[Ti] line-in on my Al-book - no signal

[Glenn L. Austin]

on 12/30/03 9:28 AM, Sam Hotchkiss at ti at zlit.net wrote:

> I believe that the problem has to do with the level of the line in-- it
> is made to run a line in from audio equipment which sends a higher level
> than a microphone (I'm no audio expert, so correct me if I'm wrong).  I
> solved this problem on my powerbook (Ti, 1ghz) by using an iMic.

That is exactly correct.  Condenser microphones (the microphones you can
generally purchase at a reasonable price) generally put out a signal that
requires a pre-amp to amplify to line-in levels.  However, there are some
more slightly expensive microphones that have an integral amplifier -- you
can tell those microphones by the fact that they require a battery.

Microphone-in jacks have that pre-amp designed as part of the circuitry.
Some of the older Macs had them, but since powered mics have gotten more
affordable, it is far simpler and cheaper to only provide a line-in jack.

-- 
Glenn L. Austin <><
Computer Wizard and Race Car Driver
<glenn at austin-home.com>
<http://www.austin-home.com/glenn/>