Play high sample rate digital audio on Mac computers

The audio hardware in some MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and iMac computers supports 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz digital audio when connected using optical output.

These computers support up to 192 kHz sample rate for audio playback:

  • MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) through MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
  • MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) through MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
  • iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014) through iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2014)
  • iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)
  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) through iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
  • Mac Pro (Late 2013) 
  • Mac mini (Late 2014) 

To set your Mac to play high sample rate audio:

  1. Connect one end of a TOSLINK optical cable to the headphone port on your Mac, and connect the other end to your audio device, such as an AV receiver.
  2. Open Audio MIDI Setup, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  3. Select your audio device from the list on the left side of the Audio Devices window.
  4. If necessary, choose “Use this device for sound output” from the Action pop-up menu   .
  5. Select a sample rate, such as 176400.0 Hz or 192000.0 Hz, from the Format pop-up menu.

If the audio hardware in your Mac doesn't support high sample rate audio, you can use a third-party digital audio interface.

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