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Speakers Aren't Very Loud, Huh?

Stangs55 said:
Actually, I'm finding my 13" MBA speakers shockingly good....no where near my desktop speakers, but certainly comparable to my 2010 15" MBP.
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I had a 2010 MBP 13" and my Air sounds similar, too. Only slightly quieter and less "quality"

But to the OP, you seem pretty surprised... I mean, I understand wanting more and being disappointed, but when you look at how thin your laptop is it shouldn't be too much of a surprise.
 
I can't speak for the 13" but I will say the 11" doesn't respond very well to audio with dynamic range. That doesn't mean it isn't loud, it just means when playing certain things it might end up being on the quieter side. Movies are a great example, but also some vocal recordings might show this a bit as well.

I have no issue with it though because if they let you amplify the volume any further, the tiny speakers would be overdriven and would easily distort. I recommend using headphones when possible, they will sound infinitely better than tiny laptop speakers ever could anyway.
 
I'm not really disappointed with the sound quality. I'm just surprised I have to crank the volume up 100% to hear voices on audio broadcast. I usually use ear buds, though.
 
Yumunum said:
I had a 2010 MBP 13" and my Air sounds similar, too. Only slightly quieter and less "quality"

But to the OP, you seem pretty surprised... I mean, I understand wanting more and being disappointed, but when you look at how thin your laptop is it shouldn't be too much of a surprise.
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Agreed. And to clarify what I meant by "good" above...it's a relative term. Considering the size of the package and what's inside, they perform better that what I was expecting.
 
Make sure to check that there aren't multiple volume controls open. You might have it turned up all the way and its at 50% somewhere else.
 
jason.siegel said:
I'm not really disappointed with the sound quality. I'm just surprised I have to crank the volume up 100% to hear voices on audio broadcast. I usually use ear buds, though.
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I tuned to NPR via iTunes and it was not very loud at first even with my speakers volume all the way up. Then I realized my iTunes output level was quite low, so I turned it up. Between the two, I can get the volume to be too loud when the MBA is on my lap, and the volume is not at its max.

For me the MBA internal speakers are good enough, as I don't care if they are better because no matter how good they are, their physical placement is not going give them good stereo separation. And for that issue, there is a great solution: AirPlay speakers.

I have a pair of AudioEngine A2 connected to an Airport Express. This set up is around $300. The A2 are amazing for their price and have no problem filling a large room. They are also self powered and they go to sleep when no input is detected for a while, so I leave them on all the time. No matter where I am in the room, I will get great sound from my MBA. Of course with them being Airplay enabled, any recent IOS devices or Mac can use them.

If you already have a pair of speakers you like, a $100 Airport Express is all you need.
 
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