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gif32 · Oct 5, 2003, 09:03 PM

I just bought my first mac and loaded up on accessories from Griffin Technology. iCurve, PowerMate (way cool!) and an iMic.

I wanted the iMic for two reasons: 1- when I "dock" my Powerbook at my desk I only have two things to plug in: power and USB (no fumbling with speaker plug.) 2- I have an XM radio at my desk that I want to run through my computer speakers.

iMic does not have a driver or anything, it just uses the built-in OS X sound stuff. My question: Is there any way (built-in, third-party, or otherwise) I can get my mac to pass audio from the "line in" to the speaker output? In sound system preferences I can select the input from the iMic and even see the signal on the meter - but how do I get this to then route through to my speakers?

Thanks!

waffffffle · Oct 5, 2003, 10:18 PM

One of these utilities might do what you're looking for.

http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/

- - e r i k - - · Oct 6, 2003, 12:35 AM

This was moved from the Sound control panel to Utilities -> Audio MIDI Setup for some reason...

gif32 · Oct 6, 2003, 03:38 PM

Originally posted by - - e r i k - -:
This was moved from the Sound control panel to Utilities -> Audio MIDI Setup for some reason...

Thanks for the tips! For some reason the "Play Through" option is grayed out in Audio MIDI Setup. If I plug the XM radio into the mac's line in and choose "built-in audio controller" from the drop-down list I can select "Play Through" and everything is happy.

I still need to try waffffffle's suggestion. Any idea why the "Play Through" option would be grayed out? Is this a silly thing to do in the first place? (Does the mac have to process this all as digital information or can it simply pass it through with minimal processor usage?) Assuming I can get it to work, will it bog down my USB bus?

Thanks!

jb8748 · Oct 6, 2003, 04:41 PM

If you are using an iMic then there is software from Griffin called Final Vinyl that is designed for use recording old records but has a pass-through function 'Preview'. Gives you level control and such as well. It's a free download.

I've used it to listen to the radio - does have a few quirks but nothing major.

James