Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't a 
joke?

Is there some theoretical reason why the speakers in a laptop can't 
produce high-quality sound? Or is it merely that manufacturers are eager 
to fit the best, most powerful CPU and sell the unit for the lowest 
possible cost, and fitting a better set of speakers isn't a high priority?

I'm just curios to know...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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"Invisible" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
news:47f10b11$1@news.povray.org...
> Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't a
> joke?

Yup. My laptop has Harman/Karton speakers. I'm not much into the sound
industry, but I'm told those are high-qualtiy speakers.
They certainly sound good. In fact, they sound better than my old TV did.

Of course, I'm no sound expert....

Post a reply to this message

Invisible escribió:
> Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't a 
> joke?

Yes, a Mac.

My dad has an old PowerBook (it has PowerPC processor!) and it has quite 
a good sound from its tiny speakers.

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On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:02:05 +0100, Invisible wrote:

> Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't a
> joke?

Yes, my T42p has pretty decent speakers on it....

I've also seen a few Dell models with reasonably good speakers on them - 
D6xx series and C610/C640 series.

Jim

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On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:02:05 +0100, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:

>Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't a 
>joke?
>
>Is there some theoretical reason why the speakers in a laptop can't 
>produce high-quality sound? Or is it merely that manufacturers are eager 
>to fit the best, most powerful CPU and sell the unit for the lowest 
>possible cost, and fitting a better set of speakers isn't a high priority?
>
>I'm just curios to know...

To get good quality sound from a speaker you need a large=ish speaker
and some volume behind it. So until we can invent a TARDIS like laptop
the answer is no.
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

Post a reply to this message

Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't a
> joke?
>
> Is there some theoretical reason why the speakers in a laptop can't
> produce high-quality sound? Or is it merely that manufacturers are eager
> to fit the best, most powerful CPU and sell the unit for the lowest
> possible cost, and fitting a better set of speakers isn't a high priority?
>
> I'm just curios to know...
>
> --
> http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
> http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

The Sony Vaio line offers the best built-ins I know about and they're just OK,
not great. They also offer portable and "docking station" type plug-in speakers
to upgrade. They are, however, (IMHO) a bit expensive for what you get.

MacBooks make strong claims about audio quality. I have no clue how true they
are... and again, we're talking bucks deluxe.

I believe the general approach taken by laptop designers is that since laptops
are nearly always single-user personal machines, HQ audio will come through HQ
headphones.

Good luck on the quest. Please post any noteworthy discoveries.

Best Regards,
 Mike C.

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On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:02:05 +0100, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:

>I'm just curios to know...

As a follow up question. Does anyone know of a good soundcard for a
laptop. One that has digital I/P and O/P and only needs to use stereo?
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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"Invisible" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote

> Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't a
> joke?

Depends on how big your lap is.

See for yourself why (especially towards the lower end of the audible
spectrum) you need a substantial size to get faithful reproduction:

http://www.mcsquared.com/wavelength.htm

Post a reply to this message

Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't a 
> joke?

  I know next to nothing about audio and loudspeaker technology, but as
far as I understand the capability of a loudspeaker to play bass
frequencies is more or less directly proportional to the physical size
of the loudspeaker (you need a larger box to get lower frequencies).
Thus it's very difficult if not impossible to play low frequencies with
very small speakers which do not have any volume to them to speak of.
Thus you will never get high-quality sound from very small speakers.

  (One could ask what about headphones. Those are pretty small speakers
and they can play pretty low frequencies. I assume it has something to
do with their physical location with respect to the ear canal.)

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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Jim Henderson wrote:
> 
> I've also seen a few Dell models with reasonably good speakers on them - 
> D6xx series and C610/C640 series.

The built-in cucumber-cans of D610 and D620 are mostly pathetic.

> Jim


-- 
Eero "Aero" Ahonen
    http://www.zbxt.net
       aer### [at] removethiszbxtnetinvalid

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On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:01:09 +0300, Eero Ahonen wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> 
>> I've also seen a few Dell models with reasonably good speakers on them
>> - D6xx series and C610/C640 series.
> 
> The built-in cucumber-cans of D610 and D620 are mostly pathetic.

My kid just picked up a used D610 and he seemed happy with the speakers 
so far.

Jim

Post a reply to this message

Warp wrote:

>   I know next to nothing about audio and loudspeaker technology, but as
> far as I understand the capability of a loudspeaker to play bass
> frequencies is more or less directly proportional to the physical size
> of the loudspeaker (you need a larger box to get lower frequencies).
> Thus it's very difficult if not impossible to play low frequencies with
> very small speakers which do not have any volume to them to speak of.
> Thus you will never get high-quality sound from very small speakers.
> 
>   (One could ask what about headphones. Those are pretty small speakers
> and they can play pretty low frequencies. I assume it has something to
> do with their physical location with respect to the ear canal.)

Well, actually, I've found a pair of external speakers which are pretty 
small, yet seem to produce a surprising amount of bass.

The interesting thing is that the bass frequencies seem to die away 
*rapidly* as you move away from the speakers. So I'm hypothesizing that 
it's not so much that small speakers don't generate bass, but rather 
that it diminishes rapidly with distance. In other words, I hypothesize 
that you need a physically large speaker to generate low frequency waves 
that will *travel* some distance before dissapating.

What physical basis there is for this hypothesis, I have no idea...

[I also notice that the speakers in question are DAMN HEAVY. This may or 
may not be significant...]

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Gail Shaw wrote:

> Yup. My laptop has Harman/Karton speakers. I'm not much into the sound
> industry, but I'm told those are high-qualtiy speakers.
> They certainly sound good. In fact, they sound better than my old TV did.
> 
> Of course, I'm no sound expert....

My laptop has speakers that would compare poorly against almost any TV 
set imaginable. They're very quiet (you often can't hear them over the 
fan) and they rattle like hell at mid-range frequencies in a way that 
only the cheapest disposible radio sets can. So if your laptop sounds in 
any way comparable to a half-decent TV set, it's much better than what I 
have!

Post a reply to this message

Nicolas Alvarez wrote:
> Invisible escribió:
>> Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't 
>> a joke?
> 
> Yes, a Mac.

Hell, for that price it should also make me a cup of tea when I wake up 
in the morning! :-S

Post a reply to this message

On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:28:04 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> Gail Shaw wrote:
> 
>> Yup. My laptop has Harman/Karton speakers. I'm not much into the sound
>> industry, but I'm told those are high-qualtiy speakers. They certainly
>> sound good. In fact, they sound better than my old TV did.
>> 
>> Of course, I'm no sound expert....
> 
> My laptop has speakers that would compare poorly against almost any TV
> set imaginable. They're very quiet (you often can't hear them over the
> fan) and they rattle like hell at mid-range frequencies in a way that
> only the cheapest disposible radio sets can. So if your laptop sounds in
> any way comparable to a half-decent TV set, it's much better than what I
> have!

What type of laptop?  The Compaq Armada M700 that my wife uses sounds 
like you describe here....

Jim

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Mike the Elder wrote:

> I believe the general approach taken by laptop designers is that since laptops
> are nearly always single-user personal machines, HQ audio will come through HQ
> headphones.

Seems plausible.

I might have to investigate some moderately cheap let moderately good 
headphones. ;-)

[Certainly I'm not taking my expensive Sennheizer HD 570 phones anywhere 
except my bedroom...]

> Good luck on the quest. Please post any noteworthy discoveries.

Sure.

Actually, I just purchased a set of small external speakers which, 
despite their size, produce a reasonable amount of bass. (And more to 
the point, they're much louder and don't resonate annoyingly.) I'd tell 
you the model number if I knew it...

Post a reply to this message

>> My laptop has speakers that would compare poorly against almost any TV
>> set imaginable. They're very quiet (you often can't hear them over the
>> fan) and they rattle like hell at mid-range frequencies in a way that
>> only the cheapest disposible radio sets can. So if your laptop sounds in
>> any way comparable to a half-decent TV set, it's much better than what I
>> have!
> 
> What type of laptop?  The Compaq Armada M700 that my wife uses sounds 
> like you describe here....

Sharp GP1918 or something like that?

Post a reply to this message

"Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
news:47f13b31$1@news.povray.org...
> Gail Shaw wrote:
>
> > Yup. My laptop has Harman/Karton speakers. I'm not much into the sound
> > industry, but I'm told those are high-qualtiy speakers.
> > They certainly sound good. In fact, they sound better than my old TV
did.
> >
> > Of course, I'm no sound expert....
>
> My laptop has speakers that would compare poorly against almost any TV
> set imaginable. They're very quiet (you often can't hear them over the
> fan) and they rattle like hell at mid-range frequencies in a way that
> only the cheapest disposible radio sets can. So if your laptop sounds in
> any way comparable to a half-decent TV set, it's much better than what I
> have!

Well I am talking about a fairly cheap TV and a very expensive laptop that
was designed as a media center, so that may even things.
I'm not sure about the low frequencies. It doesn't shake the floor like the
desktop's speaker system does

Post a reply to this message

Gail Shaw wrote:

> Well I am talking about a fairly cheap TV and a very expensive laptop that
> was designed as a media center, so that may even things.
> I'm not sure about the low frequencies. It doesn't shake the floor like the
> desktop's speaker system does

Acid test: Play, oh, *any* track that Enya has ever recorded [that 
features vocals], and tell me if it sounds like a women singing or like 
some sand rattling inside a coffee grinder. ;-)

Post a reply to this message

"Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
news:47f14290$1@news.povray.org...
> Gail Shaw wrote:
>
> > Well I am talking about a fairly cheap TV and a very expensive laptop
that
> > was designed as a media center, so that may even things.
> > I'm not sure about the low frequencies. It doesn't shake the floor like
the
> > desktop's speaker system does
>
> Acid test: Play, oh, *any* track that Enya has ever recorded [that
> features vocals], and tell me if it sounds like a women singing or like
> some sand rattling inside a coffee grinder. ;-)

Hehe. Will do. Tomorrow if I remember.

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Hell, for that price it should also make me a cup of tea when I wake up 
> in the morning! :-S

http://www.boingboing.net/2002/12/08/coffeemaking-pc-case.html

-- 
   Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
     "That's pretty. Where's that?"
          "It's the Age of Channelwood."
     "We should go there on vacation some time."

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> What physical basis there is for this hypothesis, I have no idea...

You can, of course, move speakers as slowly as you like. The problem is, 
the slower you move the speakers, the less energy in the resulting wave. 
So to get loud bass, you need speakers big enough to generate enough 
energy even when the speaker cone is moving slowly. Or you need to put 
the speakers very close to your ears.

-- 
   Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
     "That's pretty. Where's that?"
          "It's the Age of Channelwood."
     "We should go there on vacation some time."

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>> Hell, for that price it should also make me a cup of tea when I wake 
>> up in the morning! :-S
> 
> http://www.boingboing.net/2002/12/08/coffeemaking-pc-case.html

...just when you thought the Internet couldn't get any larger... you 
were wrong! o_O

Post a reply to this message

Darren New wrote:
> Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>> What physical basis there is for this hypothesis, I have no idea...
> 
> You can, of course, move speakers as slowly as you like. The problem is, 
> the slower you move the speakers, the less energy in the resulting wave. 
> So to get loud bass, you need speakers big enough to generate enough 
> energy even when the speaker cone is moving slowly. Or you need to put 
> the speakers very close to your ears.

Right. So that's why the tiny drivers in my headphones seem to produce 
enough bass to fell a tree - they're positioned a few mm from my 
earholes! :-D

Post a reply to this message

Darren New escribió:
> Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>> Hell, for that price it should also make me a cup of tea when I wake 
>> up in the morning! :-S
> 
> http://www.boingboing.net/2002/12/08/coffeemaking-pc-case.html

Does it heat the water using your CPU?

Post a reply to this message

Jim Henderson wrote:
> 
> My kid just picked up a used D610 and he seemed happy with the speakers 
> so far.

My earlier work-laptop was D610 (now I have a D620, surprisingly) and I 
mostly couldn't stand theier speakers. To be truthful, the "soundcard" 
(Intel HD-Audio oslt) those Dell's have ain't actually helping in the 
situation.

Same goes for my own HP (nc6320). The soundcard's problems can be heard 
while listening with headphones. The Dells and the HP tend to have 
twisted frequency response assigned with el-cheapo final amplifier with 
ability to overrun the mixer *and* pre-amplifier easily. It's just hidious.

Basically it's impossible to have a decent sound out of very small 
speakers, which just *can't* be designed and configured for each 
using-environment independently. But if either HP or Dell D6xx are on 
the top of what's possible, I'm surprised - it shouldn't be *that* 
impossible.

And yes, I'm a kind of hifist, so 'bout every sound-quality rant I write 
has the over-shooting part of it. But still... *brr*

Don't hook him up with eg. Sennheisers high-quality headphones :). It 
might lead to an expensive path :P.

> Jim


-- 
Eero "Aero" Ahonen
    http://www.zbxt.net
       aer### [at] removethiszbxtnetinvalid

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Eero Ahonen wrote:

> Basically it's impossible to have a decent sound out of very small 
> speakers, which just *can't* be designed and configured for each 
> using-environment independently.

Well, I don't know. If you make the laptop's case into basically a 
"picture speaker", it might work.

I rather suspect that might make the laptop rather fragile though...

Post a reply to this message

Mike the Elder wrote:
> 
> I believe the general approach taken by laptop designers is that since laptops
> are nearly always single-user personal machines, HQ audio will come through HQ
> headphones.
> 

I wish this was the case. But at least consumer-priced business-line 
HP's and Dell's don't seem to have a HQ output for headphones :( (check 
my other message). I think I should loan a Mac someday to test one.

> Best Regards,
>  Mike C.

-- 
Eero "Aero" Ahonen
    http://www.zbxt.net
       aer### [at] removethiszbxtnetinvalid

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> 
> Well, I don't know. If you make the laptop's case into basically a 
> "picture speaker", it might work.

You mean like a panel speaker? Those are dipols (they emit the sound to 
multiple directions and take good usage of the reflections. Therefore 
they are extremely nift about how they are placed...

-- 
Eero "Aero" Ahonen
    http://www.zbxt.net
       aer### [at] removethiszbxtnetinvalid

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On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:37:20 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>> My laptop has speakers that would compare poorly against almost any TV
>>> set imaginable. They're very quiet (you often can't hear them over the
>>> fan) and they rattle like hell at mid-range frequencies in a way that
>>> only the cheapest disposible radio sets can. So if your laptop sounds
>>> in any way comparable to a half-decent TV set, it's much better than
>>> what I have!
>> 
>> What type of laptop?  The Compaq Armada M700 that my wife uses sounds
>> like you describe here....
> 
> Sharp GP1918 or something like that?

Never used Sharp PC equipment before....

Jim

Post a reply to this message

On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:56:11 +0300, Eero Ahonen wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> 
>> My kid just picked up a used D610 and he seemed happy with the speakers
>> so far.
> 
> My earlier work-laptop was D610 (now I have a D620, surprisingly) and I
> mostly couldn't stand theier speakers. To be truthful, the "soundcard"
> (Intel HD-Audio oslt) those Dell's have ain't actually helping in the
> situation.
> 
> Same goes for my own HP (nc6320). The soundcard's problems can be heard
> while listening with headphones. The Dells and the HP tend to have
> twisted frequency response assigned with el-cheapo final amplifier with
> ability to overrun the mixer *and* pre-amplifier easily. It's just
> hidious.
> 
> Basically it's impossible to have a decent sound out of very small
> speakers, which just *can't* be designed and configured for each
> using-environment independently. But if either HP or Dell D6xx are on
> the top of what's possible, I'm surprised - it shouldn't be *that*
> impossible.
> 
> And yes, I'm a kind of hifist, so 'bout every sound-quality rant I write
> has the over-shooting part of it. But still... *brr*

Well, yeah - I'm a bit of an audiophile myself, having worked with pro 
recording equipment in the past.  Nothing in a laptop comes close - most 
frequently, it's low bass response that kills the sound.  But my T42p has 
its speakers mounted on the front edge, and it does seem to do better 
than most other laptops - but if I want really good sound, of course, 
I'll hook it up to my stereo. ;-)

> Don't hook him up with eg. Sennheisers high-quality headphones :). It
> might lead to an expensive path :P.

Well, it's his money. ;-)

Jim

Post a reply to this message

Nicolas Alvarez wrote:
> Darren New escribió:
>> Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> Hell, for that price it should also make me a cup of tea when I wake 
>>> up in the morning! :-S
>>
>> http://www.boingboing.net/2002/12/08/coffeemaking-pc-case.html
> 
> Does it heat the water using your CPU?

I believe the original page is gone, but no, it did not. :-) It used one 
of those plug-in drop-in-your-mug coils.

-- 
   Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
     "That's pretty. Where's that?"
          "It's the Age of Channelwood."
     "We should go there on vacation some time."

Post a reply to this message

> Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't a 
> joke?

No.

> Is there some theoretical reason why the speakers in a laptop can't 
> produce high-quality sound?

Yes, to produce hi-fi quality sound you need a speaker cone bigger than most 
laptops and a very carefully designed enclosure to produce a nice response.

> Or is it merely that manufacturers are eager to fit the best, most 
> powerful CPU and sell the unit for the lowest possible cost, and fitting a 
> better set of speakers isn't a high priority?

Exactly - I suspect that most laptop design companies don't even employee a 
single audio engineer to optimise these things.  Or maybe they do, but they 
get given a space of 2cm3 and a budget of 25c per laptop.

Post a reply to this message

And lo on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:28:38 +0100, Orchid XP v8 <voi### [at] devnull>  
did spake, saying:

> Nicolas Alvarez wrote:
>> Invisible escribió:
>>> Is it possible to buy a laptop that has built-in speakers which aren't  
>>> a joke?
>>  Yes, a Mac.
>
> Hell, for that price it should also make me a cup of tea when I wake up  
> in the morning! :-S

That would be the iPhone's job http://tinyurl.com/2r7phs

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

Post a reply to this message

>> Is there some theoretical reason why the speakers in a laptop can't 
>> produce high-quality sound?
> 
> Yes, to produce hi-fi quality sound you need a speaker cone bigger than 
> most laptops and a very carefully designed enclosure to produce a nice 
> response.

Right. That sounds more authoritative coming from an engineer...

Actually, as I've mentioned, I just bought some external speakers, and 
they produce an impressive amount of bass. But only if your head is less 
than a few feet away. The sound seems to drop off very rapidly with 
distance - an effect my 8-inch Warfdales don't seem to have.

I notice that these speaker units are *very* heavy for such tiny 
objects. Is this significant?

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

"Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
news:47f14290$1@news.povray.org...
> Gail Shaw wrote:
>
> > Well I am talking about a fairly cheap TV and a very expensive laptop
that
> > was designed as a media center, so that may even things.
> > I'm not sure about the low frequencies. It doesn't shake the floor like
the
> > desktop's speaker system does
>
> Acid test: Play, oh, *any* track that Enya has ever recorded [that
> features vocals], and tell me if it sounds like a women singing or like
> some sand rattling inside a coffee grinder. ;-)

"Cold is the cry that rings from this distant shore"

I have Enya's Exile playing at the moment and, with the laptop's volume at
max I can clearly hear the words 2 rooms away.
Note that this is a 17" laptop and the speaker runs across the entire width
of the laptop, above the keyboard. It's not 2 tiny little speakers set at
the bottom.

It's not going to rival the desktop's speaker system, or the new TV for
volume, both which can be heard 2 floors down at medium volume.

"My guide the morning star..."

Post a reply to this message

On Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:48:38 +0100, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:

> The sound seems to drop off very rapidly with 
>distance - an effect my 8-inch Warfdales don't seem to have.
>

You have to take into account the power output of the amplifier (PC or
stereo) and the sensitivity of the speakers. Google it. 

>I notice that these speaker units are *very* heavy for such tiny 
>objects. Is this significant?

Yes the density of the speaker enclosures enhances the baffling in
modern designs.
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

Post a reply to this message

Gail Shaw wrote:

> "Cold is the cry that rings from this distant shore"
> 
> I have Enya's Exile playing at the moment and, with the laptop's volume at
> max I can clearly hear the words 2 rooms away.
> Note that this is a 17" laptop and the speaker runs across the entire width
> of the laptop, above the keyboard. It's not 2 tiny little speakers set at
> the bottom.
> 
> It's not going to rival the desktop's speaker system, or the new TV for
> volume, both which can be heard 2 floors down at medium volume.
> 
> "My guide the morning star..."

Mmm, nice...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

>> The sound seems to drop off very rapidly with 
>> distance - an effect my 8-inch Warfdales don't seem to have.
> 
> You have to take into account the power output of the amplifier (PC or
> stereo) and the sensitivity of the speakers. Google it. 

I think you'll find that "sensitivity" is a measure of how much sonic 
power a speaker generates for a given amount of electrical power. It has 
nothing to do with distance dissapation...

>> I notice that these speaker units are *very* heavy for such tiny 
>> objects. Is this significant?
> 
> Yes the density of the speaker enclosures enhances the baffling in
> modern designs.

I was thinking more that being heavy allows the speakers to generate low 
frequencies more easily. (Otherwise the driver might end up just 
wiggling the cone one way and the casing the other way, and not 
producing much sound.)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

> I was thinking more that being heavy allows the speakers to generate low 
> frequencies more easily. (Otherwise the driver might end up just wiggling 
> the cone one way and the casing the other way, and not producing much 
> sound.)

Yes, the cabinet should be as stiff as possible (unless you have designed 
some uber leet flexible cabinet that does very clever stuff).  But the 
weight you are feeling is probably just the magnet and coil inside the 
speaker driver.  Do the speakers also contain a PSU and amp?  That would 
also add significantly to the weight of PC speakers.

Post a reply to this message

>> I was thinking more that being heavy allows the speakers to generate 
>> low frequencies more easily. (Otherwise the driver might end up just 
>> wiggling the cone one way and the casing the other way, and not 
>> producing much sound.)
> 
> Yes, the cabinet should be as stiff as possible (unless you have 
> designed some uber leet flexible cabinet that does very clever stuff).  
> But the weight you are feeling is probably just the magnet and coil 
> inside the speaker driver.  Do the speakers also contain a PSU and amp?  
> That would also add significantly to the weight of PC speakers.

No. The speakers are USB-powered, so no transformer.

(In fact, the device you plug into the USB port is actually an external 
sound card with built-in amplifier, and the [detechable] speakers 
themselves are passive.)

The speaker housings appear to be metal, which is unusual. (Mind you, 
they claim to be magnetically shielded...)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

On Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:43:22 +0100, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:

>>> The sound seems to drop off very rapidly with 
>>> distance - an effect my 8-inch Warfdales don't seem to have.
>> 
>> You have to take into account the power output of the amplifier (PC or
>> stereo) and the sensitivity of the speakers. Google it. 
>
>I think you'll find that "sensitivity" is a measure of how much sonic 
>power a speaker generates for a given amount of electrical power. It has 
>nothing to do with distance dissapation...
>

Like most things yes and no :) True "sensitivity" is a measure of how
much sonic power a speaker generates for a given amount of electrical
power but loudness is directly related to acoustic power. Therefore
the higher the sensitivity the more and thus louder the volume from
the speaker. Also below about 10 KHz the lower the frequency the less
loud it will sound to our ears. It then reverses for about 500Hz drops
off to about 12 KHz then increases again. So for the same power bass
notes will not seem to travel as far as higher ones. So why do
foghorns use low frequency? I hear you ask. Well that is because low
frequency are audible to human ears farther than higher pitched sounds
they just require more power to produce them. Confused yet? It gets
worse when you consider feedback from the inside part of the speaker.
We would ideally like an infinite baffle but that is very unlikely in
real life never mind a laptop.

>>> I notice that these speaker units are *very* heavy for such tiny 
>>> objects. Is this significant?
>> 
>> Yes the density of the speaker enclosures enhances the baffling in
>> modern designs.
>
>I was thinking more that being heavy allows the speakers to generate low 
>frequencies more easily. (Otherwise the driver might end up just 
>wiggling the cone one way and the casing the other way, and not 
>producing much sound.)

In a good speaker design the cone is quite well isolated from the
case. It is the internal pressure that is the problem. And Yes the
heaver the box the better it sounds.
The same goes for speaker stands.
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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Phil Cook escribió:
> That would be the iPhone's job http://tinyurl.com/2r7phs

What the...

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Invisible escribió:
> The speaker housings appear to be metal, which is unusual. (Mind you, 
> they claim to be magnetically shielded...)

So if you put a floppy disk in front of the speaker, it won't get 
affected? Cool :)

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And lo on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:57:14 +0100, Nicolas Alvarez  
<nic### [at] gmailisthebestcom> did spake, saying:

> Phil Cook escribió:
>> That would be the iPhone's job http://tinyurl.com/2r7phs
>
> What the...

Hey that's Andrew's line :-P

Compared to some of the tabloids the Daily Mash is the only one to make  
any sense

http://tinyurl.com/2t2bpa is topical for here :-P
and
http://tinyurl.com/34pcor just sums up our financial regulators.

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

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Nicolas Alvarez wrote:
> Invisible escribió:
>> The speaker housings appear to be metal, which is unusual. (Mind you,
>> they claim to be magnetically shielded...)
> 
> So if you put a floppy disk in front of the speaker, it won't get
> affected? Cool :)
What's a floppy disc? :-)

John

-- 
I will be brief but not nearly so brief as Salvador Dali, who gave the
world's shortest speech. He said, "I will be so brief I am already
finished," then he sat down.

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Invisible wrote:
> 
> (In fact, the device you plug into the USB port is actually an external 
> sound card with built-in amplifier, and the [detechable] speakers 
> themselves are passive.)
> 

I'm just curious: do they tell any power figures? x watts?

-- 
Eero "Aero" Ahonen
    http://www.zbxt.net
       aer### [at] removethiszbxtnetinvalid

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On Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:17:58 +0300, Eero Ahonen
<aer### [at] removethiszbxtnetinvalid> wrote:

>Invisible wrote:
>> 
>> (In fact, the device you plug into the USB port is actually an external 
>> sound card with built-in amplifier, and the [detechable] speakers 
>> themselves are passive.)
>> 
>
>I'm just curious: do they tell any power figures? x watts?

You forgot to mention RMS or peak to peak watts.
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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Phil Cook wrote:

> Compared to some of the tabloids the Daily Mash is the only one to make 
> any sense
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/2t2bpa is topical for here :-P

...what the...? o_O

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Eero Ahonen wrote:
> Invisible wrote:
>>
>> (In fact, the device you plug into the USB port is actually an 
>> external sound card with built-in amplifier, and the [detechable] 
>> speakers themselves are passive.)
>>
> 
> I'm just curious: do they tell any power figures? x watts?

1.0 W (RMS) per speaker.

According to the spec sheet.

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