XPS 15 9550 audio issues

The audio on my XPS 15 9550 seems quite a bit off centre, as if the right speaker is more centred than the left. I'm also getting audio crackles and rattling when set to loud, which seems to be more common with system sounds. I'm not sure if these are normal symptoms?

 

So I think I will exchange/send for repair my laptop due to the case vibrating on the left side, however I'm still not sure if the audio not being centred is normal. Can anybody comment whether their audio sounds centred or not?

 

Try disabling Dell Audio "enhancements" if you're getting audio crackles and pops.

 

Thanks however driver updates fixed audio crackles, the vibration is a different issue. I've got a Dell engineer coming out to fix it when I'm free (along with the coil whine) and hopefully that will also fix the unbalanced audio.

 

Hi. Today I got my new XPS 15 9550. I noticed the similar issue as you described. Every time I change the volume (over 40%) there comes this annoying vibrating sound from somewhere around the middle of keyboard (alongside default Windows sound for changing volume). Same vibration probably occurs with other similar sound frequencies. Does this relate to your problem?

You can hear it clearly if you put the volume up.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0adp7LVjRjC

If yes, how did you resolve the matter? Did you get it replaced - with better one? Or were they able to repair it?

 

After a replacement for another problem, my new XPS 13 9350 has the same problem, the sound is very bad, vibrating a lot...

 

I'm still waiting for a repair, but to be fair it's my fault it's taking so long. I told Dell about it on a Monday and they were ready to send somebody out on Wednesday to repair it, unfortunately I wasn't able to be at home. I've now asked them to also repair the coil while I'm getting when the charger is plugged in with a full battery, and they said that part is unavailable right now so I'm waiting for both parts before they repair. I SHOULD just replace the laptop, but tbh everything else is great and I don't want any bigger issues with a replacement.

Still don't know if this will fix the audio sounding off-center.

 

I returned my XPS 15 primarily because of the vibrating internal components issue. I purchased the XPS 13 on cyber Monday at a good price thinking that because it is second generation, it wouldn't have this problem... Of course, I was wrong, and it is just as bad on this computer as the first (among other QC problems).

I think I'm done with Dell at this point.

 

I had the issue, it was audible when using headphone (with jack 3.5), the sound was not balanced, the center was on the left (I mean, the left earbud volume was higher than the right one), but it was because of a setting in Dell Audio (MaxxAudio Pro), I needed to disable "Speaker Enhancement" (which is enabled by default):

 

Did your notebook vibrate when i.e. you changed volume? Like this: http://vocaroo.com/i/s0adp7LVjRjC
I'm now leaning towards just returning it, rather than get it replaced, since more than few people said they had the same problems. Unfortunate, how a notebook of that price range, has that kind of out-of-the-box issues.

 

Is that the case vibrating, or audio crackling? Audio crackling is fixed by doing all of the Windows updates.

 

I'm quite sure it's the case vibrating, can't you tell from the sound recording? But I must say, when I heard that (previous Asus G751JT had same issue, same sound) I didn't really think it could be connected to software issue, as I tried every possible software solution with Asus and nothing helped. Also the service provider (Asus) told me it cannot be fixed.
However I will try to install all the drivers and updates before I return it, and post the result here.

 

It seem that the the speakers saturate, does it buzz like that when you lower the volume ?

 

It is most prominent for volume changes over 40%. But it can slightly be heard with lower volume too.

 

Then something is definetly wrong
Maybe you can fix this yourself by opening the laptop and find what is not well set / vibrating.

 

Nope sorry I couldn't tell from that clip, with mine when you put your hand on the case you can feel it vibrate quite a lot. Try using the Music preset in Dell Audio.

My laptop was "repaired" today. The speakers were changed and the balance is now centered, so I know now that it's not supposed to be balanced to one side, however the case still vibrates on loud volumes. There are a few new problems that the engineer managed to add so I'm going to get it replaced or refunded.

 

How much vibration are we talking about here? The frame obviously is going to vibrate if you crank the volume up, with speakers being inside.

 

What is the first and last number of both service tag and serial number if applicable? I think there are two patterns for factory etc.

Locating factories per people's issues.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Vibration is very distinct and annoying. I figured the most of the vibration comes out of button on keyboard, if i put my both hands over the keyboard, the vibration is very lower, almost silent, but still noticable. Is this normal for the keyboard to vibrate like that? Can it be fixed?

 

For me it's a lot of vibration from the left side of the case (not the keyboard); if I place my hand on the carbon fibre part of the case to the left of the keyboard I can feel it easily, and if I press hard I can stop the vibration. The right side is fine so I don't see why case vibration is something to be expected.

 

Yes, the vibration is coming mostly from the left side. But I can't completely silent it with hand pressure, so there must be some internal parts, maybe screws, not properly fixed.

Mine now even started to crack a little when I change the volume:
http://vocaroo.com/i/s06skULYlq3K

 

Hmm maybe it's an issue with how the left speaker is attached, my right one has always been perfect on mine too (both were swapped out by the technician and the right was fine before and after).

I can hear the vibration more in this clip, sounds just like mine. Are you using any presets in Dell Audio or did you turn enhancements off?

 

No, no changes were made since the previous clip. As I said, suddenly the vibration just got accompanied by a "crack". That's when the second recording was made. But now again it vibrates as in the first recording, and I haven't done anything. However, I'm installing all the drivers now, so I check back when everything will be updated.

 

So I completely updated the notebook. The vibration is still present. Also, I tried to turn off the speaker enhancements. Vibration is slightly reduced, but still too loud and disturbing.

 

My replacement will take 21 days, they said they would also give me a full refund but I do like the laptop so want to give one more a try. What will you do?

 

Yeah, I'm very sad to give it away, as they really did a great job on the design, but for that kind of money (I paid 2300€ for 512gb SSD combo) I'm expecting the top quality. Seeing that a lot of people has this problem, and a bunch of others, I'm currently not willing to risk replacing it with another faulty notebook. Not now, maybe after some time, when they get their **** together. However, since I'm not very into Mac's and I'm used to programming on Windows OS (otherwise I would go for MacBook Pro instantly), I'm currently looking at MSI GS60 6QE with 4K, 3 years warranty, 6700 and 970M 3gb, 16gb RAM or Schenker XMG P506 with custom configuration. They offer 10% xmas rabbat on Schenker and you get a monster notebook with 3years warranty for the same price.

 

I just uploaded a video of my problem :

So it's the same for me but on the right side...

Do you think I can fix it by opening it without loose the guaranty ?

Cause this is the second one I receive, they already changed it for another problem and this new one have this new problem ! I am tired of calling DELL...

 

Just a quick note to update this, I FINALLY got my replacement, however I'm extremely happy. It has none of the issues that my first one had, and the speakers are perfect. There was sound crackling before Windows updates, however there was no case or speaker distortion, and the speakers were centred. After Windows updates, there is no crackling whatsoever. I've tested this with the Speaker Enhancement set to MaxxSense, Music and off, and the Windows volume bar sound never makes any distortion, even at 100% volume.

 

Your guys speakers are blown. They are literally just going to stop working one day. Thats how mines sounded before they went quiet.

You guys were using dells maxxaudio preset?

 

I had this same issue after a DELL technitian replaced my display panel onsite. After the repair I started hearing terrible vibration/rattling noises on high volume, mostly with windows notifcations sounds, with music it wasn not so noticable. I was very sure it was a hardware problem, since pressing on the left side of laptop near the touchpad stopped the vibration noises. I called Dell again to request for a technition to come over again and get it repaired, and they informed me I'd have to wait for several days until a replacement speaker arrived, I told them that was not an option as I'd be travelling the next week, so the Dell phone support guy suggested that I open the laptop and inspect myself, he specifically re-assured me that this would not void the warranty. I followed his advise later in the afternoon and got it fixed!

Steps I followed:

1. Dissasembled bottom aluminium cover.
2. Discovered on left side of the battery, which is installed right next to the speakers, had part of its thin plastic covering slightly popping upwards, possibly touching the bottom cover and causing the vibration noise.
3. Inspected the bottom cover and discovered that on the right side there's a long black strip of rectangular foam (about 1mm or 1,5mm thick) which separates the bottom aluminium cover from the battery (presses against the battery once the cover is installed), but for some reason there's no such foam strip on the left side, it wasn't missing, it just isn't installed by default from factory.
4. Luckily I had a similar strip of foam (2mm or 2,5mm thick) sitting around in my house, so I stuck it on the left side of the bottom cover in the same area as the one installed on the right side.
5. Assembled the bottom aluminium cover.
6. Confirmed the problem was gone, no more rattling nor vibrating noises!







Hopefully these steps will avoid some of you from returning your laptops or going through warranty.

 

Mine came like yours, no strip/foam on the left of the bottom cover but no issue on my speakers. So you might get away without adding strip/foam on the bottom cover.

 

That's awesome, nice one! Did you break any clips when opening your case? Would it have voided your warranty had you broken anything?

 

Of course, no need to add foam if you're not having any issues. Mine started having vibration issues after the Dell tech opened the laptop to replace the display.

 

No clips broke, you do have to pull quite a bit to release the clips, after removing the screws I started pulling open with my fingers from the the top central area where screen hinge is, you will notice it's loose there and you can grab it easily with your fingers, the rest of the cover is quite tight.

Dell phone support guy told me that opening the bottom cover wouldn't void warranty, he even encouraged me to open it and advised me which area I should check for the vibration.

 

I had the same issue with mine. Excellent Dell support but after getting another faulty laptop, an engineer came to take a look and unfortunately put padding in which made my touch pad malfunction and also affected WiFi reception. I'm now getting a refund . Shame, it's such a nice laptop.

the vibrating seemed to originate from either loose left side keys, or the chassis.

 

Thanks for the tip.
I tried this on my 9560, and it made a huge difference.
Pretty interesting how a small piece of foam could have solved this from the factory.

 

I have a similar issue the vibrations from the sound.

Today I have removed the back cover and realized that whoever was putting together my laptop forgot to install the silicon spacer that holds the left speaker.
If you open yours, it's going to looks like a tiny pink rubber ring under the screws that hold the speakers.

I tried installing a spacer, similar in shape (one of those that came with a harddrive case, used to dampen the vibration), but it did not help that much. At least the speaker is now secured.

Going to look into it a bit more and will update the thread. XPS 9560 seems to had some issues with their assembly line at the time of launch, since there were so many complaints about the audio and other hardware.