Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

hcho3

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 13, 2010
2,783
0
I only have MBP and I never owned MBA in my life. I am interested in buying 13.3 inch 2010 MBA. Question is...

How is the speaker compare to MBP?

My local apple store still doesn't have 13.3 inch MBA in display. They only have 11.6 in display. I tried speaker test on Rev C MBA and it was horrible. It was not good enough, period. Is the new one better? Please let me know thanks.
 

JPSensei

macrumors newbie
Aug 4, 2010
23
0
You are right it sucks, i saw a movie with all the volume up and i couldnt hear well, music the same, you cant use it for a party, this wasnt a problem with my previous MBP or obviously not with my imac 27. I know it is mobile but cmon the mba 11 speakers suck.
 

nidserz

macrumors 6502a
Mar 28, 2008
955
16
Dubai x Toronto
Yeah... The MBA11" speakers are pretty bad, even compared to my Alu uMB. The older MB had pretty bad speakers too, but I was ok with it for my MBA because I will be using headphones while on the go.
 

bossxii

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2008
1,754
0
Kansas City
How about the 13"'s speakers?
Also, the 11" vibrates when the sound is on high.

The 13" MBA speakers imo are better than the 13" MBP, but not as good as the 15". They are much better than the 11" MBA and previous gen MBA's. Somehow they managed to put a fairly full range speaker with decent volume in the 13" MBA. I don't have a 15" MPB handy to compare... but if the 13" MBP is a 1 and the 15" MBP speakers are a 10, I'd give the 13" MBA around a 6.

Just my 2 cents :)
 

hcho3

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 13, 2010
2,783
0
Not very good.

Uh oh...
I am heading back to apple store this weekend to test speaker for sure. REV C speaker was bad. REAL BAD. I couldn't hear a thing at the store. MBP 13 inch speaker is loud and clear.

NOT GOOD!!!!
 

dcmonks

macrumors newbie
Jul 12, 2006
7
0
totally disagree

I have to totally disagree with everyone here... I just received my 11"MBA and I think the speakers are a real surprise. Of course they aren't on-par with the iMacs or anything, but compared to my old white MB they are amazing. It's actually surprising how much volume can come out of such a tiny machine. On the other hand, I ordered an external monitor with speakers (ViewSonic) and while the display is beautiful the speakers are 10x worse than the MBA. I'll definitely be using the internal ones all of the time.
 

mkleist

macrumors newbie
Oct 28, 2010
3
0
Compared to my 2008 MBP, the speakers on the 13" aren't too bad. They don't sound quite as deep as the MBP, but I have had much worse on other laptops.
 

h00ligan

macrumors 68040
Apr 10, 2003
3,040
138
London
The best way to describe it is



meh.



at best. - based on the 11.

It's functional barely.. it's louder than the original mba I owned for all of a week... but very shallow sounding.
 

gatearray

macrumors 65816
Apr 24, 2010
1,130
232
I know the iPad has a long resonant bass chamber which makes the internal speaker decent for how small the device is. Can anyone compare the 11" MBA speaker with the iPad's for fun?
 

verytiti

macrumors newbie
Oct 21, 2010
26
0
How about the 13"'s speakers?
Also, the 11" vibrates when the sound is on high.

I don't know your expectations for the laptop but for me these speakers are good, it's really loud in my opinion and I can't see any problem with it. And I don't think you want this kind of speakers for a party anyway.
 

h00ligan

macrumors 68040
Apr 10, 2003
3,040
138
London
I know the iPad has a long resonant bass chamber which makes the internal speaker decent for how small the device is. Can anyone compare the 11" MBA speaker with the iPad's for fun?

not as loud, not as rich, on the 11"

the ipad was already pushing it imo.
 

kdoug

macrumors 65816
Jun 2, 2010
1,025
195
Iowa City, IA USA
I only have MBP and I never owned MBA in my life. I am interested in buying 13.3 inch 2010 MBA. Question is...

How is the speaker compare to MBP?

My local apple store still doesn't have 13.3 inch MBA in display. They only have 11.6 in display. I tried speaker test on Rev C MBA and it was horrible. It was not good enough, period. Is the new one better? Please let me know thanks.
My 13 speaks are great. About the same as my 2010 MBP.
 

wirelessmacuser

macrumors 68000
Dec 20, 2009
1,968
0
Planet.Earth
How about the 13"'s speakers?
Also, the 11" vibrates when the sound is on high.
I have the 13" and a good friend has the 11" we've compared them side by side taking everything into consideration. The sound of mine is certainly better than the 11" but I won't use it. I have high end ear buds I use for their stellar sound and the advantage of noise cancellation.
 

drjsway

macrumors 6502a
Jan 8, 2009
936
2
Speakers from best to worst:

1. unibody MBP 17"
2. unibody MBP 15"
3. new MBA 13"
4. new MBA 11"
5. iPad (iPad's speaker may be slightly better, but since it's mono, I'll give the edge to MBA 11")
6. unibody MBP 13"
7. unibody white MacBook
8. 2008-9 MBA

I have used every machine for a considerable amount of time in a quiet environment.
 

hachre

macrumors 6502a
Sep 26, 2007
690
43
Speakers from best to worst:

1. unibody MBP 17"
2. unibody MBP 15"
3. new MBA 13"
4. new MBA 11"
5. iPad (iPad's speaker may be slightly better, but since it's mono, I'll give the edge to MBA 11")
6. unibody MBP 13"
7. unibody white MacBook
8. 2008-9 MBA

I have used every machine for a considerable amount of time in a quiet environment.

Knowing most of these myself, I gotta agree with this highscore list ;)

You are right it sucks, i saw a movie with all the volume up and i couldnt hear well, music the same, you cant use it for a party, this wasnt a problem with my previous MBP or obviously not with my imac 27. I know it is mobile but cmon the mba 11 speakers suck.

I don't understand this either.. What do you mean - use it for a party?! You are using a MBP or an iMac for music at a PARTY?? How does that work??
 

drjsway

macrumors 6502a
Jan 8, 2009
936
2
Knowing most of these myself, I gotta agree with this highscore list ;)



I don't understand this either.. What do you mean - use it for a party?! You are using a MBP or an iMac for music at a PARTY?? How does that work??

Man, what a lame party!
 

fuzzielitlpanda

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2008
834
0
the speakers on the 11.6" are adequate. They are good for music, but not for movies. It's difficult to hear the dialogue
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.