Asus W2V audio - angry customers on the warpath!

It is now well-documented that the sound output from the front jacks of the Asus W2V is seriously flawed. Appended to this post are several links from online discussions of this problem, as well as measurements of frequency response that prove that this is fact and not subjective opinion. (For anyone not familiar with frequency response curves, the measurements below are *incredibly* bad.) Since the W2V is marketed as a high-end multimedia notebook with Intel High-Definition Audio, and a price to match, this is completely unacceptable. However, Asus refuses to acknowledge the problem. Notebooks that are sent to service are returned unchanged. Retailers and Asus support representatives brush off complaints with "sound quality is subjective", even in the face of numerous online user reports. Asus denies even being aware that there is an issue, although at least one retailer has reported the problem to Asus USA and headquarters in Taiwan.

Clearly, Asus is attempting to close the lid on this. Possibly the problem is too complicated to fix without expensive hardware changes. But we can't let them get away with that! There have been scattered complaints so far, but now that we have hard data to support our case we can get organized, and hopefully get things done.

What we need, or how you can help:

1. Find more links to online discussions of this issue. Post the links here, and post a link to this thread over there. Especially discussions in other languages, which the mostly English-speaking community here may have missed.

2. We'll need frequency response measurements from other notebooks, to prove that the W2V is much worse than everyone else. See the thread linked below.

3. Complain to your retailer and call Asus support in your country. Have your W2V sent in for repair if you wish, but know that other people have tried this to no avail. Demand that they acknowledge that there is a problem, that they find a solution that works. Tell them this is a widespread problem, refer them here if needed. If the person you reach isn't helpful, demand to speak with their superior. Even better, call Asus regional headquarters (USA/Europe etc.) and try to reach the person responsible for the W2V. And report your progress here!

4. Since Asus is probably afraid of bad publicity, let's give them exactly that. Which online tech/computer journal would pick this up if we submitted it to them? I know some audio forums which would have a field day with measurements as horrible as these, but a real journal? C't in Germany seems good to me, they love measurements. Anyone have a contact? How about techie blogs? If you're as angry about this as I am, send a journal or tech blog an e-mail!

5. To paraphrase - "Help us PROPortable, you are our only hope!". Or at least you definitely have the ability to communicate directly with Asus, unlike most of us here. Please do what you can to get a response from Asus on this, and please indicate to them that they better do something before this blows up and ruins their good reputation.

6. Someone suggested an online petition. I'm a bit sceptical to petitions for gadgets like this with a relatively small market. This isn't an iPod, we probably wouldn't get more than 20-30 signatures, not very impressive. But if someone want to organize one, I'll sign.

7. Other ideas? Post them here!


Frequency responce measurements, by Torbjörn:

Original thread - http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=32774
Direct link to benchmark curve for Dell D600 - http://img21.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc119&image=805_d600_freqres.JPG
Direct link to curve for Asus W2V - http://img20.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc51&image=5dd_w2v_freqres.JPG

Links (to online discussions of the W2V sound problem):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=21399 (2 pages)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=25827 (3 pages)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=32108
http://vip.asus.com/forum/bbs_view....anguage=en-us&topic_page=1&page_cnt=1&recc=28 (2 pages)
http://vip.asus.com/forum/bbs_view....anguage=en-us&topic_page=3&page_cnt=3&recc=28
http://vip.asus.com/forum/bbs_view....anguage=en-us&topic_page=1&page_cnt=2&recc=15
http://vip.asus.com/forum/bbs_view....anguage=en-us&topic_page=1&page_cnt=7&recc=65
http://vip.asus.com/forum/bbs_view....anguage=en-us&topic_page=1&page_cnt=2&recc=14

Professional review which mentions bad sound output (in German):
http://www.minitechnet.de/asus_w2v_03.html

 

Bad publicity is the only way to go unfortunately, when it comes to hardware issues.

The way many hardware companies handdle these issues, is at first they ignore it totally, even if they know a problem exist.
Then if the protests grow to a point where it may affect sales, they will try a public statement where they deny that there is a problem.
And finally if it comes to where it really hurt sales and reputation, they may try to fix the problem.

I would hope this is just a software problem, but i have my doubts.
I think the sudden silence from PROportable, who claimed Asus were working on this months ago, is interesting.
When the w2 came out there where no limits to how far he would go, to be sure no negative statement of the notebook stood alone.

 

.. I was going to say... I hope I'm not pulled into this from a customer because I'd hope our own customers would contact us first if they are having a problem, but since I'm a dedicated number and you asked nicely, I'll forward this over to the right people..... I do want to mention though that you're talking about a driver issue and one that seems to be much worse for some than it is others. I know this because of all the people who have a problem are like less than 5% of people who own W2's and from the power of the system and it's cost..... every on knows that no one has bought this computer for just "normal" use.... they're all basically high-end users. However, the drivers still need tweaking to satisfy the most demanding users, including myself. I wouldn't worry about petitions and stuff like that..... There are three guys that should be reading this by this evening and Asus' North American market can't function with out them.

I'll report back.

 

Thank you very much PROPortable. We're all very anxious to hear what info you can bring back to us. I don't think it's a driver issue though, because then other models with the same driver would have the same problem, and this seems to be strictly a W2V issue.

 

You're welcome.

I think Speedy made his response while I was typing mine and just to comment.... we're talking about something that may be bothering the upper 5-10% of owners and it's far from a design flaw..... I reported the need for a sound driver update back on September 6th (I actually looked up the email).... so far there hasn't been a new one, but we have gotten promises that they're still working on it. I just thought for me, it would be pointless to drop an IM everyone someone would say something and just say I haven't heard back yet.. blah blah.... but I ended up sending out an email to not three, but four people that I trust will take a look at this and force the hand of Taiwan to jump on it....... They may even want to study particular notebooks... so those of you who have a problem, for the sake of others, they may ask you for you systems to look at..... Obviously there's no better system to look at than one that someone already claims has a problem.

 

What makes you state that this is a driver issue, and not a hardware problem?

 

I too wonder if this is a driver issue ... drivers are not that difficult to "tweak" - realtek have released 10 versions of this driver whereas Asus have tweaked 2 of them ... I wonder if it is a BIOS thing, as some guys have 0207 BIOS installed and claim that there audio is fine, but I can only find 0206A BIOS and am stuck with that. Anyone have the 0207 BIOS???

I also dont get the SPDIF showing up in Soundmanager, so I dont know if that is an issue??

I have used Asus products exclusively since 1998 (not as long as some I am sure) and their driver support has always been excellent, however with the W2V support has been average to poor at the least. To me this suggests that they may have resourcing issues and cant fix things as quick as they used to.

It is such a shame - I paid $AU4200.00 for this laptop (2.13 Ghz, 2GB RAM, 100GB HDD options) and it is THE best laptop I have purchased. This is so much better than my Alienware laptop (17", P4 3.4) and I take it everywhere ... I have an Audigy ZS on its way, and then it will be perfect - but I shouldnt have to do it

 

Perhaps you could get into contact with one of those users with the 0207 BIOS and ask them to "Save" their BIOS image and send it to you. That way, you'll know for sure if it's the BIOS causing you woes...

 

Well... I for one took my W2 apart and swapped speakers with my old W1.... I get the same results by ear anyway... But, the W1 is also seperating the channels correctly. I guess it could be anything, but the same sound chip is on half a dozen of our other notebooks and there is no problem there... Also, with my external Klipsch 5.1's, it's pure perfection..... exactly the same as my w1 and w3 and sounds the same on my new v6va as well.. I could be wrong obviously, and other people could have other issues which certainly could be hardware related but I don't think I would connect the issues I found to be anything but a driver issue.

That's all.... we'll see though. I told Asus to read this and other threads and once they actually get a chance to go over it together (probably monday), I should get some sort of thoughtful response and will be able to report back.

 

what other Asus laptops have the same model soundchip? has anyone tried a driver from one of these other models?

I have asked if I can get the 0207 BIOS as well ... appears to be French W2V only I think.

 

I also have a W2V with bios 07 and have no problem with the sound.
Its much better then i ever have heart on a notebook.
Okay i can't use the test with the speakers, because its a 4.1 and not a 5.1.
And if you look at the sub size you can't aspect a deep low bass.
For me it works fine, but i'am open for improvement.

 

Nice to see something happening on this front, and great to have the collection of forum links and review in one thread. It really drives home the point that this is not an isolated case.

ProPortable is the only one even close to ASUS who actually acknowlegdes the problem, so big props for that! Hopefully he can get some answers for us.

I have also sent in the frequency response curve to my Swedish suport guy so hopefully he can also put a little preasure on the rest of ASUS.

Interesting about the 207 bios maybe having fixed the problem, though I have only reported the problem on the front audio output port I have no complains about the sound on the built in speakers, that sound is at least better than all other noteboks I have heard. The built in speakers aren't great but I don't expect much from them, it is hard to know if the same problem as on the external sound effects them also since I don't know how good they cold be
Klepzeiker, could you please test to connect the W2V to an external amplifier and check if the sound is good there too?

I also would like to say that even with the problems with the W2V I don't regret buying it since it is an absolutely gorgeus notebook I guess it is true that the beatifull can get away with bad behaviour

 

Well, thats good we're seeing various problems, but bad at the same time... .this means it's may not drivers (or it could be compatibility issues with certain software), but maybe something is just wrong with individual systems. I'm glad that 07 took care of your problem, but the thing that made the w1 great was that it pushed the lows and only the lows to the sub..... and put stereo to the other speakers.... using simulated surround really does help you submerse yourself in the audio, but you can't have 5.1 surround sitting in front of you.......

Now... Torbjorn is having issue with the audio output.... this is odd because this is something that I've always noticed to be perfect, especially on the W2..... What issues are you having with the front audio? Are out outputting a standard mini rca, or are you doing digital with a mini tos?

 

I'm using mini-rca (i guess thats what hey are called, 3.5 mm standard audio plug) not digital. I have not tried the optical out since I don't have a cable for that

I was under the impression that thats what most people were describing, not problems with the built in speakers, so I got a little confused when people started talking about the built in speakers.

many people have reported that the audio on the "front" port is much worse than on the rear surround channel port. Especially on ASUS vip forums, maybe these are two separate issues?

My frequency response measurement was also taken by connecting the front port to line in, not by using the speakers and a microphone.


Maybe we should have a poll or something, to determine which people are having problems with the built in speakers and which are having problems with the audio out jack.

 

The problem is bviously on the analogue output since it shows itself testing with a loopback cable. It's interesting that Justin say "it pushed the lows and only the lows to the sub" because that's a bit what the frequency response looks like (a low pass filter). I have also seen other notebooks that clip the higher end of the spectrum as this often distorts on less than stellar notebook speakers (compared to 'proper' speakers).

Thus the shown frequency response may show a deliberate attempt to make the sound good when using the built in speaker system, but such tweaks should obviously *not* apply when using the line out. That may be a driver bug and not a hardware problem. Have you tried 'generic' drivers? Do they exhibit the same behavior?

 

Depends on what you mean by generic drivers. I have tried newer drivers from realteks site, but no difference.

Are you saying there are other drivers I could try?

 

I have been carefully researching a notebook for the past 6 months, and I've narrowed it down to Lenovo Thinkpad, either Z60m or 15 inch T43 Flex View, versus Asus, probably a Z70Va (because I prefer a matte screen for all the writing I do). Although I have been impressed overall with the apparent quality of Asus and the customer service of Justin/Pro Portable and Eddie/geared2play, the quality issues with the red ghosting on Z70Va (reportedly solved) and now this sound problem with the W2V are making me wary. So I'm getting a bit skeptical and needing some reassurance, guys . . .

 

I personally don't think it is good in any way that there are several different problems.

The problem Torbjörn and I are referring to, i.e. total lack of bass and also weak high frequencies, has been reported by dozens of people, not only us. And now three different people have posted hard evidence in form of measured frequency response, see this thread. The Rightmark 5.5 audio analyzer software rated our frequency response curves as "very poor". They are certainly the worst curves I have seen since I measured the frequency response of an ordinary telephone during my engineering studies.

Since the problem is so widespread, it is hardly a software compatibility issue. Also, my W2V has bad sound even directly after a restore to factory defaults. It was the first thing I tested.

Let me hypothesize - I think *all* W2Vs have this issue, but I would be glad to be proven wrong. So please, if anyone thinks their W2V is fine, measure your frequency response and post the results! All you need to do is to connect line in with headphone/line out using a male-male mini connector, and run some free software to do the test. No more than 5 minutes needed.

 

Nope. The generic drivers from Realtek was it.

I know the Realtek drivers allow you to set the 'default' EQ settings through the registry but it has been quite a while since I had any SDK-like documentation (and interest) when it comes to such things. I thought it could be that Asus had set the default frequency response (which would appear flat in the driver EQ) to suit this particular notebook’s speakers. However, if the drivers from Realtek show the same thing this is probably not the case.

The information given by Justin is still intriguing, though: If we look at the HiFi equivalent, what he said would be like using a cheap 5.1 system with a passive subwoofer. Most likely you would then implement a frequency filter; which may sound great with matching speakers. Direct the bass to the ‘sub’ and kill everything that would cause distortion on the satellites. Generally this would be a good design because it helps you get the most from less, and for a notebook it would probably enable stellar quality compared to competing systems. The problem in this scenario arises, though, if you connect different speakers that do not comply to the assumptions you made when implementing the filters. I’m not saying that this is the problem, but it might be. I have seen similar ‘crazy’ frequency response (allthough not that weird) when measuring from the speaker out of a (PC speaker set) subwoofer designed to be used with a particular set of satellites.

 

Bugmenot,

I see what you're saying and you're right.... I'm going to wait till Asus reads this tomorrow and see what they have to say. Hopefully they'll come up with something intelligent rather quickly.

 

Well, yeah... For everyone involved: I hope it get sorted out. The W2 is such a genuinely nicely balanced system (performance, looks, multimedia, size, weight, whatever) that it would be sad to see it plagued with such a silly issue. I almost had to restrain myself from deciding that I needed a 17" laptop (I really don't) when it came out.

And if I wasn't clear enough: Most of my last post was just idle speculation. It's a feasible scenario, but inductive logic really doesn't help anyone fix anything. Don't take it for more than that, thanks.

 

Hi all

Another dissapointed W2V owner. I've been using it for 2 months now. I noticed a lot of issues on my W2V, as you probably did. First let's make thing clear, I've got a Canadian W2Vc with MCE2005. BIOS is 0206.

AV-IN - It's working in MCE but it's a little tricky though
Sound - Crappy when using stereo jack
DVD-Burner - Capricious on DVD brands
Fan - Running around 70% when CPU usage is around 0%
WL - Antenna's power is weak

Tech support in Canada

Local dealer finally obtained an answer after 3 weeks... they said to send it RMA for tests but I feel that it was only to shut us off...
Spoke with Hotline guy twice, he explained for the AV-IN thing but denied being awared of any other problem.

I'd prefer not to send this laptop back cuz it's great(other than that)... I agree we must do something, they can't deny much longer.

I read all the post here and on Asus forum but nothing new. No answers to tech support email else than Call laptop hotline....

I'll post more as I know more.

 

I forwarded this link and all the problems we have to local Asus representatives.
Hope we can find a solution..

 

I'm so happy I just bought a W2V. On the other hand, it was quite cheap so I can afford to flip it if necessary. We'll see. My last Asus was great (M6n)

Steve

 

I've had mine since Oct-2005 and I can attest that the sound is crapola. There is just no good bass and the highs are cracking no matter how you adjust Reltek.

Sorry, no time to do all of the high tech testing to see just how bad it is. I am curious to know why Justin thinks it's only affecting 5-10% of the supply? Seems to me like its a W2 problem across the board. Can anyone say that their sound is good?

Anyway, that's my two cents!

 

Nope, mine's got horrible sound too. On top of the problems others have mentioned I'm also getting ridiculous amount of distortion/background noise. The speakers also buzz even at low volume levels and with basic sounds like the Windows startup sound. Finally for my headphones to work in the socket I have to have them not plugged fully in. If I gently push the plug all the way in they don't work. I think it's time for a waranty claim actually.

Phil
W2Vc-U005P

 

actually, it seems to me that, this problem is more than a driver issue. it's related to somehow a hardware misinstallation or etc. maybe, that's why, asus still hasn't give an answer to all of our e-mails.

 

Any news yet Justin or are they ignoring you like they've been ignoring us for the last few months?

I'm not trying to be a smart ar$e but I'm just getting sick of Asus' attitude on this.

Phil
W2Vc-U005P

 

I've been thinking about buying a W2Vb for months now, but I didn't because I wanted to see the laptop "in real life" (I haven't found a shop yet which has a display model here in the Netherlands). I had the intention to buy a W2Vb this week without seeing it first (since all the reviews are so incredibly positive and I don't think it will disappoint me anyway), but after reading this thread I am in serious doubt. Does anyone know if the European W2V's have the same problem as described here?

 

Well, I have one for 4 months now, and it is the best notebook I have owned so far. No reason not buying it.

The problem is, like Philip said, the TOTAL LACK of customer feedback from Asus on this issue.

To be frank, its still the best sound I have heard on a notebook so far, but it is not the 4:1 sound machine it is advertised to be. Ans this pisses people off in a bad way.

(And btw. if you want to look at the machine in real life, you are welcome to visit me.......)

 

Ok that reassures me a bit... But as I interpret it, it's not a problem with the speakers, but with the analog (headphone) output. If the quality is as bad as people say here, I think it's a problem for me since I regularly connect my laptop to a tv using the analog sound output (since there are no tv's which support digital output, unless you connect it to a tuner, which I don't have)

@BarnOwl: I appreciate the offer, but I think you live quite some distance away from Enschede...

 

Is this audio problem inherent in all W2v models across the globe? Anybody who bought their W2v in Australia who can verify if this problem also exist?

Is this problem present if speakers were used when connected into the jack?

Thanks in advance.

 

Correctly interpreted. Quite frankly, for me the W2V is by far the *worst* sounding laptop I've heard, and I've heard quite a few.

Sorry for unreassuring you.

 

I have had my W2V for a week..
I love it! Its a phenomal piece of engineering, but it does have its flaws.
If you take a set of speakers, say a creative Sb350, and hook it to the front audio port.... pitiful.
I also cannot seperate the front and rear channels in the audio settings, it has to be in 2 speaker mode.
I see some posts from people being indecisive about this machine...
BUY IT!
If the Acer model is called a Ferrari, (more like a low-end Porsche from what I've read, looks pretty but easy to break) then this one should be called a Bentley.
The quality of craftsman ship is literally that good.
Also, contrary to other posts, the sound system is the best sounding notebook that I have ever heard, bar-none.
Many thanks to Justin, and his employee Shawn. (os Sean, or Shaun?) He was very patient and helpful with me.
I will be writing a short review to come in a week or so, after I become more "acclimated " to this beast.
Peace!
BDR

 

BDR -

Are you saying when your speakers are hooked up you can't get out of 2 channel mode or just the speakers on the unit itself? Either way... the speakers on the unit itself are 2+2 stereo.... 2 lefts, 2 rights.... really all you can expect when they are both in front of you...... eventually they should fix the sub at the .1 in the 2.1 stereo that the unit truly has. If you're talking about your external speakers, if they don't have a dts or dolby digital decoder built into them, you're not going to get more than stereo out of them.......

I'm glad you like it and understand it..... and I like the bentley comparison.. that's really cool.

In terms of Sean (that's the only real spelling I always hear), he is our sales manager and also happens to be my brother. He's who most people probably talk and email with when they are speaking to sales... I'll mention it to him, but really what would help (as I tell everyone) is drop a review over at reseller ratings if you get a chance.

 

Thats where I was mistaken, I was talking about on-board speakers, and I figured they would be split front/rear, left/right and sub to be 4.1.
Besides the above mentioned 2.1 speakers, I havent hooked any others up except the Pioneer tuner in the guitar shop I manage. (VCR input on tuner, RCA stereo adapter to 1/8th headphone)
In comparison, I have a new Sony Vaio I use exclusively at the shop, and it has about one and a half the sound output level than the W2V.
Since I didnt get the forum member discount, can you hook me up with a good PCMCIA sound card? (LOL)
All BS aside, I am a veteran salesman, and Sean really impressed me. If either of you ever need a guitar, send me a PM, I can get you a good deal!
BDR

 

BDR,

First, you don't need a PCMCIA sound card, trust me on that, you just need a better setup........ outputting via mini TOS (optical mini rca) to TOS (regular optical) is the best and only why I've output sound to my home theater or my office........ and it's truly amazing. For my office setup, I've got a set of klipsch ultra 5.1's which output through a dolby digital decoder and into the speakers.... again, amazing.... This is getting hooked into an amp at home and the klipsch speakers in my office have a built-in amp....... I'm sure that has a lot to do with it, but I know good sound.

Anyone who wants understand my level of sound appreciation should know that we're authorized dealers of klipsch home and computer speakers as well as monster cable home theather and performace car cables......... we don't sell them through our site yet, but we've been dealers for two years now and both companies have a minimum yearly sales volume..... between me, and the people who know me (friends, family, colleagues) we can absorb their requirements. On that note, we will start selling their stuff on our site when the redesign is complete in about two months..... I can only buy so much stuff so i'll need customers to help support my habbit!

Headphones sound good and I'm not sure how much better they could sound, but the built-in speakers sound better and I'd only suggest headphones when you need to be quiet, but they'll get the job done......

On a side note BDR, our tech Gary is the guitar guy..... but he's past the point of collecting at this point... he has so many and so many that are expensive, that he ebays them any time he wants to go out and buy something big... but nevertheless I'm sure he'd like to talk with you (just not on our time because he doesn't shut up).

 

Well there's now at least some sort of response from Asus on their forum,

http://support.asus.com.tw/faq/faq.aspx?model=W2V&SLanguage=en-us

Q. Why W2V seems only have 2 audio channel instead of 5.1 channel?

A. W2V have 4 speakers and 1 subwoofer. But it will act like just a 2 speaker system because of hardware design. If you want to provide 5.1 channel, you must add external speakers from microphone-in, line-in, and headphone-in.

 

... well that isn't really news, just an answer to dumb people... it always had 2.1 sound, using 4 speakers and a sub...... If the front speakers were larger than the speakers by the screen.... that would probably set up more of a component type 2.1 experience, but the speakers on a laptop are too small....... small enough for a good tweeter... but not big enough for a decent mid...... two lefts... two rights... and a sub. That's what it's supposed to be.

 

A sub thats not big enough to be a subwoofer, that is.
It would be more correct to call it a center speaker.

 

It's never even had 2.1 and now that this has them stating it's only 2 channel, and it could be inferred from that post that it will only ever have 2 channel due to 'hardware design'. So the so-called 'subwoofer' underneath is useless.

If this is the line they continue to take and there's no fix for the sound, which distorts on the built-in speakers quite noticeably, the multimedia credentials of this notebook are severely diminished.

 

still, for 2 speakers or whatever, the sound is really cheap. I have a pair $9 speakers that work better than this lappy, just go to any bestbuy or whatever store and test the sound on differents lappys u will notice that the W2v has a serious problem on the audio.

 

no........ a 2.1 setup means stereo plus a sub.... just like 5.1 means left, right... rear left and right, center.. and a sub.

.... you can't compare external speakers to notebook speakers regarless of how cheap they are....... unless your $9 speakers are an inch and half long and a half inch tall, the speaker itself is usually going to be better even if it is $9........

 

So what you're actually saying is that it is not that bad and that the TS is exaggerating things? I currently have an Asus M6800N and I know that laptop speakers aren't all that, but if I understand the TS correctly the sound through the headphones is just as "abysmal".
It's not that I'm an audiophile (I don't know if that's an English word, I just translated it literally from Dutch ): I sometimes watch a movie or listen to music through the headphones (e.g. when I'm in the train) or connect my laptop to the TV using the analog output...

 

Chevron -

No... actually the speakers in the W2 are very similar to that in the M6bn/ne and Z70v/va.... I don't think you have the widescreen version, but if you did you'd understand a bit more..... You can have a dozen speakers in front of you and they can still be just stereo....... "surround sound" isn't going to do squat if all the speakers are in front of you. If you could sit on the keyboard... maybe, but no one is that small nor are these systems that big.

I don't know what the issue with with the headphone jack and I can't say whether it's the speakers or the system itself, but I for one know that the sound coming from my external speakers are just as good on the W2 as any of our other notebooks......... and I'm using both an analog mini rca as well as a mini tos between the two setups......... sound is about equal regarless. Connecting to your tv is another story.. if you're connecting a mini rca to rca to go right into your tv...... sound will and should suck... I've never had a computer that you output in that fashion that's ever sounded good.... desktop or laptop. I'm not sure if that's what you're talking about, but in that case, I think that on par with anything else.

 

You're right that 2.1 is stereo and a sub, I'm not saying anything different, but is there anyone here who even gets 2.1 from the built-in speakers currently?

My complaint is about the quality of the built-in speaker sound when compared to any other notebooks I've previously used. It's just not very good at all. It's not the only problem the sound system on this notebook has, as indicated by this and several other threads, but it's currently the one I'm concerend about because of how I use it.

I'm hoping that if they do release a driver that sends low frequencies to the sub then the quality will improve, but that post on the official W2v forum doesn't make it seem more likely.

Augix was also suggesting comparing the sound on other notebooks, I agree wholeheartedly.

 

Well, I bought the W2V (P-M 770, 80GB 7200rpm, 2048MB) just a week ago presuming that the sound "wasn't all that bad", but after listening to some music over the headphones (connected to the front line out) I can only say that the sound is really bad. Although I used the controversial earbuds from my iPod, the difference between my iPod and the W2 was huge, I would characterize listening to the latter as listening to an old transistor radio.

Apart from this problem (and the continously running fan) I am very pleased with my laptop, I hope Asus will come with a solution soon. Does anyone know if any progress has been made so far?

 

My W2V was purchased in New Zealand and has the no bass/high end response problem as well when using the "rear out configured as front speakers" trick.

I've given up waiting for drivers. $100CAD solved the problem with a Creative Audigy 2 ZS PCMCIA audio card. Clean and crisp with full dynamic range.

 

How does this "rear out configured as front speakers" trick work then?

 

I am really getting p*ssed off because this issue has been reported months ago and NO word or action whatsoever from Asus so far.

Its unbelievable people have to resort to third party hardware appliances to get a reasonable sound out of this 2500 dollar+ top off the bill "Multimedia Experience" notebook.

If this continues this was my last Asus.

We have seen NO driver updates at all and there is not even the slightest effort from Asus to communicate with their clients.