I have one of the 2012 machines, and if I plug in a USB microphone for Siri,
will Siri recognize it right away or do I have to go into some settings to
select the microphone?
-----Original Message-----
From: Dane Trethowan
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2017 4:24 PM
To: PC Audio Discussion List
Subject: Re: sound input on the mac mini
I hope he's able to enjoy his Mac Mini as much as I do, certainly one of
the best ever computing devices I've ever purchased.
I've spoken about the Mac Mini before here - in audio terms - so I won't
go on about it again.
If your friend has the Late 2012 Mac Mini then he truly has a treasure
box which was ahead of its time.
They hold their value well too on the second-hand market mainly because
- for whatever reason - Apple have decided to downgrade thus cheapen the
later Mac Mini machines.
On 21/03/2017 6:22 AM, André van Deventer wrote:
Thanx dane - will forward this to him.
It's one of those headsets with a plug for the microphone and a plug for
the
headphone part.
Of course if the socket does nothave enough power then he will have to
take
the other route.
André
-----Original Message-----
From: Pc-audio [mailto:pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org] On Behalf Of Dane
Trethowan
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2017 9:18 PM
To: PC Audio Discussion List
Subject: Re: sound input on the mac mini
Hi!
Yes, the input socket is a line-in standard and - unlike some Windows
sound
cards - doesn't provide power either so you have some alternatives at your
disposal, I'll give you a link with more details at the bottom of this
eMail.
A microphone can be used with this socket but it needs to be of the
battery
powered kind - in other words the microphone has to provide amplification.
On the Mac Mini a microphone is usually connected via the output socket
believe it or not.
This doesn't make sense when you read it but when you think about it
connecting a microphone to the output socket makes perfect sense.
Suppose you have a set of Apple Earbuds or compatible headset with an
inline
microphone or similar, all you have to do is to plug the headset into the
line-out/headphones socket and you have both your headphones and
microphone
there.
I know that various adapters are available for this socket including one
which will allow the oconnection of the conventional two plug stereo
headset
- one plug being for the headphones themselves and the other being for the
microphone on the headset -.
Some more information about the audio in and out on the Mac Mini before we
move on.
Both these jacks are capable of accepting digital signals which is handy
to
know if you're connecting to speakers with a digital input, connecting to
a
source such as a TV or similar for recording from a digital output and so
on.
Now if the microphone situation with the audio in and out sockets is just
far too annoying then the easiest way to get around all this is to use one
of the USB sockets for either a dedicated USB microphone or - perhaps a
better option in your firneds case - a USB adapter.
This adapter is affectively a USB Sound Card dongle which provides the
connections for a powered microphone - standard Windows PC type - or other
microphone so you'll have to do a little research here into what's
available.
So here ends my explanation and I hope you followed along <smile> and
here's
the support link from the Apple site.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3331295?start=0
On 21/03/2017 5:52 AM, André van Deventer wrote:
Hi all
Firstly I know nothing about mac computers and do not have one. I am
asking this on behalf of a friend who has one.
He bought a mac mini a few days ago. Apparently there are two 3.5 mm
sockets on this machine. One is an output and one an input. The output
is
enough to drive a pair of headphones but the input seems to only be line
in.
His question is whether it is possible to switch between line in and
microphone input like most windows sound devices. Or is this socket
line in only? He is trying to use a headset that he already has. The
sound comes out fine on the output side but of course the input is
completely dead.
Regards
André
