Speaker quality on 15.5" laptops

Hiya,

I currently have a 17" laptop, but it's on its last legs, so I'm in the market for a new one. It doesn't look like there are 17"+ laptops on the market now that come in cute colors (white or candy), so I'm looking at a couple of cute models that are 15.5": Toshiba L655, Sony VPC-CB, and Sony VPC-EB.

How do the speakers on 15.5" models sound? Or does it vary a lot from one model to another, so no generalizations can be made and I really need to figure out what's true for those specific models? I always listen to music and watch movies on my laptop. Would quality (for music) and volume (esp. for movies) on 15.5" models be a problem for most people? Thanks,

Malia

 

you absolutely cannot compare different brands, even not different models within a brand! Size is not a factor for anything!

If you want good sound - look for a multimedia class notebook. But again - it is absolutely model-specific. No generalization can be made based on size.

I've seen 10" laptops with way better speakers than 16" and vice versa.

But generally - multimedia notebook models tend to have better speakers than the rest. That's the only thing you can stick to when choosing a laptop.

 

For the most part laptop speakers are fine for listening to Youtube clips and other casual listening. However, they are obviously inadequate when increasing the volume to room-filling levels; distortion increases and bass is almost non-existent unless you happen to have the rare model that includes a subwoofer. Even then, ~2W of speaker power isn't going to get you far.

 

I've got a Vaio EB series and I must say, while the computer itself is very nice, the speakers suck hard. Lucky for me, I don't use the computer's speakers often and choose to use headphones instead.

 

One more thing that datamonger's post reminded me of; some laptops have audio hardware of such low quality that you can hear static interference from other components. I used to own a Dell 1535 (aka Studio 15) that had the most horrendous audio for that reason.

 

If you want the best general rule: Usually, more expensive laptops will have better speakers (exclude most gaming notebooks from this).

If you look around at laptop reviews, most will comment on how bad most are, but will give a paragraph if the laptop has anything that is at least half decent, for a laptop.

I think Dell's current XPS line has some good speakers, at least according to AnandTech.

 

On the other paw, small soundbars that will fit into a laptop bag will generally give better sound than the best available 'build-in' speakers.

 

Thanks, guys. Reviews of the Toshiba L650 say speakers are bad, so that's out. And Sony just has too many models, so there are no reviews of the two current models... and I don't think I want to risk it with either. (Reviews of a number of other EB ones said speakers are bad.) Well, there's that.

 

when I think speaker quality, I think XPS 15. The XPS 15 has some of the best quality speakers around, and it's one of the best multimedia laptops out there along with the XPS 17.

And of course I'm going to mention: be sure to get the B+RGLED 1920x1080 display upgrade if you go with an XPS 15, since it's one of the best screens available on a multimedia laptop. The XPS 15 isn't worth it if you get the regular 1366x768 screen. The B+RGLED screen (and the speakers) are the selling points of the laptop.

 

edit1754 is right, the Dell XPS 15 and 17 have probably the best built-in speakers for a notebook.

As for Toshiba notebooks - look at some of their slightly more expensive Satellite series, which have harman/kardon speakers. The A660 series has them:
Toshiba Direct | satellite A660 Laptops & Notebooks
Our review:
Toshiba Satellite A665-S5176 Review

Unfortunately they don't make any 17" Satellite notebooks with the upgraded speakers.

 

I´d go for the Dynaudio in the MSI gamer range, then again the laptops themselves are not that pretty...

 

And just because it has a subwoofer dont expect to much out of it.

There will be no room shaking bass

My Studio has one and I cant tell its there at all.Vibrates the keyboard from time to time thats about it

 

The reason I narrowed down the 15.5" laptops to those 3 are the looks. I really want a 17"+ laptop, but there's nothing on the market that I like aesthetically. This is what my laptop looks like now - hawt! Actually, I found a brand-new N6210 that I could stick into this case, but the seller wants $590 for it and I haven't yet lost all my marbles.

So I'm thinking 18.4" >> Fujitsu NH570. I posted some questions on the Fujitsu forum so let's see if anyone responds. I really don't care about portability (have a netbook for that) so I figured, spreadsheets and other documents (and movies) will look nicer on an 18.4" screen, even if it is 1680x945 - but the one detailed review I found says the colors are washed out, which wouldn't be cool... I even thought of an all-in-one desktop, but a) none of them are sexy either, b) I move around a lot and I don't want to worry about breaking the screen, c) I just like that in a laptop, the kb is connected to the screen and you can close a screen when you don't want it. So yeah, there are like 5 18.4" laptops that I have to choose from, and of them, Fujitsu is by far the sexiest. It also looks a lot like my pre-op N6210, which is a plus, except that the speakers are near the screen, which is another plus. Anyway, nuff rambling.

 

@OneCool: Do you have the latest IDT drivers installed? I had default Windows drivers on my 1640 since I didn't think the manufacturer drivers were worth the bloat. I didn't realize what I was missing; I read that in order to take full advantage of a Studio sub, the IDT drivers MUST be installed. They're not my Z5500s, but the sub is definitely noticeable.

@Malia: The XPS line is a pain in the butt in some ways (at least the 16 is with throttling and what-not, I don't know about the 15). Sound, however, is not one of them. Fiddle with the IDT equalizer and respectable sound can be had considering what it is (7 watts for the complete system). Hook it to HDMI/line out and you can certainly get bigger sound if you need it.

I've had my XPS16 for about two weeks, and it has sound rivaling (not surpassing) my old X-230s to my non-audiophile ears. If some audio nut flat-out contradicts me I won't argue.

 

The newer XPS 15 and XPS 17 don't really have the same issues. Just check the owner's lounges in the Dell forum.

The design of the newer XPS laptops does a lot better job with cooling.

 

But the IDT drivers sound horrible!

Poppin and snapin.Sound goes in and out over my Mic.

Edit: Just for kicks I tried the latest IDT driver and OMG it sounds awful.Even after you disable all the crap they turn on it still sounds like the laptop was place inside a Coke can.Scratchy!Poppy!

 

Ouch. Don't have that issue, but it reminds me of when my X-fi did the same thing.