Studio 15 - How are the speakers?

I'm thinking about getting one... but after browsing the internet a bit, I see some people saying that the speakers are absolutely hideous. I understand that sometimes only the people experiencing a problem speak up, and that might give me an unfairly bad impression of the speakers.

So I'm asking here. How are the Studio 15 speakers? I know that notebook speakers are usually not great, but how do they compare to the middle-of-the-road average notebook speakers?

Thank you!

ZM

(P.S. How do those new LED screens they're offering on the Studio 15s look?)

(... thanks again)

 

The LEDs are cool. Very bright, efficient on the battery, evenly lit and with no extra heat.

The speakers... not so much. After doing the fix, I find them definitely tolerable, but they're by no means a showcase. Expect roughly zero bass whatever you do. The cheapest set of external speakers will probably be better. The nicest thing I can say about the Studio's speakers is, they work.

I'm not brave or knowledgeable enough to attempt a physical speaker replacement mod but I'm hoping someone does eventually.

 

Like Jazz said above me, the speakers are nothing to brag about. They're actually quite terrible for Dell to put out. BUT, what avid music listener plans to listen to music strictly through their laptop anyway? I've got about 40 gigs of music and I'm quite obsessed with sound and I still bought this laptop. It's features outweigh the bad speakers. I just plug in my Altec Lansing 2.1 system and it's perfect.

 

For me they were absolutely crap until I came upon this informative thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=330478&highlight=speakers

 

I think that my 1537's speakers are really bad (and I'm not an audiophile by any means); however, I have not tried the fixes for them yet. My old Inspiron 600m's were LOADS better than the ones on my Studio.

I'd still buy a Studio if I had to do it all over. It's a great machine and speakers aren't a huge deal for me. Plus, I can always buy a set of external speakers to make things better.

 

After the fixes, how does the speaker quality stack up? Are we talking average by notebook standards, or really really bad? Like, maybe on a 1-10 scale by notebook standards?

Thanks! Oh, and can anyone else tell me about the LED? How does it look compared to CCFLs you've used in the past?

Thanks...

ZM

 

Compared to my old HP they are pretty decent. Just get a $10 headphone man and its all good. Especially if you have Soundblaster Audiology upgrade. Its definitely worth it.

If you really like the studio, don't let speakers make or break the deal for you. They are not that bad.

 

I feel the speakers below average notebook speakers, not the worse I have listened to. I tried the fix but didn't notice a big improvement.

The screen seems to me above other CCFL laptop screens I have used, but not as good as my desktop LCD (see my Dell Studio 15 review). The review at Notebookcheck is quite complete regarding screen testing, you may find it interesting too.

 

Sounds like the speakers are definitely at least acceptable, then.

So what about the LED? How does that compare to the typical CCFL? Felip, you say that it is better, but not as good as your desktop LCD... so, how much better is it?

I've also been considering the dv5t, but it does not come with an LED, which I don't like...

Thanks.

ZM

 

I feel brightness and contrast to be better than average, and maybe viewing angles too. If you want objective data, there also is a review of a dv5 at Notebookcheck:

Studio 15: Average brightness = 288 cd/m2, Contrast = 790:1, Illumination: 89%
dv5: Average brightness = 158 cd/m2, Contrast = 143:1, Illumination: 73%

(both laptops with the 1280x800 screen).

 

So it looks like the Studio 15 screen with LED is way better than the dv5t screen, huh? Anyone else have opinions on the LED / screens?

 

Bump?? Still seeking some input.

 

Bump... any one?

 

Well, from the reviews I have read there's all pro'd on the LED screens: Less power consumption, more accurate color rather than the 'warm' tint from CCFL's, and the LED's on low brightness come close to classic CCFL's towards a high setting. But those are just in reviews I have seen. Don't own one myself yet.

 

Another semi-related question: How's the headphone jack amplification? Does full volume end up really killing your hearing or is it just comfortably audible?

 

I have both the classic and the LED variety in my apartment and after comparing them side by side, i can confirm the above points, the LED BL is definitely better looking than the CCFL option.

Doesn't it depend on the sensitivity of the headphones/earphones? With my creative EP-630, I can't go full sound without tearing my eardrum. 50% is the max I can bear.

 

Sorry for the delayed response. Yeah, I understand it varies and depends on the imedance/sensitivity of the headphones but was mostly curious if there was a larger 'general concensus' or studio owners here.

Reason I asked is because the only laptop I have to compare to right now is an HP 530 Business laptop and with my JVC HA-G101 headphones (over-the-ear, 32 ohms: http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HAG101-Closed-Headphones-Black/dp/tech-data/B00008DHSN/ref=de_a_smtd) the audio is JUST at a comfortable listening level at full volume so was kinda wondering. And it's been a while since I had my old Inspiron so I can't remember how its volume was through headphones. Though I can't recall ever really complaining about it either.

 

It depends on the sensitivity of the headphones, and the design of the headphones - IEM's will most likely seem louder than over ear types as they are closer to your eardrum.

 

LED is the way of the future - I would take one in a heartbeat. By and large, Laptop displays have a way to go in terms of accuracy and uniformity. LEDs seem to be a step in the right direction.

SOUND: is great, except the speakers are far from great. I wouldn't call them tinny, but far from musical or adequate even for movie watching (though I can stand that in moderation). A good pair of headphones is a great investment, or a good set of 2.1 speakers (I am toying with the idea of some z-2300s). The Altec Lansings on HPs z series sounds smoother to me, and a little fuller, but does not have the same volume that I get from my Dell.

 

Forgot to add that the headphone jack output is pretty strong. My Sennheiser HD 450s are killing me at about 50% volume. As far as I can tell, quality sound is still there at that level. As compared to my desktop with an X-Fi. I actually almost prefer the dell over the X-Fi. A good match for my phones.

 

Thanks. That's pretty much what I wanted to know. The Sennheiser HD 450's seem to be roughly in spec to the headphones I have in terms of impedance, frequency response, and style (over-ear instead of in-ear). So I should be on the safe side as far as volume is concerned.

Like I said, the only machine I have had to compare to for the past number of years is this HP 530 which has a really lousy headphone jack on it to begin with so it had me somewhat worried.

Thanks.

 

OMG!
I'm with standard Studio sound card and with Sony headphones (I'm not 100% sure they are real Sony, but I have them from long time and they are very good)!
I keep my Volume: (from Windows) only on 11 and the sound is strong enough for me.
On speakers I put Voume between 30-50 and It is enough for big room!
But on headphones the sound is very strong in clear!