Comments on: Music Just Sounds Better With Mac

By: Raptor007

Raptor007 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:30:56 +0000

Hey, here’s another reason you might experience better sound in Mac OS X compared to Windows on the same hardware. It’s possible that OS X is running the audio card in 44.1KHz mode while Windows is using 48KHz mode. 44.1KHz will always sound better than 48KHz for CDs and MP3s because that’s the native sample rate of those formats. If you run the audio card at 48KHz, you have to convert the audio to that sampling rate, which can result in some quality loss.

By: Raptor007

Raptor007 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:25:10 +0000

Well, my MacBook Pro has a lot of electronic interference in the audio; for example, I can hear hard drive activity over my headphones. My PowerMac G5 sounds pretty good in general, but there is a bit of hiss present when audio is playing, which becomes quite noticeable when using my old Denon receiver’s Loudness function. My older blue&white G3 actually sounded extremely good; a lot better than the G5 or MacBook Pro.

I am pretty picky about audio quality, so I purchased the Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic PCI card for my PC. The DACs in that card definitely outclass my G5 and MacBook Pro, and are even a little better than my G3. That being said, the built-in audio in most PCs are terrible. Most Macs have better onboard audio than PCs.

But if you really want top-notch audio, use the digital output (which my G5 and MacBook both have Toslink optical). You can run the signal without interference to any modern audio receiver, which will almost definitely have better DACs than your sound card.

By: Phil

Phil — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:06:03 +0000

Dudes, you’re way off. Let’s talk about real PCs. Asus, MSI, Gigabyte. Any of these systems set up with the same specs as a Mac will be far cheaper…and faster. For example, I just recently set up an Asus with 8gb RAM, q6600 quad core CPU for about $800. Anyone want to argue that they can find an equivalent mac for the same price? And for those that don’t know it, these brands will outperform and outlast Mac hardware. This is not crappy stuff, it is built to kick ass.

As for the sound card thing, it all depends on what you have and that can be different on different PCs, which is the beauty of the whole thing. If Joe finance doesn’t even need any sound at all, why should he have to pay for it? If Jack studio needs low-latency ASIO performance, he can pay for results.

Slightly off topic, let’s focus attention on the DVD burner that I just installed for $35. It burns the DVD’s literally twice to 3x as fast as Mac’s $150 piece of horsemeal.

Let’s face it folks. With apple, you are paying for a pretty computer, not a better one. Just ask the DIY guys that are now running OSX on PCs. In fact, check them out on youtube and see for yourself how they perform.

Oh and one more thing, as an IT guy, I have seen proportionally more broken Mac laptops than PCs.

All that said, I do like many things about OSX way better than Windoze. But as far as hardware is concerned, Apple is bilking every jerk who thinks that his soda tastes better from the ergonomically contoured bottle than the regular one.

By: Schulz

Schulz — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 23:30:59 +0000

And can someone explain why I’ve installed a hacked version of Mac Os X in my pc and it plays music much better?
It’s a software issue in Windows for sure. Same onboard card, better sound with Mac Os X.

By: Macintosh

Macintosh — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 06:52:53 +0000

from a non bias opinion, macs are not more expensive. yes you can’t buy a Mac for less then $600, but compare the specs to a PC with the same specs, they are usually in the same price range.

By: Aka

Aka — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:35:22 +0000

My Macbook Pro has the same cheap family of Sigmatel sound chips my Dell laptop has, and the same quirky problems. You can hear them with decent headphones.
When I pause something in iTunes, Quicktime, or another media player, there is a quiet buzz/whine of sound in the buffer. It changes tone from pause to pause because (I suspect) it is a small part of the sample being played back. Between stopping playback and the chip going into power saving mode, there is an audible background hiss.

Sometimes it remembers the volume for headphones, and sometimes it doesn’t, blowing my ears off. It always plays the startup sound through the speakers, and I’ve heard of many people using WinXP on it who get sound through speakers in all programs even with headphones plugged in - but those are all more design issues.

By: DJ T

DJ T — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:17:45 +0000

I would agree that that the X-Fi is a great card. We run a mobile DJ business and I bought into the hype that the Mac was superior to any PC for mobile dj application and sound quality. I was wrong. We now use a PC with the X-Fi sound card and use the Mac as a backup only.

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By: Sound Cards

Sound Cards — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:07:57 +0000

I couldn?t have said it better myself! Thanks a lot!!!

By: Coolermaster

Coolermaster — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:23:38 +0000

Try an X-FI, then we can talk about it!! Of course there’s always somehing better…. A ClassÃ¨ Audio Amplifier is definetely better than an Onkyo (to say one) , a pair of B&W Loudspeakers way better than the Plastic boxes you find in IT Stores…and so? X-FI is another story related to previous Audigy! Better DACS, better components, Opamps, ecc…ecc… make better sound!
And ahead you find Lynx, RME, Digidesign…ok
The point is that the Apple integrated Chip is no way better than the one that equipes the most of the Pcs out there…that’s it. And the sad part of the story is that even on a $400 xyz Pc I can but a Creative X-Fi, or….er…why not a Lynx Two B!! And just plug it into the PCI slot inside the case. Try to do the same with an iMac!!! Please, be serious and coherent!
Byez

By: Steven

Steven — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 05:56:18 +0000

Excellent, love it!

By: Mr eel

Mr eel — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 03:47:51 +0000

“Mac is years ahead of windows based pc. ”

Jesus H. Christ. People do talk some crap about audio on computers.

Audio does not sound inherently better on a Mac. Audio quality is dependent on the source material, the playback software, the drivers and the hardware itself.

Yes of course Apple favour better equipment in their hardware, so in general a stock standard Mac will sound better than a stock standard Dell. That said, suggesting that you get Magic Audio just because you are using a mac is a bit daft.

FYI: I’m a mac user.

“I bet my Audigy 2ZS platinum has something to say about your biased and unbalanced arguement.”

Anyone touting a SoundBlaster as representative of good audio quality has no idea what they’re talking about. They’re not bad per se, but there are definitely substantially better cards out there â€” within the same price range.

By: fluddie

fluddie — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 16:18:23 +0000

You want to hear amazing sound quality. Use the optical audio output on your mac and bridge it to your optical audio input on your home audio reciever(cable can be bought on ebay for $20) …amazing. I never buy cds anymore. My Itunes folder is loaded and it just keeps playing day after day..There is no comparison between mac and pc. Mac is years ahead of windows based pc. Once you go mac youll never go back…

By: squirmel

squirmel — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 22:49:59 +0000

I’d believe that mac audio cards render at a higher quality than the cheapest PC card, but based on what you’re saying my bet is on iTunes’ “sound enhancer”, which you should uncheck in the preferences pane for a prober A/B comparison.

If the sound card or OS audio engine had an built-in 3d enhancement processor that was always on, then you could never get a true sonic reference of your source material. Built-in coloration like that would make macs useless for professional audio.

By: rommmmm

rommmmm — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:19:05 +0000

Apple uses better quality hardware and that’s why it’s more expensieve. Every one of you knows that, so why do you make idiots of yourself with the comments like that?

It’s the reason why people buy Mac - it’s better. No point to argue. better=more expensive.

By: Bandar

Bandar — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:47:27 +0000

Guys, do not underestemate the audio quality you get on a mac ( out of the box ) … it is superior .

Just one example, you get Optical Audio in and out on a Mac Mini out of the box! but never on a Dell box…