Clevo sound quality

I'm looking into buying a Sager NP7352 (Clevo W350ST) but I keep hearing that clevo sound quality is especially bad. Aside from gaming, I would be watching a lot of movies and other media on the laptop, should I look at something else with better sound quality?

 

I've got a Pollux 1613 from Mythlogic (Clevo P157SM) and the speakers are nothing to write home about. But I didn't buy it for the speakers and had planned on using headphones anyway. Plugged in an old set of Logitech G35 headphones, put the Blu ray version of Dark Knight Rises into the optical drive and was perfectly content with the experience. Plus, what you hear is the movie (or game) and not your surrounding environment.

 

Sound is better with these current models the last gen's. Average speakers, not bad, not great.

 

Its not good, but not bad either. In my opinion the speaker sound quality is what you should expect of a laptop. If you use headphones, get a usb soundcard (the headphone sound quality is otherwise horrible).

 

would be interesting to hear and compare the EM to the SM models.
not the best in the world but certainly not the worst.
at home i have 5.1 speakers plugged into (headphone-front two) (mic in-speaker out-centre and sub) (spdif-speaker out-rear two) and the sound is perfect.

 

I have a p170em. The sound on the speakers is ok in my opinion. The headphones had a real issue when i first used them. However, after a lot of forum scouring and experimenting, it turned out that the main problem was with the bass not being output to the headphones. A change in settings in the THX panel fixed that for me. Now the sound on the headphones is decent.

 

Mind elaborating on that fix? What i've done myself to circumvent these problems is install the standard windows 8 audio drivers and use the second jack from the rear (no idea what jack that's supposed to be).

 

No problem.
First My Setup:
Clevo P170em-pretty much standard config with a 7970m
WIndows 7-64bit Ultimate
Realtek Sound drivers from CD
THX drivers from CD.

OK, if you have installed both the default sound driver and the THX driver, just go to the THX setting and select headphone instead of built-in speaker.

This should pretty much bring the sound back to decent quality. Try messing with the crossover frequency to see what works best for you. turn off all effects except speak on the main display.

 

I have a p170em as well. After adjusting the THX settings, I find the sound to perfectly serviceable. I can sit 15 ft away from the computer and hear movies just fine.

 

The onboard sound chip in the P1*0EM series laptops is terrible. It is barely even amplified. The THX fix is still nearly useless as the bass it adds is of bad quality and quantity.

 

The quality is generally acceptable, but if audio is really important to you, MSI has some of the best speakers available with their units that are outfitted with Dynaudio.

 

You can always buy an external usb headphones amp or dac to power your phones. Gets rid of the horrible electrical interference that is otherwise audible when plugging headphones straight into the jack as well as keeping the quality of the sound unaltered. I have the Fiio e17 and it works a treat with my p150em.

 

The Klipsch speakers in my old Alienware M17xR3 were really good too. By far the best I've ever heard, with full treble, and bass. Rarely did I use external speakers or headphones at home because they were THAT DAMN GOOD. You could watch movies and hear all the sounds, all the dialogue, etc. Gaming was special too A little "FYI" for people looking for laptops with good speakers

 

The "onkyo" speakers in mine are worse than this:

The sound chip itself is good, though. Its stereo, so no 5.1 or 7.1 support there. But with headphones and external speakers, it pumps out good.
BUT THE SPEAKERS ARE CRAP.

 

The headphones jack itself is utter crap as well. Lack of bass and volume in general leads me to believe that impedance of the jack is pretty poor and is why it has problems with different types of headphones. The only sure way to objectively fix the audio cheaply is to buy an external usb dac. Otherwise you're only compensating with eq presets and settings (THX).

 

I debated over this issue myself. If you are a true audiophile, you wouldn't even settle with Alienware or MSI speakers. However, if you are not an audiophile, you have to realize that Clevos are among the most cost-efficient gaming machines you will find, and sound is the sacrifice that must be made to keep the competitive price edge. If you really want that improved sound, you'll have to pay about $200 more for an equivalently spec'ed MSI machine that just has better speakers and maybe keyboard as well.

 

The only clevo models that have good output from the jacks (NOT SPEAKERS), are the W-series.
Stereo DAC instead of the 7.1 crap. Sounds powerful in volume and the bass response is real.
That, coupled with the other advantages (like low price, strong chassis, ease of access to the internals) makes the W-series really stand out from the OEM brand stuff.

If I was the CEO in Clevo, I would up the bar in audio quality by putting BurrBrown/Texas Instruments DACs with 118db SNR, stereo output, gold-plated jack outs and high-grade stereo speakers (no need for a built-in sub, it will never sound like one).
With this, we would get unimaginable sound clarity, volumenous and pleasant sound from the built-in speakers and with THX we could just demolish the competition thanks to the high-grade sound chip.

I would happily pay over $100 more for a laptop with this stuff in it.

 

That settings much help in audio quality, but a have a issue , after restart os THX doesn't save settings and it stay on "built-in speakers"... and after each reboot I need to change the settings again and again.....

 

If nothing is plugged in at the output jack, then yes, the THX switches to "built-in speakers" mode and crossover is disabled in that option.

 

What i found does a great job if you're like me and don't want to buy a seperate usb controller, install the latest realtek drivers from the website. After that install the Razer Surround Sound program, it's free for the coming months or so i believe and it does the same as the THX program with the added function of 7.1 and a more usefull interface if you ask me.

 

why not just try what i posted earlier. gives perfect sound with 5.1/7.1

 

If there was a way to pack my 5.1 speakers in my laptop bagpack sure , i really wish i could get myself to buy a usb stick but i just hate having to have periphials with me my bag is already full as is. And the Razer surround sound suggestion is because of the bass booster and equalizer the program has built in it's just an alternative to the THX software i find easier to use.

 

that is odd. As long as headphones are plugged in, THX automatically adjusts the setting for me after that initial adjustment from my side. You should look into it why your settings are not automatically adjusting themselves. Try reinstalling the original drivers that came with the laptop.

 

Are you saying the W-series are superior than P-series in sound? Because I thought it would be the opposite considering the higher price tag!

 

Thats exactly what Im saying. There is a reason for this.

The "premium" P-series (they are not called premium, pun is intended) feature a 7.1 DAC of the ALC892 type.
According to the specs from Realtek, this thing is capable of the following reproduction:

The "win-for-the-win" W-series (cause they are a complete WIN imho) got a double stereo DAC, the ALC269.

So, here is why it sounds better:
1.) better SNR ratio for both the DAC and ADC (the second implies sound from the mic and line-in)
2.) no 5.1 or 7.1 nonsense, just pure 2.0 stereo output
3.) has proven to have been wired properly, unlike the P-series which have split the signal somewhere and cut out on the bass response for unknown reasons
4.) MORE VOLUME!! I've tested it, both my P150HM and W370ET, the latter has TREMENDOUSLY better volume!
5.) with the same settings in THX, music playback is a lot bassier and crisper than with the ALC892

There you go.

EDIT: currently listening to ENIGMA, btw....my 2.1 system is outputting crystal-clear sound from the laptop's stereo out without distortion and with tight bass.

 

Thanks for the specifics!

 

Yeah, so I've concluded that the sound quality (laptop speakers) for the W230ST/NP7330 suck. No bass and not that loud on max volume. Output via head/earphones or external speakers is very good though. I'm using the Razer Surround sound program since I can't get SB Cinema to work due to that "no supported audio device" error screen.

Also, not sure if related, but anyone know how come we don't have the "Mic Boost" option for the recording devices/mics for this computer?

 

But we do have the mic boost!
I am using mine at +12db boosted and people can hear me perfectly on skype.

 

Hi, i`ve just moved from a m11x r1 to a w230st and it is true that the speakers aren`t great, they are worse than the m11x`s speakers but not as bad as the altec lansing speakers on my freind`s hp dv3 or asus u36. Anyways after reading the speaker mod guide in the m11x forum i was wondering what connector the w series clevo laptop speakers use as I am contemplating replacing them with the renowned jbl speakers from an old broken down dell xps 14 which sounded REALY good (the xps range are renowned to have the best audio of any laptop). also would cutting into the casing reduce audio quality: heres an image
http://i.pchub.com/i/Dell-XPS-14-L401X-Speaker-Set-DP-N-528FP-0528FP-b-70933.jpg

 

The speakers on this new P170SM are nowhere near the quality of my older Samsung's JBL speakers. There's no bass and they're quieter, less punchy. Haven't tried external speakers/headphones yet. Screen is a MASSIVE improvement though. You win some, you lose some!

 

Hi MrDJ,

I am wondering how you can have speaker output through mic in port?

and also as i've read online the mic in port have low quality audio?

thanks

 

For anyone who has a W230ST/NP7330, go download the VIA HD audio drivers. I've found that that's the solution to all the audio woes, including poor mic volume/carity and having a missing EQ. Still can't figure out why SB Cinema EQ doesn't want to work though. Keeps saying "Missing audio device" or something like that.

 

Jesus, not VIA....everything but that. VIA sucks at everything they do (sound chips, CPUs, evrything!!)

 

Just a small tip to anyone using stereo headphones on this.

In the THX control panel. set the crossover frequency to 1000hz(maximum). This will now divert all bass to your headset instead of a channel that doesn't exist for you. Worked nicely for me.

 

Whenever I change any setting in the Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 program, literally nothing happens. No change to sound whatsoever. It's just not functioning and I don't know why. Any ideas?

 

sorry for delayed reply as only just seen this post.

this idea was only found by me after experimenting a year ago. it wasnt mention in any of the user manuals.
the (headphones), (mic in/speaker out), and (spdif/speaker out) gives great 5.1 sound as long as your external speakers are a decent make.
im using my creative 5.1 speakers which i got with my first ever desktop computers over 9 years ago and they are still running perfectly.
i plug the green plug into the headphones for front 2 speakers.
i plug the black lead into the mic in/speaker out for the front and sub speaker (pop up box tick speaker)
i plug the yellow plug into the spdif/speaker out for rear speakers (popup box tick speaker)
and thats it, i have brilliant high level sound that i cannot fault one bit.

as we all know the onboard onkyo speakers are still crap so on the move you will have to put up with the tinny sound.