I write this with the intention to shed som light on a much asked but much lesser answered question. Can my MAC record, in stereo, via the audio port?

Well first of all, with the right model of MAC, YES!

You do NOT have to invest in a USB sound card or other external active hardware. All you have to do is to buy the right cord and make the right configurations.

I wanted to rip some favorite songs from some vinyl records for personal use and this is how I did it;

THE RIGHT MAC MODEL
You need a MAC that can record via the audio port. Not all MAC’s can do that so some hardware research has to be done to find out if you own such a MAC. My mac is a MAC Book pro, Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012 and this model is capable of recording.

The audio port is often quite cleverly disguised as a headphone jack, but on some models the “headphone jack” is actually a trifunctional port containing optical audio, audio out and audio in. It is best used with line signal so a preamplifier of some sort is needed. My very own stereo amp was perfect.

THE RIGHT CORD
Then you need a cord that put the output from the amp to the input of the MAC. I was unable to find this information on the internet. I am sure it is there somewhere, but one of the problems with owning a MAC is that the community of owners often are not that technical. And a question like this is VERY often met with the i-dont-know-shit-of-what-you-are-asking-but-i-am-full-with-infomation-of-it-anyhow attitude.

Well the cord you should use is the type shown in the picture below. If you live in Sweden, Clas Ohlson sells them for 80:-


First i tried with a “normal” RCA to 3,5 mm stereo plug but got only left channel audio. The cord you should use is the 4-ring type with the microphone on the sleeve. Look at the picture below. You should use the one to the right marked (apple).

SOME CONFIGURATION
Then you need to make you MAC listen. You do that by switching the “headphone jack” from output to input. If you have the audio symbol on the menu bar you can simply hold the ALT-button and klick on the symbol and choose a unit for “Sound input”. It should be named something with “line in”.

If you haven’t put the sound symbol on the menu bar, you need to go to system settings and choose audio. Check the “show volume in menu bar”. That will make it easier for you to switch.

You also need recording software and my recommendation here is Audacity.

Good luck!