Mac Pro Boot Chime is Only Internal

[mikeybird]

I've tried and tried.

Is there any way I can get the chime to come from the Line Out jack? All output is all routed this way, to a hi-fi amp and floorstanding speakers, just as it was my G4 Desktop - the chime is full-bodies and beautiful, with real bass!

Do I need a firmware update? Who would ever design such a product with this limitation?

 

[DanielCoffey]

It is intentional, but I don't know the reason why.

 

[tengo84]

IIRC the chime only plays internally ever since the transition to Intel.

 

[mikeybird]

For a professional musician, that's like company policy not allowing coffee in the studio, and no home button on an iPhone.

If Jony Ive had been involved with hardware, he would have said "make sure sound output is all set as it was in SysPrefs"

It was a clear huge improvement over G4 sound hardware! Every tune played on the Mac Pro now sounds like I just bought a brand new CD player, costing 10x more than the last one.

At least I still have my G4, although not connected to the amp. That's a huge oversight. Some might think of the chime is just a silly little noise from somewhere under a desk, but if only it was directed to studio monitors or floorstanders, it truly sounded (G4) like every instrument in an orchestra playing a C# all at once, including cymbals and bass drums! That's a start to a day, with no need for caffeine.

 

[tengo84]

I agree, it's a shame we can't hear the chime through external speakers. If you're interested, I have an imperfect solution for you.

Download and install StartupSound by Arcana Research. It will add a controller for the internal chime in the System Preferences. Use it to mute the chime. Restart a couple times and verify the chime is muted. Next, search for and download your favorite Mac startup sound. It should be available somewhere on the Internetz. Then, download Play Sound by Microcosm Software and copy it to your app folder.

Right click your downloaded sound file, select Open With, select Other, select Play Sound and check the box "Always Open With". Lastly, go to System Preferences, Accounts, Login Items, click the + sign, and add the sound file to your login items.

That should do it. Works for me, I'm using 10.6.8. The downside is that the chime plays only AFTER the log in screen. That's why I say it's an imperfect solution.