.5mm jack) from an old SONY minidisk recorder into the Air. I tried to plug speakers into the SONY and letting the internal mic capture the speaker sounds, but the quality wasn't crisp. Can anyone recommend a direct way (presumably thru USB) that ensures better quality? Thanks.
BTW, the contents I am capturing are voice journals on mini-disc my grand father had recorded since the mid-90's before he pass recently.

Take a look at the Griffen iMic. I have used it to capture audio from a portable cassette player. I used iTunes to store the tracks.

AppleTV audio out to old amp with only analog audio

I'm thinking about getting the Apple TV for both video and for playing my music on my home stereo system. I currently have an old amp with only analog audio capabilities, but the new ATV looks like it only supports digital optical out, and the digital to analog converters I've looked for seem pretty expensive. How can I get the audio from my music collection (iTunes) to play wirelessly through ATV through my amp?
I currently also have an Airport Express which I use for audio, but I was thinking of selling that and just using the ATV since the ATV can essentially do the same thing as the AX with added video benefit. I've seen some threads on streaming audio from the ATV to the AX, but do I really need both? Seems like there should be another way.
I was thinking of connecting the ATV to my TV via HDMI cable for audio, and then using an analog audio out from the TV to my amp. But, if I'm correct, that would only provide me with sound coming from the TV. It wouldn't give sound out from iTunes, for example. Is that right?
Are there any other options?

Followings are my observations in audio streaming with Apple TV 3 and Airport Express through AirPlay protocol:
-- Apple TV 3 come with only digital audio outputs through HDMI and optical SPDIF outputs. If you connect optical link from the optical output to optical input of any DAC and HDMI cable from the HDMI output to HDMI input on TV set, audio output will be transmitted through both digital outputs. Thus is is not necessary to turn on TV set unless visual feedback is required. There is no audio analog line output for Apple TV 3.
-- AirportExpress come with single combo mini jack (digital + analog) for audio output regardless of old/new models. You can connect either digital optical link (with Mini/Toslink adaptor) to digital input of DAC or analog line cable (inferior) to analog line input of amplifier. When analog line is used, digital-to-analog conversion is done by DAC built into AirportExpress for which do not expect quality is as good as most external DAC models. What do you expect from a single-chip DAC implementation vs standalone DAC models cost few thousand dollars ? Moreover analog line is susceptible to interference more than digital line.
So the decision to use Apple TV or AirportExpress, analog or digital transmission for audio streaming depends on whether you need WiFi base station features of AirportExpress to establish wireless network and quality of your audio system to justify all-digital audio transmission. Followings are what I use in audio streaming from iMac/iPad mini /iPhone 5 to audio system in living room. Quality of audio output is comparable with Sonos Zone Player as audio source.
Apple AirPort Extreme wireless base station (802.11n, 5GHz)
Apple TV 3 (firmware 5.1.1, Xtreme HD Toslink optical cable)
Antelope Audio Zodiac DAC
Bel Canto power amplifier
Bowers & Wilkins 683 speakers
Yamaha YST-SW215 subwoofer

Digital audio out port

I am having a problem, quite opposite to what most of what I've read about Mac audio port issues online, concerning my audio-out port. I'm running an Intel Imac, 7,1, running OS 10.5.8. The specs do specify the audio port on this mac is dual; analog and digital output. Everything I've read to date relates to the red optical light being stuck on coming out of the audio port. My issue is that I CANNOT, and I emphasize that, get the red light to come on and thus use my optical cable (it's working on other equipment) and connect it to my AV receiver. I have never in the past even thought about using an optical cable so it never was an issue. In fact I never knew the port was dual. The external speaker and headphones work fine and the audio panel in the preference pane reflects that; either says 'internal speakers' or 'headphones' automatically when engaging/disengaging audio phone jack. When I put in my toslink (optical) cable, the panel goes to 'headphones' instead of 'optical out' or 'digital out'. There is never a provision to click on digital out on either the sound panel or the midi setup panel. I've tried everything I can click on at both panels. Audio Output in midi setup says 'master stream' (always greyed out) and Source- either 'headphones' or 'internal speakers'. The default and system output drop downs never give me a 'digital' or 'optical' option. Everything works fine except that I cannot get the red light to shine and cannot get digital out at all. Any ideas? Maybe something in terminal or in openfirmware screen? Thanks.

have you tried other speakers or headphones and what version bootcamp drivers are you using?
Moses Kravitz wrote:
Does this port connect directly to appropriate digital speakers?
If so can someone recommend a decent set of digital speakers that will connect directly.
Or does the optical digital audio port connect to an amplifier or receiver and them to speakers?
With the suggestions i have below the set-up is like this:
Subwoofer - Connects to 2 (Stereo or technically 2.1) or 5 (5.1) speakers
The subwoofer connects to a control pod (which has the optical inputs, coax inputs, and analog inputs - atleast all 3 are on the z5500)
Digital/Optical Audio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOSLINK
Suggested Speakers; I Personally have 2 pairs of the Z-5500 set, true high quality audio and variety of settings for whatever you use them for, i have been so pleased by them and their warranty service is by far the best ever, anything ever happens to them, theyll send you a replacement set, logitech/apple great customer service, i also posted a few other priced ones if youre not looking for a huge set up:
The company site & Speakers: http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/speakersaudio/home_pcspeakers/&cl=us,en
Compares a few models:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/comparison/ref=pdcp_ecmp/104-4843690-8241552?ie=UTF8&ASIN.1=B0002WPSBC&ASIN.2=B0002SQ0AE&ASIN.4=B0002 SQ2P2&ASIN.3=B0002SQ0A4&bf=0
and some others in that same field:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/explorer/B00007AKDP/2/ref=pdcp_esexpl/104-4843690-8241552
And you're going to need a TOSLINK cable to go from the audio port to the back of the control pods; found a nice cheap one
http://amazon.com/s/ref=srkk3/104-4843690-8241552?ie=UTF8&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=toslink%20cable
hope that helps!!
Message was edited by: AppleNewton

Question on optical audio out

Hi all, I recently got an entry level 5.1 surround system for my PC (Logitech X-530, if you're that curious) and am wondering if it's possible to utilize my optical audio out with this system. From what I gather, I'd need some kind of decoder, but beyond that, I'm lost. I've tried googling it and searched around this forum a bit, but I can't seem to be pointed to any one product that'll do this. Any help is appreciated.

Ok, the speakers you got are just powered speakers with analog inputs.
They do not have the better digital inputs and do 5.1 decoding.
Mac's don't do 5.1 decoding, so you need either a separate device (like a 5.1-7.1 decoding receiver with digital optical inputs) or a M-Audio sound card installed in your PCI slots.
The M-Audio card for the Mac will use your CPU's to do the 5.1 decoding and send it out analog ports which you can connect those speakers too.
The M-Audio card produces line level output, no amplification. But your powered speaks will do the amplification.
http://images.devshed.com/dh/stories/Logitech%20x530/image005.jpg
(The three plugs on the right are for connecting to a sound card)
If your really into better sound, a quality 5.1-7.1 receiver with digital optical inputs (toslink cable) and good speakers with 80+ watts each and a decent 100+ watt subwoofer will make you cry with happiness. Of course you need to pay over $1000 and up. But it's worth it if your into music.
Check out the Volume Logic iTunes plugin, it's cheap and makes your music sound so much better.
NOTE! Make sure you check that the current M-Audio card will work in your Mac. The PCI spec of the M-Audio card may not match the one's needed by your certain spec of PowerMac G5.

Audio-out to MBP?

I need to digitize some cassettes and records since they are (especially the cassettes) are getting pretty worn out, and i'm down to my last working record player.
I'm just looking for some sort of cable where I can plug the 2 audio-out wires (red and white) into one end, and the other end can connect into my MBP. I'd record the audio in Audacity.
I tried doing my own search but i'm not sure what exactly will get the job done. I see things connect through USB, through the line-in jack (I don't even know where that is).
So if someone could just simply tell me what wire (or wires) to get, that would be very helpful. Thanks.

Mark,
With just the MBP and no other types of devices, this could be slightly difficult. There are RCA to single 1/8" adapters out there, but this could sacrifice some quality, and I'm not sure how picky you are about your sound. For me, I want my sound quality to be top notch, because I'm a musician and I can't stand bad quality.
I suggest this, http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ARTUSBPhonoPlus?sku=180642X
Take a look at the photos. You've got your RCA ins in the back. This little guy plugs in via USB, so you can record directly to your Audacity prog with no sound sacrifice through adapters.
Hope this helps some...
Good luck

Audio in and Audio out - MacBook Pro

Hello!
I'm interested in purchasing a MacBook Pro mainly for music production (I'm kinda new to the whole DJing scene) and I noticed a small difference between the 13' and 15' models. The 15' model includes a separate Audio in and Audio out while the 13' has only one Audio in/out exit. Does anyone knows what's the difference between the two? What can I do with a separate Audio in and Audio out exits like in the 15' model? Is it worth paying the extra $700?
Thanks in advance!

slampog wrote:
The 15' model includes a separate Audio in and Audio out while the 13' has only one Audio in/out exit. Does anyone knows what's the difference between the two? What can I do with a separate Audio in and Audio out exits like in the 15' model? Is it worth paying the extra $700?
Yes it is, the 13" is rather lacking on a lot of things, including the video card.
Mac's have optical audio in/out ports in the stereo mini ports, which produce clearly audiophile level music.
If you want to impress people, marry a 2.2 Ghz 15" or better MBP to a quality receiver and speakers with a optical Toslink adapter and cable and you'll "WOW!" them for sure. Hear the full quality of iTunes music you have been paying for and listening on crappy iPods and their cheap headphones.
http://www.amazon.com/Toslink-To-Optical-Mini-Adapter/dp/B0002MQGRM
And you can do a lot more with that 2.2 Ghz 15" (psst: get the anti-glare high res screen)

Audio out type

Hello,
I am connecting a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 audio system to my iMac. Since the system has its own internal amplifier, the manual instructs to hook up the audio system into the line out connector of the soundcard. The manual states that "connection to the speaker level output jack might result in the poor sound quality."
I would like to make sure that the iMac audio out is indeed a line out type. Based on the Technical Spec page, I believe that it is a line out, but I am not sure. I would appreciate it if someone could confirm it.
Also, I would be interested in comments on whether the vendor is not overstating the potential problem of plugging the audio system into a speaker level audio output, if this is the case for the iMac.
Thanks in advance

Hi Dennis,
Thanks for your prompt reply. I plugged the system in, and it works great.
I don't know about the Creative Inspire, but this one is definitely better than two small unpowered speakers that I have used for years. Now, the iMac replaced the old PC, and clearly the old speakers had to go.
I appreciate the tips on volume and boot sequence. The only other item that I wish I could resolve is how to switch between external and internal speakers without unplugging the system from the audio jack. I am not sure that I want to keep the audio system on all the time. However, browsing the forum, I came across the explanation that the jack has a hard-wired sensor, so it seems that software would not be able to override it. Please let me know if I misunderstood the post, and such functionality does exist.
Thanks again.

PREMIERE PRO cs3 & cs5 - audio out of synch by 6 frames after export

i have never had formal training on adobe premiere, and therefore when i am working with my students it is basically down to expereince i have gained by myself.
with cs3, we always worked on the basis that it would always export the audio out of synch with the video by 6 frames so they would routinely have the audio tracks on two separate tracks, one for editing and one for exporting which was offset +6 frames.
when we made the transition to cs5 and new kit i was stunned to see that the synch issues were still there. and since a quick google yielded very little evidence that others shared this issue i thought it must be something i am doing wrong after years of bad habits learned on the fly.
so here is my workflow, where am i going wrong and why is it always out of synch?
open cs5
choose an editing format. (this varies but the synch issue is always the same)
import content
edit
export (normally as a microsoft avi, with no compression which i later convert into quicktime compressed with ANIMATION)
i teach on an animation course so normally the content we import is a sequence of stills such as jpg or tiff, but we also capture stuff on dslrs too
the timeline colour is normally yellow, which is fine at standard def, but larger def we will render workspace to turn it green
the editing format depends on our target format. the current project is 720 hd
the export as avi with no compressor i suspect to be a weak link in this work flow, but the problem remains if i export as anything else so....
now as an additional point on the matter, the current project we have had people miming to an audio clip which we played live for their performance. the audio blips were aligned on the timeline with the audio blips from the edit
but after rendering out, the footage is out of synch by 6 frames. it has always been this way.
any thoughts? i know i must be doing something wrong, but the issue is consistant across different computer, running different OS and different versions of PREM...so either i am doing it wrong or premiere is fundamentally broke.....i suspect its me though

is there a logical reason for opting for a preset which is the lowest common denominator rather than a highest? is it not better to work at the best res possible?
does it matter either way? because i have often created 1080p content and worked in a 1024/576 edit environment only to later export at 1080p with no loss of quality?
i create the avi and then open this in quicktime to export to the desired formats.
now that you posted that comment i cant believe i have never done the simple trouble shoot of 'at what point does it go out of synch'
files are too big to playback uncompressed though.
i know it is a workflow issue and not a prem issue because no one else seems to have the problem.
im going to run some tests
thanks, will report back

Audio out of sync - FCP to Motion

I've read the posts about motion audio not syncing to video when subclips are imported. When I imported a subclip of audio & video into Motion - audio was the whole length of my master clip (1 hour!) Way off sync.
I selected a clip in the sequence, exported the audio out as an aiff (still as long as the whole sequence), opened it in quicktime, went back to FC and made a note of the TC where my clip began in my sequence, then went back to QT to edit the clip to around that area on the audio, saved it as a smaller file, then imported it into motion and slid it around a bit to make up for the frames that I was off by. You can't be serious..... is this the workaround?
Is there any other way????
Exhausted. I have 135 subclips to animate to over in Motion !!!

I often hear that it's best to save and store important projects to DV tape, i.e. play your FCE project back through a Firewire cable to a new tape recording in your mini-DV camera, and archive it that way for the long haul. I suppose that's because the quality of the image is maximized on tape, since it is not compressed as it is on DVDs.
But I had hopes that DV tape was a little more durable than that, for long term archiving. Sounds to me now as though the fragility of that tape doesn't bode well for preserving video very long into the future.
I have 15-year-old Hi-8 tapes that I've been digitizing into my Mac through a Canopus converter box, and then recording back to mini-DV in hopes of preserving them. These 15-year-old analog tapes seem to play just fine, with pretty good video images, despite conventional wisdom that analog tapes deteriorate after about 10 years. But I wonder now whether I'm going to a lot of trouble to just prolong their existence for only a few more years, if mini-DV tape is even more fragile than Hi-8.
Maybe in another ten years, the video on those old Hi-8 tapes will be superior to their copies I made on the mini-DV tapes, if the latter turn out to degrade more in storage. It could be that these people whose cameras record onto memory cards, DVD-R, and little hard drives are the smart ones (whether they know it or not), and will still have their video in good condition decades from now, if those media are more durable than tape.
Guess I'll burn DVD copies of all my old video as well, in case that medium lasts longer than DV tape backups. Better compressed and slightly degraded than nothing. Would be nice if my kids, when they reach old age, can still see video of themselves when they were small, like I can do on the 8mm film my father took many years ago, in the 1950s.
Tom B.

Pls help! Audio out of sync - PAL project

Hi,
I have run into the annoying audio out of synch problem
I have a PAL project put together in FCP HD 4.5 and exported as "mpeg1 dvd - all" in compressor.
By the end of the 15 minute project the audio is out of synch by more than 1 second (25 frames or more).
I really need to get this project burned tonight so I guess I have 2 questions....
Given what I already own, (Production Suite), what steps do I need to do to get this project finished tonight - ie compressor settings, fiddling etc etc
And secondly, what do I need to do to properly fix this bug - for it IS a bug - so I don't run into it again.
Many thanks for all you help in advance.
Kenny
kennymillar-at-mac-dot-remove-this-bit-dot-com

I used compressor to export as MPEG2 (I chose MPEG 2 High Quality 60 Minute) and it created an aiff file, which is also out of synch at the end of the project by more than 1 second.
So that didn't work
Please someone give the guys at Apple a shake and ask them to get this fixed.
in the meantime, can someone please help me achieve this simple task.

Audio-out quality

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