[zappy]

Does the Mac mini have a real "line level" audio output? The tech specs on the Apple website say "Headphone/audio line out". What does this mean? Does the audio output deliver both, headphone and line, levels? Does it autodetect what you connect?

A co-worker told me that he connected his Mac mini to his home stereo and that the sound quality is not up to his expectations. What is your experience?

[nickw311]

I have mine hooked up to my stereo and it sounds fine IMO but I really have nothing to compare it to.

[zappy]

I just do not understand how it is possible to connect headphone- and line-level equipment to the same audio output and get a good signal in both cases.

[Big Mac]

Are you sure you aren't mixing up line in v. mic in and line out/phones?

[zappy]

No, I am just asking about audio out. The iPod, for example, only has an audio output with headphone level. It sounds horrible when connected to a regular stereo system. If you have an iPod dock you can use the audio output on the dock which delivers line level audio, which sounds fine on a regular stereo.
For the Mac mini Apples tech specs state that the Mac mini audio output delivers both, headphone- and line-level. I just wonder how this is possible and how it actually sounds in real life.

[nickw311]

what exactly are the technical differences between line out and headphone out?

[Luca Rescigno]

You're asking an audiophile-level question of a bunch of people who don't even know that there is a difference between line out and headphone out. I won't pretend to be an audiophile but I will say that my Mac mini has a very small amount of static when connected to my speakers. If you really want good audio output, you shouldn't be using the Mini's built in sound... look into a USB sound output device, like the Griffin PowerWave or the M-audio Sonica Theater.

[power142]

With headphone output, the peak voltage of the signal is variable depending on the volume level you have set - the headphones themselves make louder noises in response to higher voltage signals.

Line out on the other hand, has a fixed voltage level - typically 1v peak-to-peak - which is not dependent on volume level. This is useful for connection to other audio devices (such as amplifiers) which expect such a signal.

Apple does indeed state this for the mini, so it'd be interesting to figure out how to switch this for those with a mini connected to an amplifier or powered speakers.

[Will C]

Headphone level on macs can be adjusted to match line level since line level is close to loud headphone level. Line level is a bit variable on domestic equipment, but I feed my mac into an amplifier line input and setting the mac volume slider at 80-90% with the one in iTunes also set to 90% works well for me. You may need less or more depending on the input level gain on your equipment.
[I would like it if macs had line level output jacks as well as headphone jacks]

[Stecchino]

My understanding of the difference between headphone out and line out is that line out is the sound signal coming directly from the sound board/card/processor. This is the "pure" signal and it generally very loud and is a constant volume until that signal reaches an amplifier.

The headphone/speaker out jack actually has a mini-amplifier built-in to it, which is what OS X and iTunes, for example, use to turn the volume up or down. This is why when you plug your iPod into a stereo the sound is really soft and/or scractchy and you have to turn the iPod volume way up. However, if you send the music to your stereo through your iPod's line out, the signal is strong and pure, and the STEREO'S amplifier takes over. Sending sound through your headphone out into a stereo via headphone out, it sounds bad because it's going through two amplifiers. You'll notice, too, when you have a device like the iPod plugged into a stereo via line out that you cannot control the volume with the iPod, because the volume that the iPod controls is the volume of the amplifier on the headphone out jack.