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iPad Pro Low volume audio quality on M1 iPad Pro seems worse than 2020 model
- Thread starter DMG35
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The 2021 is barely audbile at the lowest level while the 2020 is easily audible and clear. Two clicks and the 2020 still has better sounding audio and clearer voices while the 2021 is muddled and not nearly as clear. Three clicks and the 2020 is still much louder than the 2021. When you turn them all the way up past that they sound virtually identical. But if you want to watch something at low volume the 2021 isn’t great for it.
So now you're saying they sound virtually identical at full volume. I don't see why you're complaining if every volume level can be matched on both ipads. Who cares where the volume indicators are set? It's all in the software, eh? They could adjust the interface on the next update.
Dude I’ve been very clear. I’ve said at lower volume levels the M1 doesn’t sound as good as the 2020. If you turn them all the way up they sound similar. Every volume level can’t be matched. You have to ratchet up the volume fairly high or the sound isn’t very good. At low levels of volume the M1 sounds like garbage.
Jeez why do people get so offended when something like this is pointed out. They act like I’m insulting a family member or something. Its just an observation I was pointing out that I’m a little disappointed in.
Dude, volume is not determined by the number of clicks on two different devices. It’s measured in decibels. Who cares if a ’20 takes 3 clicks to reach a certain decibel level and a ‘21 takes 4 or 5? If, at the same decibel level the two devices sound the same, then one is not superior to the other. You’ve wasted a lot of time and effort on a specious claim.
You just aren’t understanding. Let me try to clear this up for you. Do you think I care how many clicks its takes to get a max volume on an iPad? I don’t. What I’m saying is that at low volumes the M1 iPad doesn’t have very good sound. You can’t click past it. If you don’t turn it up to a certain level then it just doesn’t sound very good. On the 2020 iPad I can watch something at a low volume and hear it clearly. The M1 iPad not so much. You have to turn it up much louder in order to hear as at low volumes the voices are muddled and sound terrible.
So please stop with the “who cares how many clicks its takes to get to a certain volume.” That has nothing to do with it. It has to do with low volume sound quality and the M1’s isn’t very good.
This description makes the issue you have clear. I think a lot of the misunderstanding comes from the title of the thread, that does not reflect this description clearly
It’s hard to imagine that Apple did this intentionally. Maybe an iFixit tear down will reveal a hardware change, but hopefully it’s software. But I have no first-hand experience one way or another. I have a 2021 12.9 to be delivered on Wednesday but no 2020 with which to compare it.
They did change the internal speaker design in the new ones so I would assume that’s partly why this issue is occurring.
What he's saying (and he is 100% correct) is that the audio buttons on the 2021 units are programmed to act differently than last year's model. Each "click" of the 2021 model raises the volume a more incremental amount. And this is not a bad thing! It doesn't mean that it can't produce the same or better sound...It just means that the user has more control over the volume because it's much more micro-targeted.
Why are you comparing clicks on buttons that are not programmed to act the same way between models?
That’s not at all what I‘m saying. I’m saying at low volume the M1 iPad Pro does not sound very good. And you actually have less control over volume because you have to turn it up louder in order for the audio quality to improve.
I’m not comparing clicks on buttons. I’m comparing the quality of the audio at low volumes.
Again, this isn’t an indictment on the new iPad. It was just an observation I made that I find a little bit annoying. I’ve also changed the title of the thread to indicate more clearly what I was talking about.
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This initial reply on my part was regarding overall sound quality, not quality at low volume as has been clarified. I'd change my response to "don't know" as I no longer have the 2018 iPP to compare with and I never used low volume much.
I am a violinist I played the violin for 30 years , it is my profession now. and I love headphones and speakers.
sharp sound does not mean better sound, this S sound often make speaking more clear(which means easier to hear the vocal pronunciation). but overall better sound means more balanced Nice to the ear and often warm rounded and pleasing.
2021 iPad Pro 12.9in sound a bit better than 2020 iPad Pro 12.9in. 2020 11in iPad Pro sound not good at all, it is just loud enough and sharp, 2021 11in iPad Pro sound much better than 2020 11in iPad Pro.
end of the story
sharp sound does not mean better sound, this S sound often make speaking more clear(which means easier to hear the vocal pronunciation). but overall better sound means more balanced Nice to the ear and often warm rounded and pleasing.
2021 iPad Pro 12.9in sound a bit better than 2020 iPad Pro 12.9in. 2020 11in iPad Pro sound not good at all, it is just loud enough and sharp, 2021 11in iPad Pro sound much better than 2020 11in iPad Pro.
end of the story
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While you can certainly make such a comparison validly for you, it isn’t really fair to blame the iPad or Apple for not catering to your view of “better.” The only thing that Apple can do about that is give you the equalizer controls.
”Better” is an entirely subjective value that they can’t aim at for a product.
Before you say that speech is clearer, etc. on the oldear one, you can only say that relative to your hearing. Even though my hearing isn’t as bad as many of my colleagues of the same age, it’s not as good as it was when I was 20. I have pretty decent rolloff above about 12k. That’s not enough to interfere significantly with speech, but it will color what I think of “how clear” the sound is.
What goal Apple (or any manufacturer) can do is aim for the most accurate representation as possible, but that may or may not be “better” to me. Even then, it can only be objectively compared under very well-defined conditions, not necessarily related to any real listening environment.
Speech clarity depends at least partial on consonant audibility, which in turn depends at least partially on high frequency response. I with my rolloff over 12k won’t hear those as well as someone who doesn’t have that. The speech will sound muddier to me, but it’s not the fault of the speakers. If Apple chooses to by default emphasize highs, it may sound “better” to me, but it will also make the violinist’s sound above sound more screechy, and, especially if they are younger, probably won’t like that sound. If Apple chose to boost it in previous versions and has now chosen not to do so, then the new one is more accurate, but not “better” in the sense of what me personally might want. Objectively, the newer one would normally considered “better” in that it doesn’t color the sound as much, leaving me to color it as I choose.
Note that I am not trying to say which version of the iPad is more accurate. I haven’t seen any technical measurements on that, and, even if I had, they may not be as relevant to non-ideal ”real world” situations as one might like.
Thank you so very much for actually providing factual information! I noticed this immediately myself after I pulled this overpriced product out of the box and set it up. We need to seriously somehow bring this to Apple’s attention because average users keep saying how amazing the quality is (completely oblivious). Lastly, what happnened to your comparison video on YouTube?