I’ve had consistent issues with the speakers in my MacBook Pro (MBP) models. Starting with my 13-inch 2009 model, the speakers were already malfunctioning when I acquired it.
My first 2012 13-inch MBP failed just six months before I had to replace it, and its successor followed suit a week later. While my 2012 15-inch Retina MBP initially showed no problems, after a month, one of its speakers also failed.
Now, my 2014 15-inch Retina MBP has experienced a similar fate with its left speaker. The common factor in all of these failures seems to be the foam that attaches the central membrane to the speaker chassis.
This is puzzling because none of my other laptops from brands like HP, Dell, Lenovo, or Asus have ever had similar speaker issues. Upon inspecting those devices, I found that they do not incorporate foam in their speakers.
It raises the question: why did Apple choose to use foam in high-end products? It seems to deteriorate over time, often just after the warranty period runs out, with no clear advantage for its use.
Is there a viable solution for this problem? Replacement parts are likely to be just as old and prone to the same failure.
Ideally, I would want to replace merely the faulty speaker with a compatible model that doesn’t rely on foam. Finding a long-lasting solution would be essential, especially since the current trend indicates that these parts will only continue to age and deteriorate further.
It’s frustrating to deal with such recurring issues in premium devices.
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