M1 iMac speakers

[mfacey]

Considering it's one of the new iMac's selling points, I'm not overly excited about the speakers; to be precise the sound they put out. I feel it lacks high end treble and is trying too hard to produce bass. What we end up with is what seems to be kind of a "muffled" sound, almost like they put a towel over a decent speaker. I get that they're making the most of a pretty terrible enclosure for speakers, but it just sounds bad to my ears. Or is it just me?

 

[aakshey]

The speakers suck. I prefer the speakers of my iPad Pros. But the iMac M1 is the best Apple product I’ve ever owned. Bar none. Period.

No, that’s the AirPods Max. No, wait, both are equally good.

Damn, even the AirPods Pro is just as good.

Wait, I’m forgetting my iPad Pros.

You get my point? Apple products are heaven on earth.

 

[Kung gu]

I would say the 16" MBP has better speakers. I think the replacement for the 27" iMac will destroy the M1 24" iMac in speaker quality.

 

[Juicy Box]

Considering Apple claims "The new iMac also features the best sound system ever in a Mac."
Guess that is just marketing bull.

The iMac Pro and 2020 27" iMac sounds much better than the 24" M1 iMac's speakers in the tests I have seen.

Apple also said that the M1 24" iMac had dual cooling fans with heatsinks, enabling it to stay cool and fan noise less than 10db. This was also bull, at least for the base model, as it is missing the heatsink and one fan.

Basically, don't take anything Apple says at face value, and it is better to wait for honest reviews and teardowns.

 

[0906742]

Considering Apple claims "The new iMac also features the best sound system ever in a Mac."
Guess that is just marketing bull.

I also noticed these claims and even saw some Youtube reviews raving about the speaker quality being so good you don't need additional speakers. But I think all this needs to be taken with grain of salt and put to perspective that speakers small enough to fit in iMac bottom chin just are so small it is against the law of the physics that they could sound as good as "real" speakers (by that I don't mean cheapest plastic boxes sold as computer speakers but something real like small studio speakers or at least something better quality computer speakers sets).
That being said, I'm sure iMac speakers are good enough for daily work like video conferences and such but I don't think I would use those to listen to music or watching movies.

Apple also said that the M1 24" iMac had dual cooling fans with heatsinks, enabling it to stay cool and fan noise less than 10db. This was also bull, at least for the base model, as it is missing the heatsink and one fan.

That was news to me also that basic model has different cooling structure with only one fan. I had order placed for one but I luckily cancelled it because I ended up thinking I'll be better off with M1 Mini for my needs and get larger display.

 

[Fishrrman]

An external pair of powered speakers, supplemented by a bass module on the floor, will sound better than ANY built-in speakers...

 

[0906742]

An external pair of powered speakers, supplemented by a bass module on the floor, will sound better than ANY built-in speakers...

Exactly, and you don't necessarily even need additional bass module on the floor. Is is just simple law of the physics that speakers around the size of your thumb (like the ones in iMac) just cannot compete with real good speakers that usually start from around 4" diameter. That being said there are plenty of those horrible cheap plastic boxes sold as PC speakers and may have even quite large speaker element but they could easily sound bad, so comparing iMac speakers to something like this, they are likely much better overall.

 

[za9ra22]

I think the M1 iMac's speakers are remarkably good for the circumstance, and I'd be quite happy to use them for background listening or some video content. They're certainly more than adequate for editing video and general systems use.

But they aren't amazingly good in any absolute sense, and not really for movie soundtracks.

I use an Amazon Echo Studio for playing music in my office, and by comparison to that the iMac sounds very thin and lacking dynamics. Hardly surprising, I guess, but a bit disappointing. When used in isolation, they are certainly good enough to be livable, however.

 

[mfacey]

Some of this is purely subjective (audiofile types will disagree) but I think my 2019 12.9 iPad Pro indeed sounds better, less "bass-y" but just more balanced for a small device. Audio tuning on the iMac is just weird IMHO.

 

[colodane]

For serious music listening, none of the iMacs are ideal. It is amazing they get the sound that they do considering the physical volume they have to work with. That is why a pair of Beats Studio 3 wireless headphones reside on the base of my iMac.

I've often considered a pair of external speakers, but the desktop space isn't warranted given the amount of time I would use them.

 

[mapleleafer]

Any audio output from any computer is inadequate for anyone who likes listening to music or watching movies.

 

[blackdogaudio]

Considering it's one of the new iMac's selling points, I'm not overly excited about the speakers; to be precise the sound they put out. I feel it lacks high end treble and is trying too hard to produce bass. What we end up with is what seems to be kind of a "muffled" sound, almost like they put a towel over a decent speaker. I get that they're making the most of a pretty terrible enclosure for speakers, but it just sounds bad to my ears. Or is it just me?

It's not you...and for what it's worth I'm an audiophile. Unfortunately, your description of the speaker system within the new iMac is right on target and extremely disappointing considering everything else about the machine is superb. Thankfully, I don't need it for listening to music.

 

[satchmo]

I would say the 16" MBP has better speakers. I think the replacement for the 27" iMac will destroy the M1 24" iMac in speaker quality.

I’m curious what make you think this.
The limited bass in the current iMac 24” is due to it’s thin enclosure. I don’t imagine the larger iMac will be much thicker.

 

[Kung gu]

I’m curious what make you think this.
The limited bass in the current iMac 24” is due to it’s thin enclosure. I don’t imagine the larger iMac will be much thicker.

it will have bigger speakers. The 27" iMac had bigger speakers than the 21.5" iMac

 

[taphil]

The speakers are meh. Apple shouldn't make a big deal about them as a selling feature. The highs are louder but a tad harsh compared to my old 2015 27" iMac, and the bass is worse. And like someone mentioned above, 16" MBP sounds better than them all, more balanced and better soundstage.

 

[Danoc]

Clarity is there. Excellent clarity. However power is misleading. This is closer to the power of a laptop type of speakers.

To give an example: iMac M1's speaker power is good enough in a medium size room, but for a living room or for hearing from another room, it's not powerful enough.

 

[JuicelessMango]

The speakers are garbage, I said this on the 21st of May when I received my iMac and people laughed at me and said they went plenty loud. Being in such a thin machine they are decent, but with Apple claiming this is the best/most powerful speaker system in a iMac to date it left me really disappointed. I end up just using my AirPods max most of the time.

 

[SR 7]

So basically the need to have a chin to have the “best speakers for an iMac ever” was nonsense? No way! Apple would never overly exaggerate their product.
I mean they do always use words like FANTASTIC AMAZING GREATEST EVER Or whatever that nonsense is.

 

[familychoice]

The speakers are meh. Apple shouldn't make a big deal about them as a selling feature. The highs are louder but a tad harsh compared to my old 2015 27" iMac, and the bass is worse. And like someone mentioned above, 16" MBP sounds better than them all, more balanced and better soundstage.

The MBP 16” sound is stunning - it never fails to surprise me how such a small device can produce such clarity, wide stereo field and richness.

I use big studio quality monitors here with my recording setup, but always double check a mix on the MBP.

 

[taphil]

This youtuber has similar comments about 24" speakers vs 27"

 

[Surfman]

This youtuber has similar comments about 24" speakers vs 27"

Doesn’t give the base model a good wrap re heat either, those speakers sound average V the 27”.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I have a pair of Diatone mini speakers (2x4" driver in each)
I hook it to a tini piece of class D amplifier, with bluetooth receiver built-in, powered by a 65W laptop power brick.
Comparing side by side, fast switching on the fly.
My junk stereo setup sounds better than the built-in speakers of iMac 2010 in every aspect.
It surely can beat any built-in speakers of any PCs/Macs ever exit.

For conversational audio, the iMac built-in speakers are good enough.

For listening to music, they are just pathetic.

Even a pair of 2.5" bluetooth portable speakers sound better than the iMac built-in ones.

 

[za9ra22]

Doesn’t give the base model a good wrap re heat either, those speakers sound average V the 27”.

Volume on the 27 is higher, and that makes them sound better. The same test on my 27 and 24 with both set to the same peak dB output has a bit less of a marked difference. The 24 is still not as good, but one thing I noticed with the dB meter is that the 24 had wider dynamic range - the quieter sounds are quieter and (up to maximum of course), the louder sounds are louder. This does make the 27 sound better, but the 24 is a bit more faithful dynamically.

I don't have test equipment any longer, but to my ears (which are old and not as good as they were), the 27 sounds like it has higher distortion, while the 24 is 'cleaner'. I suspect however that since the 24 has more limited maximum output, it will get turned up louder, making it distort somewhat too.

 

[Serban55]

the 24" imac speakers are better than the 21.5" and thats kind of it.
The 27" imac pro has better speakers for sure

 

[ZebedeeG]

Been using my 24" M1 iMac for a week now and I find the speakers to be beautifully clear, and a pleasure to listen to music on whilst I'm working.

Admittedly they don't go that loud - but that's not an issue for me.

I'm coming from a late 2015 27" iMac, which could go louder and had more bass. But to my ears the speakers on my new iMac are an improvement.

There's no way the speakers would compete with a decent HiFi, but they are at least as good as my Pure stereo digital radio.