Low headphone volume on 15" Unibody Macbook Pro

[magiorbi]

I just got a new refurbished Spring 2.5 GHz i5 Macbook Pro, and upgraded it to 10.6.6 yesterday. The speaker volume is great. But the headphone volume is very low in comparison to my old 2007 15" Macbook Pro.

I don't think it's my earbuds -- the volume is not low when I plug them into my 2007 MBP, my PC or in my iPod nano. But on the new Macbook Pro it's very low. My old MBP is also running 10.6.6.

Is this a problem with my computer? Is it a problem with the new unibody MBP's in general? Is there a way to make the headphone volume louder? I'm NOT getting any warning lights and the headphones show up in the system preferences. Thanks for any advice.

 

[deeesea]

Does itunes have soundcheck on? (assuming you're using itunes)
also, perhaps you're using different files and the gain on them is different?

 

[magiorbi]

Does itunes have soundcheck on? (assuming you're using itunes)
also, perhaps you're using different files and the gain on them is different?

Thanks for the quick reply! The problem occurs for all sound -- YouTube, iTunes, system sounds, everything. I even switched to the guest user account and the headphone audio is still low.

What do you mean by "different files and the gain on them is different"?

 

[Kyzelios]

In my experience, the output volume and clarity on my MacBook Pro is excellent compared to other notebook computers that I've used over the past few years. I'm able to use both my Sennheiser headphones and my Apple Earbuds with Remote and Mic at the same volume level in System Preferences (which is set to 15%) with the volume in iTunes set to 100% quite comfortably.

Have you tried a different set of headphones just to rule them out as a possible cause?

 

[ddehr026]

Check sys pref's->sound->output when your earbuds are plugged in and see if anything is whacky there, also.

 

[magiorbi]

Check sys pref's->sound->output when your earbuds are plugged in and see if anything is whacky there, also.

What wacky things should I look for? I've done that and all seems to be reporting normally. Judging by your responses I'm beginning to think this problem isn't normal then and something is wrong with the computer. Maybe it's a sign not to buy a refurbished machine, even from Apple?

Have any of you switched from an '07 MBP to a unibody MBP and noticed a difference in the headphone output volume of the newer model when compared to the old model?