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macbook sound quality

B

branharrison6

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 22, 2007
78
0
What is the sound quality like on macbooks? I've heard that it's not the greatest and I am prepared for that. I have a 17" dell and it has an unbelievable sound system for a notebook. Is the one of the macbooks really that bad? Anyone just down right frustrated with the quality? I can always get some speakers later too and hook those up when I really wanna crank it. Also when you use your notebook most of the time you will just be listening through your own headphones anyway and I'm sure it's loud through headphones, correct?

Thanks,
Brandon
 
branharrison6 said:
What is the sound quality like on macbooks?
Click to expand...

I have a 17-inch MBP and I've noticed that it isn't as loud as I'd like it to be when I play music. I connect a set of old BOSE speakers to the output and it sounds much louder!

I used to have a Compaq that came with JBL speakers build in and that sucker sounder rich and plenty loud.

If you are doing YouTube stuff or things like that the built in speakers are fine. But you'll want headphones or something external if you want to feel your music.
 
branharrison6 said:
What is the sound quality like on macbooks? I've heard that it's not the greatest and I am prepared for that. I have a 17" dell and it has an unbelievable sound system for a notebook. Is the one of the macbooks really that bad? Anyone just down right frustrated with the quality? I can always get some speakers later too and hook those up when I really wanna crank it. Also when you use your notebook most of the time you will just be listening through your own headphones anyway and I'm sure it's loud through headphones, correct?

Thanks,
Brandon
Click to expand...

The Macbook's speakers are weak at best. They're enough if your in a bedroom and there isn't any external noise ( like a room fan ). Macbooks have no speaker grilles so the sound comes out of the hinge on LCD connector. If you're just going to sit at your computer it'll be fine. But, I have reservations about constantly running iTunes and OS X at full volume.

Larger computers usually have more than two speakers. I have a 17" sager that has six. I would assume the Dell is similar.

The headphone jack is more than powerful enough for most headphones. iPod headphones and most off the shelf headphones are fine. You'll run into problems when you use studio quality headphones like Sennhesier 580s.
 
Yah if you get a MacBook your going to need some good external speakers and headphones for on the go. I have an MBP and the sound quality is decent but I have it hooked up to a 2.1 system at home and a decent set of Sony's when I am traveling to school and around the country/world.

EDIT: One of the neighbors just complained because it was to loud ;)
 
very true, mu macbook's speakers are okay for sounds and maybe music once in a while, like while i clean my room it's fine, because eveything is quiet, but i can t listened to music while i cook because it s just not loud enough, some good powered external speaker will do the job, i like creature II, they r not the best but for the price they r extremely good IMO you should take a look at them,...
 
juanster said:
very true, mu macbook's speakers are okay for sounds and maybe music once in a while, like while i clean my room it's fine, because eveything is quiet, but i can t listened to music while i cook because it s just not loud enough, some good powered external speaker will do the job, i like creature II, they r not the best but for the price they r extremely good IMO you should take a look at them,...
Click to expand...

For a little more, you could get the Soundsticks II by Harman/Kardon.

Definately worth the extra.

Rich.
 
flopticalcube said:
MacBook speakers are adequate for warning sounds and such. Music and movies are USELESS on them. Headphones levels are good and the sound is clean... I use headphones most of the time.
Click to expand...
I agree sooo much. You put it very well.

I am not an audiophile. But seriously, I cringe listening to anything through the MB's speakers. So I just use cheapie earbuds and whatnot. It's still way better than what comes out of the speakers. *retch*

FWIW, I think the MB's speakers might be worse than the 12" iBook G4 and the 12" PB G4.
 
The only thing I use the speakers for are when I'm playing a YouTube video or something similar for a friend. I always use my headphones for music/videos/games, which works out well enough for me.
 
You got an expensive computer, get some decent speakers with it. Logitech z2300 is my choice. 120watt subwoofer, two satellite speakers 40watts each. Crisp sound, clear deep bass, loud enough to drive neighbors mad if that's what you're trying to do. Less than $100 if you can get a decent deal.
 
Hi,

The sound on my iBook 12" is mediocre at best. A company I've bought gear from just started importing this:

http://www.audiomagus.com/index.php...d=23&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=27&vmcchk=1

It's a small hockey-puck of an amp, with two speakers. Plug 'n play at its easiest, and the sound is quite good. MUCH fuller and with a soundstage. The amp is based on the Tri-path chip, which I believe was also in the Griffin Powerwave, itself a bargain at $99. But this is $79 and includes the speakers.

Note: I have no affiliation with HiVi or Audiomagus.com, but I like the dealings I've had with Audiomagus and I really dig the this set-up (I gave mine to my girlfriend and am going to order another for me).

Hope that helps,
DM
 
In a plane Airbus A320, for instance, I wanted to watch a movie. Thank god there were subtitles, because we could barely hear any sound. Granted, planes are noisy, but we couldn't even tell if it was in English.
 
Juan Moro said:
In a plane Airbus A320, for instance, I wanted to watch a movie. Thank god there were subtitles, because we could barely hear any sound. Granted, planes are noisy, but we couldn't even tell if it was in English.
Click to expand...

Well next time mind other passangers and use earbuds or headphones. Thanks.
 
Ok, but there was nobody three rows around us!
I'm not the kind of person who bothers other people with music or movies...
:)
 
Listening Outloud

A funny aside: a couple of months ago I was in an airport, waiting on a delayed flight, something around 9 in the evening. There were three guys watching a stand-up comedy dvd on a laptop, at full volume. They were laughing out loud, enjoying themselves immensely, completely oblivious to the volume of the DVD and the comic's continuous profanity and graphic sexual descriptions. I thought the whole thing was such a disconnect that it was funny, but a gate agent finally walked over and suggested headphones. The guys looked up, surprised, and were happy to oblige....
 
wtf

im amzed at the user comments..
ive had personal experiences with the newer vaios and hp's
and boy does my 17' mbp rock..

i thikn its the best song ull ever get on a laptop real fkin loud..and clear..

obviously external speaker will rock they have bass and more loudness but casually this is more than the best laptops available..
 
utsavtalwar said:
im amzed at the user comments..
ive had personal experiences with the newer vaios and hp's
and boy does my 17' mbp rock..

i thikn its the best song ull ever get on a laptop real fkin loud..and clear..

obviously external speaker will rock they have bass and more loudness but casually this is more than the best laptops available..
Click to expand...

Ahem....we are talking about the MacBook, not the MacBook Pro. ;)
 
MacBook sound is a smidge louder than my previous 12" iBook G4. And it does have speaker grilles, but they are on the back edge and have to reflect sound off the screen bezel. Any extra vol is probably from the "subwoofer" that does speak through the heatsink vents. Still, in a cafe with a lively discussion nearby, I could not hear all of the speech from a YouTube movie clip. I have a sound meter, but either laptop is easy to drown out.

I found this thread thinking more of headphone jack sound quality. I don't think it's quite as good as the iBook, at least in as much as there is more background noise. The noise switches off if there's no sound for a while too (power saving?).

Also, odd glitch, may have been started by my listening to iTunes via a bluetooth headset (a regular mono low-fi one). The headphone jack, until a reboot, was putting out awful sound with no treble. Even the EQ couldn't put much in.
I wonder if it got stuck using a speech-earpiece filter routine or something?
 
Yeah, the MB speakers are not really meant for good audio experiences, but they do come with an optical out, which is a great thing.

If you want to listen to music/watch a movie, you need to have headphones, or external speakers.
 
I wire my MBP using Toslink to my external amp and everything sounds great. The internal speakers are pretty okay for regular volumes, just don't turn it up.
 
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