Apple Pro Speakers
| Apple Pro Speakers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A pair of Apple Pro Speakers with an iMac G4 (photo: Felix Winkelnkemper, CC BY 2.0) | |
| Manufacturer | Apple Computer, Inc., with Harman Kardon |
| Type | Unpowered stereo speakers |
| Release date | 2001 |
| Price | US$59 |
| Interface | Apple Speaker minijack |
| Compatible | Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio), Power Mac G4 (Quicksilver), Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors), iMac G4 |
| Predecessor | AppleDesign Powered Speakers |
| Power | None in the speakers; driven by the computer's amplifier |
The Apple Pro Speakers are a pair of small spherical speakers that Apple introduced on 9 January 2001 with the Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio). Apple's announcement described them as based on Harman Kardon technology with a frequency range of 70 Hz to 20 kHz, and sold them as an option for US$59.[1] The speakers contain no amplifier and take no mains power. The amplifier is inside the computer, and the speakers plug into it through Apple's own speaker minijack.[1][2]
Computers with the speaker minijack
[edit | edit source]The Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio), launched with the speakers, has the port; its Service Source labels it "Digital Audio Jack".[3] The same symptom chart covers the speakers on the QuickSilver models, and the Mirrored Drive Doors Service Source names the port the "Apple Speaker Mini-Jack" on the rear panel.[3][4] Apple included the speakers with the 700 MHz and 800 MHz iMac G4 at its launch in January 2002 and offered them as a build-to-order option; the iMac G4 drives them from an internal 18-watt digital amplifier.[2]
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The plug does not fit an ordinary 3.5 mm output, and the speakers have no amplifier of their own. Third-party adapters such as Griffin's iFire and PowerWave were made to drive them from other computers.[5]
The plug and cable
[edit | edit source]The plug looks like a 2.5 mm stereo jack but has an extra contact band on the pin and a metal ring at the base of the moulding.[5] Apple's symptom chart notes that the plug has two detents that should both be felt as it goes in, and that a slight twist while inserting it may give a better connection.[3]
Owners who have cut the cable report six wires at the plug: the left and right channels, plus two more conductors that end at a small chip inside the round junction where the cable splits to the two speakers. Below the junction only four wires continue, two to each speaker. The writer of one teardown concluded that the chip only passes the audio when it receives the expected signal on the extra conductors; cutting the cable above the junction and driving the speakers from a small 10 to 20 W amplifier gave sound that the writer could not tell apart from the original.[5] An earlier Applefritter write-up found the speaker leads to be about 30 AWG, coloured yellow and brown for one speaker and white and blue for the other, with yellow and white believed to be positive. On a conventional amplifier the speakers sounded bright and thin in the bass and needed equalisation, which the writer put down to Apple tuning the computer's output for these drivers.[6]
Troubleshooting
[edit | edit source]| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Push the plug firmly into the speaker port. Feel for both detents; a slight twist while inserting it may help |
| 2 | Check the speaker volume and balance in the Sound control panel or Sound system preference, and check that mute is off |
| 3 | Reset parameter RAM: hold Command-Option-P-R at startup until the second startup chime |
| 4 | Reinstall the system software |
| 5 | Replace the Apple Pro Speakers |
| 6 | Replace the logic board (Mirrored Drive Doors chart only) |
The chart is the same in the Power Mac G4 Service Source and the Mirrored Drive Doors Service Source, except that the Mirrored Drive Doors version adds the logic board as the last step.[3][4] Because the amplifier is in the computer, a pair that is silent on one machine and works on another points to the computer's audio circuit or port, not the speakers. Apple's charts treat the speakers as a single replaceable part and give no internal service procedure.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- AppleDesign Powered Speakers
- Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio)
- Power Mac G4 Cube, which shipped with its own USB-connected speakers
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Apple Computer, "Apple Delivers New Power Mac G4 with 733 MHz PowerPC G4 Processors", press release, 9 January 2001, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2001/01/09Apple-Delivers-New-Power-Mac-G4-with-733-MHz-PowerPC-G4-Processors/ (retrieved 2026-10-04). Source for: the new digital audio system with a built-in amplifier; Apple Pro Speakers based on Harman Kardon technology, 70 Hz to 20 kHz; optional at US$59.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Apple Computer, "Apple Unveils the New iMac", press release, 7 January 2002, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2002/01/07Apple-Unveils-the-New-iMac/ (retrieved 2026-10-04). Source for: the iMac G4's internal 18-watt digital amplifier for Apple Pro Speakers; Apple Pro Speakers included with the 700 MHz and 800 MHz models and available as a build-to-order option.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Apple Computer, Power Mac G4/Macintosh Server G4 Service Source (covers the AGP Graphics, Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio and QuickSilver models), 2002, hosted as File:Power Mac G4 and Macintosh Server G4 Service Source (2002).pdf. Basics, Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio) Views (PDF p. 16); Troubleshooting, Symptom Charts/Sound, "No sound from Apple Pro Speakers when attached to a Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio/QuickSilvers) computer" (PDF p. 252).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Apple Computer, Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors) Service Source, 2002, hosted as File:Power Mac G4 Mirrored Drive Doors Service Source (2002).pdf. Troubleshooting, "No sound from Apple Pro Speakers" (PDF p. 116); rear view naming the Apple Speaker Mini-Jack (PDF p. 127).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dremel Junkie, "Proprietarily Ridiculous - The Apple Pro Speakers", 2 January 2012, http://www.dremeljunkie.com/2012/01/proprietarily-ridiculous.html (retrieved 2026-10-04). Community report: no amplifier in the speakers; Griffin iFire and PowerWave accept the Apple minijack; the plug has six wires, two channels plus two further conductors that run to a small chip in the cable junction; with the junction cut off, the speakers worked from a small 10-20 W amplifier.
- ↑ Dr. Webster, "Use Apple Pro Speakers as normal stereo speakers", Applefritter forum, July 2004, https://www.applefritter.com/node/3904 (retrieved 2026-10-04). Community report: removal of the Y-connector; wire colours and believed polarity; about 30 AWG wire; bright sound with little bass on an ordinary amplifier.