M1 Air vs Pro- AUDIO comparison

[Moosebear]

I'm trying to decide whether to get an M1 air or a pro- and audio is important to me.

1. Is the "studio quality" 3-mic array a significant upgrade over the Air's, which is not labelled "studio quality", (while still being a 3-mic array)
I wonder if this "studio quality" mic in the Pro is the same mic as on the latest 16"? There are Youtube vidoes demoing the 16" recording sung vocals, and it sounds great! Studio quality indeed. If this is NOT the case with the Air, then that's almost worth the $300 upgrade for me... although I do have a USB external mic/interface, it's a hassle using it.

2. Are the speakers better on the Pro? Has anyone compared? I have not been able to find a comparison of the M1's yet.


I would RATHER get an air, (1TB so 8-core, prolly with 8GB ram) partly cuz I don't want a touchbar, it's cheaper, slightly lighter, and same damn port limitations anyway...

But recording and playback sound are important to me. Thoughts? Links?

 

[justinf77]

This might be helpful, he compares both the speakers and the mics on both models. Unfortunately I don't think the mic comparison in this video is super helpful since the MBP demo is pretty low volume.

 

[Moosebear]

Yeah that is helpful thanks Justin, you have to turn up the volume on the Pro one to match the level from the Air, but it does sound better to my ear, the Air sounds tinnier. I still don't know if the Pro has the same "studio quality" 3-mic array that is used in the 16-inch Mac's book Pro.

It might take somebody doing a studio singing test, like this studio demo video with the 16". With all the reverb and processing, this sounds good enough for home demos. If that's the case with the M1 Pro, then it's worth the $300 alone, for me.

Also, since video-conferencing (zoom etc) is likely to continue to have a big place even post-pandemic, mic quality is increasingly important there too.

 

[jambon]

Yeah that is helpful thanks Justin, you have to turn up the volume on the Pro one to match the level from the Air, but it does sound better to my ear, the Air sounds tinnier. I still don't know if the Pro has the same "studio quality" 3-mic array that is used in the 16-inch Mac's book Pro.

It might take somebody doing a studio singing test, like this studio demo video with the 16". With all the reverb and processing, this sounds good enough for home demos. If that's the case with the M1 Pro, then it's worth the $300 alone, for me.

Also, since video-conferencing (zoom etc) is likely to continue to have a big place even post-pandemic, mic quality is increasingly important there too.

Apple’s comparison suggests there is a difference for both mic and speakers in 13 vs 16 but I’ve not seen a comparison on what this really means.

 

[newdeal]

pretty clear the mics are way better on the pro. I would guess the speakers are also only because I have the air and a 2017 13" pro and the speakers on the air need to be turned up way higher to get the same volume as I got with the pro.

 

[kp98077]

Who really knows until you actually hear it ?

 

[0906742]

2. Are the speakers better on the Pro? Has anyone compared? I have not been able to find a comparison of the M1's yet.

I had opportunity back in the day to test both Air 13" 2018 and MBP 13" (1.4GHz) 2019 at home and to me Air had much better sound quality. It had much more bass and pleasing sound while Pro sounded very tinny while balanced.
I don't know if things have changed since but looking at iFixit teardowns it looks like speakers today are pretty much the same in both Air and Pro what it was when I made my comparison. From the photos it looks like actual speaker element of each speaker in Air is one large speaker and Pro has two small ones around the same total size together as one in Air. So that likely causes the difference in bass output.

Also reading Notebookcheck reviews of the models they have tested so far, I think Air (from 2018 model forward) scored better in all of them than cheapest basic Pro model.
So I'm also puzzled as in all specs it looks like Pro should have much better speakers than Air. The again I know pricier Pro models have different type of speakers even in pricier 13" model and then in 16" they are totally different and much better quality than in all others including Air.

Also some other difference between two I had was that both keyboard and trackpad sounded and felt more solid in Air. In Air even trackpad had nice smooth muffled click while Pro had loud hollow echo type click. Also keyboard in Pro had rather hollow sound under some parts while Air was solid, nice and muffled

 

[James_C]

To be honest if audio quality is important to you get the Air and with the money saved, get a really good external microphone as this will be way better than any internal microphone.

 

[darthbane2k]

Yeah that is helpful thanks Justin, you have to turn up the volume on the Pro one to match the level from the Air, but it does sound better to my ear, the Air sounds tinnier. I still don't know if the Pro has the same "studio quality" 3-mic array that is used in the 16-inch Mac's book Pro.

It might take somebody doing a studio singing test, like this studio demo video with the 16". With all the reverb and processing, this sounds good enough for home demos. If that's the case with the M1 Pro, then it's worth the $300 alone, for me.

Also, since video-conferencing (zoom etc) is likely to continue to have a big place even post-pandemic, mic quality is increasingly important there too.

Regardless, I doubt id trust any laptop mic for recording.

 

[Moosebear]

To be honest if audio quality is important to you get the Air and with the money saved, get a really good external microphone as this will be way better than any internal microphone.

That's the traditional answer, yes, and I do have a good external mic and interface.

However, if the mic in the M1 Pro is as good as in the 16", that's good enough for home singing demos, to my ear. And that's a big plus since it's right there integrated, with no cable fussing, instant studio anywhere. And for someone who doesn't already have an external mic, and wants good recording quality, that could be a huge selling point for the Pro. If you haven't listened, check out this studio video demo the internal mic on the 16". That's good enough, to me.

And thanks, Jambon, so "high signal to noise ratio" is missing on the M1 MBpro. I guess we'll have to wait to see what that means in the real world. If the singing pickup is not as good as on the 16" video linked above, I may cancel the pro I ordered and get an Air, and just use my external mic.

 

[wrsni]

If you watch this review, at some point the reviewer switches a few times between his studio mic set up and the MBP's built in mics. Plainly there's a decline in quality but I thought they were pretty good all things considered.

Sorry I don't remember where it is in the review so you'll have to listen to it but I noted it at the time and thought it may be of some use to you when I saw your query.

For what it's worth, I have a new MBP on order and the better audio both ways was one of the factors which inflienced my decision.

Hope this helps.

 

[Moosebear]

That's useful, thanks Wrsni. That guy, like others, doesn't do a comparison where he corrects for volume, so his "$500 mic system" sounds a lot better, yes, but also is so much louder than the M1 MBP's internal mic, that it's hard to compare properly.

For anyone interested, it's on the vid above at about 11:30 where he does the quick comparison test.

If anyone finds a vid where someone is doing singing or other music on the internal mic of the new M1 MBpro, please post.

 

[wrsni]

What did you think of it?

I thought it was impressive enough actually given the limitations of the video.

 

[Moosebear]

Too short to be of much use, but yeah it didn’t sound bad. If it can get close to what that singer/producer got with the 16” MbPro in the vid I posted above, I’ll be sold on the m1 pro.

 

[wrsni]

Are there not enough other benefits from the 'Pro' version to justify going for it anyway and then just see how it works out?

It could be difficult to ascertain how good it'll do your job without actually laying your hands on one.

*edit* - actually having listened to it again, the Macbook mics are pretty good I think. I have a few music podcasts to do over the next few weeks and I think the built-in mics will be well up to the job.

 

[Moosebear]

Yes for sure, I’ve got a pro on order. I’m just not sure I want the Touch Bar, and I like the slightly lighter weight of the air... so if the audio components are NOT an upgrade on the pro, I’d prefer an Air, and not just for the price tag.

 

[Moosebear]

"In terms of the ultimate question of whether you should buy an Air or a Pro - we'd choose the Air. Currently there is little reason to choose the 13-inch Pro over the Air unless you really want the Touch Bar, better audio tech and that extra bit of brightness - but it's also bigger and heavier, too."

That quote is from Pocketlint's review and it sums up my concern. Except that they are taking Apple's word that the audio IS noticably better in the Pro. If it isn't, I'll cancel my Pro order and get an air without that pesky Touch Bar.

 

[Moosebear]

Okay this video is pretty goofy, BUT it shows a clear jump in quality for the mic in the M1 Macbook Pro. The Air sounds tinny in comparison. I'd still love to hear a singing comparison, but this is +1 for the "studio quality" mic of the Pro.

 

[SBruv]

If you’re even remotely serious about the quality of your music, please, please, please don’t record it using the built-in mics on any MacBook, or monitor using the built-in speakers. They are in absolutely no sense ‘studio quality’. Just... don’t do it.

 

[Moosebear]

If you’re even remotely serious about the quality of your music, please, please, please don’t record it using the built-in mics on any MacBook, or monitor using the built-in speakers. They are in absolutely no sense ‘studio quality’. Just... don’t do it.

Have you watched the video posted above with a producer singing into the mic in her 16" Macbook Pro? Ain't nothin' wrong with that sound. Of course I wouldn't monitor with the built-in speakers.

But if the mic in the new M1 Macbook Pro can do that same level of recording quality, give me one good reason why I wouldn't use it at times?


The fact is, lots of recording artists use different mics of different qualitiy levels, with different sounds. There are artists who use snippets they record on their phones. Fidelity is the main consideration, but not the only one.

 

[Herrpod]

pretty clear the mics are way better on the pro. I would guess the speakers are also only because I have the air and a 2017 13" pro and the speakers on the air need to be turned up way higher to get the same volume as I got with the pro.

The opposite is true now. The Pro needs to be turned way up to match the volume of the Air.

 

[bb147]

The Intel 2020 MBP speakers definitely sound way better. I hear a very noticeable difference in range. M1 MBA speakers sound more muffled. It's not terrible and you probably wouldn't notice it after a week. I would argue most people wouldn't even notice it at all. But I switch between the Air and Pro everyday (Air for personal, Pro for work) and its very annoying. I am seriously considering paying extra $300 so I don't have to hear this muffled sound when I use my Air.

 

[wrsni]

"In terms of the ultimate question of whether you should buy an Air or a Pro - we'd choose the Air. Currently there is little reason to choose the 13-inch Pro over the Air unless you really want the Touch Bar, better audio tech and that extra bit of brightness - but it's also bigger and heavier, too."

That quote is from Pocketlint's review and it sums up my concern. Except that they are taking Apple's word that the audio IS noticably better in the Pro. If it isn't, I'll cancel my Pro order and get an air without that pesky Touch Bar.

To be honest, that quote makes a pretty good case for the Pro, it's a bit like the famous "what have the Romans ever done for us?" line from the Monty Python sketch (apologies if you're from outside the UK and have no idea what I'm on about.

Furthermore, I just received my new Pro a couple of hours ago and neither of the words "big" or "heavy" spring to mind in relation to it.

Oh, and before you ask, no I'm not going to sing in to it for you!

No offence. ?

 

[wrsni]

The opposite is true now. The Pro needs to be turned way up to match the volume of the Air.

At the risk of stating the obvious.

Volume is not quality.

 

[wrsni]

For those unfamiliar this is the sketch to illustrate my point.

"What benefit has a Macbook Pro over the Air?" >shouted dismissively<

???