01-19-2011, 01:50 AM

is there a device out there that can plug into the shared mic/headphone jack of the macbook pro and divide it into audio out and mic in?

not just a audio out splitter - trust me - ive looked on 198471985743 search engines and different search keywords to try and find what im looking for but nothing close seems to exist except iPhone headsets and such..
Is there anything for the iPhone that takes that device's shared headphone/mic jack and splits up the mic line in and the audio out??

if not someone please invent that! cuz i need it XD

01-20-2011, 02:02 PM

What macbook pro do u have?

01-22-2011, 06:55 PM

No it does not. And if you ask me huge bad move on apple. both the MB and the 13.3 pro have only 1 headphone jack. I was exactly where you are a little while ago. I've called up apple even and talked to them but the only real solution is to pay more for you mac.
I tried splitters and everything too but the problem is that you can only specify one at a time in sys. preferences. Another work around is one of those usb mics but that's not always a viable solution either.
Huge bad move by apple if you ask me. Especially when you can get in and out on a little netbook for like 300.

01-23-2011, 12:10 AM

if you want to monitor/record at the same time your better off just using an audio interface. you get a dedicated inputs, headphone & speaker outs.

what your asking for is not really possible cause you have to switch it in preferences.

12-13-2011, 05:09 AM

Hey.. I googled it and found some solutions, anyone who can confirm??

15$
Amazon.com: Headset Buddy: PC Headset to 3.5mm Smartphone Adapter: Convert Dual 3.5mm to 3.5mm, PC Computer Headset to iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, Palm, Samsung, LG, HTC: Computers & Accessories

13$
Amazon.com: Digital Lifestyle Outfitters Headphone Splitter for iPod and iPhone: Electronics

2,3$
Designer 3.5mm Male to 2-Female Plug Jack Splitter Adapter - Free Shipping - DealExtreme (i'm sceptic)


I also checked out other forums and they all say no it's not possible.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread...rt=15&tstart=0

12-14-2011, 01:22 AM

Yeah, it's not possible. But it's also not a big deal to solve, just use a USB microphone for input -- preferably one with its own headphone jack for zero latency, like this:

MXL Tempo USB mic is iPad-compatible | iPodNN

07-04-2012, 03:43 AM

Originally Posted by sparktomi

I just saw this thread and although you might have found something by now, I just wanted to let you know about a product a company I'm interning at has. It's a mic-headphone splitter! There's two types, the wiretap and the rockit and you can find more info about it at www.esdevices.com! Hope it helps solve your problem (: Cheers!

This would work on something like a phone where you can't switch back and forth but on the the MacBooks that have just the one combo mic in/out it wouldn't for the sole purpose that you can only still choose in OR out in sys. preferences. So something like listening to a click track while recording yourself in garageband still isn't going to be possible.

Thanks though for the idea, this is definitely on the fancier side of the audio splitters that I might have to check out.

07-05-2012, 04:55 AM

So allow me to summarize:

For any Macs that have a "combo" input/output single 1/8" jack, there is NO WAY to get it to operate as both input and output simultaneously as far as I know.

Apple's philosophy on this has been (for some time now) that one should be using USB (or Firewire, or Thunderbolt) for true digital input, and of course if one is doing that then the output function of the headphone jack works fine.

Annoying for people who want to use VOIP headsets and suchlike, but actually better for serious recording (since the digital interface allows you to use higher-quality equipment and, via breakout boxes, have as many inputs and outputs as you need).

07-12-2012, 01:35 PM

Is this just the retina version that's affected? I noticed they only had one audio port, one of the reasons I'm thinking of sticking with the original MBP.

07-14-2012, 01:24 AM

Originally Posted by familychoice

Is this just the retina version that's affected? I noticed they only had one audio port, one of the reasons I'm thinking of sticking with the original MBP.

No, this goes back a ways. I have a 2009 MBP that only has the one jack.

10-01-2012, 04:53 AM

If the iPhone handsfree headset with inbuilt mic can work for both input and output (I use it with Skype) then why is it so hard to make a splitter work?

10-01-2012, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by chas_m

No, this goes back a ways. I have a 2009 MBP that only has the one jack.

That's weird, I had two on my MBP from 2009, and the one I've just bought has audio in and out.

10-01-2012, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by familychoice

That's weird, I had two on my MBP from 2009, and the one I've just bought has audio in and out.

This is in regards to the 13".

See screen grab of macbook page on apple.com here.

10-03-2012, 03:51 AM

Quick update - just found this - might be useful for anyone else:

PC Headset to USB Adapter | Headset Buddy Blog

10-06-2012, 02:01 AM

oli-j: thanks for posting another link to the real solution. I'm sure that will be super helpful.