You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Recording Audio via headphone jack

I have an old Pioneer DJM400 mixer. I want to record a vinyl mix into my MacBook Pro 14” 2021 running OS Monterey 12. I thought I would just be able to use an RCA to 3.5mm audio jack, but the Mac doesn’t seem to recognise any external input when I plug this in. I’ve read about using a USB sound card adapter. It just seems crazy to me that on a brand new Mac, I still need to buy more equipment to be able to record. Is there a way to do it with just one cable rather than a cable and adapter? Would an RCA to USB-c cable work? Or is the mixer too old and just not compatible? I don’t know. Any help appreciated! Thanks!

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 12.3

Posted on Oct 14, 2022 10:23 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 16, 2022 7:12 PM

Bingo! I googled the specs on your DJM400 mixer and it has RIAA EQ on the phono inputs. So all you would need is an external USB audio interface (what you called a sound card). Notice in this photo of the back of the DJM400 there are two stereo inputs that can be switched between Line and Phono. In the Phono setting RIAA EQ is enagaged and of course this is where you would connect your turntable.


You will still need a USB audio converter between your DJM400 and your MBP. Be warned, there are a lot of cheap audio converters many of which look like cable adapters ... I would not trust any of them to perform. I'd suggest a Focusrite, Presonus or similar 2-input audio adapter.

Similar questions

9 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 16, 2022 7:12 PM in response to deadwreck3000

Bingo! I googled the specs on your DJM400 mixer and it has RIAA EQ on the phono inputs. So all you would need is an external USB audio interface (what you called a sound card). Notice in this photo of the back of the DJM400 there are two stereo inputs that can be switched between Line and Phono. In the Phono setting RIAA EQ is enagaged and of course this is where you would connect your turntable.


You will still need a USB audio converter between your DJM400 and your MBP. Be warned, there are a lot of cheap audio converters many of which look like cable adapters ... I would not trust any of them to perform. I'd suggest a Focusrite, Presonus or similar 2-input audio adapter.

Oct 15, 2022 4:01 PM in response to deadwreck3000

deadwreck3000 wrote:

I want to record a vinyl mix into my MacBook Pro 14” 2021


There are a number of challenges here.


Apple removed line-input capability from Macs quite a few years ago (around 2015). Even if you could rewire to a 3-ring plug as suggested earlier, with your Pioneer DJM400 you would be running a line-level signal into a mic-level input ... and you would overpower the Mac's input, probably introducing distortion and perhaps risking ruining the input.


Second, all vinyl recordings were done with an EQ called RIAA. You really need this EQ if you want a quality capture from vinyl. Without the RIAA EQ, your digital recordings will have weak bass and excessive treble. Some people feel they can overcome this just by increasing bass & reducing treble but the RIAA curve is not linear and anyway the bass & treble controls only affect a narrow frequency range each whereas the RIAA EQ covers the entire audio spectrum.


What you really need is something that will give you RIAA EQ (aka phono) and convert to USB. Here are a few such devices:


In my own case, I use my (vintage) Yamaha amp that has a phono input (RIAA) and line output. The line out is connected to a stereo input on my Mackie Mixer, and the mixer's USB output is connected to my Mac. I use Felttip Sound Studio to do most of my recordings but lately have been experimenting with Audio Hijack because it has built-in noise reduction that works really well in real time during capture.


Oct 15, 2022 3:50 AM in response to deadwreck3000

In those cables with three RCA plugs (yellow, white and red), the yellow one is for video.


Since you already have a cable with two RCA on one end, and a stereo minijack on the other, all you need now is a simple and inexpensive adapter like this one:



Plug the existing end of your cable to the pink receptacle, and plug the black into your mac.

(the green can be used at the same time to connect headphones).

Oct 16, 2022 2:39 AM in response to MartinR

Some very good points.

I forgot about the line level vs muc level issue.


A cheaper alternative, if one can find it, may be small device that supports both mic level and line level inputs and connects to a mac vis USB. I have had this , the Griffin iMic, for about a decade, and it still works, without the need to install anything, in Monterey. The problem now may just be to find one.

Recording Audio via headphone jack

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.