G51vx versus G71gx speakers. G51 VERY quiet

Good afternoon everyone. I haven't read this in any of the threads...

I have looked at the G51vx at Best Buy, ABT, and Newegg. I've played with 5 different ones and the speakers on all of them are very very quiet. I'm talking having to put my ear up to the speakers to even hear. Yes, I made sure all the settings were set to high.

In comparing to the G71gx, the 17" model was very loud and I could actually hear it in the store.

Is this common for all of you who own the G51 (15")? I love the computer, lighted keyboard, etc.. but the quiet speakers is a complete deal breaker.

Thanks for the comments

 

I noticed this as well, when I was in the store, are they really that quiet?

 

My friends ask me to turn my laptop down if we're hanging out at night so we don't wake the other people in the apartment complex.

So, yeah. I think they're pretty loud.

 

Rezigrene,

So you're saying the G51vx has loud speakers? Hmmmm.. Anyone else with experience please? The 5 I have tried/listened to were so quiet I couldn't hear anything.

 

Did you change the speaker volume in the bios? THat seems to limit the max volume in Windows.

 

I checked the bios and had everything set the highest it would go (I believe it was 10.. but just remembering from memory).

Mad.. yours is loud? As in if you're sitting in a regular room with a fan, tv going etc.. you can hear your computer speakers fine?

Again, thanks everyone

 

Mine is pretty quiet. I have a rushed air central a/c system in my house so every time that turns on, I can barely hear my laptop

 

Mine seems plenty loud. I am thinking of attaching a speaker system to it though to get improved bass and such.

 

Yea it's loud but only if the room is quiet. Remember rushed air a/c system is hella loud but it never did drown out the sound one bit from my old m9700. Hell My girlfriends old 13 inch macbook is louder than my G50 and G51. I'm actually bidding on a logitech G51 system also.

 

That's what I experienced. The G71 speakers were loud compared to the G51. My Apple Macbook pro is very loud compared to both of them. My gateway is louder, and my friends dell and toshiba are as well.

Im just really surprised that they are that quiet. It seems from various forums this is the norm, unfortunately.

 

Hm i wonder how the G60 speakers will be in comparison?

 

hmmm mine is really really quiet using the onboard speakers.. but i did set the bios volume at 1 in the bios... i dont like the explosion sound thing at startup... will try to turn the volume up in the bios later =)

 

Any results, please post them. I would love to get the g51, but if I cannot hear anything out of the speakers I won't do it. I need portability, and lugging exterior speakers is not an option.

 

Completely guessing here but I think they might be the same. From pictures I've seen the G60 looks like the same chassis. Maybe they are just switching out the monitor panel for the bigger 16" screen. I guess we will know in a month or so. I'm really considering the G60.

 

I read in another thread that headphones (even cheap ones) sound great on the G51.

 

Try overclocking the speakers.

 

It speaks volumes about my general incompetence that I can't tell if you're joking or not.

 

Yes.. I have headphones and have used this them in the past. However, there are times in which I enjoy watching television, or listening to music on my home system while playing a game or some such. At times, I don't need the speakers on the computer to be LOUD, however I need them to at least be audible (such as playing poker etc..)...

:shrug: I certainly hope the ones I tested just happened to be from the same batch, or.. ?? I really would rather have the g51 over the g71.

 

I agree. I'd like the g51 too. I need at least decent speakers on this for video's and I'm hoping I can have amazing sound on headphones for gaming and movies.

 

You can disable the sound in BIOS you know <_<.

 

Would sticking in a sound card help?

 

I don't think these use onboard sound.

 

Increasing the sound in BIOS dont increase it in Windows =/
The speakers still really quiet, but it works pretty good with headphones...

 

That's what I found as well, sirhase. Everyone else... your experiences with the speakers? It's a shame that the speakers are like this.

Please, more input. I'm just hoping it's quality control for early releases.

 

They are very quiet. Also quiet with my Bose headphones compared to my dell laptop, but louder than the speakers.

 

Interesting. Even phones on? Is there another setting everyone might be missing, besides the bios? I just can't understand how in today's age, that speakers could be this bad?

 

Personally I think the volume is high; are you guys making sure that your also turning up the volume control on whatever is producing the sound (VLC, YouTube)?

 

I know I turned everything that I could up. Youtube.. game volume. CD volue. DVD for a movie...

 

Well, it does have an express-card slot, maybe a new soundcard would boost the volume ?

 

Meh, I plan on grabbing an external sound card- Creative's X-FI Surround 5.1:
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=17751
That way I can enjoy some of my Games EAX effects (I know but some games sound really great with it on to me at least) and so that I can enjoy my games in 5.1 with my 5.1 headphones (others can use 5.1 speaker setups):
http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-barracuda-hp1/
This way I can enjoy my gaming to the fullest when it comes to sound !

 

correct me if im wrong but i thought the g51vx came with eax 4.0

 

I hate to say so but it does have a mini pci express slot. It was discovered by DAVID a few months ago with his G50. I am not sure if they make sound cards for minis though but heres a picture

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/davidli919/G50V_Page_22.jpg

 

Well, it seems most everyone, with a few exceptions, agrees that the onboard speakers, for whatever reason, are not up to par. Really a great shame considering this looks like a great computer.

I really like the backlit kboard (almost as good as the one on my macbook pro). Screen, gpu. Ahh well.. I'm hoping the g60 (or is it 61?) will have a backlit keyboard, and better speakers. Otherwise I'll either go to the g71, or bite the bullet and use headphones.

 

Its advertised having "EAX Advanced HD 4.0 audio technology" !

I don't understand why you need an external soundcard with those Razer 5.1 headphones.
Would they not just plug in the s/pdif port and work?

 

maybe i just have a different definition of loud but i just got my g51vx-x2a off newegg and even with the bios sound only being set at 4 it is still very loud.

 

Sorry to even post on this topic, but im a g50vt owner, and my ONLY complain ever with the system is how low the speakers are. In some scenarios/programs there is no problem, but for example watching something on youtube while someone else is watching tv on the same room, its very hard to listen to what is going on. In fact I would say my main problem is with flash content, the volume doesn't go high enuff

Sorry to highjack with a comment on a previous computer, but I guess it means that the old problem applies to the newer systems as well =(

 

Very interesting. Maybe it is just quality control on the first few batches of these computers? Like I said, the g71 were loud. Zantrax, that's interesting as well. Hmmm...

:sigh: Maybe then I'll just wait a few more weeks and see if there is a new batch of them coming out. Wonder if BB or ABT would let me test each one until I found one to my liking? lol..

 

Don't want to go too far off topic but I want to have a surround set-up with headphones on the g51vx a1. Do I really need an external sound card? Can I not use the spdif plug somehow with surround headphones or do I need some sort of adapter. I noticed other laptops have several ports for front/back/center channels.

The speakers was a tough point for me deciding on the g51 or g71. Leaning on the g51 I really would like to figure out the sound issue for full surround glory!

 

In order to get true surround sound in your headphones you need an amp with Dolby Headphone Technology. The astro mixamp is the only amp that has this technology- http://www.astrogaming.com/products/detail/5/A40-MixAmp/

I have it and it works great.

 

Why can't you just plug surround headphones in the s/pdif jack? Don't mean to be a pain but I need to save $$$

 

Haven't researched it, but it seems like almost all the G-series have weak speakers.

 

Headphones never have toslink cables. Toslink cables are the cables that are used with SPDIF jacks (mini Toslink to be exact). They have a core made of either glass or most commonly plastic. The source (laptop, ipod, etc.) then sends a signal composed of light through the plastic/glass core of the Toslink cabe into an amp or a stereo receiver. You cannot just plug a headphone plug into an SPDIF port, since copper and gold/silver do not transfer light very efficient (obviously).

In order to get surround sound a signal has to be encoded into a certain code (for lack of a better word) which is then played by the headphones or speakers. Movies and games a coded for Dolby 5.1 surround sound, DTS, etc. but these things are only surround sound when played through 5.1 speaker system. In order to get surround sound in headphones you need the 5.1 signal to be converted into a Dolby Headphone signal, which is what the Astro Mixamp does.

 

Much thanks for the info!
Been looking at a few brands. Seen a good review on these Turtle Beach ones and they come with a usb sound card for the encoding.

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/akr8/home.aspx

I just hope the g51vx a1 speakers are loud enough for casual listening. Other than that its external sound.

 

Don't get Turtle beach's if you want to use your headphones for anything other than gaming. Also, all the turtle beaches other than the X4s are not Dolby Headphone enabled. They use a system that has multiple speakers in each can. This setup is not as desirable as Dolby Headphone Technology since the sound in the multiple speaker setup can be muddled, and the speakers are not very good, so the sound will also be worse than a pair of headphones with one high-grade speaker in each can.

If you are going to just be gaming turtle beaches will be okay, but running a pair of traditional headphones with Dolby Digital is much more desirable.

 

Ditto on my g51 having weak speakers.....
No the question is....
Who's willing to RMA their new toy to get a resolution(if any) from asus?

 

Yes same here, i like the 17" on my gateway and i have a vaio FW and i actually PREFER the 16" over the 17"

 

I noticed on the Asus web site tabbing between the g51vx and the g60vx that the picture on the g60 didn't have the side lights! I wonder if the speaker system will be like the g51 or the g71gx.

I'm pretty sure the g51vx uses CMSS surround sound. Can anyone comment on how good it is? Not sure about the g71gx.

Researching on gaming headphones and different types of surround I stumbled onto this video. I wasn't sure how good of a surround effect you can get with 2 speakers. Saw some demo's and wasn't really impressed until I heard this. Simply Incredible!!! Put on headphones, close eyes and listen ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT1XuB95qMk&feature=related

 

Just wanted to ask g51vx owners if those little slits in front of the machine are speakers? The g51vx has only 2 speakers right? Pretty sure they ARE speakers on the g71gx.

 

I can confirm that they are indeed speakers.

You mean the ones to the right of the power button and then to the far left of the button right?

 

I think means the slits by the track pad, to the left and right of the status lights.