2012 Mac Mini plays through optical out but not usb.

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2012 Mac Mini plays through optical out but not usb.

I have been using this older Mac Mini, 2012 OS 10.15 Catalina as a music server for my digitized music. It worked just fine with a NuPrime DAC through the USB output, but I gave that DAC to my son and have an Anthem STR Integrated Amplifier with built in DAC. The Mac Mini recognizes the device and plays fine through the headphone optical output as digital out. However it will not play through the USB output even though Sound Preferences and Audio Midi, show the choice between digital out and STR Amp. I have tried all 4 USB ports and connected another computer running Catalina which plays fine through the USB input of the amplifier. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I may try reloading the OS in recovery mode, but would appreciate other possibilities. Thank you.

Earlier Mac models

Posted on May 13, 2025 12:59 PM

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Answer 1

spinosaurus Author

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May 14, 2025 09:39 AM in response to spinosaurus

BTW, tried putting a Dragonfly DAC in a USB port, the computer recognizes that it is there but if you choose it and try playing it, music only comes through the built in Mac Mini speaker so for some reason digitized music is not going through the USB ports for any device. Still plays fine when I plug in the adapter and optical cord to the DAC. Defies my analysis unless the headphone jack is not disconnecting when the plug for the optical Toslink cable is pulled out. But that does not seem to be the case since the internal speaker plays when it’s unplugged. I must be missing something.

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Answer 2

spinosaurus Author

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May 14, 2025 08:48 AM in response to spinosaurus

Reloaded OS 10.15.7 on the Mac mini, no change, tried resetting the SMC, no change. I guess it doesn’t handshake properly with the DAC unless someone has another idea.

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2012 Mac Mini plays through optical out but not usb.

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