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Just how bad is that tiny speaker in the M1 mini?

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BeatCrazy

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jul 20, 2011
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I ordered a new M1 mini, but desk space is cramped. No built-in speakers on my monitor, either. I do have several nice headphones and headphone amp I plan on using for extended listening/consumption.

But how bad is that tiny speaker for just listening to a 10 minute YouTube video? Unintelligible like previous minis, or can I at least hear dialog?
 
They've said it's as awful as it has ever been on the Mini's. I'd take that exactly as it's said.
 
pmiles said:
They've said it's as awful as it has ever been on the Mini's. I'd take that exactly as it's said.
Click to expand...
Who is they? It's a totally different speaker vs. older models. I'm not expecting hi-fi, I just want to know if it's actually intelligible.
 
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The speaker in my 2011 model is certainly fine for some non-loud music and youtube videos, no problem there at all, and I can only imagine some decent things have happened in 9 years of tech development.
 
www.theverge.com

Apple Mac mini with M1 review: over-performer

The fastest Mac with an M1 chip.
www.theverge.com www.theverge.com

The Bad Stuff: Truly awful speaker

www.macrumors.com

Mac mini: New M4 Chips, Should You Buy?

The Mac mini was updated in October 2024 with a smaller design, Apple's M4 and M4 Pro chips, front USB-C ports, and rear Thunderbolt 4 or...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com

The one other negative that reviewers pointed out was the Mac mini's speaker, which was described as "tinny, hollow, and just plain bad.

arstechnica.com

Mac mini and Apple Silicon M1 review: Not so crazy after all

The M1 is amazingly fast. More importantly, it’s a compatibility slam dunk.
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com

The speaker is bad, frankly; it sounds like an old MacBook Air speaker with the lid closed.

www.computerworld.com

Review: M1 Mac mini shows a bright future for Apple Silicon

Short on flaws and big on promise, the entry-level Mac mini just became a great system to get things done on a budget
www.computerworld.com www.computerworld.com

There’s also a built-in mono speaker, which is the only compromised element in the box.

There are a lot more similar comments...
 
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I never had experience with previous generations of the Mini, but coming from a MBP, yes, the speaker on the Mini is terrible. Does it work? Yep! Would I purposely listen to music or a video for any length of time using it? Nope! I have a UE Boom on my desk that connects via Bluetooth. It’s the size of a tall can of beer so I can’t imagine your desk is so cramped that you couldn’t fit it on there
 
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mdwsta4 said:
I never had experience with previous generations of the Mini, but coming from a MBP, yes, the speaker on the Mini is terrible. Does it work? Yep! Would I purposely listen to music or a video for any length of time using it? Nope! I have a UE Boom on my desk that connects via Bluetooth. It’s the size of a tall can of beer so I can’t imagine your desk is so cramped that you couldn’t fit it on there
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Sure I can fit something of that size. I would prefer a small stereo pair, and typically avoid Bluetooth for speakers that are stationary. I want the connection to work, 100% of the time. Which is not even something I can say about my AirPods.
 
Honestly it's baffling they put a speaker in it at all. You're better off just connecting your Air Pods to it. Heck the cheapest speakers for PC would suffice. That tiny greeting card speaker is good for Apple Boot Chime, lol. That's about it. And error beeps.
 
BeatCrazy said:
Sure I can fit something of that size. I would prefer a small stereo pair, and typically avoid Bluetooth for speakers that are stationary. I want the connection to work, 100% of the time. Which is not even something I can say about my AirPods.
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You always can hang your speakers on the wall.
For amplifier, a small class D amplifier + a laptop adapter (65W) will do just fine. Stick both under your desk, and connect the wire up to the hanging speakers.
 
I have to say I have no problems with the speaker on my 2018 Mini. Sure it's nothing compared to a proper hifi (and I pipe the sound out to my amp when I want to listen to music) but for general use its absolutely fine. Perfectly clear.
 
An inexpensive portable bluetooth speaker may work in your case: Tribit XSound Surf, Anker Soundcore 2, OontZ Angle 3 are all less than $30. For the size they all do really, really well.
 
Answering my own question (M1 mini finally arrived)...

Yeah, it's pretty bad. Not even as good as a laptop speaker(s). It's almost baffling how they can make the iPads sound so good, but the mini is garbage. I realize it's often hidden away and 99% of people will use external speakers. But they have plenty of room inside to make it sound at least as good as an iPad! So you could at least hear it, in a pinch.
 
BeatCrazy said:
I ordered a new M1 mini, but desk space is cramped. No built-in speakers on my monitor, either. I do have several nice headphones and headphone amp I plan on using for extended listening/consumption.

But how bad is that tiny speaker for just listening to a 10 minute YouTube video? Unintelligible like previous minis, or can I at least hear dialog?
Click to expand...
It sounds like the apple watch in a quiet room. If your in a room with no one in it and your just watching dialogue videos from youtube. Its fine, but i still would get $20 amazon speakers
 
jlh22179tx said:
It sounds like the apple watch in a quiet room. If your in a room with no one in it and your just watching dialogue videos from youtube. Its fine, but i still would get $20 amazon speakers
Click to expand...
Ya, Apple Watch - you nailed it.

Agreed, I ordered these from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VVP8BGD/

My M1 mini/home office is in the same rooms as my big B&W 802 floor standing speakers, plus I have nice headphones (and AirPods Max en route) plus DACs/amps. So I don't have a shortage of "good sound", I just need to be able to watch a few minutes of content without firing up all the big guns.
 
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mdwsta4 said:
I never had experience with previous generations of the Mini, but coming from a MBP, yes, the speaker on the Mini is terrible. Does it work? Yep! Would I purposely listen to music or a video for any length of time using it? Nope! I have a UE Boom on my desk that connects via Bluetooth. It’s the size of a tall can of beer so I can’t imagine your desk is so cramped that you couldn’t fit it on there
Click to expand...
This! You could get a pair of UE Booms and pair them as a stereo couple, that way you have stereo sound and the added benefit of freedom to put them away from your desk (on a shelf, on other furniture, etc...)
 
It basically works for basic stuff if you don't have your AirPods nearby or if you can't send to an Airplay receiver. Allows you to listen for a short period of time. I had never thought of it before I purchased my Mac mini, but I have Sonos speakers in my room and I can send my audio with Airplay to these speakers
 
You don't want to rely on the Mini's built-in speaker for anything more than the startup chime.

Either use external speakers or headphones.

There really isn't much more to say about this...
 
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Yes, the built-in speakers is useless as I came to fine out.

The Creative Pebble V2 are small in footprint and sound like decent "built-into-monitor" speakers. So they do the job.

I still would like to find something with slightly better quality, but no bigger in size that these. I don't mind spending $100+.
 
Mac Mini has never had a good speaker. Just assume it has none - and add what you need. A couple of homepod minis?
 
BeatCrazy said:
Yes, the built-in speakers is useless as I came to fine out.

The Creative Pebble V2 are small in footprint and sound like decent "built-into-monitor" speakers. So they do the job.

I still would like to find something with slightly better quality, but no bigger in size that these. I don't mind spending $100+.
Click to expand...

It is meant to just be a speaker for basic computer stuff and for those who do not want speakers on their desktop just to hear basic things.

It does what it is meant to be and I am glad they at least have it and continue to include a speaker. Yes, they can add a better speaker, but for what the purpose of the mini is for it is fine.

That is why they still include a headphone jack. Apple SHOULD make their Home pod and mini able to be hooked up to be speakers for the mac mini and not limited to itunes etc.
 
I have a new m1 mini and I read the reviews about the bad speakers, but honestly, it's not terrible. Yes, it sounds tiny and a little hollow but it's not much different than a cheap TV with speakers and no soundbar.
 
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