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G3 400MHz Slot Loading iMac bizarre audio volume issue

Yodd

Member
Hola everyone!

I picked up a nice condition Graphite slot loading G3 iMac last week and so far everything has been really great with it. Replaced the dead IDE harddrive with a StarTech IDE2SATA adapter and 120GB SSD. Replaced the PRAM battery while in there. Zero leakage of the batteries or caps.


My question: is it normal for the speakers on this to be stupid loud? Literally the lowest volume (one click above mute) is still really loud and it only gets even louder from there. This can't possibly be normal, can it?

Fresh install of Mac OS 9.2.2
Updated firmware to 4.19
Reset PRAM
Reset NVRAM


I haven't tried 8.6 to see if it behaves differently and I'm not interested in installing OS X on it (unless I need to).

Thank god the Harmon Kardon speakers on this iMac are in great shape because it's audio is really loud. Like living room filling loud.


Ideas?
 

LCARS

Well-known member
My MDD is similar, at least for the boot chime. That tiny speaker making that much noise? I have a slot load Graphite 700MHz and it is not very loud at all. I suspect some cap or resistor is having an issue. If you increase the volume, does it distort?
 

Yodd

Member
No. That's the weird thing. It just gets louder and louder while staying clean and undistorted.

You could fill a nice size room with audio from this thing. I just wish there was a couple notches of lower audio volume. I keep it on the lowest notch before Mute and it's still louder than I would like.


Thinking this might be some weird OS 9.2.2 thing, I installed 8.6 just now to see how it behaved.

Exactly the same.
 

EmNem543

Well-known member
the speakers in the Slot-load iMacs oftentimes need to be replaced because the cone gets brittle and disintegrates. So I suspect that yours were replaced with much newer ones that require far less power to drive, thus making them much louder at lower volumes.
 

Yodd

Member
I decided to revisit this again.

I have done some further testing: The same problem occurs under OS 8.6

However, under OS X (I tested 10.4) the audio volume controls are normal. I can adjust the volume from barely audible to blasting. Yet under OS9 and 8.6 I can not.


Anyone else have any ideas? I wonder if this is some firmware related issue.
 

Dude.JediKnight

Well-known member
How about through headphones or a set of speakers through the headphone jack, are they way too loud as well? Might help to determine if it’s just the internal speakers being too loud or the whole audio subsystem being too loud.

Our iMac DV was often used with headphones, and I never remember them being way too loud at low volume, in OS 9 or X. I remember the speakers sounding good, but not ‘stupid loud’ on low volume like you’re saying.

I suppose it kinda depends on who else is in the room and what they think is too loud. Folks didn’t want to hear your darn computer games blasting when they’re trying to watch TV for example.

I also suspect the replacement speaker thing; it is possible that maybe they got speakers from a different revision of the iMac, and thus were not a true drop-in replacement.

Definitely curious.
 
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