MacBook M4 sound quality feels cheap after Tahoe update

Downgrade to Sequoia, ran the same setup using the UMK-1 calibrated microphone, and the measurement came out what I expected without EQ:

Teal is Tahoe, and Yellow&Pink are Sequoia. So there seems to be some sort of audio issue on certain setups on macOS Tahoe.

Staying on Sequoia until this is fixed. :)

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For what it's worth, I use eqMac Pro with Tahoe and earlier versions of macOS. I can tailor the sound to my liking.

There have definitely been reports of reduced audio quality with Tahoe, mainly around crackling speakers.

Bugs can be reported to Apple here:

Feedback - macOS - Apple

I have a similar experience on M1 macBook Air on Tahoe. Sub-bass seems recessed or it could be that the upper-mids are emphasized. One thing's for sure, it makes my music sound off. Almost like there's a very slight spatialized audio effect being added, or a compressor on the volume. I have a measurement mic so I guess I'll pull it out and compare results

Ok, so looks like 3-10k is reduced compared to a measurement I had saved when I was on Sequoia. I don't have measurements for my subwoofer so ignore everything before 150hz. This is without any EQ. I'll probably downgrade and run this test again.

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Yeah, it is dreadful. I have MacBook Air M2. what I understand MacBook pro's do not seem to be affected. The sound is truly horrible. both on the mba speakers and on my external (wired) amp.

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i am also getting similar issue after macOS 26 upgrade, sound quality is too much low.

I also suffering with same problem audio decreases in major level

I have faced same issue bass is weak than earlier should I downgrade or wait .

It feels like the sound decreased too. I've used the same volume level and this update it feels incredibly lower than before. I don't like it. It certainly does feel cheap!

Same here, seems to specially affect the right speaker with high pitch sounds, impossible to enjoy a movie like this