Connecting headphones or external speakers to your Mac mini

The Mac mini has a 3.5 mm stereo audio output and a single built-in speaker. If you want to hear stereo sound, connect headphones or a pair of amplified external speakers to the audio output. When speakers or headphones are connected, the internal speaker is muted.

If you don't want to hear sound from the internal speaker, press the "mute" button on an Apple keyboard, or turn the volume down.

The Mac mini's audio output has the following characteristics:

• Output level: 1.4V RMS

• Source impedance: 10 ohms (Ω)

• Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR): >90 dB unweighted, >94 dB (A)

• Total harmonic distortion (THD): 0.005 percent (%) or less

You can also connect USB-compliant speakers to one of the Mac mini's USB ports.

The Mac mini (Early 2006) and later models feature a combination audio output port that accommodates both analog and digital output. For digital audio output, you can use a standard TOSLINK cable with a TOSLINK mini-plug adapter. For the Mac mini (Mid 2010) and later models, you can also use the Apple iPhone headset with microphone through the audio output port.