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Griffin Pro Speaker Breakout Cable

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.

By Jason O'Grady

Founded the PowerPage in 1995.