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ondert

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 11, 2017
692
997
Canada
Hello,
Yesterday we just bought an M1 iMac from a nearby Apple Store for my wife. I didn't have time to use it then but today when I turned it on, I've started hearing this high pitched sound. It's low in volume but constant and I don't need to come close to hear this. I'm able to pick this sound in a silent room from a normal distance while sitting.

What's this? A coil whine?

Thank you all

 

royas

macrumors member
Nov 3, 2020
38
68
As far as I know, each iMac M1 has a buzzing sound, maybe it is coil whine or something else (there are even reports coming in that the new Studio display has it swell). Depending on how sensitive your hearing is and the sound level of your environment you can be hear it or not.

Even though, it is only an issue when display brightness is low (like in the evening) and you don't use any of the ports to draw power. So, if I am annoyed by it I just try to charge a device, like my iPad.
 

SebCohen

macrumors regular
Feb 9, 2022
214
215
Hello,
Yesterday we just bought an M1 iMac from a nearby Apple Store for my wife. I didn't have time to use it then but today when I turned it on, I've started hearing this high pitched sound. It's low in volume but constant and I don't need to come close to hear this. I'm able to pick this sound in a silent room from a normal distance while sitting.

What's this? A coil whine?

Thank you all

View attachment 1980009
I have tinnitus and I even hear that whine.
 

TechnoLawyer

macrumors regular
Nov 7, 2021
118
93
I couldn't hear anything. If the coil whine is high frequency, most folks my age can't hear it. :)

I can definitely hear it, and I'm in my 40s.

Losing high frequency hearing with age is definitely a real thing though. Playing around with a sound generator app my wife found, she was having her phone produce high frequency noises that neither of us could hear, but that all three of our kids heard. No warning to the kids anything was going to happen, start the noise going, immediately the little one sticks her fingers in her ears and the older ones start complaining and looking for the source of the noise.
 

minik

macrumors demi-god
Jun 25, 2007
2,209
1,742
somewhere
I can hear it from the recording. This week I set up 27 of the M1 iMac in a lab, but I didn't pay attention in detail on each of them. However I heard similar noise before from the MacBook line to MagSafe Duo Charger.
 

ondert

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 11, 2017
692
997
Canada
I’m going to ask for a replacement in any case because the display has the worst backlight bleed i’ve seen on any imac before.
 
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