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dk2006 · Jan 31, 2006, 07:18 PM

I just purchased a new intel G5 (20") and my iSub does not work with it. The iSub does not even show up in sound under System Preferences. Does anyone know of a solution? Thanks.

DK

icruise · Jan 31, 2006, 08:15 PM

I assume you mean an Intel iMac (not G5). I'm not sure of a solution to your problem, and I have heard others mention it. You might check out Apple's discussion boards to see if anyone has any more information there.

DoGoodDrugs · Feb 1, 2006, 11:25 AM

i have an isub usb w/istix... they work fine with my 17" imac core duo... the ones i have are many years old though... lets say at least 3 or 4 years old... im not sure if the newer ones are different but mine definetly work, plugged them in and they just took over.

stoneage · Mar 23, 2006, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by dk2006

I just purchased a new intel G5 (20") and my iSub does not work with it. The iSub does not even show up in sound under System Preferences. Does anyone know of a solution? Thanks.

DK

Why doesn't my iSub work on my new Intel iMac. Harman Kardon says it's Apples fault for not supporting it. I like my iSub and I don't see any reason to throw it in a landfill. Does anyone else feel the same? System Profiler shows the iSub, but the Sound Preference Pane doesn't.

macintologist · Mar 23, 2006, 09:05 PM

Silly Apple specially promoted the iSub when they intro'd the iMac DV.

Silly silly Apple

larrinski · Mar 23, 2006, 09:12 PM

I fully agree... I had my iMac G5 replaced under warranty with an Intel iMac, and my iSub is useless. I have written Apple with no response of course...The isub is a perfect companion with the imac. The computer already has speakers, why clutter up the desk with extra ones...

stoneage · Mar 23, 2006, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by macintologist

Silly Apple specially promoted the iSub when they intro'd the iMac DV.

Silly silly Apple

I had an iMac DV. It still works for someone else. I just don't understand why a simple speaker can't be supported. They still sell the soundsticks and iSub together. Maybe they want you to shell out $350 for that new boombox of theirs. Yukk.

macintologist · Mar 24, 2006, 02:36 AM

Oh well I just have a decent pair of 2.1 logitech computer speakers and I like them. 1/8th inch minijack FTW.

P · Mar 24, 2006, 09:54 AM

There is a difference between the iSub and the Soundsticks - I have both, I know (although the powersupply for the iSub fried days after the warranty ended). The Soundsticks looks just like a pair of regular speakers to the computer. It feeds all of the sound to it (using USB, but that's OK - USB can transfer sound) and the circuitry in the subwoofer part of the setup separates out the base channel from the L and R channels through a simple bandpass filter (although knowing Harmon Kardon, it's not exactly simple...) and then passes the L and R channels to the two external speakers. Soundsticks II use a regular miniplug instead of USB.

What the iSub does is that it relies on the computer to only feed it the base sound through USB, while simultaneously filtering out that part of the sound from the main speakers. That worked very well on the slotloading iMacs, and it ought to work fairly well with newer iMacs as well, since small speakers work fine if you don't run base sounds through them. Apparently Apple hasn't bothered to make a driver for the iSub this time around - afterall, they don't sell them anymore, and they were slow enough to fix that driver back when OS X was released and they still DID sell them. I doubt HK has the expertise to fix a driver like that, and they don't even sell the iSub anymore.

Back when the iMac DV was released, a 2.1 system was still fairly expensive. Apple and HK delivered a good one at a very good price for the time, but it was a compromise in many ways. The Soundsticks are much better than the built-in speakers of the iMac G5 (yes, I have one of those too) and if you think they're expensive (they are) Logitech and JBL have several good options as well - and don't forget the optical audio out for 5.1-systems. JBL is owned by HK these days, btw.

Basically, the market is crowded with good speaker systems for computers today. Apple decided not to support the iSub one more time - tough, but not unexpected. Suck it up and get a new system.

macintologist · Mar 24, 2006, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by P

Suck it up and get a new system.

My thoughts exactly.

Eriamjh · Mar 24, 2006, 06:05 PM

Apple is pretty poor in supporting 3rd party devices.

larrinski · Mar 27, 2006, 12:02 AM

I think it is a waste of space on my desk to have extra speakers. Why have little speakers on my desk when I can just add a subwoofer. If anyone knows of a usb subwoofer other than isub that works, let me know. My desk is uncluttered. I used to hate trying to find somewhere to put the damn things. As well as additional cords etc... Just write a driver. Hell, my 7 year old logitech mouse works, and Apple never sold those.

FireWire · Mar 27, 2006, 01:50 AM

Originally Posted by macintologist

Originally Posted by P

Suck it up and get a new system.

My thoughts exactly.

WHAT THE F... with these helpful answers these days?

A STANDARD peripheral (sound-over-usb, rocket science!) shouldn't stop working suddenly without reason, especially when the said peripheral was sold and partly designed by Apple. I know it's technically a 3rd party product, but Apple marketed it as being their design. Now they decide unilaterally that they don't want to support it anymore, without a rational explanation, just because. And we're not talking about outdated technology. USB. Plug-n-play. The Mac way. Ring a bell?

Next time you two have a question, don't bother asking, just "suck it up"!

[Edit] Especially when you see that the poster is a newcomer, with only a few posts so far. This is a very warm welcome. Congratulations!

Big Mac · Mar 27, 2006, 03:36 PM

The answer is simple. The iSub is Mac compatible. It does not work with PC hardware.

larrinski · Mar 27, 2006, 10:29 PM

Cute. Just what we need, fellow mac users stating we are on the Windows side...

P · Mar 28, 2006, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by FireWire

WHAT THE F... with these helpful answers these days?

A STANDARD peripheral (sound-over-usb, rocket science!) shouldn't stop working suddenly without reason, especially when the said peripheral was sold and partly designed by Apple. I know it's technically a 3rd party product, but Apple marketed it as being their design. Now they decide unilaterally that they don't want to support it anymore, without a rational explanation, just because. And we're not talking about outdated technology. USB. Plug-n-play. The Mac way. Ring a bell?

Next time you two have a question, don't bother asking, just "suck it up"!

[Edit] Especially when you see that the poster is a newcomer, with only a few posts so far. This is a very warm welcome. Congratulations!

I wrote a four paragraph entry explaining exactly why the iSub isn't STANDARD at all. I really don't see how I could have been more helpful, short of writing the driver myself. Next time you make a reply, read the post you're quoting - not just the last line, that is.

FireWire · Mar 28, 2006, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by P

I wrote a four paragraph entry explaining exactly why the iSub isn't STANDARD at all. I really don't see how I could have been more helpful, short of writing the driver myself. Next time you make a reply, read the post you're quoting - not just the last line, that is.

Yeah, sorry about that, it was a bit uncalled for. Had you been alone with this comment, I would probably have said nothing. But macintologist added his grain of salt and that did it. Nonetheless, I find the idiom "suck it up" a bit offensive, as if the OP was complaining for nothing. Especially since he was a newcomer.

When you pay over 100$ for a simple subwoofer, you can expect it to last a good amount of time. It's a speaker, after all! It's not supposed to work with a complicated hack, which is constantly broken. It's a high-end piece of equipment, which was manufactured by two respectable companies, HK and Apple. So a "suck it up" is a bit uncalled for also.

Nice explanation, though!

vmarks · Mar 30, 2006, 12:02 PM

The files that make it work on PPC probably could be copied over, but the problem is that it would have to run sound in Rosetta emulation to work on an Intel mac- I think that's asking for trouble.

larrinski · 11:27 AM

Maybe Apple will fix this with the 10.4.6 release...I really miss my isub

An update! I got off the line with Apple support and they stated that a driver is going to be released shortly!

larrinski · Apr 3, 2006, 08:14 PM

No luck... 10.4.6 and no driver... I did a spotlight search for isub and it pointed me to sound preferences though... I hadn't done that before the update, so maybe we are a short time coming!

stoneage · Apr 3, 2006, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by larrinski

No luck... 10.4.6 and no driver... I did a spotlight search for isub and it pointed me to sound preferences though... I hadn't done that before the update, so maybe we are a short time coming!

I un and re-plugged everything with the 10.4.6 update. Nada. Hopefully they fix this soon.

P · Apr 4, 2006, 08:27 AM

Unlikely that it will ever be fixed, but you can improve your chances by using the OS X feedback form.

stoneage · Apr 4, 2006, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by larrinski

Maybe Apple will fix this with the 10.4.6 release...I really miss my isub

An update! I got off the line with Apple support and they stated that a driver is going to be released shortly!

Thanks for the update larrinski.

stoneage · May 6, 2006, 08:41 AM

Originally Posted by larrinski

Maybe Apple will fix this with the 10.4.6 release...I really miss my isub

An update! I got off the line with Apple support and they stated that a driver is going to be released shortly!

I wonder how soon 'shortly' is to Apple?

larrinski · May 6, 2006, 11:09 AM

I know this post is over a month old, but good point! I would have thought by now this thing would be fixed...

A couple of months without good sound!!!The only complaint I have with the transition.