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Apple details use of high-impedance headphones with new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro

With the arrival of the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, Apple has updated its support guide pages with additional information regarding some of its new features.

This time, the company is explaining how users can take advantage of high-impedance headphones with the new MacBook Pro models.

On the support page, Apple explains that the 3.5mm headphone jack on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2021 features “DC load detection and adaptive voltage output,” which means your Mac can “detect the impedance of the connected device and will adapt its output for low- and high-impedance headphones, as well as for line-level audio devices.”

When you connect headphones with an impedance of less than 150 ohms, the headphone jack provides up to 1.25 volts RMS. For headphones with an impedance of 150 to 1k ohms, the headphone jack delivers 3 volts RMS. This may remove the need for an external headphone amplifier.

Apple also highlights that the new MacBook Pro features a built-in digital-to-analog converter that supports sample rates of up to 96 kHz, which means Hi-Res Lossless for audio aficionados that are subscribed to Apple Music.

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The company says users can “enjoy high-fidelity, full-resolution audio directly from the headphone jack on your MacBook Pro.”

Not only that, but Apple also recently published another support page article about High Power Mode, which can improve performance for graphics-intensive tasks, and it’s exclusive to M1 Max on 16-inch MacBook Pro.

In a support document, the company says that High Power Mode can improve performance for grueling graphics-intensive tasks. High Power Mode effectively allows the fans to run at higher speeds. The better cooling inherent to the larger laptop allows the M1 Max chip to be pushed to the extreme.

You can learn more about the new MacBook Pro here.

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