Speaker quality in Sager NP5170 vs. NP81xx series

Hi, I've found bits and pieces here about Sager speakers but I still have some questions. I'm planning to buy a Sandy Bridge notebook very soon, and have narrowed my choices down to a Sager NP5170 (or maybe NP5160) or an Asus N53SV-A1. The Sager models are much cheaper and seem equal or better in most respects, except for speaker quality.

The new Asus laptops are making a big deal about their SonicMaster technology, which claims to have better clarity (through codecs), volume (3W instead of 1-1.5W power), and frequency range (larger resonant chambers). There's a review here.

So my question is: will I regret the sound quality on the NP5170? Would the Asus improvements be noticeable? And I notice the Sager NP81xx series (i.e. the NP8170 or NP8130) seem to have top-mounted speakers (while the NP5170's are on the bottom), similar to the Asus placement, does this have any noticeable effect on sound quality or volume?

I know the best option is to get external speakers, but it's nice to have the option to use a laptop without bringing along extra pieces.


Also, while I'm asking, are the Sager laptop frames customizable at all? And/or could I get some info on the NP5170 - from the images it looks like it is brushed aluminum, is this true? I wish I could go somewhere and physically try one out, but I'm currently in the Netherlands and I don't think there's any outlets here (the two listed in the Netherlands on the sticky are dead).

 

No one physically has an NP5170 yet but I preordered one myself. I am assuming the sound is much worse than on an ASUS. That was the only sacrifice I made for the Sager over ASUS options I was considering. My friend has an ASUS laptop with the good speakers such that you can use it for a small party to play music, and can hear fine for any movie or youtube type stuff you might watch on it, without using headphones, even in a noisy room. For most laptops, you need headphones to hear a movie well unless the room is quiet, and no way can you use them to play music at a party without external speakers. But external speakers are pretty cheap and my need for loud sound is only occasional. So I decided to take the hit on speaker and sound quality and go for the Sager.

 

Yes, since my original post I've realized they aren't yet released. Even so, the NP5170 is supposedly the same chassis as the previous-generation NP7130, so I'm sure there are people who would have an idea on the sound quality.

In any case, I've decided the Sager's better despite the Asus' better speaker quality, so thanks! To anyone who read my OP and was wondering about the NP5170 chassis, Mythlogic briefly describes it here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...clevo-w170hn-owners-lounge-2.html#post7079310

Still not sure whether the NP81xx chassis with the top-mounted speakers are any better sound quality, but my guess is that it's not significantly better.