24" iMac Speakers

[bilyou]

What are the internal speakers like on the 24" iMac?

Could you watch a DVD on the 24" iMac in a living room setting and listen to it comfortably through the internal speakers?

I'm not really interested in having surround sound, we've got 2.1 speakers at the moment connected to a Powerbook but if I could watch DVDs without external speakers my next Mac may well be an iMac.

 

[Vidd]

I believe that they're quite good. AFAIK it houses 4 speakers due to the greater size compared to the smaller models.

 

[theBB]

I have a 20'' and it's got the best internal speakers in any computer I have seen.

 

[teckoda]

The apple guy talked me into buying JBL speakers with mine. And they have the most amazing sound i've ever seen... or even heard for that matter

 

[wizwaz3]

They're wonderful. You can't hear low bass, but I wouldn't expect to with the size of the speakers. They're truly fantastic. As for watching DVDs comfortably, yes. Unless Apple decides to put another cap on the volume like they did with the latest Software Update. The 17" and 20" have a 12WATT amp and the 24" has a 24WATT amp. It does make a difference.

 

[kixsand]

Good is a relative term that is applicable to the speakers in the 24" iMac. My previous computer was an old G4 17" iMac and compared to it the speakers in the 24" iMac are better than good...they are freaking fantastic!

However, I have my 24" iMac running through a Marantz amp hooked up to a pair of PSB Alpha AV's. I still use the internal speakers on occasion and they are fine for most things but simply have to be seen as remarkably pedestrian when compared to the PSB's.

So I guess it comes down to what good means to you. Well, what does it mean.

kixsand

 

[puckhead193]

my parents use the stock 20" imacs for normal stuff. You should be able to hear it but it won't be like having a home theatre

 

[bilyou]

Thanks for the answers everybody.

So I guess it comes down to what good means to you. Well, what does it mean.

Well good to me really means just that I can watch DVDs and hear the dialogue between the actors clearly, and any music in the film would be pretty clear too, so the speakers would have to be loud enough and clear enough for that. I don't personally need the whole room to shake when a Klingon starship explodes, or someone's footsteps in a film to sound like they're walking across the room. It would be nice to be able to move our JBLs to another room and keep the living room relatively free from cables and power supplies.

Our stereo is in another corner of the room so I can't just run a line into the stereo. For music we've got airtunes to the stereo which is fine though.

Bit disappointed there were no iMac updates at the WWDC, I would love an iMac which looked similar to a cinema display.

Thanks
Billy

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

This may sound crazy, but I swear that my 20Imac CD speakers sound "warmer" and "richer" than my 24"C2D speakers. The 24" Imac sounds louder, but colder - if that makes ANY sense at all.

That being said, I use the fiber optic output on my 24" Imac coupled to my Logitech Z5500s.

Not because my Imac speakers are bad - but that (500W >24W) and for frequency response, (12" > 1") which, sadly, size does matter.