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Macbook Pro Line In

Evil_ReaverEvil_Reaver Registered User regular
I've been playing a lot of City of Heroes on my Macbook Pro and I'd like to use Teamspeak to be able to chat with my coworkers who also play. I originally began playing on my Bootcamp partition (Windows XP) and I could use my Logitech headset plugged in to the headphone and line in ports. The game audio came though perfectly and Teamspeak was happy with the microphone.

I downloaded the Mac client of CoH last week and naturally I wanted to use Teamspeak (or Teamspeex) to communicate with my friends. Using the same laptop booted in to OS X, the same line in port does not recognize my microphone.

Now, I've done my research on the intertoobs and everyone says "OH NOES, IT'S AN UNPOWERED LINE IN PORT, NO MICROPHONE FOR YOU!" but I have a hard time believing that's the case when the exact same port works with a microphone on Windows XP.

The question is: Why does the line in jack work with a microphone on Windows XP and not on OS X when the hardware is *exactly* the same?

The Facts:

- Early 2006 rev. A Macbook Pro (2.0 GHz Core Duo)
- Logitech headset w/ mic, 1/8" plug
- OS X 10.5.6 / Teamspeex 1.0beta2 (r336)
- Bootcamped Windows XP SP 3 / Teamspeak 2.0.32.60

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Posts

  • stigweardstigweard Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Silly question, but you did set the program to use the line in, right?

    stigweard on
  • Evil_ReaverEvil_Reaver Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    It's not a silly question (I work in IT, so I know those questions have to be asked).

    Yes, I did set the sound settings in OS X and in Teamspeex to use line in.

    Evil_Reaver on
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  • maximumzeromaximumzero I...wait, what? New Orleans, LARegistered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Wait, you mean to tell me that the line-up works just fine as a mic under windows?

    You mean I went out and spent $40 on a USB headset when the one I got from CompUSA for 99 cents that used the 3.5mm jacks would have worked fine?

    Ah well.

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  • Evil_ReaverEvil_Reaver Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    That's pretty much what I'm saying. The same 1/8" plug headset works on the same line in jack on the same laptop on Windows XP but not on OS X. I have a real hard time believing that the reason is "Because it's a line in port and they don't support mics," which is what every answer I have seen so far says.

    Secondary follow-up question: Is there a way to make a 1/8" plug mic work on OS X using the line in port?

    Evil_Reaver on
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  • The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    It should technically "work" with a microphone but the volume would probably be too low to use. The MBP (or iMac) has a line-level jack and not an amplified jack like the mic jack on a PC soundcard, so I don't think Windows is going to help the fact that it's simply not amplified.

    Now if you have a powered mic, that's another story. Then the mic is outputting line-level and doesn't need to be amplified.

    The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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  • Jake!Jake! Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    This might be a silly question, but have you told system preferences to choose the line-in rather than built in mic?

    Jake! on
  • SenshiSenshi BALLING OUT OF CONTROL WavefrontRegistered User regular
    edited February 2009
    I can tell you that the built-in mic is totally awesome

    i use it in tf2 all the time and I come out really clear

    Senshi on
  • KrisKris Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Wait, you mean to tell me that the line-up works just fine as a mic under windows?

    You mean I went out and spent $40 on a USB headset when the one I got from CompUSA for 99 cents that used the 3.5mm jacks would have worked fine?

    Ah well.

    Not necessarily. I'm quite shocked the OP got his mic working in bootcamp, cause no matter what I try, the mic I bought (which plugs into the line-in port) does not get picked up at all, either in OS X or Windows.

    I was gonna make a thread for this myself, but I may as well ask here since it's related: does anyone know where you can order a 3.5mm to USB converter, so I can use the mic I bought? I can't find anywhere in Canada to buy one.

    Kris on
  • The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Kris wrote: »
    Wait, you mean to tell me that the line-up works just fine as a mic under windows?

    You mean I went out and spent $40 on a USB headset when the one I got from CompUSA for 99 cents that used the 3.5mm jacks would have worked fine?

    Ah well.

    Not necessarily. I'm quite shocked the OP got his mic working in bootcamp, cause no matter what I try, the mic I bought (which plugs into the line-in port) does not get picked up at all, either in OS X or Windows.

    I was gonna make a thread for this myself, but I may as well ask here since it's related: does anyone know where you can order a 3.5mm to USB converter, so I can use the mic I bought? I can't find anywhere in Canada to buy one.

    Going from analog to digital, what you're describing is basically a USB soundcard. No worries, though, as they're actually rather cheap.

    The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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  • stigweardstigweard Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Kris wrote: »
    I was gonna make a thread for this myself, but I may as well ask here since it's related: does anyone know where you can order a 3.5mm to USB converter, so I can use the mic I bought? I can't find anywhere in Canada to buy one.

    edit: bah - wrong stuff.

    stigweard on
  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited February 2009
    Kris wrote: »
    I was gonna make a thread for this myself, but I may as well ask here since it's related: does anyone know where you can order a 3.5mm to USB converter, so I can use the mic I bought? I can't find anywhere in Canada to buy one.

    I'm pretty sure those don't exist. You would need an external USB sound card for that.

    Moe Fwacky on
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  • stigweardstigweard Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Moe Fwacky wrote: »
    Kris wrote: »
    I was gonna make a thread for this myself, but I may as well ask here since it's related: does anyone know where you can order a 3.5mm to USB converter, so I can use the mic I bought? I can't find anywhere in Canada to buy one.

    I'm pretty sure those don't exist. You would need an external USB sound card for that.

    They exist and there is a soundcard built in - I just can't seem to find one for sale in Canada either. example

    stigweard on
  • KrisKris Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Interesting. I didn't know what I was looking for was technically called a USB sound card, so maybe that's why I wasn't getting many results.

    So, would something like this work? I've got a MBP, and am hoping to be able to plug in my nice headphones into the audio-out, and plug my mic into a USB slot since it doesn't get picked-up with just the line-in.

    Kris on
  • maximumzeromaximumzero I...wait, what? New Orleans, LARegistered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Another excellent option is the Griffin Technology iMic

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  • KrisKris Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Yikes, $70 CDN for the iMic. I wonder what kind of difference you get for $40.

    Kris on
  • stigweardstigweard Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    I have a previous gen imic from about 4.5 years ago. It had higher quality sound than the onboard ibook and better snr (surprising given usb power). I don't know if that would be the case now, and the new version is just a new case for the same product afaik. The new one seems to have disambiguated the switch and improved the location of the jacks.

    stigweard on
  • joshua1joshua1 Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Can another bootcamp question go here? Say I have xp, and I want to upgrade to vista, do I just install it if was using it like a normal pc? Or do I need to boot up the bootcamp assistant?

    joshua1 on
  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited February 2009
    Stay on topic, this thread is about the MacBook line in port and the iMic. If you have a bootcamp question, start a new thread.

    Moe Fwacky on
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  • Evil_ReaverEvil_Reaver Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Jake! wrote: »
    This might be a silly question, but have you told system preferences to choose the line-in rather than built in mic?

    Yeah, checked that. Not a silly question, but that was one of the first things I did.
    Kris wrote:
    Not necessarily. I'm quite shocked the OP got his mic working in bootcamp, cause no matter what I try, the mic I bought (which plugs into the line-in port) does not get picked up at all, either in OS X or Windows.

    This is what's so frustrating about the whole deal. If it truly is an un-powered line-in port, it shouldn't work on either partition. Since it did work on the Windows partition, I'm lead to believe that OS X has some shitty (lazy) coding when it comes to audio.

    Does anyone have any experience with a USB sound card that isn't the Griffin iMic? I don't need to spend $70 on a sound card just for mic-in for one game that I'm not even going to play for that long. A quick search for "USB audio adapter" brings up a pretty cheap adapter.

    Evil_Reaver on
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  • Storm ShadowStorm Shadow Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    ASTRO Gaming has two products that might help you out in your case. First, our A40 MixAmp is self-powered and sends a line level out to your MBP if you have a favorite headset that only has analog mic and audio jacks. The MixAmp essentially goes in-between your headset and the MBP. It also enables Dolby Headphone, which is a very nice bonus, in addition to giving you the option of using your headset for combined voice/game sound with an Xbox 360. If you are seriously considering a $70CDN iMic, the A40 MixAmp shouldn't be too far off at $129.95 (we don't mark our prices up for Canadian customers).

    Alternatively, you could just pick the Music Fairy up for your MBP (we sell it at wholesale cost of just $9.95). it acts as a USB soundcard and will enable your standard headset to work over USB. We get these to integrate our system with the PS3, but will work just fine for a Mac Book as well.

    BTW, the Griffin iMic has a custom C-Media chip which samples at a MUCH higher rate and sounds an order of magnitude better than the Music Fairy -- you get what you pay for there for sure.

    Storm Shadow on
  • KrisKris Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Alternatively, you could just pick the Music Fairy up for your MBP (we sell it at wholesale cost of just $9.95). it acts as a USB soundcard and will enable your standard headset to work over USB. We get these to integrate our system with the PS3, but will work just fine for a Mac Book as well.

    BTW, the Griffin iMic has a custom C-Media chip which samples at a MUCH higher rate and sounds an order of magnitude better than the Music Fairy -- you get what you pay for there for sure.

    Now, if all I'd be using the usb soundcard (Music Fairy or other alternative) for was to plug my mic into it, and still just plug my headphones into my line-in jack like usual, would the higher sampling rates matter much? Like, would you certainly notice a quality difference between the Music Fairy and the iMic for instance? My headphones sound fine plugged into my computer, so unless there would be a noticable voice quality difference for the mic, I'd be inclined to go the cheaper route.

    Kris on
  • Ockie-86Ockie-86 Registered User new member
    edited May 2009
    ASTRO Gaming has two products that might help you out in your case. First, our A40 MixAmp is self-powered and sends a line level out to your MBP if you have a favorite headset that only has analog mic and audio jacks. The MixAmp essentially goes in-between your headset and the MBP. It also enables Dolby Headphone, which is a very nice bonus, in addition to giving you the option of using your headset for combined voice/game sound with an Xbox 360. If you are seriously considering a $70CDN iMic, the A40 MixAmp shouldn't be too far off at $129.95 (we don't mark our prices up for Canadian customers).

    Alternatively, you could just pick the Music Fairy up for your MBP (we sell it at wholesale cost of just $9.95). it acts as a USB soundcard and will enable your standard headset to work over USB. We get these to integrate our system with the PS3, but will work just fine for a Mac Book as well.

    BTW, the Griffin iMic has a custom C-Media chip which samples at a MUCH higher rate and sounds an order of magnitude better than the Music Fairy -- you get what you pay for there for sure.

    Hello Storm Shadow,
    Have you really tried these options you mention? And if so... How you do it, what are your settings?
    AND I MEAN WINDOWS XP IN BOOTCAMP

    All these sugestions i read everywhere on the net. Nobody can say for certain if something works out of experience. Maybe try this or that and so on.
    Has anyone tried the imic? And can say YES! THIS WORKS AND THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT.
    Has anyone tried an USB headset? And can say YES! THIS WORKS AND THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT.

    Becouse:
    I bought the imic but can not get it to work.
    I used an other preamp thing with a jackplug and it doesn't work either.
    I used an casette deck as an preamp and it doesn't work.
    I tried all these different kinds of devices, cable setting and sound settings and can't get my headset to work.
    I didn't try a USB headset. I first want to know if it works.

    I have an Creative fatality headset with jackplugs which works fine in OSX.

    I use an IMAC, 2.66 processor, ATI 2600 pro, 2 gig RAM, with the newest update's.

    I don't want to use the internal mic which works BTW. But i have to talk to loud.

    In which or what way can i use a headset for teamspeak in TF2 for example.

    I want to know what works and not what maybe works.


    (Don't be to critical on my english. I am from the Netherlands)

    Kind regards :)

    Ockie-86

    Ockie-86 on
  • stigweardstigweard Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Did you set which inputs to use in windows? In Vista Control Panel ->Sound->Recording. Right click the mic you want to use and set as default. In XP Control Panel->Sound and Audio Devices, in the audio and voice tabs, set the defaults for playback and recording. My first gen imic works fine in windows and the new one is essentially just a new form factor.

    stigweard on
  • Ockie-86Ockie-86 Registered User new member
    edited May 2009
    Hey stigweard,
    Thanks for the reply.
    Yes, i tried all of the settings. When i plug in the imic in the USB-port. I set the soundrecording setting on imic settings. But i tried the Realtek settings also.
    I tried many, many kinds of different combinations in these settings.
    What are you settings in XP??

    Ockie

    Ockie-86 on
  • DHS OdiumDHS Odium Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    How do I get the built-in mic to work in Windows XP through boot camp? I have a new 13" Macbook Pro, I know the camera is recognized as I could see it through My Computer, but nowhere in the sound options or drop downs can I select a microphone. It's like Windows doesn't even recognize it. I've instaled all the drivers from the Leopard CD, so I don't know what else needs to be done.

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  • VulpineVulpine Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I have the Griffin iMic working in my Windows XP boot camp set up, with Team Fortress 2, and can honestly say it works perfectly. Here's how.

    1) Plug your headset into the iMic, and make sure the minijacks are in the correct sockets. Set the iMic to Mic unless you know you need it at line level. Plug the iMic into a USB jack.
    2) Wait for Windows to recognise the iMic exists and for the "Found new hardware" icon in the system tray to disappear, if necessary.
    3) Open the Sounds and Audio Devices control panel.
    4) For "Sound Recording", select "Griffin iMic audio system" (or similar). Obviously, if you want audio to come out through the headset as well, do the same for "Sound playback".
    5) UNTICK "Use only default devices", if it is currently ticked.
    6) Click OK.

    This should convince Windows to let the iMic be used as a microphone.

    Vulpine on
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  • PheezerPheezer Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited June 2009
    An unpowered line in requires at least line level input. There are a million and one devices out there that will do this for you, but a simple in-line microphone amp can be had quite cheaply.

    You'll probably only see them with XLR inputs though, so you'd need converters. But those aren't hard to get either.

    Pheezer on
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  • Ockie-86Ockie-86 Registered User new member
    edited July 2009
    PROBLEM SOLVED
    I got so sick and tired of it all. I bought myself a USB Headset. It works fine.
    But i still don't understand why that Imic USB soundcart thing didn't work. I think it's broken.
    Well...... I don't bother anymore.
    Thanks everyone for the time trying to help me out.

    So... just buy a USB headset.
    I bought a Creativ Fatality USB headset.
    Installed the drivers.
    Checked the Realtek settings. They were automatic on the "creativ settings", so i was ready to go.

    But i guess any USB headset will work. To bad i couldn't read that anywhere on the internet.

    Ockie

    Ockie-86 on
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