Loudness and quality of sound from Macbook unibody speaker

[chp5592]

I'm thinking of getting the Macbook 2.0 ghz model for the family room. I'm wondering about how good and loud the sound quality is from the new Macbook. Kids like to watch slingbox and when I heard the Macbook at store, it didn't sound so great or loud enough. But it could be the high ambient sound of the store.

Any comments or observation?

[MaskingTape]

It does get pretty loud. Much louder than the whitebook. I don't know if it's just my machine tho, but certain things get distorted. Like the ichat sounds sound like they are vibrating the machine. Most things sound fine tho.

[shady825]

I had the white MacBook and now I have the aluminum one. I'd say the aluminum is for sure louder than the white..
Mine jams pretty loud, I think youd be able to get by with the speaker in the MacBook or you could always buy a cheap set of external speakers. I have a pair that came with my dinosaur Dell and they are actually pretty decent.

[MuDPHuDStudent]

Any comments or observation?

Cheap, external speakers are the key to success here. The macbook speakers are okay, but a external speakers will pretty much always be better/louder than anything you can cram into a laptop that's < 1" thick. I have these (http://www.amazon.com/JBL-4951-DUET-Duet-Speakers-White/dp/B0000C3GWU)(and like them), but there are even cheaper (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-S120-Multimedia-Speakers-Black/dp/B000R9AAJA/ref=pd_ts_e_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics) speakers out there.

[desiringGod]

I would hook up a set of external speakers. You should be able to find a pair pretty cheap - you could even check out Circuit City.

[Mikey B]

The aluminums have much much better speakers than the previous models. I'm pretty impressed with them. Obviously they aren't going to compete with external speakers, but for a laptop sound system, they are great.