Inadequate sound volume on MacBook

I may be expecting too much from my MacBook, but I'd like to be able to enjoy the music in my iTunes library without having to sit directly in front of it. I go to Apple button>System Preferences>Sound where I set the sound level for maximum, but that doesn't help as much as I would like. Is there another way to increase the sound volume? By the way, I had no such problem with my iMac, which I'm missing more and more.

A similar trick is in iTunes, Show Equalizer, click
pre-amp on and move the slider to max.
Though I would basically agree with JSwerdy's post
above. I do not find it necessary to use the
equalizer setting, and I find it necessary to
sometimes turn down the volume on occasional web
pages that play sound. I don't want high volume, low
quality sound. If I want to listen to music for long
periods, I use headphones or stream wirelessly to my
stereo, and there's no lack of signal quality at all
then. I did have the benefit of hands-on comparison
at an Apple Store before purchasing, and the speaker
sound volume/quality was an obvious difference
between the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Unless there are
significant differences among individual MacBooks....
This is the first time that I've ever heard that there's a difference in the sound quality of a MacBook and a MacBook Pro. The salesmen said the main difference was the graphic stuff. They didn't even hint at a sound difference.

Similar Messages

The sound on my macbook pro does not work if I plug headphones in I can still hear but it will not project volume out loud and when I try to turn up the volume it is just greyed out what do I do ?

The sound on my macbook pro will not project anything if I plug in headphones I can hear but when I take them out and try and turn up the volue the speaker is grey and the bars under it are white with a no volume sign ( circle with a line through it) how do I fix this ?

Hopefully one of these steps should solve the problem.
1. System Preference > Sound > Output > Internal Speakers
    Highlight Internal Speakers
    Make sure that Mute is not enabled.
2. Remove the headphone.
    If you see red light in the headphone port, plug the headphone
    in and out of the port 5 or 6 times to flip the microswitch inside.
    Sound output may be stuck in the digital mode.
3. Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
4. Reset SMC.     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    Choose the method for:
    "Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".
5. Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
    Audio Devices window
    Side Bar
    Click the Built-in Output.
    Under Mute any of the boxes checked? If so, uncheck it.
6. System Preferences > Sound> Sound Effects
    Play sound effects through:
   Select "Internal speakers" and then back to "Selected sound output device".

Thereis no sound on my macbook air. I have checked the volume and mute controls and the internal speaker are selected. any one any ideas please.

there is no sound on my macbook air. I have checked the volume and mute controls and the internal speaker are selected. any one any ideas please.

Hopefully one of these steps should solve the problem.
1. Remove the headphone.
    If you see red light in the headphone port, plug the headphone
    in and out of the port 5 or 6 times to flip the microswitch inside.
    Sound output may be stuck in the digital mode.
2. Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
3. Reset SMC.     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    Choose the method for:
    "Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".
4. Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
    Audio Devices window
    Side Bar
    Click the Built-in Output.
    Under Mute any of the boxes checked? If so, uncheck it.
Best.

I can't hear any sound from my macbook. It's not on mute and the volume is turned all the way up, I can't hear any sound from my macbook. It's not on mute and the volume is turned all the way up

I can't hear any sound from my macbook. It's not on mute and the volume is turned all the way up, I can't hear any sound from my macbook. It's not on mute and the volume is turned all the way up. Any ideas?

Go step by step and test.
1. System Preference > Sound > Output > Internal Speakers
    Highlight Internal Speakers.
    Make sure that Mute is not enabled.
2.Plug in and remove the headphone.
    If you see red light in the headphone port, plug the headphone
    in and out of the port 5 or 6 times to flip the microswitch inside.
    Sound output may be stuck in the digital mode.
3. Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
4. Reset SMC.     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    Choose the method for:
    "Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".
5. Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
    Audio Devices window
    Side Bar
    Click the Built-in Output.
    Under Mute any of the boxes checked? If so, uncheck it.

The Sound On My MacBook Pro Isn't Working

The sound on my MacBook Pro is usually fine, but today it didn't work. For example, I tried listening to music on iTunes and watch videos but the volume wouldn't work at all. When I go to turn up the volume, it seems to turn up ok, but when I try to put on some music, it doesn't work at all. I then tried using my brother's Apple headphones on my MacBook Pro, and then the sound worked normally. I really would like this fixed so if someone could help me that would be great, because I don't want to keep using my brother's headphones just to watch a video or listen to music. Thank you to anyone who helps!

Hey
I did a NVRAM reset, and nothing happened. The sound stayed the same. Whats an audio output port, where can you find it, and where can you find the red light? When I try turning up the volume, instead of turning it up a cross sign appears under the speaker, thus no volume turns up. The menu bar right at the top of the screen - the speaker icon is not black, but more a very light grey.
Thanks for helping though!

The sound on my Macbook doesn't work.

The sound of my MacBook Pro 15" Retina just works at the startup screen. I can control the volume on startup screen but when I login I can't hear any sound from my MacBook even I plug headphones or speakers in.

Go step by step and test.
1. System Preference > Sound > Output > Internal Speakers
    Highlight Internal Speakers.
    Make sure that Mute is not enabled.
2.Plug in and remove the headphone.
    If you see red light in the headphone port, plug the headphone
    in and out of the port 5 or 6 times to flip the microswitch inside.
    Sound output may be stuck in the digital mode.
3. Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
4. Reset SMC.     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    Choose the method for:
    "Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".
5. Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
    Audio Devices window
    Side Bar
    Click the Built-in Output.
    Under Mute any of the boxes checked? If so, uncheck it.

How do i stop the chiming sound on my macbook pro?

There's an annoying chiming sound on my Macbook Pro that goes off sporadically when I have the volume turned up and I have no idea how to turn it off. I'd like to make it go away. Any answers would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Check the iCal app to make sure you don't have a periodic event set up to go off every so often.
Or check the Date & Time preference pane in System Preferences to make sure the clock isn't set to chime on the hour.

ITunes sound volume keeps changing

With Mountain Lion 10.8 and 10.8.1 sound volume with in iTunes keeps changing. This did not happen with in 10.7 or earlier versions. There have been no other changes.

I really lost my patience, i intalled it again and seems ti be ok but all of a sudden the volume goes down again and wouldn't allow me to turn it higher.
this is what is happening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM1DYhtzsag
can anyone help me?
thank you!
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Has anyone resolved the whirring sound from the Macbook late 2008 Optical Drive Self-diagnostic yet?

Has anyone resolved the whirring sound from the Macbook late 2008 Optical Drive Self-diagnostic yet?

Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
Do the following:
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
If the hard drive does not appear in the DU sidebar list then it has died and will have to be replaced. No need to proceed beyond this point.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install the Combo Updater for the version you prefer from support.apple.com/downloads/.

Sound volume control unresponsive after waking from sleep

Lately, a strange problem has developed on my MacBook 13-inch Aluminum (Late 2008), running Mac OS X 10.6.4:
After waking the MacBook from sleep, the sound volume control keys on the keyboard does not affect the volume control of:
* Neither the sound volume output by the built-in speakers,
* nor the sound volume indicator/slider in the menubar,
* nor the sound volume indicator/slider in the Sound preference pane in System Preferences,
Only the sound volume slider/indicator in the Sound preference pane in System Preferences has an effect on the actual volume ouput by the built-in speakers.
First I thought the problem was affected by disconnecting a set of analog headphones while the MacBook was sleeping -- it seemed that after sleep the volume control keys on the keyboard and menubar item still was set to affect the headphone port and not the built-in speakers.
However, the problem just occured after sleeping without anything connected to the MacBook. The built-in speakers were muted, when the MacBook lid was closed, and the computer went to sleep - after waking from sleep the built-in speakers were unmuted - and control was only possible through System Preferences.
Any ideas?

Not sure if you stumbled on the other threads like this one:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11801555&#11801555
I've been having the same problem on my Mac Pro for a while, finally decided to see if there were some other people having the problem. I'll see if the others have a solution yet.
One workaround I've been doing is to go to Preferences -> Sound and select a different output device. For me, I have to flick to Internal Speakers and then back to Line Out.
Brett

I can't get sound on my MacBook Pro

I can't get any sound from my MacBook pro. I have checked setting and volume is at full sound

Have you gone to settings > sound to make sure your built-in speakers are selected? That would be my first guess for troubleshooting.

The sound on my Macbook Pro does not work.

The sound on my Macbook Pro does not work. When we press the volume buttons, the sound icon pops up, but the bar is full with a small "Does not work" circle below it, and nothing happens when I hit volume up or done. I went into system preferences, but there aren't any options there that I can see to change it.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't provide any help for a MacBook Pro, other than indicating to call Apple Support" (sic).
Au contraire. TS1574's title and affected products are thusly:
"Troubleshooting issues with no audio from built-in speakers on Macs
Products Affected Mac mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac"
As a result, the instructions of the article are relevant. To be sure, follow those steps, the last of which is to contact Apple.
So, by way of reminder, here are the steps to troubleshoot the audio on your MacBook Pro. There is no red light, so the port is likely fine. Headphones work, so clearly your sound card is fine.
1. Ensure an incorrect version of OS X is not installed. If one is, then reinstall or erase/install after backing up your data.
2. Remove any external audio devices from USB, firewire, etc.
3. Open Sys Prefs > Sound > Output
If Internal Speakers is listed, select it and test again.
If Digital Out is listed, confirm again that all external audio devices and cables have been removed.
If mute is selected, unselect it.
If the volume slider is low, raise the volume.
If the above simply doesn't fix it, the issue may be a corrupted plist. Apple Support might be able to help troubleshoot the issue further, per the last step of TS1574.
I hope it gets resolved for you. Good luck.

Finer sound volume setting?

Hi everyone,
I'm finally annoyed to a level where I turn to you. For years I used my Harman/Kardon Sound Sticks (the older ones with USB) with several PPC-Macs and today with my MacBook Pro. Ever since switching to OS X my Sound Sticks were a lot louder than under OS 9 back in the days and I finally want to change that! In OS X the sound volume I get with just 1 bar equals several bars in OS 9...
Since these older USB-speakers do not have volume controls builtin I'm in need of a software solution: I need a finer control over their volume since even 1 bar of system sound volume (via keyboard) is too loud. I know that you can get lower volume by using the mouse and the volume fader in System Preferences, but even the lowest possible setting before absolute silence kicks in is too loud for me.
Plist editing and other "experienced" user stuff is extremely welcome...
Thanks a lot!
Björn
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8) 30" ACD

Hi Björn
I'm sorry I don't have a solution for you. I agree it is annoying, as I too experience this problem when using headphones/earphones. I have to adjust the volume output of each application accordingly.
Matthew Whiting

Very Low Sound Volume in Windows 7 - Bootcamp on 20" iMac from early 2008

Hi everyone,
I installed Windows 7 RC (build 7100 - 32 Bit version) using bootcamp on my iMac bought in early 2008 (2Gb Ram - 2.67 GHz).
The entire installation went well with no glitch or issues at all and I ran the bootcamp setup in Windows 7 to install the drivers. The problem I'm having is that the sound volume is extremely low in Windows 7. I can barely hear it when I turn the volume up to the max. I don't have volume problems in Leopard - only in Windows 7.
I also tried to install the RealTek Vista driver from my Leopard disk but still the same problem. As anyone run into the same problem? Any suggestions
Thanks!
Gruau

i want to tell you my problem and my solution.
i have a late model macbook pro i installed windows7 rtm version x64.
and i always had windows on my mac (older models) with everthing working properly.
i did't have sound on my windows7 os. i tried everything form every forum.
they all had some problems my problem was that windows7 installed the driver by itself. but that my output was only 50% and i heard nothing.
everybody (including apple) say that you need the realtek/sigmatel driver
from the apple dvds or from the realtek site.
and i tried every version of the drivers (i have a lot of old apple cds)
but still no sound. windows 7 said drivers installed correctly.
installed.
High Definition Sound device or something like thad.
but now the solution.
i tried to install windows vista.
vista said drivers. installed (without apple drivers installed)
the driver name was:
Cirrus Logic CS4206a (ab75)
and these drivers are also on the apple dvds.(cirrus.zip)
so i installed windows 7 again.
and installed this driver first. then started bootcamp. drivers like normally.
everything now works perfect.

Sound volume on 10.6!@#%^ is messed up.

Hello. I just upgraded to 10.6, fresh install on a Black MacBook. Everytime I turn on the laptop the sound volume is all the way up, even though it wasn't when I turned it off. Is this a known issue? How can I fix it?

If you open console. Applications > Utilities > Console
and in the console messages do a search for the word NVRAM
Do you see any messages that look like the one below?
*Can't access "efi-boot-device" NVRAM variable*

Inadequate sound volume on MacBook

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