Transmission of high-quality digital audio was made possible thanks to the use of these optical audio connections. A 3.5mm audio jack may be used in conjunction with either the Toslink connection or the min Toslink connector. This makes use of fiber optic cables and features a Toslink connection, which is a proprietary connector. The optical audio out in MacBook’s was added in 2006. The Macs that feature optical audio out are the older version. In order to use a DAC, all you need is a USB-C to the optical adapter from Apple or another company that supports optical passthrough.

You will now be enjoying the music! MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch Mid 2016) to MacBook Pros that came out Late 2020. The Mac will automatically sense this and will do the rest for you. Now connect the DAC using a Toslink cable. Now that you have your main sound set to “iPod/iPhone,” it’s time to switch your input to SPDIF Digital Out. If there is no Output tab visible but only an Input tab, you need to click on the ‘Show output devices’ button in order for the Output tab to show up. Under System Preferences, choose Sound and select the Output tab (far left). If you are using SPDIF Digital Out, be sure to set the output selector on the computer to “iPod/iPhone.” This will allow for SPDIF passthrough. Unlike other MacBook Pros, those that came out between late 2013 (Retina, 15-inch to MacBook Pros that came out Mid 2015) have optical audio out. The Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip is compatible with DAC. MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) through MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) Just make sure your Macbook has at least 10W of power output if not more for the DAC to work properly. If you have one, you can buy a USB-C to optical audio adapter so that it’ll work with the DAC. So, which Macs have optical audio out?Īs a general guide, Macs with optical audio out are, MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) through MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015), MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) through MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014) through iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2014).Īll new Macbooks that came out from 2016 to date do not have optical audio out. However, the majority of recent MacBooks do not have optical audio out, since Apple has opted to remove this function from the latest models of the laptop. Mac computers are widely used by a large number of individuals.

Optical cable for macbook air