Keyboard / Remote Volume & Soundsticks

[MacUserSince87]

Well I got the new iMac 24" 2.8Mhz on schedule and all I can say is AWESOME.

I hooked up the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks (USB) I'd been running on my G4 AGP and discovered that while they work OK and the menubar volume control will control them but the key board F10 - F12 button and wireless controller don't. They only control the system beeps through the iMac speakers despite the fact I have the preferences set to use the sticks for system sounds.

I checked the Harmon Kardon site and didn't see any indication that there were any drivers involved.

Any clues?

 

[rainydays]

Go into Utilities->Audio MIDI Setup and check that the speakers are selected for both default output and system output. Hope that helps.

 

[MacUserSince87]

Go into Utilities->Audio MIDI Setup and check that the speakers are selected for both default output and system output. Hope that helps.

Thanks... Checked there and both were set to Soundsticks

 

[MacUserSince87]

Does this affect other USB speaker systems?

Digging a bit deeper I've come across some references which seem to indicate that the inability of the keyboard and remote to control the volume for external USB controlled speakers is the result of some flaw in Tiger.

That would seem to explain why I could control volume of the Soundsticks from the KB on my G4 which is running 10.3.9 but not on the iMac.

Is anyone else using a USB speaker system and encountering a similar lack of KB / remote control of volume?

 

[rainydays]

I'm using a Firewire interface which cannot even be controlled by the volume control in the menu bar. But I think that's a limitation of the driver, because I could do it with my last FW interface.

 

[MacUserSince87]

Now its working....

For reasons I really don't understand -- I don't recall changing anything or rebooting -- the keyboard and remote now are controlling the USB connected SoundSticks

Very strange....