Am I to understand that music is the only thing you want to listen on your tv ?
If so,you don't need an HDMI cable at all.Just buy a 3.5mm to RCA cable,and then you will be able to plug your MacBook (or any computer/laptop) on your tv and listen to audio only(no video).The audio quality might not be the best but I don't think you can expect a better audio quality with the apple TV.


You would just plug the stereo connector in your lapotp's headphones jack,and the 2 rca connectors in one of your analog TV input.Then select that input on your tv and the audio will play.You can controll it from your laptop.

If your priority is audio and you don't have a networked TV,then the apple TV might not be a bad choice.I was assuming you wanted to use it for movies.