I know the 16" is the best of them all, but among the new 13" group, is there any difference between the $1299, $1499, and $1799 models in terms of speaker quality? I'm hearing that there are differences, but the Apple website doesn't mention this at all (that I can find).
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Which 2020 Macbook Pro 13" has the BEST speakers?
- Thread starter RobbyIdol
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Thanks for the quick reply. Same for the $1799/$1999 models? Not sure why some are saying there are differences.
No difference between the 2020 models, but compared to the 2019, the 2020 has Dolby Atmos support.
There is a different speaker design between “low-end” ($1299-$1499) and “high-end” ($1799-$1999). Not sure how (or if) this translates to differences in quality.
Here is a photo showing the different internal layout between the $1799 model and the $1299 model. The higher end uses 28 watt CPUs, so it had a beefier cooling solution (two fans vs. one) while the lower end uses 15 watt CPUs. There is a difference in the internal layout of the speakers. This photo is from a Max Tech YouTube video and they say in passing that the higher end model has “better speakers,” but no other detail is given.
I’m not sure what the difference is - if there is one. I feel like Apple would tout better speakers as a selling point of the higher end, but they don’t state a difference. Who knows..?
Photo from:
To clarify, the photo show in the video is from the 2019 model, but I’m assuming there will be similar differences in the 2020 models given the different CPU wattages and cooling requirements.
Again, I don’t know if there is an appreciable difference in speaker quality, but there is a difference in layout between the two tiers of 13” Pro.
Does anyone else have knowledge of difference in speakers?
I'm leaning toward the $1799 model to future-proof myself for a while, and it seems possible there's a difference in audio. That's important to me, but then again, seeing how I've used a 2014 MBA for 6 years now, ANY improvement in audio will be fine with me 
Purely subjective but... Having recently switched between a low-end 2019 and a high-end 2019 13" model, I can say the speakers sounded different. The low end was more tinny. I was quick to connect my Bose bluetooth speaker for listening to music. The high-end, while not on the same level as the 16", has a richer sound. I can definitely listen to music from it without the Bose speaker, although the Bose speaker trumps all.
I would imagine that the 2020 13" MBPs will follow a similar build.
I would imagine that the 2020 13" MBPs will follow a similar build.
That's the feeling I get from the video analyzing the 2019 models. None of the 13" speakers would win out over a proper external speaker system, but for pure convenience listening while doing work on the computer, the higher end models definitely have a fuller, more balanced sound.
Honestly, Apple should mention this when advertising. Their tech specs page on the 13" models just gives a blanket statement for all models, leading the consumer to assume there's no difference in speaker quality which is clearly not true. I wonder what exactly gives the "better" sound in high end models, if the internal audio parts are the same as the low end?
If you're getting a laptop and wanting the speakers to be good, I'd recommend the 16' still, unless there's some reason you can't use that size. I have a 2016 MacBook Pro 13" here, as well as a 2020 MacBook Air, and 1 16" MacBook Pro. The 16" blows away the 2020 MacBook Air, which has the "new style" speakers.
If you look at the teardowns at ifixit.com, you can see that the 13" used to have the same speakers for all models. They started using inferior speakers in the cheaper 13" models in 2017 or 2018, I don't remember which year, it's been a while since I looked that up.
That's correct. I'm not sure if they made the 2018 Touch Bar speakers better than the 2016 13", or if they made the nTB model worse to save costs?
The Ice Lake models have better bass than the 8th gen models. It’s been confirmed by opening up the case.
if built in laptop speaker sound quality is important to you like it is to me then once you hear the 16" speakers you just cant go back to the 13"s. i had to buy a macbook now and wanted the new 13 higher end model but once i went to the apple store and heard both of them i just bought the 16 even though its bigger than what i wanted. thing is the 16" doesnt feel as bulky to use as some 15" laptops i used in the past (not apple laptops). so i made the decision to put up with the bit extra weight and some but not much bigger size difference and of course you have the benefits of a bigger screen to go along with the bigger speakers and dGPU and more cpu power.
if for some reason you really dont think you can put up with the extra weight and size then dont get the 16" because its useless if dont end up using it.
if for some reason you really dont think you can put up with the extra weight and size then dont get the 16" because its useless if dont end up using it.
Probably 2016 when the USB-C models were released. The ones with the touchbar and four TB3 ports would have a different case design than the ones with two TB3 ports and no touchbar, allowing (or maybe requiring) them to actually have different speakers.
It's possible the speaker system will be different between the lower-end systems with two TB-3 ports and the higher end system with four because the case designs are different.