MBA buzzes when playing music at max vol - check this out.

[ryan.apham]

My friend complaint that his MacBook Air 13" 2011 does buzz a little bit though when blasting music at maximum volume. Additionally, it does not sound as loud as he expected. It seems that something blocks the internal speaker.

I helped him check out, and this is what I have found out.

In this forum, some people have said that it is owing to the backlit cover which blocks the sound. I do not have the 2010 Air model, nor does my friend, so I cannot confirm this story.

I inspected his laptop for a while, and then when I removed his keyboard protector, it seems that the volume is 50% louder .

And it even seems that the buzz effect reduces a lot though. You have to be really anal to detect the buzz effect. It is there (of course, it is just an built-in speaker), but it is really really hard to realise the buzz effect.

I inspected further, and have found out that quality of sound maybe a key factor. When playing 320 kbps quality songs, it runs smoothly. With 128 kbps songs, it only buzzes here and there at around 70-80% volume, but then at 100%, the loud volume > effect .

So the morals of the whole story are:
1. Do not use a keyboard protector .
2. Do not store cheap music in your laptop .

 

[alust2013]

320k songs are pretty big for something with such limited storage space. And yes, a keyboard protector will definitely muffle the sound on the MBAs and 13" MBP.

 

[ryan.apham]

320k songs are pretty big for something with such limited storage space. And yes, a keyboard protector will definitely muffle the sound on the MBAs and 13" MBP.

So you mean the lessons are:
1. Store 320 kbps songs on external hdd or online (such as iCloud)
OR
2. Do not store 320 kbps songs
AND
3. Do not buy MacBook Air
.

 

[Chopstick217]

Mine had the same issue and I got an exchange. It hasnt occurred since.

 

[CubeHacker]

Depending on the loudness of the source music, you shouldn't be running your built in speakers at 100% volume anyway. For "quiet" type music like classical, then running at 100% should be acceptable. But most modern music these days have been increased in loudness several fold. You can damage or blow your speakers by running them at 100%.

If you want your music loud, you should use external speakers, or plug in some headphones.