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woodsman · Sep 25, 2003, 09:10 AM

For those of you wondering if you want to upgrade to the new AL PB -- if you ever listen to music on your PB, then DO IT! NOW!

I replaced my old 667 TiPB and the difference in the level of sound and the quality is amazing. Forget the headphones, at last!

Great job, Apple. Now if Airborne would just ship my new iPod (ordered 9-16 and lost in the Airborne system somewhere).

LfGrdMike · Sep 25, 2003, 09:46 AM

eh just get an iSub hehe

jyvin563 · Sep 25, 2003, 10:26 AM

I would disagree. Although the sound is better than past PowerBooks, it in no way replaces headphones. The highs on the new speakers are great but the mids and lows are pathetic. What can you expect from laptop speakers?

DZimmerman · Sep 25, 2003, 10:41 AM

Laptop speakers are never going to be wonderful. Yes the new speakers are much better then the previous Ti and much better then the Dell's, they dont replace an external speaker system. Also, when out of the home how often do you listen to music on your laptop without headphones?

babajazz · Sep 25, 2003, 01:53 PM

the true test:
Does it sound card when u have the 15inch hookep to powered studio monitors? they have built in amps and judge a sound properly. I will let you know how the soundcard is when I get my 15 inch. Midi latency is also a huge issue for me. I'm ordering the 1.25 15 tomorrow and going into debt. I know it's going to be worth it.

mikasa · Sep 25, 2003, 02:03 PM

anyone know of an optional sound card that will give you digital output? i have a set of PC (ugh!) boston acoustic flat speakers i once got with my old computer and cant seem to hook them up to anything because apparentely they are for digital sound only. cant do much with the speakers and they sound nice.

i once heard there were pmcia or usb digital sound cards for the PBG4.

any ideas?

macbum · Sep 25, 2003, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by mikasa:
i once heard there were pmcia or usb digital sound cards for the PBG4.

any ideas?

something like this Sonica/M-Audio

jrt67ss350 · Sep 25, 2003, 03:02 PM

Originally posted by macbum:
something like this Sonica/M-Audio

Unless those Boston Acoustics speakers have an optical digital input, the sonica thing isn't going to work.

yticolev · Sep 25, 2003, 06:20 PM

I have the Al 15 and while the speakers sound OK, it does not play loudly enough except in a dead quiet room. Every PowerBook I have owned have a similar trait, too quiet on audio CDs. I know it can play louder because some games are way too loud and even alert sounds are higher volume.

Anyone know of a cure?

thePurpleGiant · Sep 25, 2003, 06:51 PM

Not really a 'cure', but:

In iTunes you can turn on the equaliser and increase the pre-amp volume.

In the finder preview of sounds or music, you can hold the shift key and click on the volume slider. You can now make it up to 3 times louder. This trick also applies to any Quicktime program/controls that use the old control set (the small bar - not brushed metal), such as the Quicktime browser plugin.

nagromme · Sep 25, 2003, 10:00 PM

In iTunes, if you raise some equalizer sliders, it's a good idea to LOWER the pre-amp slider to match the HIGHEST of the other sliders. That prevents distortion/digital clipping.

But it does reduce the volume of music, vs. other system sounds.

I don't expect great sound from a 1" (or any) laptop--but I do like the sound being decent, for playing when I'm roaming around the room, or for multiple people to hear. Just like there's a place for small radios sometimes.

Thanks for the report. I hear the 17" is better yet than the new 15"?

woodsman · Sep 25, 2003, 10:26 PM

I enjooyed the responses to my post.

OK. The sound on the new 15" Al PB does not rival that of the Kilpschorns in my living room. I admit it!

But, I am comparing the output to that of my older Ti and there is a huge improvement.

I'm a photographer and I often shoot "candids" at functions. I make an on-the-spot slide show with iPhoto, and then I play it for the group to watch. They are amazed as it is done and running in 30 minutes. On my older Ti PB I would add some background music and it would be impossible to hear -- at all.

The new PB has much more volume.

I travel a lot, and I often take a few DVD movies to watch in the hotel. I do play them with the speakers on so that I can move around the room and not be thethered with headphones. The old Ti was inadequate, but the new 15" Al PB will be perfect.

So, keep the headphones, but know that the PB will work great with just the speakers as the source.