Connecting USB Speakers to 2013 iMac without Airplay?

Have new 27" iMac (Intel i5 May 2013 build) and find no way to hook up external USB speakers. System's preferences offers no external opiton beyond Airplay which I hope to avoid. I don't know the distinction between USB 2 and USB 3, but wonder if my two year old speakers have an older version of USB connection and whether it will work. Thanks for any help with this newbie question.

Thanks, BD. I've been reading about target disk mode which sounds like it might be an appropriate solution for getting my photos and music to the new iMac. If I understand it, it sounds like I would connect the old MBP to the new iMac with a Firewire 800 cable (with Thunderbolt adapter for the iMac). The iMac would be running while the old MBP would be started up in Target Mode -- either by holding the T key while booting, or by restarting after selecting the Systems Disk in System Preferences>Mac HD>Restart. The target MBP should come up in Target Mode and mount in the Finder on the iMac. This should allow copying the iTunes Files from the MBP to iTunes on the iMac. Similarly I've read this would enable me also to copy the iPhoto Library from the Pictures Folder of the MBP to the Pictures Folder of the iMac. I'm nervous about whether copying is a simple drag-and-drop, or perhaps a multistage process that requires knowing where precisely to place the new files. The process on the iTunes seems critical since I'm moving 125 GB. Still, the concept seems like it might be relatively straight forward as long as I don't get confused about which computer is which, and whether I am dealing with the files themselves or the whole Library folder. In the case of iPhoto, I believe I'm copying the whole Library from Pictures on MBP to Pictures on iMac. On the iTunes, I'm not sure if I'm copying the files into the iMac iTunes, or simply copying the Library from MBP Music to iMac Music. If you have any insight on Target Mode, it might help me decide whether that's the way to go. Thanks for your replies. It's nice to know someone out there actually understands this stuff. Best, Dean

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I am thinking about making the final jump and just trashing my stereo and running all my music through my iMac. Three questions:
1.) Is the output of an iMac going to be high enough quality to sound good through my stereo speakers?
2.) Is this done by simply connecting a set of stereo speakers to my iMac through the headphone jack?
3.) My current stereo is hooked up to three sets of speakers (one set in each of three rooms) and I'm wondering if I can split the output signal from my single headphone jack so that the music comes out of all three speakers.
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Thanks in advance!
Peter Booth

Hi Peter,
1. the output is good enough to run external speakers through (you'd need to have the hearing of a bat to notice the difference. Only the very highest and ver, very lowest of frequencies are lost.)
2. yes the headphone jack will work (if you iMac has an 'output' jack though, use it instead.)
3. Yes, you will lose ouput accordingly (is the stereo designed to run two speakers is running six, all speakers will recieve only 1/3 signal, unless you install extra capacitors in your amps to compensate for loss of output.
4. refer to answer 1
Kind Regards,
Peter Miller.
Message was edited by: Peter Miller

Connecting usb superdrive to new imac but unable to work out how to burn dvds any ideas? im sure its simple grrrr

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Can I use iMac 2007 as connected monitor to a 2013 iMac to edit movies on iMovie?

How do I connect 2013 iMac with thunderbolt to 2007 iMac with FireWire 800 to have an extra monitor to edit videos on iMovie? Both iMacs are running Mavericks.

robiemc wrote:
How do I connect 2013 iMac with thunderbolt to 2007 iMac with FireWire 800 to have an extra monitor to edit videos on iMovie? Both iMacs are running Mavericks.
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http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3924

How to switch quickly between the native soundcard and USB speakers?

My computer has two sound devices: one, the native sound card (which I use for my headphones), and an external pair of USB speakers. However, switching between them is a complicated task, mainly because I find almost no programs to do it:
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The script I use with pulse.
#/bin/bash
# paswitch 2011-02-02 by Ng Oon-Ee <[email protected]>
# I can't remember where I found this script, can't locate the original author.
# Please inform me if you know, so that I can give proper attribution.
# CHANGES: Added auto-move all inputs to new default sound card.
# WAS: Pulse Audio Sound Card Switcher v1.0 2010-01-13
# Switches between soundcards when run. All streams are moved to the new default sound-card.
# $totalsc: Number of sound cards available
totalsc=$(pacmd "list-sinks" | grep index: | wc -l) # total of sound cards: $totalsc
if [ $totalsc -le 1 ]; then # Check whether there are actually multiple cards available
notify-send -u critical -t 5000 "Nothing to switch, system only has one sound card."
exit
fi
# $scindex: The Pulseaudio index of the current default sound card
scindex=$(pacmd list-sinks | awk '$1 == "*" && $2 == "index:" {print $3}')
# $cards: A list of card Pulseaudio indexes
cards=$(pacmd list-sinks | sed 's|*||' | awk '$1 == "index:" {print $2}')
PICKNEXTCARD=1 # Is true when the previous card is default
count=0 # count of number of iterations
for CARD in $cards; do
if [ $PICKNEXTCARD == 1 ]; then
# $nextsc: The pulseaudio index of the next sound card (to be switched to)
nextsc=$CARD
PICKNEXTCARD=0
# $nextind: The numerical index (1 to totalsc) of the next card
nextind=$count
fi
if [ $CARD == $scindex ]; then # Choose the next card as default
PICKNEXTCARD=1
fi
count=$((count+1))
done
pacmd "set-default-sink $nextsc" # switch default sound card to next
# $inputs: A list of currently playing inputs
inputs=$(pacmd list-sink-inputs | awk '$1 == "index:" {print $2}')
for INPUT in $inputs; do # Move all current inputs to the new default sound card
pacmd move-sink-input $INPUT $nextsc
done
# $nextscdec: The device.description of the new default sound card
# NOTE: This is the most likely thing to break in future, the awk lines may need playing around with
nextscdesc=$(pacmd list-sinks | awk '$1 == "device.description" {print substr($0,5+length($1 $2))}' \
| sed 's|"||g' | awk -F"," 'NR==v1{print$0}' v1=$((nextind+1)))
#notify-send "Default sound-card changed to $nextscdesc"
dbus-send --session --type=method_call --reply-timeout=10000 \
--dest=org.freedesktop.Notifications /org/freedesktop/Notifications \
org.freedesktop.Notifications.Notify string:"paswitch" uint32:1 \
string:$icon_name string:"Default sound card is now" string:"$nextscdesc" \
array:string:"" dict:string:string:"","" int32:3000
exit
# Below text was from original author and remains unaltered
# CC BY - creative commons
# Thanks God for help :) and guys lhunath, geirha, Tramp and others from irc #bash on freenode.net

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Hi
Does anyone know if it is possible to connect USB speakers (such as the Bose Companion 5 multimedia speakers) to Apple TV via the usb port?

Does anyone know if it is possible to connect USB speakers (such as the Bose Companion 5 multimedia speakers) to Apple TV via the usb port?
No. No publicly available device can be used with the USB port of an unhacked Apple TV.
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Since upgrading to Mavericks, I have been unable to sync devices (specifically ipad mini and iphone 4s) to my MId 2013 Imac . They wil rapidly connect and disconnect, and I'm unable to do anything with the device. This happens with both USB ports. Any su

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I tested them already on two identical machines - the same issue: left USB port works fine, right one - not.
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I've tested the headset on other PCs and my older iMac and the issue doesn't show up.
I've re-installed Mavericks on the iMac, without nuking my data, but that still doesn't solve the issue.
I've logged a case with Apple support and they had me run a program which gathered up a bunch of information to send to their engineering team. No updates yet so far.
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Message was edited by: SilverSkyRat

HT201335 i have a 2013 model macbook pro and apple tv generation 3 . both connected to the same wifi , still no airplay mirroring icon or in my display setting . what els could be the problem

have a 2013 model macbook pro and apple tv generation 3 . both connected to the same wifi , still no airplay mirroring icon or in my display setting . what els could be the problem

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Read > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5404 Do you see the AirPlay icon on the menu bar? If not, restart the router

Connecting USB Speakers to 2013 iMac without Airplay?

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