Speakers on MacBook Pro 15" (Mid 2012)

My 2011 has decent sound but I really don't listen to music through them. Since 2010, I believe, Apple has put subwoofers in the MacBook Pro line (and, of course, the Retina display is supposed to have the 'best' speakers available on any MBP). So, no, they shouldn't really sound 'tinny' but, in my opinion, they're just not good music speakers.

I have two different sets of headphones that I use on my late 2011 MBP: the best are a relatively inexpensive (>$100) Sony headphones with some sort of bass enhancer.

It's just my opinion, but I don't think that the (non-Retina, at least) MBPs offer a really good speaker system. You could take it to the Apple Store just to verify that the subwoofer is in working condition, but I just never expect good sound from notebook computers.

Clinton

I don't keep my primary iTunes library on my internal drive - it's just too large. But I do twiddle with the EQ when I do, on occasion, play some music when I'm outside (like now) and don't have my headphones handy. Before I moved into this nursing home (which I'm getting out of next month) I had the Bose Companion 3 series computer speakers and they were the best I've ever heard. I know that once I get out I won't be able to afford the Bose again and I'll likely just pump the audio through my receiver to get great sound.

BTW - here's an article you may want to look at - http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3336.

Best,

Clinton

Yes, the speakers are abysmal! I've just (regrettably) upgraded from a 2009 17" MacBrook Pro, and the speakers are horrible on the new 15" in comparison. All others are making the valid point that laptop speakers are never great. Sure. But on the 17" they were perfectly adequate for listening to music or watching video. On the new 15", the speakers are iPhone quality. At least on my machine.

Perhaps I, too, should think about taking it in to see if the subwoofer is working?

Is no one else having this egregious issue???

I was expecting an improvement in sound over my 2009 13'' mbp's speakers after buying a new 15'' non retina mbp, but sadly that isn't the case. These are terrible, at best, and i'm wondering if maybe there's a problem if these do actually contain a subwoofer as i'm hearing very little else but treble. It does sound slightly better using bass boost in iTunes' settings, but only marginally.

I usually use a pair of decent headphones for serious listening and I do lots of it being a DJ, but it's nice to take a break during long spells of headphone use and rely on just the internal speakers for preliminary judgement calls when looking for new music.

It's suprising really that my 9 or 10 year old 13'' HP laptop sounded better than my 13'' mbp and now this 15'' model sounds worse than my 13'' mbp. This is pretty much the laptop of choice for DJ's who need lots of storage, but sadly it's headphones only, or external speakers for any listening purposes.

The more that you have been exposed to good audio, the worse the MBP speakers will be by comparison. Just accept the fact that the laws of physics cannot be defeated and that small speakers in the MBP enclosure will be utilitarian at best, woofer or no woofer.

It may be that some MBPs have better sounding speakers than others, but they all will be at the bottom rung of audio quality. Stating the obvious, if you want to listen to good sound, connect the MBP to quality external speakers or use quality ear/headphones. There is no remedy to improve them and to expect otherwise is fanciful thinking. They are and will remain a sow's ear.

Ciao.