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    Audio Problems Studio 1640

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by sheikhstone, Nov 20, 2009.

  1. sheikhstone

    sheikhstone Notebook Geek

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    hey guys im really in a sort of desperate mood, after having tried out every possible driver and sound config i still got the same issue. whenever i play videos with any sort of player oder listen to music or just have a plain average skype voice convo my loudspeakers create strange "rattling" noises. its like as if the loudspeakers wud at a certain frequency always bump against the interior of the laptop casing. having my loudspeakers + subwoofer replaced didnt change anything. nor did the mobo replacement have any effect on anything.

    i seriously dont know what to do, dell told me its "normal" !!??
    I mean WHAT THE F ? even my 3 year old acer can play sounds without rattling noises on maximum volume.

    sounds where these rattling noises happen to be most appalling are skype tones:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucuIc255QNk

    please guys play these video and report back to me about whether this video makes any trouble or not.
    i can experience distorted rattling sound at around 50 % volume when i play this video.

    thanks
     
    sheikhstone, Nov 20, 2009
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  2. funky monk

    funky monk Notebook Deity

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    It's probably just distortion
     
    funky monk, Nov 20, 2009
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  3. sheikhstone

    sheikhstone Notebook Geek

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    what you mean? of course it is ...?

    so you experience problems too? or can u listen to that video at maxed out volume without any crackling noises?
     
    sheikhstone, Nov 20, 2009
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  4. funky monk

    funky monk Notebook Deity

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    Yes mine distorts a little bit at higher volumes too, the SXPS16 is quite a loud laptop and it only has small speakers so a little bit of distortion is to be expected at high volumes. Turn it down to about 70 instead of 100 and then it gets a lot better without sacreficing much volume (volume has to technically drop eight fold for our ears to percieve it as being half as loud, this means that you aren't driving the speakers nearly as hard, our ears are just odd)
     
    funky monk, Nov 20, 2009
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  5. sheikhstone

    sheikhstone Notebook Geek

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    hmmm but mine distorts from around 50 % volume so i dont think this is ok is it?

    as i said before my three year old acer can deal with this better then my sxps??!!
     
    sheikhstone, Nov 20, 2009
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  6. sheikhstone

    sheikhstone Notebook Geek

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    cud anybody solve this issue already?
     
    sheikhstone, Nov 21, 2009
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  7. entrance002

    entrance002 Notebook Consultant

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    I think this is just the way the speakers are for the SXPS1640. Mine "clips" or "rattles" for certain audio in music/videos (sometimes at mid-volume, almost always at high volume), whereas my old HP dv5000 didn't have that problem (they used AltecLansing speakers). This unfortunately is a fact of life for this laptop, and is one drawback to this 1640. I use external speakers to get around it. Unfortunately, it probably -is- normal on the 1640. Sorry.
     
    entrance002, Nov 21, 2009
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  8. JL6speed

    JL6speed Notebook Geek

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    Mine had issues with the HDAudio driver/software.

    Basically the problem I had was I was just doing nothing on the computer, no music nothing. If I get windows to play a sound, i will here a static/popping sound. My friend had the same issue and I fixed it by uninstalling the HDAudio drivers that dell came with and rebooted the laptop. I let windows automatically find the HD Audio drivers to work it and no more problems.

    The only issue I have with this is that the SXPS16's sound jacks are a bit more advanced (the 3 plug outlets) and it would require the Dell Drivers to get the more advanced features to work properly. Otherwise, doing my method, you would basically just only have the 2 outer jacks operating.
     
    JL6speed, Nov 21, 2009
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  9. alex09

    alex09 Notebook Guru

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    A lot of people experience that issue. I myself created a topic with regard to that issue, too. Seems like there's no real solution to it.
     
    alex09, Nov 22, 2009
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  10. sheikhstone

    sheikhstone Notebook Geek

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    thanks guys for the posts, extensive googling brought me to a page where one guy kinda fixed this issue. he removed a thin layer of plastic from the inside of the keyboard cover and the thingy where the subwoofer is. this gives the speakers more space and thus, no vibrations or rattles or crackling noises any more.

    the only bad thing, i cant find that page anymore ;P
     
    sheikhstone, Nov 22, 2009
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  11. metroline

    metroline Notebook Consultant

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    i fixed mine by tightening the inside screws, and also by replacing the dell subwoofer tape with better tape, and more of it. the vibrations went away and never returned. also, i just replaced the palmrest which came with new speakers. they are much clearer than my old ones. they also have a different tape than the originals, a cloth black tape vs the clear plastic on the one i removed. i bought mine the first week it was available, the new palmrest has a few differences like that.
     
    metroline, Nov 22, 2009
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  12. sheikhstone

    sheikhstone Notebook Geek

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    ohh that sounds interesting, what sort of tape did u use? i had my palmrest replaced as well but it didnt really change anything...
    cud u maybe also post some pics of ur procedures? i wud kiss ur feet if that really works ;D
     
    sheikhstone, Nov 22, 2009
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  13. sheikhstone

    sheikhstone Notebook Geek

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    do u think u cud share more of ur success with us?
     
    sheikhstone, Nov 29, 2009
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  14. th3van

    th3van Notebook Consultant

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    Seconded. Seconded.
     
    th3van, Dec 9, 2009
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  15. chewyeong90

    chewyeong90 Notebook Evangelist

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    chewyeong90, Dec 9, 2009
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