DownTheShore
Maddie Knows Poopie
Premium
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ
clubs:
| Laptops and Their Speakers
I finally broke down and got a laptop computer, a Dell Studio 15, and I have to say I was shocked at how lousy the sound is from the speakers. It's tinny and has no depth whatsoever. It's also very soft and playback tends to crackle at times. Now, I don't expect laptop speakers to be state of the art, but jeez, I've got transistor radios that sound better. I've searched online and have seen that this is SOP for the Studio series, and have managed to get the volume level raised. I used to have a Toshiba Satellite 5205 and I don't remember be appalled by the sound of it.
I've researched a bit more online and I've seen other complaints about laptop speakers.
So my question for you folks is: are lousy sounding speakers now the norm for the laptop industry? Do your laptops have poor-sounding speakers?
Luckily, I have an pair of external speakers that came with my Gateway desktop that I can use, but it's annoying to have to take them along whenever I want to use the laptop at another location.
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Patriotism is not waving a flag, it is living the ideals |
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Zero Gravity
Next to Arch Stanton
Premium
join:2002-04-30
Top Floor
 ·Bell Sympatico
| I have a studio 15 and while I admit the speakers aren't that good, I don't find them much different from my son's Acer laptop. There's no doubt that better sounding machines are out there, but I connect to my HDTV and surround system for any critical listening. The crackling noise can be fixed by updating to the newest nic drivers. |
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Mospaw
D O N E
Hawaiian Jellyfish
join:2001-01-08
The Pacific
 ·Cox HSI
Host:
Road Warriors, Not..
All Things Macintosh
Automotive
| reply to DownTheShore
That's really surprising for a newer machine. My ancient ThinkPad has very loud speakers, and they're clear at pretty much any volume. There's not much bass (which is expected) but the rest is loud enough to act as a boom box in an otherwise quiet room. |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
2 edits | reply to DownTheShore
Considering the size of most laptop drivers(speakers), most are pretty loud - but one should not expect earth shattering bass.
See Pic.
These are the drivers installed in my AR Series VAIO laptops(I bought some spare parts off ebay).
8 OHM .7W
Sound pretty good considering.
Some machines have larger(like my A Series) and some machines actually have a sub-woofer.
Varying brands of audio components(Altec/Lansing/JBL/???)... but you have to remember, it will still be like blasting headphones.
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Think outside the Fox... Opera |
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PeteC2
Got Mouse?
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT
clubs:
·AT&T Yahoo
| Some notebooks now have little sub woofers built into the bottom and can be really pretty decent.
My HP notebook sports "Altec Lansing" speakers (well, I suspect that HP just purchases the rignt to "name" them as such), and they are pretty ok for being after all, teeny-tiny little drivers! No bass, of course, but the sound is clear within the limited audio range which they cover.
Truth is I do not expect a lot from such a dimminutive form-factor, and when I want any real audio quality I hook my lappy up to my very real Altec Lansing speaker system!
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Deeds, not words |
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DownTheShore
Maddie Knows Poopie
Premium
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ
clubs:
| reply to DownTheShore
I realize that most people seem to use laptops now in place of desktop PC's, but it seems to defeat the purpose of the portability to have to drag along external speakers if I'm on vacation and want to listen to music via the computer or to watch a DVD. 
It just seems a shame that Dell, for example, allows you to customize almost every aspect of the computer and dramatically improve the basic offering, yet the speakers are a throwaway item.
I think that Toshiba that I had had a sub-woofer on the bottom. That's probably what made the difference in the sound that I remember.
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Patriotism is not waving a flag, it is living the ideals
Doing drugs? Then YOU'RE funding the Mexican cartels! |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| Headphones!
Get some quality, low-OHM impedence headphones.
My laptops can blow your head off via headphones! 
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Think outside the Fox... Opera |
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Cthen
join:2004-08-01
Ypsilanti, MI
·Comcast
| reply to DownTheShore
Could be worse, my Dell Inspiron 1501 has HD audio but it's connected to a 4 piece driver set with no sub-woofer.
Also it seems to come down to the design of certain laptops. In the case of mine, it looked like on the inside that there just wasn't any kind of room to add anything more. Even if they did, they would have to increase the size and weight of the entire machine itself to accommodate that.
It's not just that they trying to cut the cost but also alot of other things have to be accounted for as well when adding in those extras into the design.
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"I like to reffer to myself as an Adult Film Efficienato." - Stuart Bondeck |
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PeteC2
Got Mouse?
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT
clubs:
·AT&T Yahoo
| Well, after all, the allure of notebooks is their size and light weight...to build a superior set of speakers in a sub-6lb electronics package would be a pretty neat trick!
That is why as I say, I want and expect "clear" sound from my laptop speakers, but no way do I expect a superior, wide-range experience.
dadkins has the best answer, IMHO, which is if/when one needs a high level of audio, headphones are the answer!
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Deeds, not words |
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Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| reply to DownTheShore
I'm using my laptop primarily as a 2nd desktop, so I took an extra pair of inexpensive desktop speakers I had and used them with it. The sound quality from them is fairly decent.
I plugged them into the headphone jack on the front.
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"The trouble with computers, of course, is that they are very sophisticated idiots." - Doctor Who (from Robot)
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Ctrl Alt Del
Premium
join:2002-02-18
| reply to DownTheShore
My MacBook Pro has surprisingly good speakers, very clear in the mids and high end, but they completely lack any bass response. The speakers are just too small to move enough air.
I always have my laptops hooked up to external speakers when on a desk.
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less talk, more music |
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DownTheShore
Maddie Knows Poopie
Premium
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ
clubs:
| reply to DownTheShore
I'm not really that fond of headphones - have never really had a pair that was comfortable for an extended period of wear.
I've got a pair of JBL speakers with a subwoofer hooked up to my desktop, so the sound is fine there. I suppose I'll just have to get used to the tiny and tinny sound from the lsptop... |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| I have some of these:
»www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp···26204520
MDR-J10
16 OHM
When I got mine, they were $9.99... shop around.
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Think outside the Fox... Opera |
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DownTheShore
Maddie Knows Poopie
Premium
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ
clubs: | I'll have to give them a try, thanks. |
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john262
join:2003-09-26
Elko, NV | reply to DownTheShore
Either use your laptop's built in bluetooth if it has it or if not get an inexpensive bluetooth dongle, then get a pair of bluetooth headphones. It works great for me. |
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DownTheShore
Maddie Knows Poopie
Premium
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ
clubs: | I cheaped out when customizing the laptop and didn't get bluetooth because I didn't see a use for it. In hindsight, I should have spent the extra twenty at the time. |
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Dynosaur
join:2009-05-17
San Francisco, CA | You can buy a bluetooth adapter for about $30. You just plug it into a USB pirt and you're good to go. They are really small, about the size of a automobile fuse (the flat plastic fuses). |
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Grail Knight
Who Dares Wins
Premium
join:2003-05-31
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to DownTheShore
I use my Sennheiser PX-100 headphones with my HP dv7t and what a difference it makes.
Sound quality without headphones is not bad either after playing around with the EQ.
Does your Dell have a Software EQ UI for the speakers?
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“Facts not FUD." |
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Ctrl Alt Del
Premium
join:2002-02-18
| said by Grail Knight  :I use my Sennheiser PX-100 headphones with my HP dv7t and what a difference it makes. I use those on my iPod, MacBook Pro, Dell, and at work. They are amazing headphones.
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less talk, more music |
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DownTheShore
Maddie Knows Poopie
Premium
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ
clubs:
| reply to Grail Knight
said by Grail Knight :I use my Sennheiser PX-100 headphones with my HP dv7t and what a difference it makes. Sound quality without headphones is not bad either after playing around with the EQ. Does your Dell have a Software EQ UI for the speakers? Yes, it does have EQ software. Doesn't improve the sound much using the internal speakers, though.
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Patriotism is not waving a flag, it is living the ideals |
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