Just picked up a base 11” iPad Pro M5 with cellular yesterday and I like everything about it but the speakers. Everything sounds muddled and like there is something blocking the treble. I am coming from a 2019 iPad Air 3 which sounds much clearer. Is there a setting somewhere where I can adjust the treble? It’s just so bad. That’s not to mention the device actually vibrates the chassis too which is not pleasant to hold, makes it feel cheap. I watch TV or YouTube all the time from my iPad so this is a big deal to me. Voices sound bad too on FaceTime, muddled and no brightness/treble. Any suggestions?
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iPad Pro M5 Speaker quality, not great
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I have the M5 13" version and its crystal clear, less muffled than last years I think I may have have had a dud (I dropped my M4 badly so its going back to be replaced then I'll sell it on) Try a different unit as mine sounds bright plenty of midrange and treble. Good luck.
I made a video comparing the speakers of all M series larger iPads (plus the 2015 one as a bonus) at max volume. I think it shows that the the difference betwen the models is modest, other than the 2015 one which is clearly worse (and the 2018 12.9 was very close to the 2015 but I sold it).
When I first got the M4 I thought speakers were worse than on the M1 but the difference was minor. Also, something I noticed in the test is that the M2 is slightly better than the M1 (I remember they were identical), and that the M4 now sounds the best or at least as good as the M2 and the M5 is slightly worse than the M4. Then I had a crazy thought, I still don't believe it's possible, but both the M2 and M4 are on iPadOS 18 while the M1 and M5 are on 26. Could 26 have made the speakers slightly worse? That's crazy, sounds like conpsiracy theory to me. I refuse to believe it. Anyway the difference is modest, but the M5 is definitely not an improvement. Here is the video (use airpods to listen):
Speaker comparison 12.9/13
When I first got the M4 I thought speakers were worse than on the M1 but the difference was minor. Also, something I noticed in the test is that the M2 is slightly better than the M1 (I remember they were identical), and that the M4 now sounds the best or at least as good as the M2 and the M5 is slightly worse than the M4. Then I had a crazy thought, I still don't believe it's possible, but both the M2 and M4 are on iPadOS 18 while the M1 and M5 are on 26. Could 26 have made the speakers slightly worse? That's crazy, sounds like conpsiracy theory to me. I refuse to believe it. Anyway the difference is modest, but the M5 is definitely not an improvement. Here is the video (use airpods to listen):
Speaker comparison 12.9/13
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Settings > apps > music > EQ You can change some settings there
My M5 11in sounds good to me. Not much difference compared to my M1 which I upgraded from.
Indeed seems you got a magic device at most people have confirmed that speakers remained unchanged from M4….
Don't know about you, but I use my iPads in keyboard cases, so the vibrating thing would probably be less of an issue. So maybe try a case and you'll gain a backlit keyboard and trackpad out of it as well as possibly solving at least that part of the problem?
Looks like those settings will only apply when using the native Music app? Is there any system-wide EQ available?
Yeah, I remember this being an issue with the 11" M4 Pro. Tried it out but couldn't get over how bad it sounded compared to my 11" M2 Pro. Sounds like the M5 is a skip as well until they figure out how to make it less tinny sounding.
Does the newest Air suffer from this issue too? If so I may look for a refurbed M2 Pro.
Noo I misspoke, the iPAD Air's speaker sounds fine. What i meant was the iPhone Air's speaker which sounds like something from a TEMU phone.
My BAD!
For the M4 / M5 you might want to move the iPads, I think having them butted up against each other may be improving the resonance on the M4 vs. the M5 where one is firing off into the air.
Also you may want to use Apple Music or Spotify Lossless or something, there's a slight chance you are getting fed a youtube codec that may be varying in bitrate per iPad.
Before doing this test I made many comparisons in different positions, moving the iPads, swapping places etc. it's only in the end that I put them on the chimney for the video. And the M4 always sounds a little bit louder than the M5.
I don't really listen to music on Spotify and Apple music (if I do I do on youtube music) so there is not much point for me to do that. For me speakers are for youtube, plex, netflix, apple tv and youtube music.
Having said that, I want to stress that they are all plenty loud and full, only the 2015 is lacking. So was the 2018. I always felt the 2018 12.9 was missing one last notch. Just like the smaller iPads (10.5, 11, etc, which are not as loud as their big brothers). While I never feel I have not enough for any large pro M iPad, just like I don't miss volume (or bass) on my 15" Macbook air, on my Samsung tablets, or on my Surface pro 11. Past a certain level it's like the speed of M4 vs M5, you can maybe see the small difference but it's more for testw than something that makes any difference in real life.