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Internal speakers on Mac Studio
- Thread starter steve217
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I misread the OP, the internal speaker isn't as good. But since I only hear that on startup, it's a non issue for me.
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True... but my M1 Mac mini's speaker is so bad, even the startup chime is painful.
I didn't hear the Mac Studio speaker, but I very much doubt it is better than the iMac speakers.
Better and louder than the Mini. Wouldn't want to have it be the only source of audio though, but fine in a pinch.
He talks about the speakers in the Studio Display, does not say word one about the speaker in the Mac Studio...
From the 2020 ASi M1 Mac mini teardown video & this Max Tech 2022 M1 Ultra Mac Studio teardown, the speaker looks to be the same in both...?
Haven't heard them for myself but I also saw a video on YouTube and the internal speaker was very tinny and poor. Obviously it can be used as a backup should your speakers fail or whatever, but using a set of proper speakers is a given.
They're better than my iMac 2012 27". I think they're pretty good. Definitely no HK or BW though.
They basically sound like a cheap $15 speaker that you'd get off of ebay, turned all the way up and placed inside of a sealed box. My kids have a pair of $20 Logitech speakers that sound better than the Mac Studio's speaker.
The internal speaker on the Mac Studio is for emergency use only...
Yeah, it's a shame they couldn't afford to put a speaker in the Mac Studio that would match even a low end $20 speaker.
...and putting $1 speakers in a headless desktop would be a waste of 50c.
They're perfectly adequate for playing desktop alert sounds and being able to hear the speech on videos. Which is exactly what is needed. It's supposed to be a "modular" system - if you need high quality sound you add whatever type of external speakers or headphones are most appropriate to your work.
Apple have tried a bit harder with the iMac, MacBook Pro and the Studio Display (...which I haven't heard so I'm assuming that it's just a bit better than the 27" iMac) - and even the iPad. Those speakers are absolutely amazing considering the space constraints, but the key there is "considering the space constraints" - they're still blown away by any half-decent external speakers. In those cases, we're talking about all-in-one or mobile devices where there's a reasonable use case for having them work well as self-contained devices.
The Mac Studio is intended to be connected to external peripherals - and a significant part of the target market of the Mac Studio is video and audio work where audio quality matters, and users are not going to be satisfied by any speakers that will fit into a Mac Studio-size computer. Sure, Apple could have made the Studio a bit taller and fitted in a Homepod - but what for?
Correct and that’s how it should be. This machine is a headless desktop. It’s made to be used with other peripherals, including speakers.
For audio or video professionals - whom this desktop is marketed towards, we all have dedicated DAC’s and studio monitors.
They're definitely terrible but I never expected otherwise. I've always considered external speakers to be essential in my setup.
FWIW it’s better than the Mac Pro 5,1’s internal speaker
I don’t mind watching some YouTube videos or listening to a podcast using the internal speaker. It saves me turning on all my gear when I’m not doing ‘real work’ (music)
I don’t mind watching some YouTube videos or listening to a podcast using the internal speaker. It saves me turning on all my gear when I’m not doing ‘real work’ (music)
My m1 mini and my Studio sit one atop the other, so for ***** and giggles I compared the speakers on each with a couple of tracks. I'm not going to pretend I did a big double-blind test, but The Studio's speaker is better than the mini's. Still pretty crap, but definitely, clearly better.
I agree with doyouspeakwingdings. For my $4500 Mac Studio, I'd expect the speakers to be at least like my 12 year old mid 2010 iMac this is replacing. I mean I'm not a gaming geek, but I want to hear some tunes while I work. I will try to get a mini display adapter and use the old iMac for a monitor and hope I can get the sound coming out of it. Fingers crossed.
Save your cash - you can't use the 2010 iMac as an external monitor on modern computers, Apple have bizarrely disabled that functionality.
support.apple.com
Use your iMac as a display with target display mode - Apple Support
Target display mode is a feature available with certain older Mac models.
Expectations may vary - I'd never expect a headless desktop to have speakers good for anything more than system beeps. The Studio speaker(s?) are more than adequate in that respect and tick the "better than nothing" box - I've heard worse portable radios, and the speakers in my 4k display are, well, differently bad.
The iMac was sold as an all-in-one so you'd expect better - and it's pretty impressive sound for anything built in to a display - even so, I wouldn't listen to an iMac if listening to quarter-decent external speakers was an option.
NB: The Studio doesn't officially support 2010 iMac as a display but - considering that people have reportedly used those iMacs as PC display I don't see why you shouldn't at least get a picture with a USB-C to MiniDP, so it might be worth taking a gamble on a cable. Sound may be another matter. Just remember (you probably know this, but PSA...). that the Apple TB3 to TB2 dongle is *not* what you need.