frankmehta
Adept
Hi there. I generally lurk around on this part of the forum and don't post here much.
Now I do have a dilemma, and I am sure 90% of all of us have the same issue.
LAPTOP SPEAKERS.
I have noticed a DOWNWARD trend in quality of the speakers built into laptops since the last 5 years, and the laptops of yore (say, 2007 and before) came with really loud high fidelity speakers that added to the bulk and the weight of the laptop. Gone are the days when Altec Lansing or even Harman Kardon did some high quality laptop sound and proudly displayed it on the large speaker bars below the screen.
These days laptops are expected to be lightweight, fast performing and sturdy. And compact too. But the biggest criteria that manufacturers adhere to, these days is COST. While they can't compromise on major components, they have started passing the baton of this entire responsibility to the speakers. YES, they are going down in quality (as well as quantity) and they (most) are WOEFULLY adequate when it comes to reproduction of audio, speech or any form of video conferencing. Forget about music.
Some exceptions such as the Dell XPS Studio, Acer 57xx/47xx series, Lenovo Z570, MSi Dynaudio powered laptops and the Beats Audio laptops of HP still shine through with stellar quality and high volume.
The rest of them, sorry to say, SUCK.
I have a Lenovo Thinkpad X220 with a Core i5 Sandy bridge processor, 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB SSD and 250 GB HDD, Fingerprint reader, Bluetooth, Webcam, PREMIUM IPS screen; the works. It's lightweight, HOTTTT to look at, has the best keyboard in the business. And is FAST. Did I say it is lightweight??? :bleh:
But one BIGGEST drawback is the absolutely ABYSMAL quality of sound coming out from the 2 holes in the bottom of the laptop. I refuse to call them speakers because I can HARDLY hear what is going on when I am playing some music or playing a Youtube video.
Which brings me to a question here. WHICH portable speaker performs well and is lightweight to carry, as well as thin enough to fit the slim bag. They CANNOT be huge or thick or bulky or heavy since the laptop is EXTREMELY light (I must have forgotten to mention that) and carrying heavy speakers with it will defeat the purpose.
I will not comment on the XMax MiniMax or whatever models XMacx manufactures, since they are NOT good quality speakers according to me. Neither loud nor clear. Their springy bass due to their air suspension is just an unruly amount of air coming from speakers and does not qualify as bass to me.
I have also tried the cheaper BURGER speakers, which though louder than the XMax, still don't cut it.
I have owned this pair:
F&D MULTIMEDIA MINI USB SPEAKER WITH GREAT SOUND | eBaynd HONEST to GOD, I have never heard better sound coming from Laptop speakers than these. Articulate bass, loud, clean vocals and a frighteningly good (for the size) midrange. My friend loved these so much, she took them away from me and asked me to order one more pair. I didn't, since I couldn't find any after that. they are back now though!
Currently, I own the TDK NXT Panel speakers that do a FABULOUS job of reproducing good stereo quality audio and decent bass. I got these from KL and they even come with a removable battery pack that can allow these to work without USB and just as mobile speakers.
http://www.cnet.com.au/tdk-tremor-xa-10-speakers-339274300.htm
They sound awesome, but are still not a match for the F&Ds that have really taken my breath away when it comes to audio quality.
NOW, I want one more pair JUST to try out a newer sound, and I have seen these:
F&D 2.0 MINI USB SPEAKERS SPECIALLY MADE FOR LAPTOPS | eBay have a very good impression of F&D and I don't mind going in for these if they sound as good as they earlier F&Ds I own, (spec by spec they are similar, except for wattage) and I don't mind getting these.
ANY IDEA whether I should get these?!?
let's just say I am open to suggestions but due to my ever changing set of gear, I wouldn't want to spend more than 1000 rupees (or a little more) on the set.
Go on... Let me know!!
Now I do have a dilemma, and I am sure 90% of all of us have the same issue.
LAPTOP SPEAKERS.
I have noticed a DOWNWARD trend in quality of the speakers built into laptops since the last 5 years, and the laptops of yore (say, 2007 and before) came with really loud high fidelity speakers that added to the bulk and the weight of the laptop. Gone are the days when Altec Lansing or even Harman Kardon did some high quality laptop sound and proudly displayed it on the large speaker bars below the screen.
These days laptops are expected to be lightweight, fast performing and sturdy. And compact too. But the biggest criteria that manufacturers adhere to, these days is COST. While they can't compromise on major components, they have started passing the baton of this entire responsibility to the speakers. YES, they are going down in quality (as well as quantity) and they (most) are WOEFULLY adequate when it comes to reproduction of audio, speech or any form of video conferencing. Forget about music.
Some exceptions such as the Dell XPS Studio, Acer 57xx/47xx series, Lenovo Z570, MSi Dynaudio powered laptops and the Beats Audio laptops of HP still shine through with stellar quality and high volume.
The rest of them, sorry to say, SUCK.
I have a Lenovo Thinkpad X220 with a Core i5 Sandy bridge processor, 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB SSD and 250 GB HDD, Fingerprint reader, Bluetooth, Webcam, PREMIUM IPS screen; the works. It's lightweight, HOTTTT to look at, has the best keyboard in the business. And is FAST. Did I say it is lightweight??? :bleh:
But one BIGGEST drawback is the absolutely ABYSMAL quality of sound coming out from the 2 holes in the bottom of the laptop. I refuse to call them speakers because I can HARDLY hear what is going on when I am playing some music or playing a Youtube video.
Which brings me to a question here. WHICH portable speaker performs well and is lightweight to carry, as well as thin enough to fit the slim bag. They CANNOT be huge or thick or bulky or heavy since the laptop is EXTREMELY light (I must have forgotten to mention that) and carrying heavy speakers with it will defeat the purpose.
I will not comment on the XMax MiniMax or whatever models XMacx manufactures, since they are NOT good quality speakers according to me. Neither loud nor clear. Their springy bass due to their air suspension is just an unruly amount of air coming from speakers and does not qualify as bass to me.
I have also tried the cheaper BURGER speakers, which though louder than the XMax, still don't cut it.
I have owned this pair:
F&D MULTIMEDIA MINI USB SPEAKER WITH GREAT SOUND | eBaynd HONEST to GOD, I have never heard better sound coming from Laptop speakers than these. Articulate bass, loud, clean vocals and a frighteningly good (for the size) midrange. My friend loved these so much, she took them away from me and asked me to order one more pair. I didn't, since I couldn't find any after that. they are back now though!
Currently, I own the TDK NXT Panel speakers that do a FABULOUS job of reproducing good stereo quality audio and decent bass. I got these from KL and they even come with a removable battery pack that can allow these to work without USB and just as mobile speakers.
http://www.cnet.com.au/tdk-tremor-xa-10-speakers-339274300.htm
They sound awesome, but are still not a match for the F&Ds that have really taken my breath away when it comes to audio quality.
NOW, I want one more pair JUST to try out a newer sound, and I have seen these:
F&D 2.0 MINI USB SPEAKERS SPECIALLY MADE FOR LAPTOPS | eBay have a very good impression of F&D and I don't mind going in for these if they sound as good as they earlier F&Ds I own, (spec by spec they are similar, except for wattage) and I don't mind getting these.
ANY IDEA whether I should get these?!?
let's just say I am open to suggestions but due to my ever changing set of gear, I wouldn't want to spend more than 1000 rupees (or a little more) on the set.
Go on... Let me know!!
