How's the sound on Vostro/Inspiron?

I'm looking into ordering a laptop in the next few days, and have been looking at the Vostro and Inspiron models as well as some other brands. Can anyone tell me how is the sound on these laptops without plugging in external speakers... would I be able to watch a DVD and hear it well?

 

Gutless. You'll need external speakers or headphones to properly listen to music or films.

 

Thank you! I'm guessing the same will be said for any laptop.

 

Some can be better, but inevitably none will come close to even what, £20 spent on externals.

 

Well, no laptop speaker I've used has very good fidelity, and usually the sound is not loud enough when watching DVDs.

I found that the new Inspiron models can drive the internal speakers quite load compared to previous models.

Also there are some audio 'enhancements' built in that can be turned on which can help.

Another trick to get any laptop louder when watching DVDs is to install a codec filter called FFDSHOW, which among other things can boost the volume.

 

I was playing a DVD last night and the sound was pretty bad. Anything over 1/2 volume (in MediaDirect) sounded overmodulated and no where in the volume scale did I get a clear crisp sound.

 

Yeah the volume boost feature with ffdshow is a pretty useful one for laptops but considering the size and cost restrictions you cant expect much from these speakers...

 

I use the built-in speaker sometimes when I'm lazy to find and put on some earphones, and it's decent for watching DVD's. You won't get any Bass, but other than that, the sound is clear and ungarbled.

As for using headphones or earphones, make sure you get one with a volume control because unless you turn it down, there's a lot of background noise. It's a shame I lost mine .

 

I agree with the semi-positive remarks. I definitely wouldn't go so far to say it's gutless, that's a bit harsh.

It will get loud enough for a private DVD viewing, i.e.-in your bedroom or office. At any reasonable distance during which the screen remains at a relatively viewable size, the speakers will suffice. They get loud enough with decent fidelity. Now, the bass is truly the only frequency I'd say is gutless, but at least it doesn't *try* to reproduce what it is incapable of and distort, which IMHO would be even worse.

But yes, ideally you'd want a good set of 'phones or externals if you want a full-frequency listening experience. But for casual viewing they are definitely sufficient.

 

I had a 1420 for a few weeks and the speakers were poor. I now have a HP with built in altec lansing and although they don't have much base, the mid/highs are much better with much improved sound stage and stereo separation. The difference is the HP's are good enough that I don't have to hook up my creative external speakers. I admit, most laptop speakers are lacking, but the ones that HP uses are at least a level up from dells. Dells sound like a single speaker with weak stereo separation whereas HP's sound like two way with a speaker and maybe a tweeter. I also believe that the altec lansing in the HP may have some sort of crossover to broaden the soundstage and imaging of the music. There is allot more to making a speaker then just the speaker itself and a tiny magnet. Dells obviously uses a simple speaker design whereas the Altec lansing in HP's is more advanced.

 

You do know that Altec Lansing is one of the names in the Sound and Audio industry, right? There's a reason why their sound solutions are up and above Dell's...

I myself have a Altec Lansing 17inch HP, and the sound is brilliant, like you said. I don't even bother connecting a ear phone. Whereas for my dell, for me to actually enjoy what I'm listening to or watching, I would have to use a ear phone.

But the speakers are still fine for watching DVD's and listening to the occasional music while working/studying.