Author Topic: some macs hide their SPDIF support in the headphone output (Read 2038 times)

chrisNova777 · « **on:** June 20, 2021, 02:28:29 PM »

this was a feature that was inherited from the PowerMac G5!! which featured an optical spdif output

https://babcuvpisecek.com/htpc/do-i-have-optical-out-apple-toslink-spdif-compatibility-list/
according to the page above from 2006-2016 most imacs + "pro" mac devices had spdif support incorporated into the headphone output : https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/cpmh0052/mac but after 2016 they dropped the feature: "The 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pros and the 2017 iMacs omit S/PDIF from their headphone jacks"

Quote

Use a Toslink cable with a Toslink miniplug adapter or a fiber-optic cable with a 3.5 mm plastic or nylon optical plug.