Warning: MacBook Pro Hissing Noise

[RockinOut]

It's good to see so much interest in Mac laptop & Mac OS X audio rigs. I think XP laptop rigs with USB are awesome too.

I like Apple 'cause they look so cool, are simple, and Mac OS X is really nice.

But they're not perfect and their service and quality seem to be slipping with their success.

Case in point. My ideal HeadFi laptop rig would use a MacBook Pro for it's optical out, and the fact that it's just a cool laptop.

But I've been reading up on in the Apple blogosphere, and there is definitely an issue with a hissing noise with these new laptops. How bad the noise is or how much it would affect an audio rig I do not know. But it just ain't the Apple way, and it ain't cool.

More info available at:
http://macintouch.com/

Find the MacBook Pro link and follow the noise issues.

Per macintouch.com: "an apparent Apple acknowledgement of an engineering defect that causes one type of noise problem with the new notebooks" [has been stated].

In addition, repair times for DOA or defective MacBook Pros are long 1-4 weeks depending on what's wrong with it.

I would advise HeadFier's too wait a bit until Apple resolves this issue. Hopefully, Apple will address it soon. Obviously "early-adopters" should know what they are getting into. At $2000, it's not chump change--that's a lot o' cash'ola. (I guess that's the price of a consumption society

)

Maybe other HeadFier's can post to this thread or another thread on how quiet their current laptop(s) is/are.

My iBook G4 has been awesome. The thing is "dead" quiet, eerily so. Only under extremely hard processing (and when ambient temps are high, 95 degrees and above) will the fan come on. I basically surf the net, use Word, and play with Itunes at the same time. The fan comes on 0.5% of the time for me.

Peace.

 

[DLeeWebb]

RockinOut,
Thanks for the information. I am planning on getting a MacBook Pro. I think I'm going to wait for the 17" model that rumors say will be coming out in June. I'm going to start following the reports on the current models now that they have started shipping...

 

[RockinOut]

Just some more info for Intel Mac users and would-be switchers.

Here are some links to making your very own DUAL BOOT Windows XP and Mac OS X on Intel Mac computers AND NOTEBOOKS:

http://onmac.net/

http://nirlog.com/2006/03/18/winxp-a...n-macbook-pro/

I don't know how long it will last (Apple/Microsoft Legal?).

I'm not trying to pitch, argue, or debate the usefulness or validity of running XP on a Mac. There's plenty of this arguing/debating in other blogs and forums.

I'm just sharing a bit of info and providing options for Intel Mac and would-be-Intel Mac Head-Fiers who may be interested in this.

 

[TheSloth]

There's no legal issue with running XP on a Mac. There are legal issues running OS X on a PC.

Apple have said on many occasions they will not try to prevent users from running XP on their Mac, and from Microsoft's point of view, as long as the copy of Windows that is installed is legitimately purchased and liscenced, it's good for them. Truth is I'm sure a lot of the Mac users installing XP will object to paying Microsoft for the privilege, so there are legal issues there, but if you buy a copy and install it, you are doing nothing wrong by either company.

Though, I should point out that XP is not fully functional yet on the MacTels. Sound is not complete, and there are as yet no graphics acceleration drivers, except for the Mac Mini whose integrated intel chip is now working with some tweaks.

 

[RockinOut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSloth There's no legal issue with running XP on a Mac. There are legal issues running OS X on a PC. Apple have said on many occasions they will not try to prevent users from running XP on their Mac, and from Microsoft's point of view, as long as the copy of Windows that is installed is legitimately purchased and liscenced, it's good for them. Truth is I'm sure a lot of the Mac users installing XP will object to paying Microsoft for the privilege, so there are legal issues there, but if you buy a copy and install it, you are doing nothing wrong by either company. Though, I should point out that XP is not fully functional yet on the MacTels. Sound is not complete, and there are as yet no graphics acceleration drivers, except for the Mac Mini whose integrated intel chip is now working with some tweaks.

I was wondering the exact same thing.

Thanks for your input about legal and drivers issues. Clears it up a bit.

 

[RockinOut]

I APOLOGIZE. . . . I ACCIDENTALLY PUT THE DUAL XP INTEL MAC POST IN THE WRONG THREAD.

PLEASE RESPOND TO DUAL BOOT ISSUES HERE:

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=170048

I'll copy TheSloth's excellent post there also.

AGAIN, Sorry about misposting this issue, my mistake.

 

[lowmagnet]

Yeah, welcome to Rev. A. I never go for the first generation of anything Apple after getting the first version of the G4 iMac. Of course I bought that because it was a wicked design, and it was one of the early OS X systems.

I wonder if the hum occurs on the spdif

 

[shawntp]

I have a MacBook Pro that I recieved 2 weeks ago. It is really sweet. I plan to recieve my Logic 7.2 crossgrade today as well and will be using it for audio.

The whine issue people talk about is really minor. Its when the dual processor is innactive that it pops up (i.e. for me this is when I am not using my macbook). But there are allready utilities that make this go away. I have no other issues at all and concider this to be a great Rev1 product (have been using non-stop for over 2 weeks).

 

[sniks7]

What's a logic crossgrade?

I've got one of the 2ghz models and there is a slight whine. What are the utilities that make this go away?

I'm interested in using the machine as a cd front end but I'll run a few searches through the forum before I start asking dumb questions!

 

[AlanY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowmagnet I wonder if the hum occurs on the spdif

From what I've read, the hum doesn't occur on the S/PDIF... it doesn't occur on the headphone jack either. It's not an audio hum. It's some kind of electrical hum, the kind you sometimes get from wall warts and electrical transformers.

Anyone know if this is going to be fixed soon? I'm looking to get a new laptop in the next few months and would love to get one of these.

 

[umlaut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shawntp I have a MacBook Pro that I recieved 2 weeks ago. It is really sweet. I plan to recieve my Logic 7.2 crossgrade today as well and will be using it for audio. The whine issue people talk about is really minor. Its when the dual processor is innactive that it pops up (i.e. for me this is when I am not using my macbook). But there are allready utilities that make this go away. I have no other issues at all and concider this to be a great Rev1 product (have been using non-stop for over 2 weeks).

I think you're belittling the irritation of this noise. I bought a MacBook Pro last weekend and returned it within 18 hours due to the noise. It is awful. There are a variety of noises:

1) plugged-in: noise near AC connection while CPU is idle. This is not present if you deactivate half of the dual-core (waste of money, eh?) or if you have the iSight on. The utilities you speak of are actually just workarounds (along the CPU or iSight lines) and they do not solve the problem.
2) unplugged: noise near middle top of keyboard. Just a redirection of the above mentioned noise.
3) noise by right side, which is related to the brightness. My iBook makes a much more faint noise if you scale down the brightness. At full brightness, I cannot hear into that pitch, so no problem. My MacBook Pro was lucky enough to not have this third irritation.

I could hear #1/#2 EASILY in a quiet room. At the Apple Store, their hidden room / folk "couldn't acknowledge it". The sales guy couldn't hear it. But the "genius" could instantly (by placing his ear near the machine), and that's with all the ambient store noise.

Issue #3 is known and Apple will fix your Mac if it exhibits this. #1 and #2 are well known (my "genius" guy knew of it) among many forums. Apple has done nothing to resolve it.

When I took the MacBook Pro back, I exchanged it on the condition that the second didn't make a sound. So I opened it in-store and quite soon heard the noise once the Finder loaded.

I expect (and receive) horrible sounds out of my $900 Dell laptop my job gives me. But a $2500 "Pro" machine? Totally unacceptable.