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Speakers

P

PDFierro

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 8, 2009
3,932
111
With the small design and everything being about maximizing portability, I'm wondering what the speakers on the MacBook will be like.

This has always been a strong point of Macs. All Mac laptops have always had great speakers as far as laptop speakers go. I'm really not expecting it to be any different this time around. Even the 11-inch Air gets pretty loud.
 
i think it will be louder than the 11" based on the length of the speaker grill
The 11" was under the keyboard in the area of "E-C-N-Y" keys So a little area
I think the new one will be upper from qwertyu space so a wide range.

So in the worst scenario will be between the 11"MBA and 13" MBA speakers
 
Last edited:
Serban said:
i think it will be louder than the 11" based on the length of the speaker grill
The 11" was under the keyboard in the area of "E-C-N-Y" keys So a little area
I think the new one will be upper from qwertyu space so a wide range.

So in the worst scenario will be between the 11"MBA and 13" MBA speakers
Click to expand...

Is the grill/vent actually for the speakers? I thought I heard was that it was air vents. But I guess maybe there wasn't room to put the speakers under the keyboard like in the Air models? I'm definitely curious on how loud the rMB will be able to get speakers-wise. Anything similar to the 11" Air is good enough for me, but I'm hoping for a little better.
 
PDFierro said:
Is the grill/vent actually for the speakers? I thought I heard was that it was air vents. But I guess maybe there wasn't room to put the speakers under the keyboard like in the Air models? I'm definitely curious on how loud the rMB will be able to get speakers-wise. Anything similar to the 11" Air is good enough for me, but I'm hoping for a little better.
Click to expand...
All portable Macs that have vents have them located in the rear, near the hinge. For the rMBP, the intake vents are located along the sides. No Mac notebook has ever had vents in the keyboard or speaker grills.
 
GGJstudios said:
All portable Macs that have vents have them located in the rear, near the hinge. For the rMBP, the intake vents are located along the sides. No Mac notebook has ever had vents in the keyboard or speaker grills.
Click to expand...

this also is not a normal macbook, just saying.
 
jonfarr said:
this also is not a normal macbook, just saying.
Click to expand...
My post was in response to PDFierro's query about the grill being a vent, presumably on the MBA. That's why I said:
GGJstudios said:
All portable Macs that have vents have them located in the rear, near the hinge. For the rMBP, the intake vents are located along the sides. No Mac notebook has ever had vents in the keyboard or speaker grills.
Click to expand...
The new retina MacBook does not have vents at all, so my post doesn't relate to that model.
 
GGJstudios said:
My post was in response to PDFierro's query about the grill being a vent, presumably on the MBA. That's why I said:

The new retina MacBook does not have vents at all, so my post doesn't relate to that model.
Click to expand...

Is that stated that it doesn't have vents? I honestly haven't heard this. Just because it is fanless doesn't mean it won't have vents to allow for air to flow and help it cool.
 
jonfarr said:
Is that stated that it doesn't have vents? I honestly haven't heard this. Just because it is fanless doesn't mean it won't have vents to allow for air to flow and help it cool.
Click to expand...
It's not stated anywhere, but air doesn't flow in by itself, without fans it doesn't really need vents.
 
From the ArsTechnica review...

The stereo speakers in the MacBook are located underneath a grille above the keyboard, and they actually sound better than the ones you get in an Air. They’ll easily fill the room with sound, and mids and highs sound surprisingly great. Unfortunately, bass is a bit muffled, and cymbal sounds are all muddy and tear-y. The speakers are above average for a laptop.
Click to expand...

Sounds good to me!
 
Does anyone have any thoughts on the speakers now that you have tested it out in the store? I can't wait to hear how they sound. I have always been super impressed with Apple's built-in speakers on everything from iOS devices to Macs. And supposedly the MacBook's speakers are the best yet.
 
Considering the iPhone can do a pretty dang good job, I think that this Macbook will be at least a 7/10 in terms of speaker performance. I doubt max volume will be all that but is it really necessary?
 
The speakers are really loud considering how portable this thing is. The only lacking part in the audio is bass. But of course that's understandable.
 
Played with the rMB twice now. The speakers are the loudest I have found on any MacBook model. I own three 11" MBA, one 13" MBA and an older MB..

You can place the rMB in any room and at max sound it is very loud.
 
The store I visited was packed. However I wanted to try the speakers so I put on the new Avengers trailer. I couldn't hear every detail but was surprised at how loud they were. Definitely going to get the job done.
 
Bluetooth headphones are also a nice option even though I know that is not what you are asking about. You do get a little noise cancellation and some bass opportunity back. :) Some of the newer breeds (i.e. Plantronics or Sennheiser M2) get 22-25 hours wireless. The Sennheiser M2 is my favorite, but I've only owned Zik 2.0, Plantronic Backbeats, Beats Studio, and Sennheiser in the wireless arena.
 
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