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OS/X sound output has suddenly become inconsistent – except(!) through headphones!

• Jan 27, 2017 - 00:34

(OS/X El Capitan ...)

I am entirely accustomed to “it just works.™” Plug in the headphones, and hear it through the phones. Unplug them, and within a second or two hear it through the speakers.

However, literally within the last day or two, MuseScore has stopped doing that. I might hear sound through the speakers for the first few measures(!), then it drops out. However, if I listen through the phones, the sound is always good.

What the heck ...?!

Comments

mrobinson

• Jan 27, 2017 - 00:37

Very significantly ...

Whenever this is happening, when I press the “volume” buttons on the keyboard, instead of seeing a volume indication I see a “Do Not Enter” graphic.

. . . as though I am suddenly not allowed to adjust the volume on the speaker.

Quite obviously, this must be something external to MuseScore itself. But, what-the-heck is it?

mrobinson

• Jan 27, 2017 - 00:46

Well, I think I found the problem . . .

From this discussion from 2010:

The red light in the headphone jack means that the MacBook Pro thinks that an optical audio cable is plugged into the port. Like Vinny says, try unplugging and replugging a headphone plug into the port many times. There is a tiny sensor inside the port that determines whether the port operates in optical or analog mode. Plugging something analog in is supposed to trigger the sensor and restore the analog signal.

Sure enough, the “sound” control panel only listed an optical device. So, I started hammering the jack in-and-out until it finally changed back.

“Too much ... tech - nol - o - gy ...”