iMac 27 retina 5k 2020 inbuilt speaker sound quality and other items

[goejoe]

I just got a 27 inch retina 5k 2020 iMac (to run 64bit applications). This sits next to a 'late' 2012 27 iMac. The sound quality for the 2020 is very poor especially when compared to the 2012 to the extent that running zoom/skype etc is now very difficult to understand. The sound is not distorted, just very muffled. I have raised this with apple & they have checked the machine as best they can remotely.
Is this a common issue or do I have a faulty unit?
The new machine is also much slower to hot boot and has some issue with wrongly ejected devices that the old machine does not have.
Is this the way it goes these days?

 

[CheesePuff]

Hmm, that doesn't sound right. I had a 2015 27" 5K and now a 2020 27" 5K that I've used for almost a full year in countless Zoom, etc meetings and for music, it sounds just as clear and loud as the 2015 but slightly improved (as the T2 is handling the audio output)

 

[goejoe]

Thanks Cheesepuff. sounding like a faulty unit. Will await apple response.

 

[CheesePuff]

Thanks Cheesepuff. sounding like a faulty unit. Will await apple response.

Yeah I agree, also with the slow boot time. While its not astoundingly faster then my 2015 (with SSD) it is indeed faster at a cold boot.

 

[wilberforce]

Definitely not right. My 2020 iMac is perfectly clear for Zoom etc meetings, I can hear what is said clearly from the other side of the room, and is an improvement over my 2014 iMac, a fuller and richer and clear sound. Zero complaints with the sound.

 

[RossH51]

Agree with above. Sounds like a fault. On my 2020 27" is very good and better than 2015 it replaced. I found boot (cold or hot) time slowed when I went from Catalina to Big Sur. There is a pause about half way through on the boot progress. All else ok though.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Thanks Cheesepuff. sounding like a faulty unit. Will await apple response.

There are nothing to wait here.
Try various type of music and sounds at the highest volume.
If the issue persists, it's the audio processing cirrcuit broken down. Get it replaced is the only solution for you.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Agree with above. Sounds like a fault. On my 2020 27" is very good and better than 2015 it replaced. I found boot (cold or hot) time slowed when I went from Catalina to Big Sur. There is a pause about half way through on the boot progress. All else ok though.

I believe that’s the T2 chip being booted up. For example, until that pause on my MBP, the touchbar and keyboard backlight are non-operational. It’s at that pause that the touchbar springs to life and the keyboard lights up.