Audio output quality issues with MBP?

[mantic]

I connected my MBP to my home stereo and the audio quality was less then good. It didn't hold a candle what a CD sounds like through my home player. Anyone know what the issue is here?

When i get home i'm going to compare a CD played through my MBP and a the same CD played through my home CD player and see if it's really an output problem or just the media i was using earlier. It seems muffled and too much bass and not enough mid or trebble.

 

[Shaduu]

I connected my MBP to my home stereo and the audio quality was less then good. It didn't hold a candle what a CD sounds like through my home player. Anyone know what the issue is here?

When i get home i'm going to compare a CD played through my MBP and a the same CD played through my home CD player and see if it's really an output problem or just the media i was using earlier. It seems muffled and too much bass and not enough mid or trebble.

What filetype were you using and was this with optical out or standard 3.5mm?

 

[mantic]

I played a CD through both my MBP into my reciever and my cd player into my reciever.. There is very noticable loss in audio quality when playing through the MBP compared to the CD.. Think comparing a tape to a CD. It's pretty bad. Both the laptop and cd player are connected using standard RCA connectors.

This is very dissapointing. I planed on putting all my CDs up and using my computer as a media center.

Is there something i may be overlooking that would cause this?

 

[faintember]

Are you playing the CD through iTunes? Is there a EQ that is enabled in iTunes?

Keep the MBP volume at around 75%-80%, and then adjust the volume on your receiver to your liking.

Also, you are dealing with the MBP's DAC/ADC rather than the one in your stereo, and this can make a difference. A 1/8" to RCA cable could be bad, or it could be something else like a bad audio card in your MBP.

 

[mantic]

Are you playing the CD through iTunes? Is there a EQ that is enabled in iTunes?

Keep the MBP volume at around 75%-80%, and then adjust the volume on your receiver to your liking.

Also, you are dealing with the MBP's DAC/ADC rather than the one in your stereo, and this can make a difference. A 1/8" to RCA cable could be bad, or it could be something else like a bad audio card in your MBP.

Yes it was played through iTunes. The EQ was set to flat. The thing is.. The CD sounds the same as my converted files of the same CD.

With the volume turned all the way up on my MBP it's still significantly quieter then my CD player and lacks the clarity, crispness, and punch. Not what I expected at all.

 

[faintember]

Still try to keep the MBP volume a bit below 100%, just to eliminate any possible distortion at that end.

The thing is.. The CD sounds the same as my converted files of the same CD.

Do you have a really nice CD player? I know that my old HHB CD recorder/player sounds cleaner than my MB.

The other thing is does your current stereo have a EQ that is enabled? Try ripping the raw .aiff files off the CD and play them back just to see if that improves it.

 

[mantic]

Still try to keep the MBP volume a bit below 100%, just to eliminate any possible distortion at that end.

Do you have a really nice CD player? I know that my old HHB CD recorder/player sounds cleaner than my MB.

The other thing is does your current stereo have a EQ that is enabled? Try ripping the raw .aiff files off the CD and play them back just to see if that improves it.

The CD player is just an old Kenwood nothing really special. The reciever is an Onkyo and does not have built in EQs. I tried an .aiff file with the same results. I'm just kinda scratching my head right now. The quailty shouldn't be that bad. I'd much rather dig through CDs and play them then listen the audio quality it's putting out.

 

[faintember]

Does the CD and the ripped audio sound OK when played via the internal speakers? Does the same issue happen with other CDs? The other option is to try a pair of headphones on the MBP to check the results, or change the input you are using on the receiver, just incase something is going wrong there.

It's starting to sound like your MBP has a audio card issue.

Edit: Try the headphones on both the MBP and on the receiver if possible.

 

[mantic]

Does the CD and the ripped audio sound OK when played via the internal speakers? Does the same issue happen with other CDs? The other option is to try a pair of headphones on the MBP to check the results, or change the input you are using on the receiver, just incase something is going wrong there.

It's starting to sound like your MBP has a audio card issue.

Edit: Try the headphones on both the MBP and on the receiver if possible.

It seems to sound ok through the internal speakers but they aren't that great to start with. I just hooked it up to my desktop speakers and it pretty decent. Maybe it's a RCA issue? I've tried two different sets of cables and they both sound the same. I also changed the input i was using to the CD input on my reciever and it sounds the same as the others. I'm not certain it's a connection problem yet though 'cause the speakers and headphones I have aren't the best. It does seem to sound better though through the desktop speakers.

 

[killmoms]

Not sure what to tell you besides "use digital," and depending on the age of your Onkyo receiver that might not be an option.

 

[typerlover]

I haven't been too impressed with the headphone out on the MBP. Sound quality was really pretty poor on a couple of nice headphones. Even when plugged into my bro's iMac, which is supposedly nearly identical, it sounded much much better.

 

[faintember]

I run an 1/8"toRCA out to my stereo for casual listening, and it works fine on my MB (and the cable itself is not an expensive one), and, strangely enough is ran into a Onyko receiver.

I do know that the signal coming from my MB is not as hot as the signal coming from my Onyko 5-disk changer or from my HHB CDR (although it is on my more expensive system). For instance, CD playback via the Onyko has the receiver set around --36, while playback from my MB is around --22. Though there is not a major sound difference this way, and actually the sound difference is fairly slight given the setup.