Comments on: Mac mini USB audio options

By: Chris Dunphy

Chris Dunphy — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 23:31:03 +0000

I am looking for a way to get 5.1 analog channels out of a Mac Mini via USB. I am building a Mac Mini into a camper, and small 12V systems that can decode 5.1 optical signals are crazy expensive. But if I could get multi-channel analog out, the amplifiers are cheap and easy to come by.

Any thoughts?

- chris

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 17:50:11 +0000

Has anyone been able to get the Edirol UA-1EX to output the AC3 – DTS surround single from the Mac Mini? M-Audio Transit is supposed to be able to do this according to Apple but I cannot find a way to do this with the Edirol product (get a digital signal out but not AC3 or DTS).

Thanks.

By: B.Greenway

B.Greenway — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 17:22:32 +0000

Yes on 10.4.4 now but I havent had a prob since 10.3 or so

By: Henry Larsen

Henry Larsen — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 07:03:30 +0000

> My Sonica theater has been working like a charm for months now.

Which version of the OS? Have you gone to 10.4.4?

By: B.Greenway

B.Greenway — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 20:42:08 +0000

My Sonica theater has been working like a charm for months now.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 19:30:55 +0000

Any updates from any of you folks? I’m curious how the digital audio search is going and which solution works best.

By: J Krane

J Krane — Sun, 11 Sep 2005 23:59:20 +0000

im confused on how you smoothed it out with the Sonica Theater. I have 10.4.2 and cant figure it out for the life of me. It just doesnt work.

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 18:56:20 +0000

My Mac mini works great on my Dell 42″ LCD. Trying to upgrade the audio. My receiver supports 96 and 48kHz, on both coax and optical.

The Edirol UA-1X is a 48kHz device, and has both optical out and coax in and out. The M-Audio Transit goes up to 96kHz, and has optical in/out and headphone jack in/out, no coax.

Seems to me that the connections are preferable on the Edirol, but quality higher on the M-Audio. They both MSRP for about $99, and seems most stores sell the Edirol at a cheaper price (but barely).

Is the audio quality between the UA-1X and the Transit USB going to be noticable? I’ll likely only use it for 128-bit MP3s using iTunes – not a lot of DVD playback.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 02 May 2005 03:05:26 +0000

I have comments on several of the things said so far…

“I should be receiving my Edirol UA-1X sometime today; I’ll let you know how it stacks up against the Sonica”

I really wish you would. I would snap this thing up in a heartbeat if it worked as a reliable DTS solution for the mini.

“Have you considered a Philips PSC805 for sound?”

Everywhere I look, it says that this is a Win2000/WinXP only device. Have you heard of anybody making it work for 5.1 audio with a Macintosh? It does not appear that Mac drivers exist.

“I wonder if the squeezebox counts as an alternative to these USB/firewire 5.1 audio outs?”

I seriously doubt the sound would stay in synch with video sources if you pass it through a wireless feed. Any lag time at all would make it kind of useless for home theater applications, and it’s not like you’ll be listening to much of your music in 5.1 surround.

“Have you thought about the new Perreaux SXD2 usb-dac?”

Why would a home theater user give any thought at all to something which only provides analog stereo out?

By: Colin Bailey

Colin Bailey — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 22:34:59 +0000

Have you thought about the new Perreaux SXD2 usb-dac?
Has USB and SPDIF inputs, RCA out to stereo.

I just got mine this week, it’s awesome running out of a mini.