Thinkpad Speaker Quality

Hi,
I recently bought a R61 from Lenovo.I felt the speaker volume is low.
Are there any suggestions how i can improve the quality and volume.

 

Maybe a new set of external speakers?

 

well, it's ONE speaker...and it's an ultraportible...i don't think you can do much exept software amps...

 

Get a pair of headphones.

 

agree, thinkpad internal speaker sucksss!!!

but i wonder why my t23 speaker much more louder than my t61.

 

ThinkPads are business notebooks and hence not much emphasis is put on the multimedia capabilities such as speakers. Assuming you have maximized all possible volume settings (i.e general operating system volume control and media player volume control) the best solution is to either get a set of external speakers or some headphones, as others also suggested.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the OP is referring to a R61, not a X61.

 

Thinkpads really suck when it comes to audio(speakers). I understand it is a business notebook, but why wouldnt a business user listen to good audio instead of the tinky speakers that come with the thinkpads. The guys should put better speakers in the system....as of now there is no solution for your problem.

I used a program called mp3gain to increase the volume of my mp3 files to compensate for the low volume on my z61t.

 

i think the speakers are just fine for normal portable usage

 

i find the speakers on my T61 to be ok, good enough to watch a DVD every now and then, but recently I've notice that my right speaker starts to squeak when playing something that is high pitched. anybody else have that problem?

 

I'm sure its normal...laptop speakers in general are not great. My Dell's speakers are pathetic and make noise all the time. Try adjusting the EQ above 8-10khz and see if it helps.

 

Well I am glad I am not the only one that thinks that. This issue of the speakers is the only thing I can fault on my R61i. They are really crappy!!! I just bought a set of Logitec speakers, plugged it into the headphone jack, and now I have good sound.
But I do agree with JabbaJabba, they are a business notebook so the need for fantastic speakers is not on IBM's high priority list.

 

Unlike my T60, my ancient but still kicking Toshiba Satellite 5205 has IMHO very decent sounding Harmon/Kardon speakers with a separate subwoofer unit located under the keyboard. No doubt the three speakers all contribute to the unit's rather ungainly two-inch thickness.

These days I'll take compact, lightweight svelteness over optimal sound quality whilst on the go. Plus, quality headphones are real tiny these days

 

This seems like a really strange conversation to me. I don't know how many of you have ever seen the speakers in a T61p but they are less than 3/4 of an inch in diameter. No one could possibly expect meaningful sound from them.

The T61 is a professionals computer. It is not a walkman or an iphone.

 

Well I think for professional users, we should have professional sound....ie: harman kardon, bose, etc.

 

And a surfboard. Why not?

It's really funny Icon but I worked with computers for twenty years before they had sound. I though speakers was a silly fad. It would be nice if my thinkpad had more bass when listening to NPR, but it doesn't.

I don't think professionals care about sound quality. I think college students do.

 

High quality speakers shouldn't be anywhere on the priority list. Quality build and hardware should be at the fore front. No need to increase the retail price of a ThinkPad just to add small speakers with big volume. I bought this computer knowing that it's made for professional work and multitasking; not once did I contemplate about speaker quality. Headphones do it perfectly for me.

External speakers do nicely as well.

 

This is very true.

I am a so-called professional, and while I am much more IT geeky than most of my colleagues or associates, I too do not put much if any emphasis on the external speaker quality. As mentioned, these are business notebooks. Professionals very rarely use sound for anything when working, be it at the office or e.g. fine tuning a F1 engine (Renault uses ThinkPads). I personally use high quality headphones when listening to music (while working) on the flights.

However, I understand why many new ThinkPad owners are disappointed with the sound. Some years ago, you would hardly see any non-professionals with a ThinkPad, let alone the traditionally expensive X-series ultraportable which today has become so easily attainable. Nowadays, however, there are so many more "normal" users like students and other non-professionals. This has to do with ThinkPads being so much more affordable and available to the general public. Especially in the US. Hence, as Lenovo is targeting normal consumers more and more, we might see some more consumer friendly ThinkPad changes in the future.

Lenovo has to tread carefully though. Too much consumer friendliness and too many mainstream features and they will loose the vital professional crowd.

In my opinion, if they want more mainstream consumers, what they should rather do, is up their efforts on the consumer line notebooks (3000 series) and make them stand out more.

Regardless, ThinkPads are made for professionals and is not a multimedia mainstream machine. Those who crave better sound might fail to notice that ThinkPads come with a professional feature such as a spill proof keyboard. I don't see (m)any complaining about why i.e. their Dell XPS M1330 doesn't have this feature.

 

Why do people complain so much about speaker quality. Mine R50 works fine, and as a matter of fact I bought an pair of external speakers instead.
People seem to demand so many things.

 

I think some of you are misunderstanding, the issue with the R61 and Vista is the extremely low speaker volume, for instance, when I try to listen to a streamed broadcast of an announcement, I pratically have to lean my ears again the speakers and tell everyone else to shut up.

The frustrating thing is depending on the program some are louder than others, on my Skype phone call it is marginally acceptable but still whisper volume.

I think there is kind of a software/drive issue. I think it does make some loud sounds once in a while when beeping system warnings for example.

Again, I am not talking about speaker quality, being an audiophile, I would never expect much from a laptop, the volume is just ridiculously low.

 

Then why bought the thinkpad in the first place. You should have had gone with a Toshiba.
Second note, why revived such an old thread.

 

i don't ask for much out of the computer speakers. listening to music is obviously a task for an external set-up. However, there are occasions where i rely on the internal speakers for the lack of a better option. Say, watching a trailer with a few people around the computer or something when i'm away from home. The speakers hardly even cut it in these settings. Often, they simply don't get loud enough to be heard, so we are all huddled around the computer like bums roasting potatoes around a ghetto fire. Plainly said, they are next to worthless.

 

Please don't revive 6 month old threads; create a new thread instead.

Closed.