speakers on 13" rMBP

[jamespb78]

Can anyone advise what the quality of speakers are like on the latest 13" rMBP?

I noticed they aren't in the same spot as on the 15" model. My wife has a 15", and I quite like the sound those speakers produce. I've previously had a 13" MacAir, and I was disappointed with that sound compared to my wife 15".

So how does the new 13" rMBP compare?

Thanks

 

[z31fanatic]

They are pretty poor and don't play very loud. But then again, I have yet to hear laptop speakers that I think have acceptable sound quality.

*edit*
Nevermind. I didn't realize you were asking about the just released early 15 model. I have no experience with the latest model.

 

[CaptainChunk]

I can tell you first hand that the speakers on the 15" models are far superior. On the 13-inchers, there's no room for traditional speaker grilles, so they put the actual speakers under the keyboard. They don't get very loud and they sound a tad bit distorted at higher volumes on both my old 2011 13" and my new 2015 13".

At work, I plug my MBP into external speakers when I listen to music. Unfortunately, that's a tradeoff that's made on a laptop this small.

 

[jamespb78]

Ok thanks, sounds like they are similar to the ones found on the MacAir.

 

[yangchewren]

Ok thanks, sounds like they are similar to the ones found on the MacAir.

The 13"rMBP speakers don't sound anywhere as good as the 15", as the 15" has 2 drivers each side. But, they definitely beat the 13" MBA in sound clarity at high volumes and you can detect more of the lower-end of the mids. The MBA peaks and the keyboard backlight rattles at high volumes. Though this is purely subjective, I would rate speakers according to their perceivable tonal range and clarity like that:

15" rMBP >> 13" rMBP = 15" cMBP >> 13" cMBP >= 13" MBA

Both the 15" rMBP and 13" rMBP have sort of that "ipad cavity" sound going on, you can feel the resonance of the low-mids and bass with the chassis and they sound more like very good ipad speakers as opposed to the classic MBP/MBA speakers. Whether you like this though, is up to you actually testing them.

Here you can see a recorded audio comparison b/w the 12" rMB, the 13" rMBP and the 13" MBA":
https://youtu.be/xRGxC9_I1K4?t=14m3s

 

[Donfor39]

depends on what you are listening to

skygo audio is excellent whilst watching news/sky sports news and maybe even an occasional movie

I love the quality of macbook internal speakers...though I used 'non mac' laptops for years...since forgot how bad those 'tinny' speakers were

 

[snaky69]

Can anyone advise what the quality of speakers are like on the latest 13" rMBP?

I noticed they aren't in the same spot as on the 15" model. My wife has a 15", and I quite like the sound those speakers produce. I've previously had a 13" MacAir, and I was disappointed with that sound compared to my wife 15".

So how does the new 13" rMBP compare?

Thanks

They'll sound just as bad as any laptop speakers out there. I definitely wouldn't base my laptop buying on speakers.

 

[mattopotamus]

I think the sound quality is just fine. The loudness is the problem.

 

[MacbookPro2015]

plenty loud and quality is good considering what it is. I am coming from being use to a 13 macbook air tho.

 

[dubhe]

On the 13-inchers, there's no room for traditional speaker grilles, so they put the actual speakers under the keyboard. They don't get very loud and they sound a tad bit distorted at higher volumes on both my old 2011 13" and my new 2015 13".

I did not think they were under the keyboard, but at the sides of the machine with the 'grilles' being the three inline slits on the lower sides of the rMBP next to the headphone and SD Card slots respectively.

You can compare the speakers by viewing them on ifixit teardowns (15" and 13")

 

[CaptainChunk]

I did not think they were under the keyboard, but at the sides of the machine with the 'grilles' being the three inline slits on the lower sides of the rMBP next to the headphone and SD Card slots respectively.

You can compare the speakers by viewing them on ifixit teardowns (15" and 13")

It seems you're right. But they probably serve a double-function as heat vents. But in any case, the difference in sound quality between my rMBP and my old cMBP (both 13-inchers) isn't very noticeable, at least to me. Both machines tend to distort from rattling internal components at higher volumes.