Just a sort update on a small thing that totally rubs me the wrong way. I recently bought a nifty eSports headset. One of the reasons was to not to depend on the built-in mic of my MacBook Pro. The mic is ok in most cases. But I have been playing some Starcraft 2 sessions where some of the guys from my team were in the same room. This makes voice chat impossible with the built-in mic. The mic picks up both voices in the room and causes all sorts of nasty echoes and feedback and everything.
But with the new headset, this should be working much better now, right? Right? Well, I wouldn’t know. Because it turns out that the state-of-the-art MacBook Pro doesn’t have a microphone plug. It does have a line-in but that line-in is “unpowered” so it doesn’t work with a microphone that doesn’t run off it’s own juice.
This changes everything
I’m flabbergasted. I never even heard that line-in plugs could be underpowered. My whole life I have only seen line-in plugs that work just fine with microphones. Even my old, tiny MD player had a microphone plug. I tried plugging the headset into other notebooks to see if they were broken. Every shitty no-name throwaway netbook has a microphone plug. It’s completely beyond me how a company would decide to release a product with such a vital feature missing. I’m still hoping that this is some bizarre driver issue or misunderstanding.
Because you know what I need to do now? I need to buy an entire USB sound card just to have a way to plug in a headset into a MacBook Pro. And of course, that USB sound card will take away half of my existing USB ports. The other port will be taken by the mouse and I’m officially tapped out on USB ports. I’m starting to think that this whole Apple thing wasn’t such a good idea after all.
That’s lame.
I think you can get something to power your microphone into the line-in jack. I’m not familiar enough to know the terminology, but surely you can find something.
Also, I’m not familiar with Macs–might it be the case that it’s both a line-in and Mic (that is, there’s a software amp that’s just turned off by default)?
I’m looking for a software solution but found nothing so far. It seems like a hardware issue.
I could try to get an amp or something. But the fact that I have to is already a design failure. There is no reason why I have to put up with this. Also that amp wound need to get the power from somewhere. So I either fumble around with batteries or use USB anyway.
That’s what you get for Mac’ing up.
Cutting the Schadenfreude, is that a known problem? Aren’t there any workarounds?
I can hardly believe such an ultra hip and high profile product like this wouldn’t support headsets.
Then again, it’s Apple. They could put their logo on a bar of high concentrated pressed feces and still have it sell like nothing in the world…
Okay, twenty seconds in Google tell me it’s a known problem to which the Mac community responds with “IT’S NOT A PROBLEM, JUST GET A USB MIC OR SOUNDCARD!” glossing over how ridiculous that is.
I’m time and again thunderstruck by the willingness of the Mac zealots to ignore gaping flaws in Apple products. iPod sounds like shit when you try to use one of the equalizer presets? “IT’S NOT A PROBLEM, JUST REDUCE THE GAIN OF YOUR MP3s TO 80%!! IT’S NOT APPLE’S FAULT!!”
iPhone antenna stops working when left handed people hold the phone? “IT’S NOT APPLE’S FAULT!! JUST DON’T HOLD THE PHONE LIKE THIS!! NOT A PROBLEM!!”
It’s beyond me how people still buy into that. I know I won’t ever again.
Buuuut that’s not really helping you.
But I guess there *is* no helping you, since you really physically cannot use the line-in.
Maybe talk to some Mac-Zealot, who’ll eventually explain to you why only idiot subhuman windows looser users would see this as a flaw, while it’s ACTUALLY totally awesome and elevating the MacBook above other notebooks, since it sounds just BETTER and more PROFESSIONAL MEDIA when you use a dedicated USB soundcard, which is something the windows-swine wouldn’t know and that you should feel privileged for getting ripped off like that…
Yeah, that’s exactly the kind of vibe I’m getting from this. I’m not a happy customer.
It’s a trail of your Faith in the Blessing of Jobs.
And you’re failing it. The Mac Life is not meant for you.
You should return your MacBook and go for a Dell instead.
#cynism #ohgodwhythehate
I don’t like the way Dell Notebooks look. I think I might try my luck with Samsung… or Lenovo.
OK, I’ll bite
Here are some factoids, draw your own conclusions:
The integrated analog audio hardware in PCs and Macs generally has quite low quality. This is primarily due to noise and power fluctuations due to all the other electronics in extremely close proximity on the mainboard. For in-game voice chat you’re generally not too bothered by quality, but for recording a podcast or anything more demanding it would be an issue.
In the consumer market, USB headsets are now extremely common, and well supported. Bluetooth headsets are also quite common. The Macbook Pro supports Bluetooth and USB headsets.
The Macbook Pro’s advertised specifications say it has a line-in jack, not a microphone jack.
Line-in jacks are used for recording audio from other powered equipment; because it does not carry power it allows for better signal quality (though still not great as mentioned above). On many PCs these days one jack is used either for line in or as a powered microphone jack, configurable in the BIOS. Connecting a line-out to a powered microphone jack results in terrible audio quality, and can potentially damage the audio circuits on either end.
Apple’s “Pro” hardware is very popular among professional musicians, who are a very visible part of Apple’s market.
Apple has slowly been phasing out the analog audio capabilities in its computers, and adding optical digital audio support. The line-in and headphone jacks on the Macbook Pro are dual-mode, supporting both analog and optical.
The Macbook Pro needs more fucking USB ports.
Actually, I just checked the tech specs again, and the Macbook/Macbook Pro does actually have a powered microphone input, but not a dedicated one; it’s integrated into the headphone jack, supporting headsets with only one plug, such as Apple’s iPhone headphones-with-mic (no surprise that they support their own equipment).
It is possible to make an adapter so that a headset with two plugs can be used with this, for example: http://www.instructables.com/id/133quot-Macbook-Pro-HeadphoneMic-Adapter/
It may be possible to buy such an adapter ready made, although not from Apple.
A wee bit of Googling shows that yes, you can buy such an adapter: http://www.amazon.co.uk/SteelSeries-Mobile-Device-Adapter-PC/dp/B0035ER6GY/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1294840417&sr=8-10
I disagree. Most headsets have still regular jacks. It makes sense. They usually offer the greatest compatibility along all possible devices. There are rarely USB ports on audio devices after all. USB headsets mostly means that there are twin 3,5mm jacks and they throw in a shitty USB Soundcard. Especially if you want a premium high-end, comfortable headset, it WILL be 3,5mm. It won’t go away that quickly either.
Couldn’t care less. I’m paying them to solve engineering problems. Other manufacturers doesn’t seem to have this issue either.
No reason not to have a mic plug. If I wanted to maximize quality I could still opt for a USB mic.
I take this capability for granted. It doesn’t specifically advertise that the Mac won’t explode or melt either.
I have seen PCs where you can chose to have it powered right in the control panel. It even asks you when you plug in something into the port. Again, apparently there are solutions for this issue.
Yeah, I had those dual plugs on my portable MD recorder 10 years ago. If regular analog audio is being phased away, they sure take their time. Optical cables are fine for having two powered devices talk to each other but utterly useless for any headset or headphone solutions.
Yeah, found this out after I wrote the article. I heard that the iPhone headset works with the MacBook Pro. I wanted to try it when I get back home. Thanks for clearing this up!
But wait, doesn’t that invalidate a lot of your arguments? It also delivers a much more likely explanation. It’s just like with their stupid Mini Display Port. It’s the Apple way. Reject reasonable conventions so you can force overpriced proprietary solutions down the customer’s throats.
“I take this capability for granted.”
Well, then, I guess all computers without dedicated microphone jacks are faulty by your definition. What other hardware features do you take for granted?
“But wait, doesn’t that invalidate a lot of your arguments?”
But I wasn’t making any arguments, just pointing out facts.
“It’s just like with their stupid Mini Display Port. It’s the Apple way. Reject reasonable conventions so you can force overpriced proprietary solutions down the customer’s throats.”
Mini Display Port is a VESA standard. It is well supported by monitor and graphics card makers throughout the industry (although obviously still not as broadly supported as DVI which has been around for over 10 years now).
Yes. Your point being?
I derive my expectations from my previous experience with computers. I never seen a personal computer without a microphone jack before.
Not this again. I suppose that in order to prove your point you will pay for the set of adapters I have to use daily basis?
See, you are doing some serious mental gymnastics to rationalize why it’s a good thing that the expensive headset I bought doesn’t work with the expensive computer I bought.
What are you trying to achieve? No matter what you say, it doesn’t change the fact that it just doesn’t work. If you are successful, you might prove that the reason why it’s not working is because I’m an idiot.
This is what Seb wrote about in his comment. This is why people are calling the Apple ideology arrogant.
“I derive my expectations from my previous experience with computers. I never seen a personal computer without a microphone jack before.”
I remember when I’d never seen a personal computer without a floppy drive. I had a lot of stuff on floppy disks, and needed to have one. But it was my own fault that I didn’t check that the new PC I bought didn’t have one.
“Not this again. I suppose that in order to prove your point you will pay for the set of adapters I have to use daily basis?”
I agree that MDP is inconvenient, because being a fairly new interface there’s a lot of old hardware around that does not support it. Which means to use it with old hardware you need an adapter. And yes, Apple’s adapters are expensive; I agree that they’re overpriced. But because it is not a proprietary interface, there are cheaper adapters available, e.g. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-047-OK
Again, it looks to me like you took for granted that the laptop would have a built-in DVI (or possibly VGA) port when it does not, and it is trivial to see either from looking at the pictures of the ports or the tech specs that it doesn’t have one. If you make an assumption that is easily shown to be invalid, where does the fault lie?
“See, you are doing some serious mental gymnastics to rationalize why it’s a good thing that the expensive headset I bought doesn’t work with the expensive computer I bought.”
Not in the least. I don’t think it is a good thing that they don’t work together, and so I have not said anything of the sort. It’s unfortunate that the expensive headset you bought doesn’t work with the expensive computer you bought.
“What are you trying to achieve? No matter what you say, it doesn’t change the fact that it just doesn’t work. If you are successful, you might prove that the reason why it’s not working is because I’m an idiot.”
I think you have pretty well established in your blog post that the reason it doesn’t work is because the laptop doesn’t have a dedicated microphone jack.
I remember a joke that went around to make fun of Microsoft and Bill Gates. It’s amazing how the tables turned. It fits Apple even better now. Its goes like this: “How many Apple users do you need to change a light bulb? None. Steve Jobs simply declares darkness as the new standard.”
I never said anything about lying. I’m talking about products which are badly designed. I’ve noticed before that Apple fans seem to have troubles admitting that their products have flaws. I see no other reason why so often people rush in with such elaborate rationalizations when problems crop up.
Being transparent about the technical details of the product doesn’t make up for bad design either. Having made the blueprints for a car public isn’t an excuse when the brakes fail.
Sorry, I did not intend to imply lying at all; in “where does the fault lie” it’s “lie” as in “lie down”, not “lie” as in “tell a lie”.
Of course Apple products have flaws. Here’s a few off the top of my head: my iPhone loses signal if I hold it very tightly around the bottom corner. Its screen gets covered in fingermarks after using it for a while, so needs to be wiped clean often. It’s cramped to type on when in a portrait orientation, but in a landscape orientation the keyboard occupies most of the screen so you can see little of what you’re working on. It needs an Apple proprietary cable to charge, so I need to take the cable with me if I’ll be using the phone more than a day or two away from home. The camera’s LED flash has a horrible bluish tint that makes everyone look like a corpse if you use it.
Back in the original blog post, you said “It’s completely beyond me how a company would decide to release a product with such a vital feature missing”—that’s what I was originally responding to: not to rationalise the missing feature as either good or bad, but to analyse, to try and identify some of the factors that might have gone into the decision, in order to better understand it.
Some of the flaws in my phone make the features seem a little pointless; for example, I use the LED flash only rarely, mostly as a light, e.g. to examine a bus timetable at night. I never use it anymore when taking photos of people. It’s almost useless for me, but I can analyse it and identify possible reasons behind the tradeoff.
You seem to be using the term “bad design” rather carelessly. You study of design, so I’m sure you know that designing anything involves tradeoffs, choosing a balance between a large number of competing requirements. Good design results when proper consideration has been given to these requirements, and a position chosen which optimises the most important ones. Bad design results when the important requirements are not fulfilled.
It’s just as silly to say that a computer is badly designed because it lacks a dedicated microphone jack as it is to say that a car is badly designed because it lacks a sunroof. To say that a laptop is badly designed because it lacks a certain feature that you want is essentially to say that all laptops should be designed only with your requirements in mind, and not those of the millions of other customers.
Oh, my bad.
I don’t really see the relevance to this discussion. There is no trade off in the LED case.
I use the term “bad design” because I studied it. In Germany Design has a very long heritage. One of most influential historic concepts that developed here is the “Gute Form” (Good Form) which a school of thought that there are principles in design which are not subjective but timeless and universally valid. Today the derivative from that can be understood as “Good Design”. It’s not quite as modernistic hard-core but more humane. At it’s core is the understanding that every controversy that may come up during the design process of a product ultimately collapses down to a very flat result at the level where a customer uses a product. At this point “good design is invisible”. Or as Apple likes to claim “it just works”… or not.
This is reductionist because of very humane reasons. It’s the designer’s job to deal with trade-offs. The user shouldn’t be bothered with them. That’s what he is paying for.
No, it is not. Not every feature of a product is equally important. Not even on a subjective level. Nobody wants to sacrifice a car’s brakes in favor for a cup holder. It’s fair to call a car with such a trade-off a badly designed car.
Are you serious? This again? First of all, this is an unsubstantiated claim and an irrelevant argument. You and me, we have no data on what “millions of other customers” want.
On top if it taking the sum of what “millions of other customers” want is not a substitute for design. Google does that and apparently there are some problems with that approach.
But the fun thing is that you are on the wrong side of that argument anyway. Are you seriously suggesting that, other things being equal, “millions of other customers” would OBJECT if you could plug a microphone into a MacBook Pro?
I feel like in a perpetual Ground Hog day when speaking with Mac people. Who do I need to kiss to get out of here? I had the very same discussion on the topic of video adapters. The guy used EXACTLY THE SAME arguments as you did: Technical issue, technological improvement, it isn’t false advertising, it’s a trade-off, qualify my points… Is this the Apple version of the 7 stages of grief or is this the result of an Apple brochure I don’t know about?
“I feel like in a perpetual Ground Hog day when speaking with Mac people.”
Well, I’ll stop then. It’s difficult to argue reasonably with you when you keep using bad analogies (do I *really* need to explain to you why bad brakes on a car is a completely different situation to a microphone jack on a laptop?), and ad hominem attacks (in fact, straw man ad hominem, which is a nice touch).
I regret trying to respond to your original post now, certainly in the way I did, because it has not resulted in any frutiful discussion. I should have just pointed you to the adapter, said “hope this helps”, and left it there. Your blog post appears to have been written out of anger and frustration, and since I foolishly stuck my neck in it I guess I made myself a target for you to vent that against me. Never mind.
I look forward to reading your next posts about games, at any rate.
this suck! i spent literally about $2,500.00 on a 2011 macbook pro 15′ refresh and came across with some issue with audio line in. i wanted to use my external mic but it didn’t work when i plug it in to the audio line in port. i also tried to use my guitar with my irig adapter to line in port, still not doing anything. what is up apple!!!?
Dude don’t have a heart attack and blame the computer. You could have asked the slaves at the apple store what your computer was capable of before you bought it. There are many types of mics and some require PHANTOM POWER. You could just get a usb mic. Or an audio interface with xlr and 1/4 inputs. Whatever you decide know that if you want QUALITY recording no one uses their computer alone. Most computers have bad sound cards anyway.
As mentioned in in the article, I’m not interested in Quality recording. I intended to use an eSports headset.
Of course I can use a USB soundcard. Inded I had to. It’s cumbersome and awkward.
Also, it’s kinda hard to ask “apple store slaves” for features you take for granted.
Absolutely a hardware design mistake. I’m glad to have bought a Lenovo now.
I think the real issue is the fact you keep taking for granted your laptop automatically should have the features you want it to. And that you spent money on an incompatible headset.
Personally I love the fact the in and out can be easily powered at line level, so much better quality and interoperability.
Wait a sec, you bought a new laptop to fit your headset… why not the other way around…?
Yes, I do. That’s why pay money. So it does the things I’m expecting. I expected it to have a working microphone plug. From over 20 years of experience, it was inconceivable to me why it wouldn’t have one. It still is.