Unable to use digital optical/headphone jack as an audio output device after installing monitor on mac mini

[rainforest1]

I recently bought a BenQ SW2700PT Monitor. It is connected, via a Displayport cable, to a late 2014 mac mini. As you probably know, the headphone jack on the mac mini also doubles as an optical digital audio output. Before I purchased the Benq I had been using the headphone/digital optical output on the mini to connect, via Toslink, to a quality digital to analog convertor that is then connected to my audio system. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a way to bypass the Benq monitor's speakers and use the optical digital audio output on my mac. The only device for sound output listed in system preferences/sound or midi setup is "internal speakers" and it is now defaulting to the built in speakers in the Benq. Is there any way I can regain access to the mac mini headphone/digital optical output? Can it be added as a separate sound output device? Or is there any other work around?

Since I have a large collection of high resolution digital music I like to listen to, this has been a huge disappointment. I should add that there are no useable controls for Audio on the monitor - they are currently greyed out. Any Help much appreciated!

[17629v2]

You may be able to run a toslink cable from your monitor to your dac. Another option is to use a DVI connection. You can get adapters if your components don't support it. DVI only carries video, so your audio will be "forced" to go a different route. As far as I know, DVI picture quality is the same as hdmi or dp.

[rainforest1]

You may be able to run a toslink cable from your monitor to your dac. Another option is to use a DVI connection. You can get adapters if your components don't support it. DVI only carries video, so your audio will be "forced" to go a different route. As far as I know, DVI picture quality is the same as hdmi or dp.

 

Thanks for your suggestions but unfortunately you can only get 1920x1200 resolution via DVI on the mac mini. I am currently getting 2560x1440 using DisplayPort 1.2 which is the main reason I bought the monitor - I do a lot of Photoshop and Lightroom work. The Benq earphone jack is not an optical digital output as well as an earphone so I would not be able to send any high rez music to my stereo setup.Thanks again.

[rainforest1]

Hey!….I contacted Apple Support and they suggested that I try a different cable other than the Displayport cable provided. I shouId add that when I was using the DisplayPort cable a Menu on the my Benq for audio was greyed out. I had seen a youtube video that showed a PC user using the audio control to mute the built in speakers on a different model Benq but took this to mean that we Apple users were just being mistreated again. But voila, after installing the HDMI cable the Audio control was visible and I was able to mute the Benq’s internal speakers. This fixed the problem of the mac mini’s earphone/digital optical port being shut down and unusable. Great to hear music again. Many thanks Apple Support!