question about the W3V sound

Could someone enlighten me as to the sound specifications of the W3V laptop - all I have read is that it is "high definition audio wth 5.1 surround sound." Is the sound capability a chip on the motherboard, a separate sound card, or something else?

I have seen rave reviews of the Creative Labs Audigy ZS2 sound card for laptops - would this enhance the sound on a W3V, and if so, has anyone done so? How is it? Thanks!! Doug

 

Great question...

So how is it? Can you plug in 5.1? DO you need an adapter?

Thanks,

Pier

 

well i havent seen a laptop that came with a dedicated sound card. of course the audigy will make the sound better, it all boils down to whether it is worth it to u to pay the extra money.

 

The W3 has the best internal sound chip you're going to find on a laptop. All of these other audigy units are nice, but external. With the hi-def 7.1 audio built-in, it's more than 99% of people would ever want...... and it's inside and doesn't weigh the unit down more than an ounce or so.

 

they might have the best sound chip you can find on a laptop but they have the worst speakers ever

 

It's a 14" notebook which is packed full of more than most 15" notebooks.... it has two speakers which are there purely for the enjoyment of listening to something while you're up on top of the computer. You can hardly fault a system that performs the way it was designed for. If you're going to watch a movie and sit back from the system.... hook up some externals, I don't understand what people are expecting out of a 14" notebook. I realize it's performance is unrivaled in the 14" market, but there are certainly limitations on what you can fit into it.

From my continous use, I don't see much difference between the sound coming out of the W3 with that of M6 series (z70a/v). The speakers in those are actually bigger than what's in the W3.

 

So....

How can we take best advantage of the sound card? How do we make the 5.1 work?

I really don't know about this a lot... and I would love to set up a 5.1 with my W3V...

Thanks,

Pier :asus:

 

The sound card is capable or outputting it..... the S/PDIF jack allows the throughput, but you're going to have to have 5.1 speakers and those speakers are going to have to have a digital decoder the signal goes through.

 

I plug my laptop into my Onkyo receiver (using a RCA to mini jack converter). My Onkyo receiver powers a 6.1 surround system that matrixes 5.1 surround sound thru a 6th channel. It sounds superb. All I ever needed to do was plug the cable in and play the music. I do have to turn up the system more because the W3V does not have a strong amplifier, but that's no big deal because my Onkyo receiver has it's own amp for 60 watts per channel and my subwoofer has its own 600 watt amplifier.

Hope that helps.

 

I want to thank all of you for contributing to this thread - you have answered my questions clearly, concisely, and promptly. If I can ever return the favor, I'll look for the opportunity to do so. Regards, Doug