Users experience sound issues with Apple's 27-inch Cinema Display

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Owners of Apple's new 27-inch LED Cinema Display have had problems with the hardware's speakers, with sound that cuts out and issues with volume control.



A thread was started on Apple's official discussion forums in October for problems with the new 27-inch, LED backlit screen, which sells for $999. Since then, it has grown to over 200 posts and 15 pages as of Wednesday, with numerous users reporting the same problems, while other threads (1, 2) have also been created.



Some of the new Cinema Displays completely lose sound after a period of use. Users said the only way to fix the problem is to unplug the display, and then plug it back in. But the temporary fix does not prevent the issue from returning.



There are also issues with the response time of volume control on the keyboard. Some said they experienced delays of 6 to 7 seconds after pressing a key to change the volume.



Some who contacted Apple support were sent replacement displays, but those also exhibited the same problem. Some who contacted support were told that Apple is aware of the problem, but the company could not provide any details on a potential fix.



Some said they have experienced the same issues while running the display with Windows as well, suggesting it is not a software issue related to Mac OS X. Some have found success by changing audio settings, and have suggested the problems are related to USB audio, as newer Macs that send audio over the Mini DisplayPort are apparently unaffected.



"Audio becomes disabled and I cannot even select Display Audio (USB) audio from Sound preferences pane," user hmss007a wrote. "The only options available are Internal Speakers and LED Cinema (DisplayPort), which doesn't work."



Before it was released, Apple issued a software update for the new Cinema Display. But that update simply added the ability to adjust ambient light sensor settings in the System Preferences pane.



"System power setting re-set does not fix it, nor does unplugging mini-display port," user jeremypk wrote. "Very disappointed. Puzzling because the sound did work at first (at least after installing the recommended software patch from Apple), and sound seems to be dead completely now. I hope Apple is reading this."



The 27-inch LED Cinema Display went on sale in September. It packs a 2,560-by-1,440 pixel resolution and a 178-degree viewing angle. The hardware replaced the previous 24- and 30-inch Cinema Display models.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I would hope this will be a software fix. It would be pretty annoying if it is a hardware problem.
  • Reply 2 of 35
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    I don't use the built-in speakers on my 27" monitor, so I don't know if this affects me or not.



    I must say, though, that overall I love the monitor. My only gripe is that the default color profile has a slight bluish tint. I understand that LEDs tend to skew blue, but couldn't this have been fixed at the factory? I know I can calibrate the color using the rather cumbersome utility that Apple includes, but that's kind of a pain.



    But really -- I do like the monitor. I even like the glass covering -- it makes it so much easier to clean.
  • Reply 3 of 35
    The 27-inch LED Cinema Display went on sale in September. It packs a 2,560-by-1,440 pixel resolution and a 178-degree viewing angle. The hardware replaced the previous 24- and 30-inch Cinema Display models.[/QUOTE]



    love this display and wish i could get one. but it is really sad that apple doesn't offer the 24 or even a 22 for people who want to use a mini and have to get some ugly dell etc rather than shell out 999 dollars
  • Reply 4 of 35
    gary54gary54 Posts: 169member
    Yeppers ... a bleeding edge technology still in the process of working the kinks out that everyone is having trouble with! rolls eyes
  • Reply 5 of 35
    One has to wonder... what changed between the 24" and the 27".

    The 24" did not have these issues did they?
  • Reply 6 of 35
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    ...this must be one tiny minority of users. I once again know a lot of people including a UK, Japanese and US university who each have 30+ of these and no issues, only have one myself and again no issues. Let's wait for the media to blow it out all proportion and users of this site (who have not experienced an issue and probably haven't even used the product) to berate Apple once again.



    It's a great monitor, love it and it looks incredible next to my 27" iMacs.
  • Reply 7 of 35
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KindredMac View Post


    One has to wonder... what changed between the 24" and the 27".

    The 24" did not have these issues did they?



    Agreed that is a good question. Our 24" is flawless and we test it to the limits by alternately attaching two different MBPs in rapid succession all the time as the wife and I fight over it. I was about to get the larger one but now I think I'll wait a while.
  • Reply 8 of 35
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nkhm View Post


    ...this must be one tiny minority of users. I once again know a lot of people including a UK, Japanese and US university who each have 30+ of these and no issues, only have one myself and again no issues. Let's wait for the media to blow it out all proportion and users of this site (who have not experienced an issue and probably haven't even used the product) to berate Apple once again.



    It's a great monitor, love it and it looks incredible next to my 27" iMacs.



    Oh, that is good to know.
  • Reply 9 of 35
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    I have the 30" cinema which I love. I'm sure the 27" LED is better but I don't want to give up 3" of screen real estate. Still holding out for a 30"+ LED.
  • Reply 10 of 35
    I have a spring 2010 i7 15"MBP. A couple of weeks ago I got the 27" ACD. When I have the audio going through displayport, it doesn't go dead, using USB I have had it go dead.

    Strangely enough the microphone only goes through USB and I have had it go dead trying to use it with FaceTime. Funny the iSight camera hasn't gone out. Pretty annoying. Shut down and reboot fixes it but not restart. Since I set preferences to use displayport for audio at least the speakers don't seem to go dead and I seldom use the mic.



    I love the display, it would be hard to give it up. I also have little kids and they can't help but touch the screen, the glass panel makes it a breeze to clean.



    I'm hoping it's a firmware issue related to the fact that now audio can go through either displayport or USB and the damn thing gets confused. Of course I'm also hoping apple fixes the issue.
  • Reply 11 of 35
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KindredMac View Post


    One has to wonder... what changed between the 24" and the 27".

    The 24" did not have these issues did they?



    I'm pretty sure on the 24" the audio only goes through USB.



    On the 27" you now have the option to go through either USB or displayport.

    Maybe someone with a 24"'can confirm?
  • Reply 12 of 35
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by screamingfist View Post


    The 27-inch LED Cinema Display went on sale in September. It packs a 2,560-by-1,440 pixel resolution and a 178-degree viewing angle. The hardware replaced the previous 24- and 30-inch Cinema Display models.



    love this display and wish i could get one. but it is really sad that apple doesn't offer the 24 or even a 22 for people who want to use a mini and have to get some ugly dell etc rather than shell out 999 dollars[/QUOTE]



    Agree.

    They should also offer the 21.5" screen they use in the smaller iMac.

    Coughing up the dough for the 27" sucked, but now that I have it I couldn't go back to something smaller/ lower resolution.
  • Reply 13 of 35
    Let me too (like everyone else here) ignore the problem and just say how wonderful it is, - or claim "it's only a few having this problem"....



    God People, so it get's a little bit on the blue side and makes weird noises - let's just talk about how great it is. The 27" Cinema display is elegant, gorgeous, magical, and delicious. Isn't this enough for you whiners??????????
  • Reply 14 of 35
    Thanks for reporting this. I've been having this problem since I got my cinema display a month ago, but didn't want to call support and go through the hassle of getting a replacement just to face the same problem again. Hopefully if this gets picked up by more news sites, Apple will produce a definitive fix.
  • Reply 15 of 35
    Count me in. The issue happens after waking up the my mac, but not consistently for some reason. Taking out the plugs and putting them back on fixes it for me.
  • Reply 16 of 35
    AI-guys, thanks for making this a topic!



    @nkhm: this can't be a minority. i have two (out of two) 27" displays behaving this way and ther is a guy on the support forum with 16 affected displays.



    the biggest issue: it becomes worse with time. while the 'fixes' lasted for a couple of days initially, i am unplugging my display at least twice a day now.
  • Reply 17 of 35
    35873587 Posts: 4member
    Not only is it a speaker issue, the mic doesn't work either! Everytime I iChat, the mic drops. Speaker issue too! Sucks, but what a great monitor!
  • Reply 18 of 35
    hi, I have one of these monitors that's having the sound issues. I registered to share that its not a rumor. i got it new at the apple store and it started having issues about a week in. some people have reported being able to have apple send new monitors out but most of those have the same problem i think. anyway over at macrumors there's several threads about it, go here for more info:



    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1026132

    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1027419



    also apple's site has a huge thread on it too. lots of problems i hope they can fix it.

    http://discussions.apple.com/thread....11014&tstart=0





    thanks for the writeup hopefully this will get some attention to the issue so that apple can fix it.
  • Reply 19 of 35
    I hope Apple fixes this!!!
  • Reply 20 of 35
    @nkhm Just because you do not have it, doesn't mean a LOT of users do not have this issue. I can say the same thing about people like you, defending Apple like it's a family member. If you read the forum, you'd see one user in the UK has 16 of the monitors and ALL have the issue. Also, a lot of users never use the speakers, have another speaker setup, so for them, there isn't an issue. Many users have replacement monitors and have the same exact issue.



    I'd like to thank AI for posting on this. It is a major issue.



    I do not use iChat often, so I do not see the mic or video issue for me. This is a major issue and Apple support has even ignored my emails when I was told, "Any issues, just email me" from the level II support person. I've emailed just twice respectfully, without a response.



    My guess is this is a hardware issue and Apple will have to replace the monitors, but will do so quietly. Eventually, all replacement monitors will work without Apple acknowledging it at all. This is just a guess as I hope I am wrong and a firmware is released.
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