No Sound on a Macintosh (iMac) compter in vClass
First off: The iMac does not have a microphone-in jack!
You cannot conect your headset microphone to the only other audio port on the back of the iMac (No. 3 in the picture below). This port is a line-in (=not amplified) connector for HiFi audio equipment.
Here is a list of all the connectors on the back of a FVDES supplied iMac:
Ports and connectors
- Mini-DVI video output port
- Ethernet Port (10/100/1000 Gigabit Base-T)
- Audio line-in port (not microphone in!)
- Headphone out / optical audio out port
- USB 2.0 ports (three ports)
- FireWire ports (two ports)
You only have two choices:
- Use the built in microphone
or - Buy a USB sound card. Those come in all shapes and sizes. Some are just USB sticks, with microphone and headphone jacks at the end, some are full fledged 7.1 Dolby Digital external soundcards. You can even get headsets with build in soundcard. They are not expensive, any store that carries computer equipment should have them in stock. At the moment (13. Nov. 2008) these devices start at about $21 and go all the way up to $150. Remember, just a simple one will do. Audio out and Microphone in is all you need. Look at www.tigerdirect.ca, www.ncix.com, etc. Search for "usb sound card".
- Connect the USB sound card to the iMac's USB jacks, connect your headset and mic to the USB soundcard.
Then, click on the Apple symbol in top left corner of your monitor, select "System Preferences". Then click on "Sound".
Select the appropriate input/output settings in the iMacs audio settings. Done.
