audio output on imac5

[mannock]

I want to connect a new 27" imac to a hifi amp but can only find a headphone output. This works when connected to the phono inputs of the amp but the sound is very quiet. The amp is fine with a cd player in the same ports. Is there a dedicated audio output on the imac or do I have to turn up the headphone output somewhere? Thanks, mannock

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

The analog audio output volume on the iMac is controlled by the system volume control. You can simply turn the volume up all the way to get a comparable output level to your CD player. Also, you can use an Mini TOSLINK to TOSLINK optical audio cable to get a fixed output level if your preamp/amplifier accepts optical input, as the jack is a combo analog/optical output. The cable looks like this:

S/PDIF Digital Optical Audio Cable, Toslink to Mini Toslink, 3ft

C

 

[mannock]

thanks for your reply, sadly the amp is valve with phono sockets only, and with the system sound right up it is still very quiet. Is there a way of converting the optical output into phono?

 

[Cory Cooper]

No problem.

You can convert the optical signal to an analog RCA output using an external DAC (digital-to-analog converter) audio device.

-Is all audio on the quiet side - iTunes, DVD Player, etc.?

C

 

[mannock]

Hi Cory, no, all the other audio sources seem fine, perhaps not quite as powerful as other systems with integrated amps but usable. There is a very noticeable difference when using the imac source. I will look into the DAC idea, perhaps it will equalize the levels with the other sources. many thanks for your help