iPad mini retina speakers/volume

They will probably silently introduce a new batch without openly acknowledging the problem.

It's however disappointing that no review mentioned this issue, making us wonder how accurate and therefore credible the so-called experts are...

A thought occurred to me.

OP wrote:

"increasing the sound effects volume to max will DECREASE the volume of the keyboard clicks. But then decreasing the volume to about mid range will actually INCREASE the volume (decreasing the volume further from mid range will then decrease the volume until mute, as it's supposed to)."

I think this particular aspect of the iPad Mini is working as intended. At Apple people may have thought that in order to make the sounds more distinguishable and avoid overlapping and distortion, the volume behavior should be as the OP experienced.

Much more worrisome in my view is the low output level of the sound even at max volume. The iPad Mini1 was truly powerful in this respect, maybe a tad too much. The retina screen version is too quiet. If it's true, as somebody reported, that Apple has an active "capture" on the issue, then a firmware update may fix it.

In the meanwhile, what are we supposed to do? Buy it anyway (I returned mine) or wait until who knows when?

Apple, if you EVER look at the forums, please drop a line.

Apple sold us a lemon!

GSM Arena tested the audio and found the same problem, without thinking of a technical fault, though.

"The Apple iPad Air set the bar for tablet audio output pretty high, but we are still somewhat disappointed that the iPad mini 2 wasn't quite able to match its performance. The more compact of the two new Apple tablets did excellently in our test, but wasn't quite as perfect as its larger sibling.

For starters its stereo crosstalk was slightly wore in both parts of our test. More importantly, however, the volume levels were far lower than those of the Air. While the full-size iPad was among the loudest we have seen, the Retina-packing mini was below average, which would have been disappointing for a flagship smartphone, let alone a tablet.

Other than that the Apple iPad mini 2 did great, delivering output with wide dynamic range and no distortion. The stereo crosstalk was spot-on too, so it still has more than enough to please the vast majority of the users out there."

http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_ipad_mini_2-review-1015p7.php

The problem is that they compare the mini retina with the air, which is a different model, bigger and with different specifications. The right comparison has to be made with the original mini which is physically identical to the rmini. And the difference of quality between the two mini version is huge. The original mini has a highest volume level and a very good sound quality, with pleasent bass. This is absolutely not the case of the rmini which is unuseable if you want to enjoy music, films, videoclips, etc. The original mini remains the best choice for this kind of use. It's hard to say, but it's the truth.

My experience with the rmini has been slightly different.

While I agree on the huge difference in volume output between the mini 1 and 2, in terms of sound quality I have to say I am not disappointed. Headphone listening aside (which by the way is a real pleasure) the speakers were really too quiet but the sound quality was great in both units I tried, with warm and well-rounded tones.

I keep thinking that is a design issue, and probably a firmware fix can do just this much to solve the problem.

When I run garmin on the retina mini the turn by turn voice is very much distorted. Ppl must be drinking koolaid to say the quality is great. This device is a lemon.

@bigmacs123

When I got my mini 2 iPads, 2 of them got a very bad Siri sounds. May be Garmin is using the same voice as Siri. I solved the issue on the two iPads. See my post from December:

I solved my issue. Hope my feedback could help.

The English uk Siri voice is muffled.

After contacting the support they asked me to send back the two iPads.

But after more investigation I figured out the bug. I went to settings / general / accessibility / VoiceOver/ languages and dialects / default dialect

I tried to enhanced the quality, but the download does not worked. I changed to Australian English and download the "enhanced quality" it worked (there is a blue scroll bar). Then try again for British English, and this time the download bar appears. And the Siri voice is clear.

I hope my feedback will help.

I understand your concerns, but I want to reassure you that I am perfectly sober and I stand by my statement ;-)

Although the device volume is too quiet to my liking, the sound quality is good and music hears great.

I haven't used Siri, so I cannot be of assistance in that respect. However, I believe that the primary concern is the low volume output.

UPDATE: I have tried Siri (American English) and it sounds good enough without noticeable distortion.

Quick question. 'Returns Window' has been mentioned thoughout this thread. What is this, the numbe of days you can have the machine and return it/exchange it if there is a fault? What is it in the UK

I was given a R-Ipad about two weeks back but haven't got sales slip as it was a pesent, I think it was collected fom Argos either on the 2nd or 9th of this month is this inside the limit

I'll be seeing the Apple genusis on Tuesday will he be able to say whethe I'm in or out of the returns window. What should I be asking, what should I be looking for. This is my first Apple product with the exception of an old ipod.

Same issue here !! Just sent a feedback to Apple as the customer support said they can't do anything about it ( as they don't consider it as a fault !! * Bad Words*

My return time window is also over !! So ultimately no option other than living with this buggy product.

Bad thing is I use my ipad for music and video listening only most of the time 😠

Same answer as Raga25. When I visited the Apple store to see one of their geniuses he appeared to run some tests and no couldn't see anything wrong (surprise,surprise) and of course he hadn't heard of similar problems.

I'm a member of the major consumer group here in the UK, Which? and like all the major consumer groups they carry out independent tests on products. When I contacted them to ask about this they replied.

"Thanks for your email about the iPad Mini with Retina Display.

I'm sorry you're finding the sound quality poor when watching films on it. This is certainly a shame and I appreciate your disappointment.

When our panel of judges evaluated the sound, they did play a film and they thought it was rather good in this respect. Also, as you can see from the Customer Views, we've yet to receive any other negative comments about the sound. Therefore, if you haven't done so already, I'd suggest that you try listening to films or film clips via, for instance, iPlayer and YouTube so that you can ascertain if the problems lies with Netflix or your tablet. If it is the tablet then, I'd suggest that you do return it for a repair or replacement, as it will be covered by a year's guarantee. "

As far as I understand when Which test a product they buy their own product and don't rely on manufacturers review models. This leads me to wonder what is an expectable sound level. The same level you'd get on a laptop, the same level you'd get from a mobile phone with the speaker on?

I don't know, what would be your thoughts?

I bought a 1st gen mini because i listen to music and vids alot thru the speakers.sad part is that i waited a year because i wanted a mini with a retina screen...then when it comes out it has the same colors as the 1st gen mini and the sound was so low i couldnt even hear it with any other noise in the background. I couldve lived with the lower color gamet but the super low sound volume was a deal breaker for me.Maybe i will upgrade to a mini 3 in a year if they make the sound louder ...because i do like the sharper text of the mini 2 ..genious bar and listening group will say the volume is fine on the mini 2 ...because lotta laptops and tablet models have low volume. Thats why i always listen to them ll before i buy..the mini 2 model was redesigned and they obvoiusly changed the specs... so the speakers voume level and amp power output is what it is.if you not happy with it then dont buy that particular mini model. Cuz apple isnt gonna do anything about it cuz thats how it was built....theyre all the same. . iif you want good volume then buy a 1st gen mini or an ipad 4..the air is just ok but the ipad 4 is the loudest and best sounding of the bunch...

Here, too! Just (2 nights ago) received the iPad Mini with Retina, 128 GB WITH CELLULAR, and the volume is just as everyone has described here. MUCH quieter than my iPhone 5, and mute at 50%. Not impressed, as this is the most expensive version, and my hubby surprised me with it as a gift. I use my iPhone as an alarm all the time... I wouldn't be able to trust this iPad Mini for that. He ordered it directely from the Apple Store (Canada).

So, now I don't know what to do. Boooo hoooo. I love it, otherwise.

Does somebody know if the new batch (new hardware) introduced with ios 7.1 resolve the volume and sound quality issue ?