The Griffin Pro Speaker Breakout Cable (US$25) lets you connect unpowered speakers to your LCD iMac or Digital Audio PowerMac G4. The adapter has a male plug at one end and a block with four spring-loaded, color keyed connectors for speaker wire at the other, much like what you would find on a typical receiver.
The Griffin Pro Speaker Breakout Cable (US$25) lets you connect unpowered speakers to your LCD iMac or Digital Audio PowerMac G4. The adapter has a male plug at one end and a block with four spring-loaded, color keyed connectors for speaker wire at the other, much like what you would find on a typical receiver.
The cable enables the amplifier built into your Mac to power a set of home stereo speakers. I tried this with some Bose Acoustimass III speakers and the amplifier built into the PowerMac combined with the efficiency of the speakers provided a sound level that was more than adequate for me. I am sure some folks will be disappointed that the volume could not be driven much higher. This was a big step up from the powered Cambridge Audio Soundworks speakers I was using previously connected to the headphone jack.
There was no obvious distortion at full volume. An added benefit is one less cord plugged into my power strip. Since I paid for the power amplifier when I bought my PowerMac, it’s nice to make use of it. Initially I was concerned that the adapter might void the warranty of my computer, until I saw that it was available for purchase at the Apple Store. The only glitch I had was not pushing the plug all the way home into the jack at the back of my Quicksilver during the initial installation.