Internal Audio Output Quality

What exactly is the quality of the internal audio interface for output (e.g. listening with the headphones). What format does it use for output? System Profiler lists PCM16, PCM24 and up to 48KHz. Is that what the DA's are using? Is it converting from 24-bit? I've heard that adjusting the volume decreases bit-depth, is that still the case?

Last week I thought that was the last snow I'd see until next winter... can't say I was surprised though.
I guess I was getting at this: When I decrease the volume on the internal audio interface output, am I decreasing some analog output level, or is the system software doing some nasty stuff? I've read a long time ago that the system actually reduces the bit depth to acheive a reduced level. All this sounds bizarre to me, but I was curious if anyone knew?
I doubt I'll ever plug output right into the internal output of the computer, because I really like having a nice knob to adjust SPL with.
Thanks.

Similar Messages

  • Audio Output (quality) questions

    Hi, I recieve high quality audio from a audio imaging guy
    which I animate short animated bits to. I seem to get differing
    qualities when outputting the final animation. I know there are
    settings for the audio when I bring it into the library and I leave
    them at the default. In my publishing settings I uncheck the
    compress movie box and have played with the audio settings once
    leaving them as default and then later using the overide function
    and setting streaming quality 160 and best each with the imaging
    person not satisified with the qualit. I'ved compared the file
    sizes of both files and tried esporting to swf with no audio. Doing
    the math I can't see that in any scenario that the audio is'nt
    comprimized (based on file size). Can anyone help me to make sense
    of the audio export. I'd just like to push through the same audio I
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    formats. As Audio is the client's business I need to output as
    close to their sorce as possible. Does any one have a reference
    where I can try to figure out what happens to audio as it's output
    as a swf.
    I'm on a Mac. I'm using Professional 8. The audio work with
    is MP3 as source from a pro(should I ask for uncompressed source?)
    . I'm publishing to Flash Player 7. I have a PC same set up too,
    but do all my production on mac and proofing on PC. Any help would
    be much appreciated.
    thank you,
    P

    > audio export. I'd just like to push through the same
    audio I recieve. Is this
    > possible? I've read the reference on the audio formats.
    As Audio is the
    > client's business I need to output as close to their
    sorce as possible. Does
    > any one have a reference where I can try to figure out
    what happens to audio as
    > it's output as a swf.
    Just do all the compression outside of Flash (or don't
    compress it) and in the library for the sound, turn on the check
    mark to "use
    imported mp3 quality"
    Switch it to mono if you don't need stereo effects to save
    50% file size.
    tralfaz

  • Internal Audio Output suddenly doesn't work.

    My internal speakers no longer work. When I go to the Sound control panel and select Built in Speakers, I get a message that says "The selected device has no output controls." The menu bar shows full volume as does the Control Panel but the volume control area is grayed and I cannot adjust anything. The same is true for the Internal Microphone setting in Inputs. I plugged a set of headphones into the jack, and get the same message. I think it must be a software error. I have restarted the computer but no luck. I repaired permissions, what else is there to try? Any ideas?

    Welcome to the Apple discussions.
    Your speaker volume is kept in System Preferences under sound. Probably worthwhile double checking that.
    Then, reset PRAM, which houses speaker information:
    1. Shut down the computer.
    2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
    3. Turn on the computer.
    4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
    5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
    6. Release the keys.
    If that reset doesn't fix it, reset the power management unit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1431
    Please post back if those two actions don't change it's behavior.

  • Internal Audio Output

    I am setting up my computer to work with some external speakers. I am not having any problems setting up the speakers or connecting them, but when i unplug the speakers my sound seems to shut off. I cant find any "mute" on, except for when I press the sound buttons on my keyboard, and underneath the volume level is a little X. There is also a red light coming from the headphone jack.
    I also have SoundSource installed, but on the output devices, I cannot find Internal Speakers as an option.
    Help!

    The internal speakers showed up when i tried again.
    Just pluged in speakers and played for a minute, then had to first shut off speakers before unpluging. That seemed to be the trick.

  • Noisy audio +  audio output turns off / on - annoying

    The audio out on a MBP (10.5.4) turns off after about 30 seconds, then turns back on when it makes any sound such as an alert sound, playing a song in iTunes / Quicktime, etc...
    Case and point: Listen with headphones (or with your ear close to the laptop speaker) and do something that requires audio - e.g. just duplicate a file using Apple+D, you'll hear your alert sound. Then listen for 30 seconds - you will hear a faint hiss (with good headphones), then a click/pop as the audio turns off. WHY?
    And this is really annoying: there is also a click/pop sound when you start to play something if the audio has turned off, i.e. the audio output has to turn itself ON again. Plus, in iTunes there is digital distortion and some very faint high-frequency hums.
    I have my old PowerBook G4 sitting next to this MBP and it does NOT do this. So it begs the question: Why does Apple have to change things like this? Why change the audio output to turn off after 30 seconds? How is it that iTunes on a MBP creates digital distortion?
    There is NO digital distortion within iTunes on the Powerbook G4. (I compared the same exact track from iTunes on the MBP to iTunes on the Powerbook G4.) There is NO digital distortion when playing audio through Quicktime on either laptop.
    I don't get it. Apple/Mac should be improving their products. They bought Logic 8 from Emagic! That must mean they are interested in audio, yes? Then WHY cheapen the audio outs?
    This is essentially a post to see if there has been any fixes for this problem, or to see if Apple/Mac really care or noticed. I hope it is the former.......

    I have a brand new Macbook Pro Unibody 15'', which presents the same issues, but with some peculiarities. I have M-Audio reference speakers, connected with an analog cable minijack to RCA cable (note: they work perfectly when connected to the ext. firewire audio interface..) .
    The weird thing is related to whether I have the power cord plugged in or not:
    - with the magsafe power cord plugged in I only hear the intermittent "high pitched noises" described here: http://tech.kateva.org/2007/06/macintouch-review-audio-noise-in-new.html. They are apparently random .
    - when I unplug the power cord I can hear all kind of sounds and noises: I can hear the harddrive spinning and seeking, a "fixed" background hum noise, more noises even when I type or move the mouse or use the trackpad.
    UPDATE: When the external audio interface is not plugged in (it's a M-Audio firewire solo) I hear no more noises from the internal audio output ! Must be all related to some grounding issues of the audio interface.

  • Internal audio has gone missing

    Has anyone seen this problem? It's a new MBP and I can't get any internal audio output.

    Hi Tom,
    Peek in the digital audio port. Can you see a red light glowing?
    If so, a slightly out-of-spec analog audio plug has likely jammed the digital port (tighter specs) in the MUTE position. Apple's official fix is to replace the logic board, but most people area able to fix it by putting a plug in the port and GENTLY wiggling it in the horizontal plane.
    I've found with both my MBP and a circa 2003 PowerBook G4 that most analog plugs will deliver proper output and stereo separation long before the stop shoulder on the plug touches the case. The plug is held firmly enough to stay put for normal usage. It's inserting the plug "to the hilt," so to speak, that jams the MUTE contact.
    I've taken to putting on headphones or turning on external speakers BEFORE plugging them into my notebooks. I insert the plug slowly until I hear proper sound, then stop pushing. No jams since adopting that procedure.
    If there is no red light, I'd head for the Apple Store or AASP. Although some say an SMC reset will fix the muting in the absence of the red light clue, I'd let Apple work on a new computer.
    I'll try so get a picture later today of what mine looks like with the plug in a functional position. I recall the stop shoulder being between 1/16- and 1/8-inch from touching the case on either notebook model I have.

  • No Audio Output or Internal Speakers

    Just this weekend my computer suddenly stopped emitting any sound. I can change the volume levels but there are no "chirping" sounds when I change it. I have no sound when I restart my computer, I fiddled with the audio output jack to see if it was the switch, but nothing happened.
    My computer thinks it has sound. Sometimes when I try to have it make sound it will make a small pop sound. Other than that, nothing at all.

    I'm having the same sort of troubles. I checked the Sound pane in Preferences, and that fixed it once, where under Output it was set incorrectly.
    But since then, I've been having trouble even doing that: It's stopped detecting if I have headphones plugged in, and says only "Internal Speakers". Under that, instead of controls, it says "The selected device has no output controls".
    So what have I ended up doing? I noticed that AirPhones worked (software-based, forwards over wifi to your iPhone, sounds like a 96kbps MP3 at times) -- occasionally as what I assume is a side-effect of this problem, iTunes stops playing and stays at 0:00 even when the Play button changes to Pause -- So given that another sound option worked, I decided I'd plug in my Creative E-MU 0404 to use as an external sound card. And the sound is perfect.
    I'd suggest anyone having troubles with their Mac's sound card to add a new one. Unfortunately, you'll need to skip any PCIe Creative sound cards, and even likely most of the X-Fi series, as the USB ones I looked at don't support Mac. The best thing to get, it looks like, is the Creative Xmod. It has Mac, Linux and Windows compatibility, and will work with a power adapter with any MP3 player. It will sound AMAZING, I promise. My dad has one, actually.
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    Of course, Creative isn't the only option out there, you can also take a look at M-Audio, or if you don't care about sound quality (I'm only assuming here), even Griffin iMic: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic

  • Audio output will not work on external speakers.  Internal speakers will work.  What do i do to replace audio output slot

    audio output will not work on external speakers.  Internal speakers will work.  What do i do to replace audio output slot

    Right click your volume icon in the notification area and select "volume control options". From there, you should be able to select the external speakers.
    I hope that helps!
    Best of luck,
    Kyle
    -------------How do I give Kudos? | How do I mark a post as Solved? --------------------------------------------------------

  • Using Mountain Lion iOS and audio output will not change from internal speakers to AppleTV so that sound can come from TV speakers, why??

    I am using Mountain Lion iOS and trying to connect my MacBook Pro to my plasma TV using AppleTV and AirPlay mirroring.     The video does just fine.     However, there is no audio coming from the TV.     After activating AirPlay I try to select Apple TV as the audio output in System Preferences and it highlights it but then immediately goes back to Internal Speakers and only has sound coming from the MacBook Pro..
    What's going wrong ?????
    AJ

    Are you sure that WIFI network doesn't have an AppleTV on it?  Just because you don't own it doesn't mean there isn't one on that network.  The laptop or better said the OS cannot differentiate between an AppleTV that you own or not.  If it sees one on the network, it will show you one as being available.  The automatic reconnection is happening probably because the last time you streamed to an AppleTV, you didn't drop that connection before sleeping the computer or shutting down iTunes.

  • Digital audio input via mini jack/toslink from ADA, monitored via USB audio output... is this do-able? I know digital audio input should be okay but how do I monitor it, apart from using the internal speakers?

    Digital audio input via mini jack/toslink from ADA converter, monitored via USB audio output to amplifier... is this do-able? I know digital audio input should be okay but how do I monitor it, apart from using the internal speakers?

    You can output audio thru HDMI, with appropriate adapter.
    You can use additional cheap external usb audio for monitoring.

  • Internal speakers and audio output gone from System preferences

    i can't get macbookpro 2010 to recognize internal speakers and audio output. only optical OUTPUT. CAN'T GET ANY SOUND EXCEPT FOR OPTICAL PORT

    yes it is on, i have tried reinserting headphone plugs to possibly release micro switch but no avail. i tried resetting PRAM and that also did not work. this just happened over the last day or so. can't figure out what made it do this. i have no optical device, so the switch shouldn't have triggered.

  • Dual audio output

    Many people are obviously considering using a Mini as a media server, but there is one big problem with that which I'd love to be able to solve.
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    There's nothing worse than some good quality high volume audio being interrupted by deafening beeps and other system alerts. So how best to arrange 2 audio outputs that can be differentiated in the System Prefs so System sounds go out one port and other sounds (e.g. iTunes etc) out the other? Are USB and/or Firewire adapters the only solution?

    Soundflower looks interesting, but I don't think it'll do what I want.
    The only way seems to me to be adding a USB audio device. The Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro Sound Card provides basic functionality on a Mac (which is all I need) and uses the same combined analog/optical connector as the Mini itself. So that looks like a good solution.
    I still wish the Mini provided separate control of the analog and digital/optical outputs. No reason why it couldn't list them as separate output devices in OSX. Then make a plug that separated the 2 signals. I think that would be very useful. In fact, why doesn't it list the external output separately from the internal speakers in any case? It's a shame they cripple its potential.

  • IDVD output quality

    I'm trying to create a slide show with music using iDVD ver 7.1.2 running on Mac OS X ver 10.6.8 and the output quality is very poor.  I'm using high quality jpg files some from Lightroom and others from Photoshop CS5.  Both are highest quality when saving or exporting.  I've tried all thee encoding settings in iDVD with no noticable difference.  I've tried to drop the photos directly into iDVD and also tried to put them in iPhoto and export them to iDVD...nothing works for me.  What am I doing wrong?

    Hi
    There are several layers to this
    • DVD - is as Standard (whatever program used) - interlaced SD-Video - and can not be anything better than this.
    • How material was created to iDVD matters
    iMovie'08 to 11 - is not the tool of choise if quality is of importance - as they can not export interlaced video any way known to me - but does this by discarding every second line resulting in a sever quality loss
    iMovie HD6 and FinalCut are so much better - as they can deliver 100% interlaced video over to iDVD
    • How material is sent to iDVD matters
    Share to iDVD - I NEVER USE as this makes iMovie any version to render (badly)
    iMovie'08 to 11 - Share to Media Browser and as Large (NOT HD or other resoultion as this too degrades final quality) - forces iMovie to NOT RENDER and iDVD to do this (and so much better)
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    DVD quality
    1. iDVD 08, 09 & 11 has three levels of qualities. (version 7.0.1, 7,0.4 & 7.1.1) and iDVD 6 has the two last ones
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    • Best Performances
    (movies + menus  less than 60 min.) - High quality on final DVD (Can be best for short movies)
    • High Quality (in iDVD08 or 09) / Best Quality (in iDVD6)
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    About double on DL DVDs.
    2. Video from
    • FCE/P - Export out as full quality QuickTime.mov (not self-containing, no conversion)
    • iMovie x-6 - Don't use ”Share/Export to iDVD” = destructive even to movie project and especially so
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    • iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not meant to go to iDVD. Go via Media Browser or rather use iMovie HD 6 from start.
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    (I use JES_Deinterlacer to keep frame per sec. same from editing to the Video-DVD result.)
    8. Don’t burn more than three DVDs at a time - but let the laser cool off for a while before next batch.
    iDVD quality also depends on.
    • DVD is a standard in it self. It is Standard Definition Quality = Same as on old CRT-TV sets and can not
    deliver anything better that this.
    HD-DVD was a short-lived standard and it was only a few Toshiba DVD-players that could playback.
    These DVDs could be made in DVD-Studio Pro. But they don’t playback on any other standard DVD-Player.
    Blu-Ray / BD can be coded onto DVDs but limited in time to - about 20-30 minutes and then need
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    _ BD-Player or PlayStation3 - to be able to playback
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    Full BD-disks needs a BD-player (in Mac) as they need blue-laser to be read. No red-laser can do this.
    • HOW much free space is there on Your internal (start-up) hard disk. Go for approx. 25Gb.
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    • How it was recorded - Tripod vs Handheld Camera. A stable picture will give a much higher quality
    • Audio is most often more critical than picture. Bad audio and with dropouts usually results in a non-viewed movie.
    • Use of Video-editor. iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not the tools for DVD-production. They discard every second line resulting in a close to VHS-tape quality.
    iMovie 1 to HD6 and FinalCut any version delivers same quality as Camera record in = 100% to iDVD
    • What kind of movie project You drop into it. MPEG4 seems to be a bad choice.
    other strange formats are .avi, .wmv, .flash etc. Convert to streamingDV first
    Also audio formats matters. I use only .aiff or from miniDV tape Camera 16-bit
    strange formats often problematic are .avi, .wmv, audio from iTunes, .mp3 etc
    Convert to .aiff first and use this in movie project
    • What kind of standard - NTSC movie and NTSC DVD or PAL to PAL - no mix.
    (If You need to change to do a NTSC DVD from PAL material let JES_Deinterlacer_3.2.2 do the conversion)
    (Dropping a PAL movie into a NTSC iDVD project
    (US) NTSC DVDs most often are playable in EU
    (EU) PAL DVDs most often needs to be converted to play in US
    UNLESS. They are play-backed by a Mac - then You need not to care
    • What kind of DVDs You are using. I use Verbatim DVD-R (this brand AND no +R or +/-RW)
    • How You encode and burn it. Two settings prior iDVD’08 or 09
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    Best / High Quality (not always - most often not)
    Best / High Performances (most often my choice before Pro Quality)
    1. go to iDVD pref. menu and select tab far right and set burn speed to x1 (less errors = plays better) - only in iDVD 08 & 09
    (x4 by some and may be even better)
    2. Project info. Select Professional Encoding - only in iDVD 08 & 09.
    Region codes.
    iDVD - only burn Region = 0 - meaning - DVDs are playable everywhere
    DVD Studio pro can set Region codes.
    1 = US
    2 = EU
    unclemano wrote
    What it turned out to be was the "quality" settings in iDVD. The total clip time was NOT over 2 hours or 4.7GB, yet iDVD created massive visual artifacts on the "professional quality" setting.
    I switched the settings to "high quality" which solved the problem. According iDVD help, "high quality" determines the best bit rate for the clips you have.
    I have NEVER seen iDVD do this before, especially when I was under the 2 hour and 4.7GB limits.
    For anyone else, there seem to be 2 places in iDVD to set quality settings, the first is under "preferences" and the second under "project info." They do NOT seem to be linked (i.e. if you change one, the other is NOT changed). take care, Mario
    TO GET IT TO WORK SLIGHTLY FASTER
    • Minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up hard disk
    • No other programs running in BackGround e.g. Energy-Saver
    • Don’t let HD spin down or be turned off (in Energy-Save)
    • Move hard disks that are not to be used to Trash - To be disconnected/turned off
    • Goto Spotlight and set the rest of them under Integrity (not to be scanned)
    • Set screen-saver to a folder without any photo - then make an active corner (up right for me) and set
    pointer to this - turns on screen saver - to show that it has nothing to show
    Yours Bengt W

  • 24 bit Audio through 16 bit Audio Output

    Possibly dumb question but...
    I have 24 bit audio files recorded on other equipment. If I edit them in Audition at 24/32 bit but my audio hardware and/or output driver is only 16 bit will that affect the audio processing quality of what I'm doing within Audition?
    The output is simply to connect speakers or headphones but everything else such as outputting the processed file to hard drive will be done internally from Audition (i.e. Save As - no mixdowns through external analog outputs or anything).
    Will the audio stay 24 bit quality when using 16 bit audio hardware output for monitoring?
    Thanks.

    No, the files within Audition will be unaffected by the available bit depth of your soundcard. The only time it would matter is, for instance, if you are making CDs from your audio files or feeding digital out to an external 16 bit recorder in which case you will need to down convert your 24 bit files to 16 using dither for best results when you have finished all the editing/processing. But keep the 32 bit files in case you need to go back and do any adjustments.

  • Optical digital audio output/headphone out

    Does anyone know if there is a way to connect stereo speakers directly (not through a receiver/amp)to the Optical digital audio output/headphone out on a imac? The new 20 inch imacs have a 24watt internal amp which would be plenty for the speakers that I want it to drive. Thanks

    is there an attachment that i have to buy? do i just rip the tip of the cord off?
    Yep, 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. Radio Shack carries adapters/converters and cables of both types (usually at outrageously high prices). For online vendors, try:
    http://monoprice.com (search for "TOSLINK")
    Great prices and a good rep for quality/service among to the HDTV-fanatics on avsforum.com.
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