Macbook - Profigold - Amp = electric shock

[admin_exported]

Hi,

Not sure if this belongs to the HiFi section...

My white macbook is having a sound output problem. I'm using very long (10 meters) cable - it's a Profigold PGA3402 minijack to phono. (http://www.profigoldcables.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=29)

The first thing I've noticed is the electric shocks I'm getting when the minijack is plugged in (when touching the "phono" ends). Any possible explanation of why this is happening?

I turned down the amp and connected it to the macbook and discovered that only one channel is working.

When I plugged the headphones in - there was no sound at all.

I tried this cable with my mp3 player and it works without any problems - so I can assume that its the Macbook problem but before calling Apple I want to see if anyone experienced anything similiar?

Thank you!

 

[up the music]

Electric shocks are easy to explain. The cable carris an electrical signal from Macbook to amp. You can shocks from video cables too. I think you'd need wet fingers or a high volume level to feel it though.

I take it that the amp is working fine and that when you say only one channel is working that you mean you are only getting one channel output from the Macbook.

Try waddling and pushing/pulling and twisting the plug at Macbook end when connected, they don't always make a good connection.

Do you have seperate line out and headphone outs from the Macbook?
If so try the other and see if you experience the same problem.
Those little mini headphone sockets are delicate little things when they take a bump and I've known a few people have to replace them. Fortunately they're dirt cheap, but probably fiddly to replace in a Macbook.

Another less optimistic guess is that shorting the cable with your finger (when you got a shock) could have fried some of the sound card circuitry.

I killed my last internal sound card when I shorted a line input to the PC case. Fortunately it was a cheap nasty card and a PC case is much easier to work in than a Macbook.

If you have fried the soundcard and have a spare USB out, it might be cheaper to get an £18 Maplin USB in to Optical and mini headphone out box than get it fixed.

See here http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=34128

That way you don't need to take the Macbook apart.