Powerbook speaker volume

jms698jms698
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I've tried search for a review of the speakers in the various powerbooks, but found nothing. What are people's experiences?



Does the 17" rock the house?

Is the 12" even worth having, or is it too quiet to hear from all but the immediate area around the laptop?

How does the 15" speaker fit in between the two?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    cdoverlawcdoverlaw Posts: 73member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by jms698

    I've tried search for a review of the speakers in the various powerbooks, but found nothing. What are people's experiences?



    Does the 17" rock the house?

    Is the 12" even worth having, or is it too quiet to hear from all but the immediate area around the laptop?

    How does the 15" speaker fit in between the two?



    well ibook 14inch is pretty loud, and it is possible to increase sound using software but this can cause distortion (VLC does this as it plays music), ive sat on a coach before with music playing loud and everyone could hear. even above all the talking



    Jonathan
  • Reply 2 of 11
    banchobancho Posts: 1,517member
    I have a 12" iBook and a 12" Powerbook.



    The iBook is pretty quiet even with volume all the way up. The Powerbook, however, is actually pretty good and puts out decent sound. The Powerbook has a third speaker under the keyboard.



    I can't speak for the 15" or 17" models though as I haven't used them.
  • Reply 3 of 11
    daveleedavelee Posts: 245member
    From my experience, the speakers on the PBs are still way ahead of those on the iBooks. My 12" PB revA still sounds pretty good, although obviously a bit tinny.



    Certainly if the sound is all the way up, you could maybe listen comfortably from a few metres away...



    Can you go into a store and check them out?
  • Reply 4 of 11
    tekmatetekmate Posts: 134member
    On the older Titanium book the speakers are way too low I can barely hear them at max volume. I haven't played any games or music on the new ones so I'm not sure if they are any better. I would suggest going to an Apple store to try them if there is one in your area.
  • Reply 5 of 11
    drazztikkadrazztikka Posts: 240member
    Euhm, all laptop speakers s*ck, ever heard a bassline through such speakers?

    They are just too small, there can't be enough air moved to produce a good sound.

    I wonder why laptop manufacturers do not tell us the spec's of their little speakers...
  • Reply 6 of 11
    bergzbergz Posts: 1,045member
    15" PB not too good.



    --B
  • Reply 7 of 11
    mariusmarius Posts: 23member
    ...I have a brand new PB 17", and I must say - the LOUDspeakers should be renamed smallSPEAKERS. Therefore, I bought a pair of cordless headphones from Sennheiser (HDR 120) and a couple of Studiophile BX8 from M-AUDIO, and this turned my PB into a decent hi-fi system. Anyway, the internal smallspeakers are probably OK, I could not tell - I never heard the sound on any other portables...
  • Reply 8 of 11
    neutrino23neutrino23 Posts: 1,562member
    The speakers on the 15 inch Aluminum PB are fairly good. Not hi-fi but certainly clear and reasonably loud. When I travel I use my PB as an alarm clock by telling iCal to launch a script at the desired time that tells iTunes to play my wakeup playlist. If I have no other speakers available then I am satisfied to use these.



    However, when I am traveling for longer periods when I have larger bags then I carry a pair of powered speakers (Altec Lansing MX5020) so that I get louder, clearer sound.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    jms698jms698 Posts: 102member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DaveLee

    Can you go into a store and check them out?



    I'm sorry to say that Manchester doesn't (yet) have an Apple store. Thanks for all the posts so far. Keep 'em coming.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    cdoverlawcdoverlaw Posts: 73member
    im gonna buy a imac when the manchester store opens
  • Reply 11 of 11
    regreg Posts: 832member
    The speakers on the 17 do not rock the house. They are a nice set but do not compare to connecting external speakers or a good set of headphones or earplugs. I use mine for presentations connected to a projector and external speakers, otherwise people more than 10 feet away would not be able to hear. If you are just watching a DVD the sound quality is good enough but music is best listened to with volume that these speaker cannot provide.



    reg
Sign In or Register to comment.