Sony F/EC serices: Speaker quality?

After much contemplation (and assistance from people on this forum) between a Sony VPCF1390X and VPCEC390X (among others) I'm almost at the point of buying the F series model.
However, I've come across many comments that the speakers in the F series are rather bad. I have not come across details about the EC series speakers but can't imagine these are better, with the EC being an entry level model.

Does someone know how bad (or good) the speaker quality in both the F1390X and EC390X models is?

I do have quite some music on my current PC which I do listen to via the PC speakers directly, and this is currently a (basic I guess) 2.1 Harman/Kardon set - just so you know what my current comfort level is.
I'm not going to be able to have an external speaker set always available to connect to the laptop, and so will pretty much rely on the speakers themselves.

Thanks

 

ack, typo in the thread heading, and I can't seem to correct this. :|

 

Compared to other brands which sometimes come with built-in subs (Toshiba and ASUS to name a few), the F series is... dismal.

A good thing though. You can max the volume and the sound won't break and crackle, and the speakers are quite loud at max volume. But if you're after bass, forget it. Sony's machines are infamous of crap lower frequency reproduction.

I'd say some manufacturers are sticking subs into laptops (an extra 300-500g of mass) purely because they just were unable to get proper bass into laptop-size speakers. But you never know; some manufacturer might be researching this very issue behind closed doors for their next entertainment laptop lineup...

 

All of the sony models I've tried out (EB, F, Z) have had terrible speaker sound quality that is comparable to that of my mobile phone. Its an afterthought. If you want to buy Sony, you will either want to use that optical out to go into your hifi or you want to use a decent pair of headphones.

If you want decent laptop speakers check out the Dell Studio 17s. The wee little JBLs on them are actually pretty amazing for how teeny they are but in the end, they still aren't really as good as a mini hifi system you can get for less than 100 bucks.

 

Hmmm.....this speaker thing is indeed bothering me, and I'm not sure if that will be the breaking point over buying this model. Argh. Just when I was this close to making up my mind.
So it's still this one or the Asus G73jw.

I would use it for music and the sound on video calls, and bass would be an issue for the former at least. I'm not so hot on using headphones, and being close to plug it into an external speaker set isn't always feasible.
I wish there was a place here I could go and give it a test run, but I'm in Europe and am buying in the US so this doesn't work too.

In fact, many months back I had gone and ordered a Dell Studio 17; but it kept getting delayed with no reasons and really really dismal customer service made me swear that I will never buy anything from Dell again.

In general, I know it is an issue to get good bass out of the smaller speakers. This problem was in TVs too until some manufacturers put in subs also and the sound improved discernably

 

Whether you're in the US or in the EU you should be able to find a Sony_Style or another reseller to go and try out the speakers to see if they're enough for you.

 

You're absolutely right and it's stupid of me not to have thought of this.

I've found a couple of shops around here, and while they don't have the latest F series models, I expect the last series speakers are representative enough. Am picking out my CDs, and should know better in a day or three. If it's not good, then I guess it's the Asus G73jw.

Thanks!

 

I went over to a nearby Sony Centre yesterday to check out the sound quality of the Vaio laptops. Luckily they just had a F13 series come in a few days ago, so I was looking at what I was considering buying (inasmuch the Europe version reflects the US version).
We played a CD of mine in it and the sound was BAD.
We had to turn the volume all the way up to get the output to a good level, and the bass repro was very bad. On other laptops I've had way better sound and this was worse than I expected. That's pretty much the final nail in the coffin for the Vaio (it had a gorgeous display though).
I'd only consider this with wireless laptop speakers, but not sure how good those are.

The Envy is off the table for the heating reasons.

So, I pretty much think it's going to be the Asus G73jw - costs more than I had anticipated when I started this laptop hunt, but I think it gives the best bang for the buck.

 

Make no mistake, what certain laptops have is not a subwoofer, but an assisting midrange element.
A subwoofer is for low frequencies only (typically 20-100 Hz), and the elements in e.g. the Asus aren't even (non-sub) woofers, but firmly in the squawker range.

By using an extra mono element for low midrange and stereo tweeters, you get a deeper frequency range and more "umph" at the expense of stereo separation and correctness. Whether it's worth it depends on what you listen to and what your expectations are.
But don't for one minute expect sub-bass or even real bass. It will still depend on your brain using the harmonic overtones to fill in the missing bass.
I.e. it might be good enough for movies or casual listening, but for music work or serious listening, I'd recommend a pair of good cans instead.

 

Subs? Please show me a single laptop with a sub woofer in it. Physically impossible! What is the frequency response of these supposed subs, 200hz?

Gary

 

While I agree, it's not physically impossible. It certainly should be possible to put an electrostatic membrane and charge it up to the required tens of thousands of volts, and hook it up to a low-pass-filter and step-up-transformer and get a quite muted subwoofer (by their very nature, electrostats can't be loud for deep bass). But it would not be practical.

What's sad is that these "subs" in laptops aren't just not subwoofers, they're not even woofers. Calling them subs is exactly as wrong as calling them super tweeters.
But as long as Joe Average incorrectly equates subwoofers with bass, and few countries have strict guidelines for honesty in marketing, they are marketed as subs, and not squawkers.

 

I guess I should have added they produce decent base, for a laptop. But yeah, as arth1 says, you can't even call them squawkers subs. They just produce slightly (read SLIGHTLY) lower frequencies compared to any other laptop but that's about it.

I had a chance to listen to a Toshiba lappie a few months back and was decently surprised with how low the responses went, but it won't match a Logitech Z5500 (or the Z4 at that) by any means.

If you are after good quality audio generation in a laptop, I'd suggest invest in a lossless format capable music player with decent head / earphones (the Cowon S9 coupled with a pair of GENUINE Sony MDR-EX700SL would be decent starters).

 

Small drivers can produce low frequencies at low volumes, if designed correctly, without pumping thousands of volts through a membrane as Arth mentions. How else could you get 20hz response out of earbuds?

Some better designed notebooks at low-moderate volume can produce filling, pleasing bass, perhaps in some cases even sub-bass and definitely below 200hz...but not at a volume that would rattle your chest like one would expect from a "subwoofer". The big difference is it's all at a very low volume compared to any other audio equipment.