[Little Wings]

Just picked up my M1Pro MacBook Pro today. First thing I wanted to test was the 3.5mm output.

First impression: oh wow, it sounds really good. Looks like I won't be needing my Lotoo S1 anymore.

My thoughts exactly. I've been using an SMSL Idea DAC+AMP to get the best sound out of my portable devices. I drive a pair of super efficient BLON BL-03's, the classic Senheiser HD-280 Pro's and AKG K550's. I never expected such maturity and authority from a laptop integrated DAC+AMP!

 

[nadman12]

Something has to be said about the quality of the speakers as well. How they got this sound from a laptop is crazy impressive.

 

[Little Wings]

Something has to be said about the quality of the speakers as well. How they got this sound from a laptop is crazy impressive.

The spatial audio gimmick is a bit exaggerated but the separation between mono, centered sounds and all the rest is crazy. Try playing a signal generator, those subs go pretty low.

 

[Little Wings]

Just picked up my M1Pro MacBook Pro today. First thing I wanted to test was the 3.5mm output.

First impression: oh wow, it sounds really good. Looks like I won't be needing my Lotoo S1 anymore.

We’re eager to know how the Meze sound

 

[shootertwist]

Any other impressions on this one?

 

[Epiteto]

i'm listening m1 macbook air with a pair of philips fidelio x2 vs Chord mojo 1..
Sound quality of macbook is wonderful...

 

[emilsoft]

I wanted to chime in that the Max Pro 3.5mm output sounds stellar. The dac use is high quality, clean, low distortion, with stellar channel separation - it might lean ever so slightly bright but this might be a burn in thing. The amplification has good power, it can drive HD800S and most other headphones with authority and bass - I think (although not sure) it has more oomph than the Mojo 2, it sounds wider, larger.

Essentially it makes most if not all hifi dongles obsolete in my view, no need to waste money on one unless you're looking for something specific like R2R Cayin RU6.

 

[hleonz]

Just tried the Macbook Pro 16 2021 headphone output, it sounds great, guess I don't need those USB audio dongles.

An observation on the jack, when inserting the headphone without anything playing in the computer, I heard some cracking in the headphone output (only during insertion). Anyone can confirm if you have similar experience?

 

[emilsoft]

Just tried the Macbook Pro 16 2021 headphone output, it sounds great, guess I don't need those USB audio dongles.

An observation on the jack, when inserting the headphone without anything playing in the computer, I heard some cracking in the headphone output (only during insertion). Anyone can confirm if you have similar experience?

Yep you don’t need any dongles. It’s even better than most if not all dongles.

I haven’t really noticed crackles on mine. If it’s during insertion only it shouldn’t be anything to worry about

 

[hleonz]

I think I should clarify, it may not be a "crackle", but more like a "pop" sound.

 

[megabigeye]

I've been testing out the 3.5mm output on a 2021 16" Max and I've found it be quite good as well with the Audeze MX4.

The only thing that kinda baffles me is Apple states 1.25v for lower impedance headphones but considering that's only 78 milliwatts at 20 ohms that's not even the minimum requirement to power MX4's according to Audeze (which is a minimum of 100 milliwatts and 150 milliwatts recommended). So the amp still isn't strong enough to power Audeze's most efficient headphones? There's plenty of room left on the volume at my regular listing levels so I guess it's okay unless my calculations are off.

I realize this is an old post, but it's the sort of thing that bugs me so I want to answer it.

Audeze's "spec" of a minimum of 100mW is complete nonsense. 100mW would drive the MX4 to 125dB, and their "recommended" 250mW will drive them beyond 128dB. For reference, 120dB is the threshold of pain for most people and will cause permanent hearing damage in less than 10 seconds (about 8 seconds, if I remember).
78mW will also drive your headphones beyond 120dB.
I mean, 1mW will drive the MX4 to 105dB, which is more than twice as loud as what I consider "too loud" (and will damage your hearing in less than 5 minutes).

Anyway, in order to keep this on topic, Macs have sounded great for years. I have an M1 MacBook Pro and had a 2014 MacBook Air before that, and they both sound fabulous with any of my headphones, and get loud enough with 250ohm Beyers and 300ohm Sennheisers. Heck, my iPhone 12 mini also powers my headphones fine and sounds great doing it. I see very little reason to buy anything else unless I want a knob or some other features.

 

[nadman12]

I believe Audeze's recommended specs have less to do with decibels and more to do with having more headroom for faster transient sounds, fuller dynamic range, and less distortion.

 

[emilsoft]

I realize this is an old post, but it's the sort of thing that bugs me so I want to answer it.

Audeze's "spec" of a minimum of 100mW is complete nonsense. 100mW would drive the MX4 to 125dB, and their "recommended" 250mW will drive them beyond 128dB. For reference, 120dB is the threshold of pain for most people and will cause permanent hearing damage in less than 10 seconds (about 8 seconds, if I remember).
78mW will also drive your headphones beyond 120dB.
I mean, 1mW will drive the MX4 to 105dB, which is more than twice as loud as what I consider "too loud" (and will damage your hearing in less than 5 minutes).

Anyway, in order to keep this on topic, Macs have sounded great for years. I have an M1 MacBook Pro and had a 2014 MacBook Air before that, and they both sound fabulous with any of my headphones, and get loud enough with 250ohm Beyers and 300ohm Sennheisers. Heck, my iPhone 12 mini also powers my headphones fine and sounds great doing it. I see very little reason to buy anything else unless I want a knob or some other features.

I think only the newest MacBook Pro M1’s sound special, smooth, delicate with plenty of headroom - all the other models I’ve heard were nothing special, sounding like a typical generic low cost dac/amplification for computers - properly implemented but still sounding rough/flat.

The iPhone mini 12 doesn’t have a headphone out - do you mean using a dongle with it? Which would mean the dongle is driving the headphone the iPhone is only providing digital data to it

 

[megabigeye]

I knew I'd stepped in a hornet's nest when I made that post. Blame the bourbon.

Have fun with your Macs.

 

[ubs28]

I wanted to chime in that the Max Pro 3.5mm output sounds stellar. The dac use is high quality, clean, low distortion, with stellar channel separation - it might lean ever so slightly bright but this might be a burn in thing. The amplification has good power, it can drive HD800S and most other headphones with authority and bass - I think (although not sure) it has more oomph than the Mojo 2, it sounds wider, larger.

Essentially it makes most if not all hifi dongles obsolete in my view, no need to waste money on one unless you're looking for something specific like R2R Cayin RU6.

Haha yes. I had the Chord Mojo 2 for testing and the 16" M1 Max MacBook Pro sounded better. I was laughing my ass off. So I didn't buy the Mojo 2 obviously.

I never liked the Mojo line-up soundwise, so I guess it was not a surprise that I didn't like the Mojo 2 either.