so i bought my first Macbook Pro...

BrooklynMac87 · Mar 8, 2011

and i also bought a pair of KRK Rokit 5's to go with it.. now the guy at Best Buy told me they come with the cables to install them to my new Mac.. but i come home, open the box and see that they don't :-/ i don't mind going back to best buy to get the proper cables but **** lol

what do i need exactly to connect these babies to my Mac? keep in mind i am pretty much a noob so i would like the most simple (and hopefully not too expensive) solution. thanks guys!

robduckyworth · Mar 8, 2011

as long as they are TRS inputs a couple of balanced 1/4" jack cables into an interface's monitor outputs, or a stereo minijack (1/8") to dual balanced mono 1/4" TRS jacks.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Horizon-YN1-P...1e200f1290a0aad2912d41ffbbeb45#ht_4554wt_1141

something like this if you have no interface. make sure you get balanced: this prevents any mains hum as they have a dedicated screen.

BrooklynMac87 · Mar 8, 2011

robduckyworth said:
as long as they are TRS inputs a couple of balanced 1/4" jack cables into an interface's monitor outputs, or a stereo minijack (1/8") to dual balanced mono 1/4" TRS jacks.

Horizon YN1-P-10 stereo minijack to 2 male mono jacks on eBay (end time 28-Mar-11 15:02:07 BST)

something like this if you have no interface. make sure you get balanced: this prevents any mains hum as they have a dedicated screen.

so i would buy one of these for each speaker and then how do i connect them both to my macbook? i wasn't kidding when i said i am completeeee noob lol but i appreciate your help so far

robduckyworth · Mar 8, 2011

each speaker has one separate input. so you would need a Left and a Right cable.

if you have an interface (like an Mbox or a Focusrite saffire Pro) as your main soundcard, you would use two 1/4" balanced jack cables coming out of the monitor outputs of the interface into your KRKs.

if you are using the built in Macbook pro soundcard, you are coming out of a stereo source, so you need one minijack to dual 1/4" (one for left, one for right) that go into the KRKs. look at the picture in the link. thats what you need if using the built in soundcard.

having a balanced connection will significantly reduce mains hum. hum is usually found in cheaper cables. youve just spent £500 on the monitors, so spend a little bit more for the main connection to them to ensure a good quality build and connection.

BrooklynMac87 · Mar 9, 2011

robduckyworth said:
each speaker has one separate input. so you would need a Left and a Right cable.

if you have an interface (like an Mbox or a Focusrite saffire Pro) as your main soundcard, you would use two 1/4" balanced jack cables coming out of the monitor outputs of the interface into your KRKs.

if you are using the built in Macbook pro soundcard, you are coming out of a stereo source, so you need one minijack to dual 1/4" (one for left, one for right) that go into the KRKs. look at the picture in the link. thats what you need if using the built in soundcard.

having a balanced connection will significantly reduce mains hum. hum is usually found in cheaper cables. youve just spent £500 on the monitors, so spend a little bit more for the main connection to them to ensure a good quality build and connection.

oh i gotcha.. well yes i will be using the Macs built in sound card.. so i will go to best buy tomorrow and purchase a stereo minijack similar to the one you posted, and also purchase two 1/4" trs cables... plug the TRS cables into the minijack, and plug the other end of the minijack into the macbooks headphone input.. sounds about right? lol

robduckyworth · Mar 9, 2011

no no no! its a stereo minjack TO DUAL mono TRS Jack! it splits the stereo signal into two wires, Left and right! its just one cable!

stereo mini jack - then it branches off into two wires. all you need is something similar to the picture. its one cable. one stereo connector - two mono connections on the other end.

BrooklynMac87 · Mar 9, 2011

Hahah oh! Thank u, I told u I'm a noob, ok but even better makes my life more simple. I will let u know how it goes, thank you!

robduckyworth · Mar 9, 2011

cool

BrooklynMac87 · Mar 9, 2011

WELL! i went to best buy, no luck with that kind of cable, went to radio shack, again, no luck. so i drove to a Guitar Center about a half hour from my house and they did not have the balanced TRS cable, but they did have a stereo minijack to dual XLR cable which works with my speakers so i said screw it and just bought that for now. the guy at GC was telling me XLR is better than TRS... idk about all that as i said i am not really experienced on this, but for now it is doing the job fine i suppose.

if TRS is really that much better and people still insist i go that route, i will just purchase it online because i CANNOT find one anywhere around here haha

robduckyworth · Mar 9, 2011

dont worry, XLR is balanced aswell. i didnt realise the KRK's had XLR inputs, i would have recommended that instead! glad you got the right cable!

BrooklynMac87 · Mar 9, 2011

thanks dude, and most importantly thank u for all your help. i'm really loving my setup right now... now i just need to scrap up $2,000 more for my DJ Equipment :-O that was my main reason for purchasing a Mac, many music related purposes

robduckyworth · Mar 10, 2011

haha. no worries. until you get your extra gear, in the mean time, have a look at Mixxx and Virtual DJ. (they are on the App Store.)

BrooklynMac87 · Mar 11, 2011

wow virtual DJ is AWESOME!! dude, thank u again haha

just another random question, what is the best default setting for the volume on my speakers? right now they are set on -6dB, i see other options are 0, +3dB, and +6dB

and idk what the HF LEVEL ADJUST means but it is set on 0dB currently.

i guess it would depend on where you are using your speakers? for me it is just my bedroom so i don't think i need to go too crazy adjusting volumes

robduckyworth · Mar 11, 2011

i would say 0 or -6db. going over could damage them or distort the signal.