Optical audio output for IMAC

My new IMAC 2.66gh 24" is coming. Just wondering if the IMAC can output true bit stream audio signal through the toslink cable. I have a Logitec 5400 THX 5.1 Speaker system support THX, Dolby Digital, DTS hard decode. What I heard from other website saying is IMAC can only output 2.1 channel audio sound through optical. If that is true then my 5.1 speaker system is useless.

Hi Kl2999
Welcome to Apple Discussions
Have a look at the > [iMac Audio System Audio Developer Notes|http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Hardware/Conceptual/HWTechAudio/Articles/Audio_implementation.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40003978-SW281200331167]
+*S/PDIF Optical Digital Output*+
+The S/PDIF optical digital output is automatically selected when an S/PDIF optical digital output device is detected on the external combo audio port. The S/PDIF optical digital output supports PCM and AC-3 audio formats with the following stereo data stream characteristics:+
+PCM: 16, 20, or 24 bits per sample at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, or 96 kHz+
+AC-3: 16 bits per sample at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, or 192 kHz+
+The S/PDIF optical output channel status conforms to IEC 60958-3 consumer mode digital audio.+
+During playback of a 1 kHz sine wave (S/PDIF output format at 0 dBFS output level, 44.1 kHz sample rate, 24-bit sample depth, unless otherwise specified) the digital audio output has the following nominal specifications:+
+Jack type: 3.5 mm (1/8”) stereo combo+
+Digital audio signal-to-noise ratio (SNR): > 130 dB+
+Digital audio total harmonic distortion + noise (THD+N): < -130 dB (0.00003%)+
Dennis

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http://mrfeinberg.com/KeepSoundAwake/
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Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18761
Reset SMC. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Choose the method for:
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This question was solved.
View Solution.

There are SPDIF/Tolink splitters out on the market... here is an axample.
http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Toslink-Optical-Splitter-VHD-TS1X3/dp/B00G191YL8
( I am an HP Employee )

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I am not convinced you've given a valid answer. Maybe if I elaborate a bit more...
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Thank you very much for your reply.
@Király : May i know how to Open Audio Midi Setup? Is this Audio Midi Setup is in the locatated in the Setting in Mac Snow Leapord OS? or how to locate this "Audio Midi Setup " in Mac enviroment. Is it possible to open this Audio Midi Setup in windows 7 enviroment also? I Just want to get the audio from my iMac in Hts-3300 onkyo home theatre. YOur help is much appreciated
@rkaufmann87 : Thank you very much for your sharing about this http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/ connection. for me what i understand is the digital audio output in airportexpress is the same as the audio out put in iMac in terms of details sepcs. So this airportexpress will only help you connect wirelessly to home theatre system, rather than waired connection. Other than that nothig much difference. So there is no point for me to spend extra bucks to attain the wireless connection. Unless the airportexpress have optical digital input, which i believe not. Correct me if I m worng, thanks

Using built in optical digital audio output for 5.1

So, lets say i want to mix something in 5.1 using logic or soundtrack pro, can i use the optical digital audio output of my macbook to send the signal to a home theather or something to mix it?, or i need a special hardware card for this?
Thanks a lot!!

Hi alece,
Just to clarify something;
When using an optical cable there are several standards of audio that can pass through the cable:
S/PDIF - a stereo signal - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spdif
AC3 or Dolby Digital - up to 5.1 surround - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ac3
Dolby Digital Plus - up to 7.1 surround - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DolbyDigitalPlus
ADAT Optical - up to 8 channels of audio - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADAT_Lightpipe
MADI - up to 64 channels of audio - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MADI
I´m sure other people can add more to the list if they want to, my point is that these signals can pass through the exact same kind of optical cable.
The important bit to know is what does your equipment and software support... in theory your question is quite logical, a software can play 5.1 surround to a optical output like Apple DVD Player does with the built-in sound card of a modern mac. However, Logic does not support live encoding of AC3. That is why you have to output the surround mix in Logic to a sound card with at least 6 channels (5+1 as in 5.1) connected to your speaker system. Typically this would be 5 active studio monitors plus a sub. If you were thinking to use an existing stereo I would not recommend it since most consumer speakers have no limiters to protect them from damage (but may be possible depending on your amplifiers inputs)
I hope this answered your question
Cheers Espen
http://www.midiamore.com.au/

Hello! I have an iMac that I lose the audio output for certain profiles. The audio output will work on one profile, but when switching to another profile, I lose the audio output. I've reset the NVRAM/PRAM and that hasn't solved the problem. Help!

Hello!
I have an iMac (running iOS 10.6.8, not upgraded to Lion) that I'm having audio issues with. I have 5 profiles on this machine. The audio output will work fine out of one profile, then when switched to another, the profile will not have any audio output at all. Rebooting the machine will occasionally solve the problem. Administrator permissions are not the issue since this has also manifested itself on the administrator profile. I've also reset the NVRAM/PRAM and that hasn't helped. All my software is up to date and I recently upgraded the RAM to 2x2GB sticks. This problem was existing prior to the RAM upgrade.
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Hi Tony,
Long shot, but...
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Optical digital audio output for mac book?

Hello, I am wondering if MacBook pro Retina version has the Optical digital audio output or thunderbolt adapter? so i can use optical cable to do output for my music.

Hi alece,
Just to clarify something;
When using an optical cable there are several standards of audio that can pass through the cable:
S/PDIF - a stereo signal - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spdif
AC3 or Dolby Digital - up to 5.1 surround - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ac3
Dolby Digital Plus - up to 7.1 surround - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DolbyDigitalPlus
ADAT Optical - up to 8 channels of audio - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADAT_Lightpipe
MADI - up to 64 channels of audio - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MADI
I´m sure other people can add more to the list if they want to, my point is that these signals can pass through the exact same kind of optical cable.
The important bit to know is what does your equipment and software support... in theory your question is quite logical, a software can play 5.1 surround to a optical output like Apple DVD Player does with the built-in sound card of a modern mac. However, Logic does not support live encoding of AC3. That is why you have to output the surround mix in Logic to a sound card with at least 6 channels (5+1 as in 5.1) connected to your speaker system. Typically this would be 5 active studio monitors plus a sub. If you were thinking to use an existing stereo I would not recommend it since most consumer speakers have no limiters to protect them from damage (but may be possible depending on your amplifiers inputs)
I hope this answered your question
Cheers Espen
http://www.midiamore.com.au/

Optical audio output for IMAC

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