Macbook Air 13" 2018 - Audio Input

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I do a lot of analog recording on various tape machines and need to mix down two stereo tracks L/R via RCA to 1/8" (headphone jack) onto Garageband.

I hooked up the RCA to 1/8" into my new macbook air and there is no option under "Sound" to toggle the headphone jack to "audio input."

What's the work-around?

I've searched all over and haven't been able to find one. Solutions are all about connecting a microphone, but that is not what I am doing. No one seems to be answering this question for connecting a stereo input to the air.
 

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I think someting like this should get the job done. If the connector you tried did not work make sure that it supports TRRS. I believe these are also referred to a four pole connectors. Notice from the image I linked to there are three black bands on the headphone end. If yours only has two bands it will not work.

I think there are longer versions of this cable available. If not you can use RCA female to male extension cables on the RCA end.
 
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I think someting like this should get the job done. If the connector you tried did not work make sure that it supports TRRS. I believe these are also referred to a four pole connectors. Notice from the image I linked to there are three black bands on the headphone end. If yours only has two bands it will not work.

I think there are longer versions of this cable available. If not you can use RCA female to male extension cables on the RCA end.

Hello!

This is not the item, unfortunately. Someone on that Amazon listing asked the seller if this will send RCA signal to the phone, and it will not. Third pole is recognized as a microphone input, the RCAs are NOT recognized as such.

Does anyone have any other recommendations. I have a VERY hard time believe that no one who owns a Macbook Air is looking for this functionality.
 

krs


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I found this on google:
All of Apple's computers feature a headphone jack or sound output of some kind, but only a few of them offer a recording input. The iMac includes one, as well as the 15-inch MacBook Pro and the Mac Pro desktop, but you won't find one on the MacBook Air , Retina MacBook Pro , or the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
 

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KRS, I just found the exact same article. What the OP needs is a USB sound card as the Air has no Audio input but just built in Mics.
 
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Look here:
https://www.macworld.com/article/1167452/software-music/external-mic-macbook-air.html

The MacBook Air has a single headphone port, which should be more accurately called the “headset” port. Like the headphone port on iOS devices, this jack supports audio input as well as output—with this caveat: The microphone or headset in question must be of the three-ring variety, just like Apple’s headsets (and their compatible brethren).

I couldn't believe that those with a MacBook Air couldn't have their kids recording sounds of farts and burps. Where would the fun be without that option???
:Smirk:

Here's another solution:
how to use headphone jack as audio input
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5302235





- Patrick
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krs


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Patrick -
I read this MacWorld comment as well, but I think it only applies to older MacBook Airs.
For the 2018 MBa and also for the 2017 MBa which I just bought, you need some sort of audio to USB converter.
Apple shows one for $10 but it seems to only be one way, ie to replace a headphone jack.
I bought an iMic years ago which works well; I also see quite a few different versions by Behringer which should be excellent (based on my experience with other audio products from them) and these are pretty inexpensive.
First one I came across with both mike and line inputs was only $C29.-

- - - Updated - - -
 
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So the only option is to buy a USB interface? It's like a king-size dongle. Literally the only thing I want to do is record through the audio input. I don't need a mic interface, or anything complicated to go to pro tools or whatever. I'm very unsatisfied. F*ing Apple as usual.
 

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When you get a thin computer like the Air, there are some compromises.

I just booted up my $500 toshiba laptop with AMD CPU. Its almost as thin as your air and guess what? NO audio input of any kind.
 
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krs


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When you get a thin computer like the Air, there are some compromises.

This has really nothing to do with the thickness of the computer.
For a few versions, Apple made double use of the headphone jack with an extra contact that was used as a mike/line input.
Maybe that is still there - I read that it sometimes takes a while for the Mac to recognize it.

The bigger problem I find in general is that there is no decent Apple documentation for the Macs any more.
One now depends on articles on the net, forums like this one or books written by third parties - I would really like documentation by the company which designed the product and knows its capabilities inside out.

@akpasta
There may be other options, but they all involve some sort of external device.
It might be possible to feed audio in via bluetooth; the other connection I found interesting is via an iphone or ipad - all depends what the source of the audio is.
But nothing as simple as just a cable.

Here is a pretty detailed discussion about this back in 2012
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/90344/macbook-pro-mid-2012-microphone-input

And here the option via iphone and ipad
https://www.macobserver.com/tips/quick-tip/iphone-audio-input-mac/
 
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The bigger problem I find in general is that there is no decent Apple documentation for the Macs any more.
One now depends on articles on the net, forums like this one or books written by third parties - I would really like documentation by the company which designed the product and knows its capabilities inside out.


Wouldn't that be nice, or at least some sort of effort put into such rather than all their flowery ads that lock any such details.

But it seems to be the trend lately, just as we bought a newer Samsung TV recently that included no manual and the largest sheet of instructions was how to remove it from the box but the majority of that sheet was how to attach the two legs!! Nowhere, anywhere did it even have instructions of how to turn the thing on!!!

PS: The manual power button is hidden on the bottom underside edge.





- Patrick
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The bigger problem I find in general is that there is no decent Apple documentation for the Macs any more.
One now depends on articles on the net, forums like this one or books written by third parties - I would really like documentation by the company which designed the product and knows its capabilities inside out.
You ask, and Apple has provided. These spec pages are on the Apple website for all current models, including yours. https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/
 
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You ask, and Apple has provided. These spec pages are on the Apple website for all current models, including yours. https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/



Holly crow Jake, those are references some Apple fan-boy might provide, but you'll have to admit that everymac.com or MacTracker provides more and better Tech info than those type of Apple's pages do, and what most users are looking for are instructions for exactly how to do things and what they might need to do it with.

IE: In this case as far as this thread is concerned, is what is needed and if the audio input can be accomplished on a specific Mac model.

Apple fails very badly with such support, which is frustrating and annoying considering that they prided themselves with being so multimedia progressive with their products, and audio input was such a basic standard for so many years.

In fact it has been so bad for many years now that some recording studio friends I know finally had to switch over to using Windows machines for some recording stuff, but have still kept their old G4 towers, but basically gave up on Apple and their lack of multimedia support and input ports as I understand their frustration.





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Holly crow Jake, those are references some Apple fan-boy might provide, but you'll have to admit that everymac.com or MacTracker provides more and better Tech info than those type of Apple's pages do, and what most users are looking for are instructions for exactly how to do things and what they might need to do it with.
IE: In this case as far as this thread is concerned, is what is needed and if the audio input can be accomplished on a specific Mac model.
Again, the specs page clearly show no audio input interface. As for users looking for instructions for "how to do things and what they might need to do it with," do you really seriously think that is Apple's responsibility? They have clearly indicated that there are zero audio inputs to the machine on that specs page, so I think it is reasonable to think that anyone wanting to process audio would not buy that machine in the first place, but if they did, that they would do research into what is required to input audio. And that would lead them to discover that it requires third party equipment like some of these: https://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_Audio_Interfaces and an adapter to connect to USB-c ports. And maybe more stuff specific to audio that I have no clue about because I am not an audio engineer. But any audio engineer who read that specs page and still bought that machine to process audio without knowing what would be required to do that simply didn't do their homework. I don't expect my automobile dealer to know how to use every third party after-market modification that could possibly be put into my car, so why would I expect Apple to be the expert on every possible third party after-market audio interface? Or any of them, for that matter?

Apple fails very badly with such support, which is frustrating and annoying considering that they prided themselves with being so multimedia progressive with their products, and audio input was such a basic standard for so many years.
Apple provides a lot of technical support online, through the support pages, for those who will go read. Try this as a starting point: https://support.apple.com/macos and then work down through the many technical pages Apple offers. Will you find out how to input audio to that particular MBA? No, because Apple didn't build it in and Apple doesn't make an audio input interface. It would be the responsibility of the third party manufacturer to tell the buyer how to use their piece of equipment, not Apple. As I said, Apple is not the world-wide source of how every possible piece of equipment can be attached to an Apple device and used. Apple focuses on Apple, does a pretty good job in their online documentation and Help Menus.

In fact it has been so bad for many years now that some recording studio friends I know finally had to switch over to using Windows machines for some recording stuff, but have still kept their old G4 towers, but basically gave up on Apple and their lack of multimedia support and input ports as I understand their frustration.





- Patrick
======
And if Apple wants to cater to that market, they will make devices with audio inputs, but that is their business decision to make. And anybody who keeps a G4 tower working well beyond a reasonable life rather than moving to a system that supports their recording needs with modern technology are the real fan-boys. If I were in that environment I would have moved off that antique onto any modern Windows machine in a heartbeat. And not be frustrated by it, because I'm not a fan-boy, just a user who uses his money to get systems that meets his needs instead of staying with a brand.

And the day Apple ceases to produce devices that meet my needs, I'll be gone. The computer is a tool, an appliance, not a religion. Stop meeting my needs? Buh-bye.

But I'm not holding Apple responsible to tell me how every one of those 206 audio interfaces at Sweetwater work. Not their job. Never has been. And if you read the description on the bottom of the page on that link, you'll see Sweetwater agrees. Leave audio to the experts.

Hey, I understand how some Apple fanboys loved the graphics and audio innovations of the early Apple products. That's what separated Apple from the many brands of Windows machines back in the day. But Apple moved on from that. And because they did, they started to be seen as serious computers for office applications instead of toys for a few graphic designers and audio engineers. They still have really good graphics with the iMac Pro and the eGPU concept, but they apparently have decided that audio input into the Mac is something best left to external, third party devices. In fact, with the newest MBPs, all you get for interfaces are the USB-c ports, so EVERYTHING input is going to have to go through that interface. But it's not reasonable to then ask Apple to describe, or even to keep track of, every third party manufacturer who makes a device with a USB-c connection that might connect to an Apple product. But from the design of the iMac Pro (which also has no audio input) it seems to be clear Apple has left that arena, at least for now. And if you don't like that decision, don't buy Apple products. Or buy Apple with the full understanding that getting the audio in to be processed will require an external device through the ports that are available on the particular machine.
 

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You ask, and Apple has provided. These spec pages are on the Apple website for all current models, including yours. https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/

Jake,

I'm not talking about a "spec page" - that is typically only one or two pages of a larger user manual.
If Apple doesn't want to print one, they can just provide a small paper one and put the detailed one on line like many companies do.
And tech notes don't cut it either - those should be supplements to a comprehensive manual.

As far as this topic is concerened - at one point the Mac headphone jack did also have an audio in capability - I wonder when that disappeared.
There were also some with a TosLink connection.

But to illustrate my point - I just found out recently that the macOS includes a nice wireless analytical tool that one can access by holding down the Option key.
There is nothing in any "spec sheet" about that.
How is an average user supposed to know that unless one is lucky and finds just the right hits and uses the right google search terms.
And then the tool itself, it turns out what Apple calls "Quality" in the Performance graph is really S/N ratio
One shouldn't have to depend on luck to find that.
 
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@krs, the Apple decision to reduce or eliminate paper documentation was made by Steve Jobs. I think he was right about most manuals ending up in the trash bin, rather than being used. His original plan was to make a Mac so user friendly that you didn't need a manual, but he was also clever enough to know that at some point you might. So he moved the manuals on line and stopped the 'dead tree' approach. Today, for Mojave, you find the manual here: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/welcome/mac If you go there, note that there is a Table of Contents, and if you drill down you get to hot links to more detailed pages. And they have links to even more detailed information. Just about anything you might want in a manual is there. And there are manuals for all of the recent versions of OSX and macOS, so you can do the same research for them, too.

Want to learn about your new MBP? There is a manual for that. https://support.apple.com/mac/macbook-pro

And two clicks from that page you get to this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201236 ,

which has a ton of information about keyboard shortcuts to all kinds of things.

And although I've only been using Apple products for about ten years, the Option key and the top bar has always been, and remains, a very powerful combination. The analyzer you found is one of the results, but there are more worth exploring. And that Wireless Diagnostics feature is documented by Apple here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202663 You may find some very interesting uses for that tool there.

Note something about all those links--they all point to one URL, https://support.apple.com And that is a tremendous resource.

Bottom line? It doesn't take luck, just a willingness to read what Apple publishes. But if those same pages and articles were in a dead tree manual, it would gather dust on the shelf and people would still complain about the lack of information.

BTW, your comment about the headphone jacks having had audio in capability in the past is exactly correct. And the tech specs at the time clearly indicated that, including the ToSLink capability. Which is how I found out about it back then. The removal of that capability is one of the things I don't like about what Apple did. But it's not super critical to me, and I have found ways to get audio in when I need to, so I'm still here. (That is how I found out about the folks at Sweetwater, BTW.)

Hope that helps some.
 

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Thanks, Jake
That actually helps a lot.
I never knew Apple had these user guides on line especially after books like the "Mac Bible" were published which seemed to be what a mac user was expected to buy if they wanted to use the full capability of their Mac.

Interestingly enought, I wsas just cleaning out some of my old Mac stuff and came across 100 page plus user guides for the Mac Mini and MacBook pro that I bought years ago.
But having them on line is definitely better and if there was (maybe there is) a searchable pdf version that I could use without an internet connection - that would even be better.
 

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