How To Plug In Powered Speakers To MacBook

How would you plug in powered speakers to a macbook; say.... for djaying?

Kappy wrote:
Depends on what input impedance and level the mixer requires. Output from the headphone jack is at low impedance and high levels that may overwhelm a mixer's input.
It's been a while since my basic EE and analog design classes where we went over this stuff, and I don't remember all the technical terms, but....
Really - I've never heard of any kind of line-level input having a problem being connected to a headphone jack. Even one with a fairly low output impedance. Any kind of line-level input should be relatively high impedance to maximize voltage transfer and prevent overloading of the output driver. I thought headphone outputs were typically regulated for a fairly low maximum voltage. Of course the ideal case for an ideal voltage buffer is a near zero output impedance and a near infinite input impedance. I seem to recall that my old receiver with preamp outputs had line-level input impedance of maybe 10K-ohm and output impedance of about 300 ohm.
I saw an Apple developer note and apparently the MacBook output jack has an impedance less than 24 ohms. I've checked out a few specs for mixer inputs, and line input impedance seems to vary from anywhere from 1K-ohm to up to 20K-ohm. I wouldn't see a problem. The incoming current will be regulated by the higher input impedance.
I always thought the biggest problem was with too low a device input impedance from headphones or speakers overloading the driver. In that case I've heard either the output device or the amp clip.
Message was edited by: ypw

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I will end up getting something other than Logitech speakers, since I'm just weird like that.
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How To Plug In Powered Speakers To MacBook

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