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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > ibook 800 volume abnormally low?

ibook 800 volume abnormally low?
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vmarks
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Dec 15, 2002, 11:57 PM
 
Hi,

I have an iBook 800 and a PowerBook 333mhz (lombard) here.

The Lombard is WAY louder than the iBook.

The Lombard must be set turned down to 1/3 of its full volume for it to be the same as the iBook.

Does anyone else notice this? It's been this way on two iBook 800's I've had here.
If this post is in the Lounge forum, it is likely to be my own opinion, and not representative of the position of MacNN.com.
     
sillyrabbitt
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Dec 16, 2002, 12:49 AM
 
my ibook volume seems low when i play a dvd. in itunes its better but not very loud.
ibook,800,30gig,12.1",640mb,10.2.4, Airport
     
xtal
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Dec 16, 2002, 01:42 AM
 
I found that the volume on my iBook 800 was a little low, and there were some inconsistencies when changing volume with the slider in iTunes vs. using the F4 and F5 keys.

However, after downloading the most recent update (with the Carbon Sound Manager) it seemed to improve things a great deal.

I'm not sure if it was the update that did it, but I'm pretty certain I didn't do anything else of merit to solve the problem.

Hope this helps,

-Nick
     
daSilVetZ
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Dec 16, 2002, 10:11 AM
 
I don't have any other macs for comparison, but Ive noticed it aswell.. volume does seem very low..
     
-Q-
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Dec 16, 2002, 10:13 AM
 
There seems to be a big jump between having volume at it's highest setting and the next notch below that. It's definitely inconsistent...
     
jindrich
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Dec 16, 2002, 10:14 AM
 
yes i've noticed this in my icebook500 too.

after installing jag and 10.2.2 (coming from 10.1.5) i noticed the volume level just dissapeared. Now at full it's a half or a third of what it used to be(i've cheked ALL control panels and utilities). there's nothing wrong on hardware because if i restart in OS9 the sound goes back to normal levels.

Another odd thing is that after reseting or booting, the pan randomly moves anywhere between the two sides.

i guess it's just ANOTHER annoying bug of jag.
     
escher
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Dec 16, 2002, 11:14 AM
 
Originally posted by jindrich:
after installing jag and 10.2.2 (coming from 10.1.5) i noticed the volume level just dissapeared.
In my experience (on an iBook/500) it was the Jaguar update (10.2.0) that screwed up the volume. In 10.1, I used to have volume at 2 or 3 bars. Now I have to have it a 5 to get the same amount of noise.

To top all of that, I'm still experiencing the sound sleep problem that plagued the iBook (Dual USB) from the beginning. My Eudora new mail sound has three notes, but most of the time I only hear the last two. The first note plays before the sounds circuitry has time to wake up. It's not fatal, but annoying nonetheless.

BTW: The Carbon Sound update didn't improve anything for me. Nor did 10.2.1 or 10.2.2.

Escher
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Until we get a 3 lbs sub-PowerBook, the 12-inch PowerBook will do.
     
Rastar
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Dec 16, 2002, 01:56 PM
 
Don't have anything else to compare it to, but the volume of these spakers is extremely low. I must set it to 80-90 % to hear anything.
Peace & Love


iBook 800mhz,640ram,30gb OS 10.xxx,iPod15mb and lots of Old Time Radio
     
niji
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Dec 17, 2002, 08:30 AM
 
although i assume you are talking about an overall low audio level (which i agree with), if you are playing in iTunes, you play around with the equilizer, which can be adjusted for various types of sounds and does effectively improve sound quality if used correctly.
thnx
     
teh tenk
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Dec 17, 2002, 07:34 PM
 
so even with headphones the audio volume is low? that really sucks since i'm getting an ibook for mp3 usage...
     
vmarks  (op)
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Dec 17, 2002, 09:53 PM
 
I was talking about overall volume level, and I haven't tried with headphones, which may be louder because the headphones might be more efficient than the internal speakers.
If this post is in the Lounge forum, it is likely to be my own opinion, and not representative of the position of MacNN.com.
     
xtal
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Dec 18, 2002, 12:23 AM
 
Scratch my earlier post. The volume level isn't as high as I thought it was. Rather, I think maybe it's quieter around here than it was before...

I use headphones (Koss Porta Pro) with my iBook 800 extensively, and have found that a comfortable listening level in a work environment is around 3 to 6 bars. That is MUCH lower than the external speakers need to be set to for a comparable level. Just find some good headphones, they'll perform very well with the iBook.

-Nick
     
Gul Banana
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Dec 18, 2002, 12:29 AM
 
I agree that it's not the iBook but the speakers - I, too, have had the experience that 5 bars = very quiet speakers = loud headphones.
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vmarks  (op)
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Dec 18, 2002, 05:22 AM
 
I don't believe it's the speakers themselves-

I rebooted to OS 9, and set the volume to its highest setting- it was LOUD through the internal speakers.

LOUD.

I rebooted to OS X, and it became quiet again. Go figure.
If this post is in the Lounge forum, it is likely to be my own opinion, and not representative of the position of MacNN.com.
     
jindrich
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Dec 18, 2002, 08:40 AM
 
hey you guys i told ya,
it's a Jag problem exclusively. didnt happen under 10.1 neither does it under 9.

speaker output level (not with headphones where levels are ok) is a third of what should be under Jag-wire.

i tried in a Ti and it's the same.

cheers.
     
Gul Banana
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Dec 18, 2002, 11:59 AM
 
Strange. Anyway, I hope they fix it soon.
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fafnir
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Feb 23, 2003, 10:46 AM
 
I watched a DVD yesterday and the volume of the Speakers was very low. I habe a 800 MHz iBook with OS X 10.2.4.

Isnt this Bug fixed already?
     
molala
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Feb 23, 2003, 11:00 AM
 
noticed it too. and i am also comparing an iBook 800(running 10.2.1) with a Lombard 333(running 9.0.4). it is fine though when i have headphones or i use external speakers (don't have to turn up the volume even halfway with headphones).
     
   
 
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