iMac G3 Speakers

[noscrazy]

Hi guys,

Been a long term of user of this forum however I have only just registered now!

Got a quick question, I'm building an iMac G3 Case Mod with Mini-ITX parts etc. I was planning on swapping out the speakers for some simple USB powered ones, however my step-dad seems to think that I can re-use the original speakers by just wiring them into a 3.5mm Jack. Is it really as simple as this? I asked him about the lack of amplification and he said it will be amplified by the Motherboards jack input, is this true? I'm not really convinced. Sorry if this sounds stupid, I have never dealt with anything audio related before (hence why I just wanted to use USB speakers). If I do need some sort of amp, does anyone have any links to some recommended ones to use?

Thanks!!

 

[ShatteredAvenger]

You're both correct to an extent, hah. I don't know the specs on the iMac G3 speakers, but they probably could be amplified by the motherboard HOWEVER they will be far too quiet to really be usable. You could potentially build a USB amplifier for them, but that juice may not be worth the squeeze.

 

[noscrazy]

You're both correct to an extent, hah. I don't know the specs on the iMac G3 speakers, but they probably could be amplified by the motherboard HOWEVER they will be far too quiet to really be usable. You could potentially build a USB amplifier for them, but that juice may not be worth the squeeze.

Thanks for your reply. I had a monitor with built-in speakers last week which I threw away and never thought that there could of been an amp in that which I could have salvaged, damn. Do you know of anything cheap which I could buy from Amazon/eBay to use as an amplifier? Not entirely sure what to look for!

 

[ShatteredAvenger]

aww nuts! I don't know anything off the top of my head, but something like this board could work. You should have space in their thankfully to be able to wire something like that and still keep it separate from the motherboard. If you go the USB route, you could probably even just tap into the power supply and go from there. I don't think it'd be too difficult- could be fun! Especially with those tiny speakers, you don't need too much power to them. I don't know what the G3 speakers were rated at, but I'm sure you can find that info if you search around.

Keep us updated here!

 

[noscrazy]

aww nuts! I don't know anything off the top of my head, but something like this board could work. You should have space in their thankfully to be able to wire something like that and still keep it separate from the motherboard. If you go the USB route, you could probably even just tap into the power supply and go from there. I don't think it'd be too difficult- could be fun! Especially with those tiny speakers, you don't need too much power to them. I don't know what the G3 speakers were rated at, but I'm sure you can find that info if you search around.

Keep us updated here!

I tested the iMac speakers and they sound pretty horrid really when the volume is anything above 30%, I think they might be rotted/blown, so I guess I won't be reusing them after all! I did test them a couple of weeks ago but not for very long so I thought they were fine. I've decided I'm gonna fit these in place of them https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006CONPBY/?tag=tonymacx86-21 as the dimensions of these are almost the same as the originals so no casing modifications should be required. These probably won't sound all that good but at least I'll have some sort of audio