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What's the deal with the terrible audio quality on the iPad Air 2?

ThunderMasterMind

ThunderMasterMind

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 29, 2016
543
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Earlier today I was tinkering around with my mother's iPad Air 2 in the kitchen with my iPad 4 beside me. I watched a video on it and the sound quality sounded awful compared to my iPad. I thought, well maybe a setting is off, so I go into settings and compare them to my iPad's and they were exactly the same. I scratched my head and decided to compare song playback on both iPads and sure enough the Air 2 sounded like a potato next to the iPad 4. Even my 1st gen iPad mini sounds better than it does. This iPad isn't damaged in any way and it barely leaves the house, so I guess they all have poor speakers in them. They are loud, but sound bad. I really never noticed it because I always use my iPad and rarely use hers.

Anyone else ever noticed this? If so, this probably isn't the only topic about it lol.
 
The speakers of the Air2 are better than those on the iPad 2 I owned before, at least to my opinion.
 
If you can get your hands on another Air 2, I would use that compare. It's possible the speaker on your Mom's Air 2 is blown.

That said, my Air 2's sound quality wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible either. It was mediocre. The Pro 9.7" is better with sound by far.
 
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scaredpoet said:
If you can get your hands on another Air 2, I would use that compare. It's possible the speaker on your Mom's Air 2 is blown.

That said, my Air 2's sound quality wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible either. It was mediocre. The Pro 9.7" is better with sound by far.
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Speaking that she doesn't really look at anything that involves audio and it isn't really old, I doubt the speakers are blown.
 
ThunderMasterMind said:
Speaking that she doesn't really look at anything that involves audio and it isn't really old, I doubt the speakers are blown.
Click to expand...

I remember the audio quality being quite good, and definitely better than any iPad before it on my iPad Air 2. Something sounds (no pun intended) wrong with yours. I recommend taking it to an Apple Store to get it checked out. See if they find anything.
 
Dennison said:
I remember the audio quality being quite good, and definitely better than any iPad before it on my iPad Air 2. Something sounds (no pun intended) wrong with yours. I recommend taking it to an Apple Store to get it checked out. See if they find anything.
Click to expand...
It could be a software thing too. My iPhone 4S had audio issues on iOS 7.1.2. When I downgraded it to 6.1.3 about 7 months ago, it fixed itself.

iOS on it has been acting weird on it lately anyway, so I'll probably back it up then restore it and see if that fixes it.

It's not making funny noises, it just has no bass, and sounds very mono tone. She doesn't really care about it, it's not mine, so I really don't care about it that much, but it is very strange.
 
M. Gustave said:
To me, the internal mono speaker on an iPad or iPhone is for notifications only. For audio and movies, I use a portable Bluetooth stereo speaker, which sounds amazing.
Click to expand...
Just an aside, the Air 2 actually does have stereo speakers. They're just both on one side which doesn't do any favors.
 
Bbqthis said:
Just an aside, the Air 2 actually does have stereo speakers. They're just both on one side which doesn't do any favors.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I knew that which also disappointed me about poor audio quality, especially speaking that my iPad has one mono speaker and blew the Air 2 out of the water.
 
I was just listening to my Air 2 and comparing it to my 6s and wife's mini 2. i thought the Air 2 sounded better than both of them, but I did notice it actually tries to produce the bass notes in a song; where the other 2 don't. Now, the bass the Air 2 produced was pitiful and didn't really sound that good to my ears. Maybe that is what is throwing you off? My 6s sounded cleaner than the Air 2, but mainly because there is no bass being produced by the 6s. Even if it isn't the best I still would like to hear those notes.

As someone else stated, maybe the speaker is blown or has something wrong with it. Even though your mother doesn't do much on the tablet it could just have been crap from the get go.
 
bhayes444 said:
I was just listening to my Air 2 and comparing it to my 6s and wife's mini 2. i thought the Air 2 sounded better than both of them, but I did notice it actually tries to produce the bass notes in a song; where the other 2 don't. Now, the bass the Air 2 produced was pitiful and didn't really sound that good to my ears. Maybe that is what is throwing you off? My 6s sounded cleaner than the Air 2, but mainly because there is no bass being produced by the 6s. Even if it isn't the best I still would like to hear those notes.

As someone else stated, maybe the speaker is blown or has something wrong with it. Even though your mother doesn't do much on the tablet it could just have been crap from the get go.
Click to expand...
I deal with audio all the time and bass is not what is trowing it off. It definitely doesn't have that much bass, but its not terrible. Clarity is just gone no matter what you listen to on it, that's whats throwing it off.

Notification sounds on it sound horrid. They are quiet and sound very muddy.

I'll probably make a video showing what it does and compare it to my iPad and iPhone.
 
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I like the speakers on my iPad Air 2. Better than original iPad mini speakers.
I don't have the problems you have. Mine are very clear and loud.
 
The drop in audio quality was a real surprise to me when I went from an iPad 4 to an Air 2. I don't know if it's the speakers or the ultra thin case. Both the screen and the case back vibrate when I play games or have audio playing above 2-3 bars. I've done a little googling and this seems to be a common complaint with the Air 2. One fix that people have suggested is to jailbreak and then install a tweak that lets you mess with the equalisation settings to reduce the bass output, but I can't try that as there doesn't seem to be a jailbreak for iOS 9 right now.
 
Air 2 audio was one of the reasons I let mine go and kept the Pro. I remember holding it and playing a game before wondering why it's shaking in my hand at low volume.

Go Pro and don't look back.
 
ThunderMasterMind said:
Earlier today I was tinkering around with my mother's iPad Air 2 in the kitchen with my iPad 4 beside me. I watched a video on it and the sound quality sounded awful compared to my iPad. I thought, well maybe a setting is off, so I go into settings and compare them to my iPad's and they were exactly the same. I scratched my head and decided to compare song playback on both iPads and sure enough the Air 2 sounded like a potato next to the iPad 4. Even my 1st gen iPad mini sounds better than it does. This iPad isn't damaged in any way and it barely leaves the house, so I guess they all have poor speakers in them. They are loud, but sound bad. I really never noticed it because I always use my iPad and rarely use hers.

Anyone else ever noticed this? If so, this probably isn't the only topic about it lol.
Click to expand...

Going to Air2 from iPad3, I noticed a drop in sound quality, mostly from the directionality of the speakers. The sound on the Air2 is also more tinny, probably due to air2's at-the-time new thin case. So yes, I think the Air2 speakers are not goodcompared to the iPad3, IMO. They aren't deal breaking, though. Everyone uses headphones/speakers.
 
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