Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

2010 MBA owners, How is your MBA's speaker?

H

hcho3

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 13, 2010
2,783
0
I only have MBP and I never owned MBA in my life. I am interested in buying 13.3 inch 2010 MBA. Question is...

How is the speaker compare to MBP?

My local apple store still doesn't have 13.3 inch MBA in display. They only have 11.6 in display. I tried speaker test on Rev C MBA and it was horrible. It was not good enough, period. Is the new one better? Please let me know thanks.
 
You are right it sucks, i saw a movie with all the volume up and i couldnt hear well, music the same, you cant use it for a party, this wasnt a problem with my previous MBP or obviously not with my imac 27. I know it is mobile but cmon the mba 11 speakers suck.
 
Yeah... The MBA11" speakers are pretty bad, even compared to my Alu uMB. The older MB had pretty bad speakers too, but I was ok with it for my MBA because I will be using headphones while on the go.
 
secretpact said:
How about the 13"'s speakers?
Also, the 11" vibrates when the sound is on high.
Click to expand...

The 13" MBA speakers imo are better than the 13" MBP, but not as good as the 15". They are much better than the 11" MBA and previous gen MBA's. Somehow they managed to put a fairly full range speaker with decent volume in the 13" MBA. I don't have a 15" MPB handy to compare... but if the 13" MBP is a 1 and the 15" MBP speakers are a 10, I'd give the 13" MBA around a 6.

Just my 2 cents :)
 
NiceAndTerse said:
Not very good.
Click to expand...

Uh oh...
I am heading back to apple store this weekend to test speaker for sure. REV C speaker was bad. REAL BAD. I couldn't hear a thing at the store. MBP 13 inch speaker is loud and clear.

NOT GOOD!!!!
 
totally disagree

I have to totally disagree with everyone here... I just received my 11"MBA and I think the speakers are a real surprise. Of course they aren't on-par with the iMacs or anything, but compared to my old white MB they are amazing. It's actually surprising how much volume can come out of such a tiny machine. On the other hand, I ordered an external monitor with speakers (ViewSonic) and while the display is beautiful the speakers are 10x worse than the MBA. I'll definitely be using the internal ones all of the time.
 
Compared to my 2008 MBP, the speakers on the 13" aren't too bad. They don't sound quite as deep as the MBP, but I have had much worse on other laptops.
 
The best way to describe it is



meh.



at best. - based on the 11.

It's functional barely.. it's louder than the original mba I owned for all of a week... but very shallow sounding.
 
I know the iPad has a long resonant bass chamber which makes the internal speaker decent for how small the device is. Can anyone compare the 11" MBA speaker with the iPad's for fun?
 
secretpact said:
How about the 13"'s speakers?
Also, the 11" vibrates when the sound is on high.
Click to expand...

I don't know your expectations for the laptop but for me these speakers are good, it's really loud in my opinion and I can't see any problem with it. And I don't think you want this kind of speakers for a party anyway.
 
gatearray said:
I know the iPad has a long resonant bass chamber which makes the internal speaker decent for how small the device is. Can anyone compare the 11" MBA speaker with the iPad's for fun?
Click to expand...

not as loud, not as rich, on the 11"

the ipad was already pushing it imo.
 
hcho3 said:
I only have MBP and I never owned MBA in my life. I am interested in buying 13.3 inch 2010 MBA. Question is...

How is the speaker compare to MBP?

My local apple store still doesn't have 13.3 inch MBA in display. They only have 11.6 in display. I tried speaker test on Rev C MBA and it was horrible. It was not good enough, period. Is the new one better? Please let me know thanks.
Click to expand...
My 13 speaks are great. About the same as my 2010 MBP.
 
secretpact said:
How about the 13"'s speakers?
Also, the 11" vibrates when the sound is on high.
Click to expand...
I have the 13" and a good friend has the 11" we've compared them side by side taking everything into consideration. The sound of mine is certainly better than the 11" but I won't use it. I have high end ear buds I use for their stellar sound and the advantage of noise cancellation.
 
Speakers from best to worst:

1. unibody MBP 17"
2. unibody MBP 15"
3. new MBA 13"
4. new MBA 11"
5. iPad (iPad's speaker may be slightly better, but since it's mono, I'll give the edge to MBA 11")
6. unibody MBP 13"
7. unibody white MacBook
8. 2008-9 MBA

I have used every machine for a considerable amount of time in a quiet environment.
 
drjsway said:
Speakers from best to worst:

1. unibody MBP 17"
2. unibody MBP 15"
3. new MBA 13"
4. new MBA 11"
5. iPad (iPad's speaker may be slightly better, but since it's mono, I'll give the edge to MBA 11")
6. unibody MBP 13"
7. unibody white MacBook
8. 2008-9 MBA

I have used every machine for a considerable amount of time in a quiet environment.
Click to expand...

Knowing most of these myself, I gotta agree with this highscore list ;)

JPSensei said:
You are right it sucks, i saw a movie with all the volume up and i couldnt hear well, music the same, you cant use it for a party, this wasnt a problem with my previous MBP or obviously not with my imac 27. I know it is mobile but cmon the mba 11 speakers suck.
Click to expand...

I don't understand this either.. What do you mean - use it for a party?! You are using a MBP or an iMac for music at a PARTY?? How does that work??
 
hachre said:
Knowing most of these myself, I gotta agree with this highscore list ;)



I don't understand this either.. What do you mean - use it for a party?! You are using a MBP or an iMac for music at a PARTY?? How does that work??
Click to expand...

Man, what a lame party!
 
the speakers on the 11.6" are adequate. They are good for music, but not for movies. It's difficult to hear the dialogue
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back