[jl15]

One of the review sites I was going throgh, had this that the newer iMacs support the "newer SPDIF over the older Toslink cables, for audio output, to external 5.1 speakers". I couldnt find any difference between them (atleast the photos in the online stores looked the same). Is there any difference ? because most of the stores seem to be selling only the Toslink cable and the term SPDIF is rarely mentioned ?

[aaryan]

SPDIF is the standard for the transmission of digital audio (I think it was jointly created by Sony & Phillips). This standard can be transmitted via optical or co-axial cables. There are two types of connectors(jacks) offered for optical cables - TOSLINK (the connector is rectangular) or mini-optical(this is what the Mini requires). I presume that the iMac uses a mini-optical connector, but I haven't checked this out.

You can also get a mini-optical to TOSLINK adaptor if you have a TOSLINK cable lying around.

Hope that helps,
Rajesh

[dreamBweaver]

the iMac, mini, and MacBooks use combination 1/8th headphone and mini-optical outputs (and sometimes inputs on the MacBook Pro).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...Fencoding=UTF8

and yes the $2 adapter changes a toslink pentagon thingy to a pointy mini-jack friendly port for the iMac, etc.