Hi Chris and anyone else following this crazy topic!
So chris If I'm understanding you correctly I might be able to either
just purchase a separate amp and feed the output from my slightly underpowered
receiver to it. that way the mac out put could be boosted but I could also
attach a airport express to the receiver as well as some other mp3 devices. As
my current system has a stereo out put option and a sub woofer line out I could
enjoy the benefits of my sub woofer and the traditional stereo sound.
Does this sound right so far?
One important question though. My current Sony receiver does not have a pre
amp out, it only has tape in out and the speaker wires so how do I get the
sound from the mac and airport express to the receiver and out to the amp?
I'm trying to power 250 watt speakers with a 150 watt receiver.
sorry to ask what are probably very basic questions for most people.
eric Caron
On Apr 23, 2012, at 10:47 AM, Chris Blouch wrote:
> So the Mac actually has two kinds of audio output, analog stereo and
> optical/digital multi-channel.
>
> The first is probably more familiar which would be to have a mini-headphone
> cable with standard left/right RCA connectors on the other end which you run
> to an input on the receiver and you get nice stereo sound. There are only two
> sound channels so if you want to get all fancy with a subwoofer you would
> need some kind of crossover gear to send only the low sounds to a subwoofer
> and leave everything else in your main speakers. This probably isn't done
> much for home listening but I've known audiophiles who went to this trouble.
>
> The second is a new(ish) setup where up to six separate channels of audio are
> combined into one high-speed data channel and sent via fiber optic cable from
> your mac to your receiver. The hadphone jack on your Mac will detect when a
> miniTOS link cable is plugged in and turn on its optical output hardware. The
> other end goes into any rececent (last 10 years or so) home theater receiver
> with optical inputs. The receiver will decode the optical audio signal into
> left, right, center, subwoofer, rear left and rear right channels. Usually
> there are built-in amps for all the channels except the subwoofer, so you
> just connect 5 standard speakers to the 5 plugs and you get all the surround
> sound goodness. Most consumer subwoofers come with a built in amp tuned to
> the speaker so the receiver just gives a 'line level' output on an RCA jack
> to run to the subwoofer. That's why they call it 5.1 for five speakers plus
> the subwoofer.
>
> As far as what you actually get, for most music recordings you only get
> stereo, so having all the other speakers doesn't do much for you. Most
> receivers have all kinds of fancy modes to put 'something' in the other
> speakers but in the end it's just stereo. Most receivers also will do
> trickery if you, for example, don't have a subwoofer. All the 5.1 stuff kicks
> in when you have a DVD with 5.1 audio tracks, which is pretty much all of
> them. So of course if you buy a DVD of some concert you'll probably get the
> full surround stuff, but really old movies are just stereo since that's all
> they had back then. Sony, back in 99, tried something called a Super Audio CD
> which had all the channels at high quality like a DVD but was just for audio.
> It pretty much flopped but is still around and some folks really like it. I
> haven't tried playing one of these on my Mac so I'm not sure what it would do.
>
> Not sure what your budget is but you can pick up a plain jane 200w receiver
> for about $150 new, so don't spend to much on that old used unit. If you're
> waiting for one that has true all mechanical/analog controls you might find
> they are quite old and probably have a lot of noise in the controls from
> years of use/dust/dirt. Another possibility is to just get a real amplifier
> and be done. Most amps have just one pair of inputs, real physical left/right
> volume controls and one pair of speaker inputs. Prices on plan old amps
> range from around $90 for a 300w cheapie to thousands for high power high end
> stuff. I've used QSC 300w stereo rackmount amps for years which run about
> $300. Since the mac output is line level you can run it (with the right
> cable) right into one of these things and be done.
>
> Hopefully this will help wrap your head and not warp it :)
>
> CB
>
> On 4/22/12 3:55 PM, Lewis Alexander wrote:
>> if you just want surround sound and nothing else, you're using your mac as
>> your main media source, the surround sound controllers on the market can
>> automatically handle setup for you, as long as you send your main signal
>> from the mac to the source, it should all go pretty well.
>>
>> I recommend Sony for their quality and accessibility.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 22 Apr 2012, at 20:51, Eric Caron wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Listers,
>>>
>>> I'm having a lot of trouble getting my head around the new surround
>>> sound systems. What I think might work best for me is to find a older
>>> powerful stereo receiver or receiver and amp that I can plug my computer
>>> directly to and perhaps also connect a airport express or Apple TV.
>>>
>>> I don't own a TV and don't enjoy listening to TV or even movies very much.
>>> I do love solid strong clear stereo music.
>>>
>>> So If anyone else out there can advise me here is what I've done so far.
>>>
>>> I've contacted a electronics repair center and asked them to keep a look
>>> out for a solid older system. I would like 200 wats of power and old
>>> fashioned controls.
>>>
>>> Here are some concerns.
>>>
>>> Would the Apple Express give me air play in the best way or would a Apple
>>> TV give any advantages in this set up?
>>> Could I run a sub woofer from a older system like that?
>>> Any tips on what system might work happily with my Mac?
>>>
>>> Finally, I'm not avers to using a newer unit but am totally baffled by all
>>> the stuff on the remote and all the TV related stuff. Is there a retro
>>> receiver out there or a new one with old fashioned capability?
>>>
>>> My Mac is my entertainment center at this point but I'd love to get better
>>> sound then I currently have.
>>>
>>> eRic Caron
>>>
>>>
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