Speakers/Sound question

Sajan

Just a quick query. I hav a macbook 13". I know that the topic of the quality of speakers has been discussed before but does anyone else plug there Macbook into there home stereo. I have it hooked up and the sound is still really terrible.. It is half the volume of what it would be if I was listening to a CD or radio. Actually even half of what it was when I had my PC hooked up. Any ideas or does anyone think this may be a fault?

ZENER

I wouldn't expect hi-fi quality from any computer to be honest. The MacBooks sound isn't fantastic by any means - wooly bass and sizzling treble - but the level should be reasonable enough to drive most inputs. There are better external USB devices that give better quality, check the Apple store for more info. For Example. Even Creative Labs have an offering.

Maybe if you post the setup you have we could advise better.

ZEN

Sajan

ZENER wrote:

Maybe if you post the setup you have we could advise better.

ZEN

What exactly do you mean by set up? System configurations or the stereo?

ZENER

Sajan wrote:

What exactly do you mean by set up? System configurations or the stereo?

Well are you feeding the audio into a high end sound system or a mini-stereo or a pair of PC speakers for example. What are your expectations from the system ?

The integrated audio from any computer system can be disappointing to say the least, but so can the amplifier/speakers that it's connected to. How have you connected the MacBook to your sound system ?

All Apple portables have an optical output which - in theory - should be better than the analogue output. Does your audio system have provisions for this type of input ?

ZEN

Sajan

Hey.. I am Just plugging into a normal mini Sony stereo through just a regular audio cable.. The red and white cable that has a earphone jack at the end. I have an optical out in my stereo but not 100% sure if I have a cable.

Whats bothering me is that I connected my PC to the stereo the exact same way and the sound was great the stereo but the quality has deteriorated a load since I plugged my Mac in.. Maybe it is something I am doing wrong configuration wise.. And I am afraid if I go out and purchase new speakers I wont see the full benefit.

Ham'nd'egger

Sajan, There is a few other variables into the equations here.

If you have decent audio into a Hifi, you need a decent soundcard to turn the audio output from the Macbook into decent quality audio. I use a NAD amp with my imac plugged in via a USB card and it is as good as my CD player. If you don't have a soundcard, you can feed from the headphone socket to the Hifi (Stereo Minijack ot RCA Phone leads) but the sound level will be variabledepending on how loud your macbooks audio out is turned up to. This is not the best way to do it, but it work's ok and won't harm the Hifi per se. And as somebody mentioned, the digital Optical feed will be better again, as will a firewire send.

If you are sending your iTunes audio into the Hifi, iTunes has a naturally low audio level; this is possibly why you feel that it is "deteriorated"; it hasn't actually got worse, it is just lower than what you are hoping or expecting. Turn up the output on iTunes and the track levels (Command, A and this will give you the option to edit song details)and this will improve the loudness of the songs.

The quality of your Hifi system will also be a factor. A wee all in one system or a mini hifi will not be a patch on a seperates hifi system, simply because seperates will be far higher in quality as hifi goes. Also, the quality of your MP3 files is an issue.