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MBP (Late 2008) speaker rattle?

drewfus

drewfus

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 3, 2006
272
59
Evanston, IL
So, I've been pretty happy with my MBP. The other day, I decided to listen to some classical piano stuff on there while I was on a planning period at work, and all of a sudden, the right speaker was buzzing like crazy on a lot of the higher frequency notes. I tried playing around with the equalizer and taking out some of the highs, but it's really not helping. Has anybody else been experiencing this at all?
 
i had the same issue with the right speaker, along with a warped case. i returned it to the apple store for a new one.
 
I would definitely bring that back to the apple store.
 
I've been through 3 unibody mbp and they all do that, its really the type of file that you are playing that will have the buzz noise when the speaker is turned up high.

At first I thought it was due to the right speaker that had blown but after 3 unibody mbp and depending on the sound file and at highest volume the treble will buzz a little on some youtube videos/gametrailer hd videos/itunes mp3's but others sound perfect.
 
jjahshik32 said:
I've been through 3 unibody mbp and they all do that, its really the type of file that you are playing that will have the buzz noise when the speaker is turned up high.

At first I thought it was due to the right speaker that had blown but after 3 unibody mbp and depending on the sound file and at highest volume the treble will buzz a little on some youtube videos/gametrailer hd videos/itunes mp3's but others sound perfect.
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I don't think it is the sound file. It is a physical defect with the right speaker. I have to UMBP's right now. The first doesn't do it at all. I'm vary impressed with its speakers. However, my second (which was supposed to be Amazon's replacement for the first) is louder in the right speaker, and buzzes terribly with certain frequencies. These frequencies are most often found in tv shows for me rather than music cds.

I've already got the RMA label printed for this 2nd MBP, and hopefully the 3rd will be defect free.
 
InLikeALion said:
I don't think it is the sound file. It is a physical defect with the right speaker. I have to UMBP's right now. The first doesn't do it at all. I'm vary impressed with its speakers. However, my second (which was supposed to be Amazon's replacement for the first) is louder in the right speaker, and buzzes terribly with certain frequencies. These frequencies are most often found in tv shows for me rather than music cds.

I've already got the RMA label printed for this 2nd MBP, and hopefully the 3rd will be defect free.
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I noticed they all buzz to some degree. Some of the mp3's I've downloaded, the quality is not that great and even makes my external speakers at high volume buzz as well. And I've noticed this with some youtube videos as well.

My current unibody mbp most of the time doesnt have the buzz even with the highest volume but there are a few files that I do play and the speaker will buzz due to the original recording.
 
ive found that it buzzes when playing more dialogue stuff like movies or TV shows. in music there is too many sounds and frequencies going on at the same time to notice the buzzing

it mostly goes away if it press down on the right speaker grille with my palm, so im thinking it could be fixed by some rubber padding or something to quell vibrations and resonating. of course, i dont want to tear apart my new MBP, so i was hoping apple would have a fix.
 
I am having this problem too. Do I have to tear my NMBP? :(

The right speaker sounds makes me really annoy.

Plz help me!!!!
 
I returned my first Macbook Pro for a bad drive and I noticed that my new Macbook Pro doesn't buzz as much but it still buzzes with certain files. I didn't have the two together long enough to really compare though. I don't think I'd return a Macbook for a little bit of buzzing as it seems they all are doing this.
 
My CTO NMBP used about 1 month. So, I can't change brand new NMBP.

Do I have to tear my NMBP and change the right speaker?:confused:
 
please let me know if you find any answers or fixes, mine does it too but i refuse to have apple gut my 2.5-wk old mbp over it as the speakers are impossible to get to and everything else is great! It runs cool (2.8), the trackpad is perfect, screen great, etc... i'm afraid to risk an exchange!
 
So how does it work exactly... if the computers is less than 1 month old you can make them send you a brand new replacement? I have a 2.8ghz 32gb 7200rpm unibody MBP.... what would my best course of action be? The buzzing is really annoying me because I use the "hero" tone for new email, and that makes the right speaker buzz EVERY time. Ive only had the computer for about 2 weeks now.
 
I am having the same problem.

The right speaker is making a rather annoying rattling sound when the volume is at 80% or higher. This crackle/rattle occurs not only when playing music, but also with system sounds - especially with 'Funk' and 'Basso'.

I'm thinking of taking it back to Apple, but after what I've read in various forums and seen with my friend's UMBP it seems that this problem occurs on almost all machines.
 
When I brought it in, they had no problem replacing it for me. It occurs a bit on the new MBP, but not to the same extent. I don't know if it's worth bringing it back in or not, as everything else about the machine is great. Argh.
 
I'm fairly certain this happens on EVERY new unibody computer... I went to the apple store to have my phone replaced last week and i played with all of the new MBPs there and they all did it.
 
Very annoying indeed. I get the same issue especially with tv shows and even with apple podcasts.
 
Very annoying indeed. I get the same issue especially with tv shows and even with apple podcasts.
 
TheJae said:
Very annoying indeed. I get the same issue especially with tv shows and even with apple podcasts.
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this is definitely annoying. picked one up yesterday and i get the same thing. makes a lot of stuff un-listenable. not that i am relying on the MBP speakers for good audio, but just some short vids and clips. not going out of the way to hook up to externals for every little thing.

so the general consensus is it is happening with all of them? i was thinking about an exchange... it is that bad on mine. even happens with the volume at 50%. have to have it around 20% to not happen. (at 20% i cant hear anything anyway!)
 
The speakers don't reproduce lower quality sounds very well. Low quality mp3's/youtube videos with compressed soundtracks make it even worse. It's a shame really because these speakers, when they don't buzz, are much better than the previous generation's. It may be a crossover issue with the right speaker and the subwoofer attached to it. Apple could, theoretically, release a software update that tweaks the crossover point for the speakers and reduces the load on the tweets.
 
This is something I have noticed about a week after having my Unibody MBP. It happens when I have the volume up all the way or most of the way. I just turn it down to mid level and its fine. If I need to get some volume out of it I just hook up the computer speakers to it from my PC tower then all is well and I also have good bass too. This issue for me is not a big one. I would just say that the speakers in these MBP are not that big to begin with so take notice of your surroundings and the size of your room. If anything get a pair of speakers to take with you to get better sound out of the MBP if you really need it. As always the environment around you will always dictate how much volume you will need.
 
otis123 said:
same issue with my MBP right speaker also, too lazy to go to apple store.
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Don't bother. You can go to the store and see that they all do this to a greater or lesser extent depending on the sound file being used.
 
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