Macbook Speakers - Low Volume...

http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/29/apple-to-introduce-ipod-volume-limiter/

this talks about it, i believe

Hi Poisongirl,
I agree with what you said regarding the forum topic. If you want to take this off forum, send me an email: randumly-burnbld@yahoo.com

There is no limitation of audio on the Macbook related to ear damage, it wouldn't make any sense, for the ipod suit is related to listening the audio directly with earphones, not through speakers. Otherwise, all hi-fi makers could be sue for this.
Besides, the speakers of the Macbook Core2Duo are far much louder than the CoreDuo ones, why is that?
I wonder if it is a software or a hardware problem, migh it be driver of the CoreDuo audio card? or the first sound cards of the Macbooks were defective?

It makes no sense Apple would use defective sound cards either. With all the excellent features and development Apple has achieved, something as basic as the audio signal should be equally as excellent. As said many times before, it is the signal which means if you plug headphones into the unit or patch it through a stereo amplifier/receiver, there is a weak signal. If you use the fixes such as adjusting the Midi control or raising the volume in preferences, the distortion get increased also. Djs are using laptops for their sets these days making cd players obsolete even before turntables and vinyl. Are there any djs on this forum who are using the MacBook and are experiencing low signal output who would like to weigh in on this?

additionally:
*Vinyl still has the better sound and is far more durable than cds. Once a cd is damaged, throw it out. Vinyl on the other hand can be played even when damaged.

this is truly amazing. Apple has not once replied to any of our posts. i can hear the proverbial pin drop. amazing! this is obviously a hardware defect effecting many. i dont have the answer. i expect the solution however is an easy fix. the silence from apple is deafening. i have had enough. the notebook i replaced my MacBooks with? it has superb speaker quality/super audio thank you very much. so notebooks indeed can actally offer us great audio. i have returned 2 MacBooks now, both with terrible audio levels. i'm not gonna get burned again. and this: whats uncanny about this issue? all Macs are 'multimedia machines'. duh, that means we should actually be able to hear iTunes, and DVD's, etc..

I tried the "trick" with the midi output. I must say it did help a bit. Just wish apple would come up with a proper fix.

White Macbook 2.0GHZ Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Unacceptable the volume output and the way Apple refuses to admit a problem exists. The $19.00 sound card in my PC works great, especially when I play I-tunes through it. My 1500 dollar MacBook has inferior sound quality. Hello Apple! Do something about this! Thank You very much!

Mac OS 10.4.9 fixed this problem for me, my MacBook speakers are working just fine now.

I can verify this. probably twice as loud as before the update.

Mac OS 10.4.9 fixed this problem for me, my MacBook speakers are working just fine now.

Confirmed. After installing 10.4.9 the speaker output is quite a bit louder. Can't verify the exact amount but it's probably about 6 dB.

Hi,
it is true that volume in macooks is less when compared to PC, 85% volume in iTunes is equivalent to 50% volume in PC.
According to an apple genius, this is because of the high impedence of the line-out.

Same for me. After updating 10.4.9 volume is quite louder. It doesnt die when getting to the middle of the volume the bar!

There is obviously a problem if you can barley hear anything. My MacBook is the new one and personally the sound fully up is too loud. Much louder than my old iBook.