MacBook Pro sound imbalance?

Haven't seen a 'takeapart" of the 17" model yet, tim, but most recent MBPs have actually had their apparent "soundstage" set a bit to one side. The reason for this is that the so-called "sub-woofer" is actually located a bit towards the right hand side, and, because its not really a "sub-woofer" but outputs sound at high enough frequencies for people to attribute directionality to it, tends to push things over enough for many people to notice the lack of "centredness".

Cheers

Rod

I just bought my 15" i7 today, SAME PROBLEM. going to take it in tomorrow.

Hi there,

If you open the Audio MIDI Setup app in /Applications/Utilities folder you can adjust the volume of each speaker individually until you get the desired balance. Once you've adjusted it to the desired level you can use the volume controls normally as the speaker levels will adjust proportionally keeping the balance the same.

Hope this helps
J.C

Message was edited by: J.C

Yes, this is confirmed on my new i5 Macbook Pro 15" - I actually took it the Apple Store and the genius also confirmed it. We went to see the ones on display and sure enough ALL of them have more bass/louder settings on the right side.

It's really noticeable with speech. He said since these are so new, they have no reports on these and encouraged me to go to the Apple Discussions to build a report. In the meantime, he suggested going into the Sound Preferences and moving the Speaker balance slightly to the left.

This only affects the new 15 and 17 inch models since they have the new sub woofers. The 13 inch sound fine. At the Apple Store (in Fort Worth, Texas) all their machines are plugged into speakers, so no one has noticed it (also it's pretty loud inside).

So until we get more people to confirm this 'blemish' the only thing you can do at the moment is to adjust the imbalance in the sound.

So until we get more people to confirm this 'blemish' the only thing you can do at the moment is to adjust the imbalance in the sound.

And that's all you'll be able to do after the "blemish" has been confirmed (again). All 15" and 17" unibody MBPs since their introduction have had this flaw, which is due to the physical location of the internal "subwoofer", as Rod has explained above. The "subwoofer" can't be centered without redesigning the rest of the hardware, so the problem, if it is one, can't be fixed without a major hardware modification.

I say "if it is one" because I can't imagine that anyone who is concerned about sound quality would ever willingly listen to the built-in speakers anyway.

It's not a problem, it's normal.

Indeed. It has occurred with all unibody MBPs, not just the "new" ones, and we have seen a number of posts here relating to the 2009 models as well (though people tend not to notice it so much on the 13" model because the speakers are so close together anyway and the sound isn't exactly pounding! 😉 ).

On all of these computers the subwoofer occupies a location on the right hand side. The subwoofer and right hand speaker form an "L", with the "subwoofer forming the L's baseline running along the side of the Optical drive (on the trackpad side on 15" & 17" models and on the "hinge" side in the 13" models).

Cheers

Rod

I've got the same issue.
I called up the local Apple Care support hotline (Hong Kong) and they have no idea that the new Macbook Pro contains a subwoofer.

All of the unibody MBPs (late 2008 through 2010 inclusive) have a so called "subwoofer", zentenk.

As far as the new model goes, the next time you speak to the help line, tell them to take a look at the "teardown" at http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Core-i5-Teardown/2212 /2 where they will find a picture of it! 😉

They might want to re-read the audio section of the Apple specs sheet at http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html , too!

Cheers

Rod

Hey Tim, I havent had a chance to take my MBP in yet, did you? thanks!

Nothing to add, but to say, I have the same 'problem'; just-purchased 15" Core i7. Right side is much more prevalent than the left. Sounds comes out of both, and left-right check shows both working (and addressed correctly).
Just when in stereo, the right side sounds clearly 'louder'.

I had the previous gen (but also unibody - so same style!) MBP and balance was perfect on that one....

Dan

I had the previous gen (but also unibody - so same style!) MBP and balance was perfect on that one....

Not likely, Dan. It had the same physical design, and couldn't have sounded substantially diferent. You may just not have noticed the imbalance.

I would agree 🙂 - if it wasn't for the fact that I still have the Core2Duo unibody MBP (as well as an older, non-unibody Core2Duo MBP). The older model's speakers sound fine (to me), and similar to the old model, while the new one is clearly off balance.
I am testing using everything from day to day apps, to 'WOW' to test tones.


I understand the speaker setup on the just-released MBPs has slightly changed; that is, isn't the speaker module slightly different than even in the previous gen unibody model?

cheers,
dan

That is interesting, dosers.

The layout is essentially the same, but the speaker unit has, indeed, been changed a little.

eww and I have both handled complaints from people with the earlier model about exactly the same issue (and it was clear it was more apparent to some people than to others, though the difference was present in all of these computers unless people adjusted the "balance" settings), and hence my assumption that this was just the same problem being experience by new users.

I , for one, haven't had the opportunity to hear if the new one sounds any different. Your own direct comparison suggests that it may have become more apparent still. Perhaps they have, indeed, changed the "crossover" settings in the new models or increased the power of the subwoofer a little in that case.

Cheers

Rod