Does Spatial Audio work through MacBook Pro 14 speaker?

Platforms Mac
1

Hello!

I find the sound really good when I’m watching Dolby (non atmos) content on my MacBook Pro 14 M1 Max. Does the Spatial audio work through the speakers too or only with headphones?

Thanks!

Anthony.

2

Hi, basically it will only work on headphones.
You might get a kind of 3D sound if you move you head precisely between the speakers. You would need to put you head really close to the keyboard, and then don’t move at all.
I don’t think, this is very convenient :wink:
Could also be, that the spatial function is not activated, when listening on the speakers.
Just try.

3

I think what you were experiencing is called Dolby Atmos. Apple’s Special Audio is a custom implementation of DA with additional head tracking features.

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4

Yes, it’s a kind of room simulation, which is fairly nice on headphones. I am no fan of 3D via headphones. It’s far away from the real world thing on speakers. However, not everyone is able to set up a 3D speaker system at home.

5

This is from Apple’s support document for the new MBPs.

The high-fidelity six-speaker sound system consists of two pairs of dual force-canceling woofers and two tweeters. Enjoy a robust and high-quality audio experience, including spatial audio support for videos and songs with Dolby Atmos.

1 Like
6

Thanks for all your answer ! My understanding is as Infuse support Dolby Atmos and the MacBook Pro 14’’, I have some kind of spatialization with my laptop speakers.

Give it a try if you haven’t, it’s really impressive for such a small package!

1 Like
7

Please inform me on how to use this spatial audio feature on my Macbook Pro 14! I would love to hear how!! :grin:

8

On macOS, you can view/adjust the spatial audio status for connected AirPods through the Control Center settings.

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The internal speakers on MBP models with the Mx chips also appear to support spatial audio, but I don’t believe there is any sort of visual status or setting for this.

9

Oh, ok! Thank you for the quick response! I will continue my search for the spatial audio feature on the MBP speakers! But first, I need to go and buy some AirPods :rofl::rofl: