Unbalanced Audio internal speakers von MacBook Air M1 2020
I'm experiencing problems with the internal speakers in my Macbook Air M1 13" (late 2020) and I'm running out of ideas. Let me explain:
Earlier this year I noticed that my left speaker was louder than my right speaker (I can't be sure when this started, because I most of the time wear headphones for sound). Because the issue was not high priority I didn't bother immediately, still wanted it fixed at some point.
I was super sure it was a hardware issue with the right speaker and I discovered (with the help of iFixit) that this can be easily replaced in self service. So I ordered (used) original part speaker replacements on ebay and sat down today to make the replacement - only to discover, that nothing has improved, same issue with new speaker.
My questions:
- could this be a software issue after all?
- has anyone experienced something similar?
Here's a more detailed description of the symptoms:
- moving the balance slider in the audio controls completely to the *left* will do the expected thing and completely mute the right speaker
- moving the balance slider to the *right* does *not* put more balance on the right; there is sound, but still quite low; at the same time, there is - unexpectedly - sound coming from the left speaker...
- nothing of this happens, when any external audio target is connected (Airpods Pro & Max, Airplay 2 speakers) - so my guess was initially, that it's not a problem of the sound chip but I'm not sure any more
Right now I feel, I can only choose between "deal with it" or "give device to repair shop or Apple" - the latter turns me off, because I can't be without my work laptop for some time, just to have the sound fixed.
Should I maybe try to replace the left speaker as well, because the effect is caused by the two speakers not working "in sync"?
Any other advice? Thanks in advance!
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 14.4
