A few Q's before I possibly buy a Studio 17

I should be moving house soon and thought about getting a laptop so I could lose the computer desk and have one less piece of furniture in my new home.

Having done plenty of research here at NBR I've decided a Studio 17 would probably be the best bet for me, but I do have a few questions before I make my purchase.


1 - Are the speakers and sound quality really that bad? Would listening to MP3's whilst web browsing etc... be completely out of the question? The moment I'd have to plug in external speakers or be tethered to the system via headphones, I'd feel like I've defeated the purpose of buying a laptop.


2 - If the sound quality is truly awful, is it worth considering a Inspiron 1720 of similar spec to a Studio 17? I've seen many of these at Dell Outlet, or do the speakers of that offer similar performance?


3 - What exactly is the deal with the UK Dell Outlet? Or more to the point, do they have any deals? It seems that where we in the UK are not catered for with coupons and discounts anywhere near as much as US customers, the prices in the outlet are not really any cheaper than buying new, and this is with them currently offering free delivery, which is usually £60. Were it not for that, they would sometimes work out more expensive than buying new. Am I missing something?


Thanks for reading, and any replies you may be able to offer.

 

I don't think they have Studios in the UK Outlet? I couldn't find any.

 

yes the speakers are really that bad!

 

Sound quality is fine - but the built-in speakers are bad. I almost always use headphones or an external soundcard (Alesis IO2). So this isn't an issue at the moment for me. If you plan on listening to music with external speakers/headphones then it shouldn't be an issue for you.

the speakers on the 1720 are supposed to be better. But do you really want speakers to be the primary reason for buying a laptop?

 

If you want to listen to music in GOOD quality there is NO reason to be using laptop speakers. IMO there can't be a set of good laptop speakers compared to any actual speakers. I got the Z-5500s recently and I've had a bunch of other logitech speakers too. If you want quality you have to get external speakers or headphones. If you normally use laptop speakers anyway I doubt the Studio 17 can be that bad since most people compare it to their external speakers/headphones.

And the purpose of a laptop is to be able to have a mobile computer. It's not a boom box too!

 

They're listed with the Inspirons. Select INSPIRON STUDIO 1735 or Insp 1535 in the Model dropdown.

 

I ordered a Studio 17 a couple of weeks ago (should be delivered later this week) and before I ordered it I played around with a studio 17 floor model at a local store. I never tested the sound, but after reading your post I became curious myself as to the quality of the speakers.

Today I went and tested them out. I have no idea what people are complaining about. The quality is perfectly acceptable if you just want to listen to some background music while doing work or for playing games. The speakers were not crackling or overly tinny at all. Maybe I am used to mediocre speakers but I have worked with plenty of various laptop models during my career and they were your average speakers that are included with a laptop. No better or no worse than your average speakers.

I am still glad I purchased the Studio 17 and will be keeping it when it arrives.

 

Thanks for the replies. You've confirmed what I originally thought might be the case, and that is that I just shouldn't expect too much from the speakers on a laptop to begin with. They'll be adequate and not much more. I'm not looking for excessive volume, just something that isn't unlistenable.

Having not owned or really used a laptop for any great period of time before, I had to check.

Anyone able to shed any light on my Dell Outlet queries?

 

In India, they give BH-200 Bluetooth headsets free with the Studio 15. So I am not facing any sound related issues with the Laptop. I dont know whether that offer is applicable in the UK. In the US site, they charge $79 Extra for it.

Can someone tell me about the external sound cards for Studio 15? Does it go in the Express Card Slot and also, does it affect the sound which comes from the speakers?

 

Perhaps I was spoiled with my $600 toshiba laptop speaker quality/sound

 

Perhaps I was spoiled with my $600 toshiba laptop speaker quality/sound

maybe I got faulty speakers....we'll see

 

No The Bay Mafia, I think you just whine a lot all over these forums and have an axe to grind with Dell.

I have worked on so many computers and laptops for my job (managing an inventory for an entire military base). Alienware and Sager are about the only major brands I am not experienced with. Almost all of the laptops I have ever come across have the same laptop quality sound you would expect.

There are instanced where if you do not install your drivers correctly for an item that shares the IRQ, the sound can be completely trashed. Maybe you messed around with your laptop and installed items in the wrong order? Hopefully it was just bad QC, that happens with every manufacturer. If I were you I would just leave everything with your new laptop that Dell is sending you at default to save yourself a lot of most likely misguided grief.

 

wow...I bet you feel better now that you got that off your chest... and FYI when I first turned the ******* piece of **** on the fingerprint reader wasn't even recognized... tell me how I screwed that up... same with the speakers... they were screwed before I even messed with drivers.

 

I have no "axe to grind" with anyone. Dell's been very good to me (though, unfortunately, I can't say the same for the quality of their laptops this year).

Anyway, my very short-lived Studio 17's speaker sound quality was sadly in a league of its own. Think "Plan 9 From Outer Space" bad, then subtract a few points.

Seriously, again, I appreciate Dell and their efforts to make their unhappy Customers happy. I can say nothing bad about that - but, I can safely, without any possibility of feeling guilty, say that the Studio 17's speakers were the worst I've ever, well, heard.

 

It should be interesting to try out my speakers if I hopefully get my laptop by this week. I will of course post back in here with my honest opinion.

It does worry me that Dell has outsourced their manufacturing plants, but like you said, they are very easy to deal with once you get through the pain of talking to a human customer service rep.

The Studio 17 that I looked at did not have any build quality issues that I could find and I hope that to be the case with mine as well.

 

Since everybody is chiming in on how bad these speakers are, I feel like I must do the same. They suck. Period. I went from a e1705 to this (studio 17), and holy moly, these speakers are exponentially inferior. Unless you are in an environment with virtually zero ambient noise, these speakers are literally inaudible. They have zero mid range and absolutely no bass. I think the comparison to a cell phone speakerphone is right on. I think the person who claimed that the computer is "ok for listening to music in the background" or whatever is being generous in what these speakers can do. I dont really care about this speaker issue because a decent set of headphones or a big stereo setup is always within reach. Beyond that, the quality of this machine is right on par; awesome screen, passable GPU, good size, decent keyboard, weight, and simple design.

 

i have to agree, the speakers blow.

but the rest of the computer is great.

 

the speakers on the studio 17 are total crap!! And for those who say 'sound should not be your primary feature when choosing a laptop'. I totally disagree!

I am (sorry, WAS) using my laptop in particular for watching downloaded tv-shows and for websurfing with some background music. With my Inspiron 9300 that went really well.
The mini-subwoofer *did* work well and the sound was clear and loud enough to watch a tv-show. When we wanted to go to bed we picked it up and went to bed,
putting the laptop on a shelf at the end of our bed, it worked great.
Now with the Studio 17 the sound is so horrible that you don't want listen at any music at all! And watching a tv-show is really unbearable. The sound is so bad that attaching some earplugs and throwing them on the table before you probably produces better sound.
The sound is *very* harsh and sounds like it's played inside a tin box. So I had to buy external
speakers that I now have to bring from the kitchen to the livingroom to the bedroom and vice versa. Hell, I bought an extra AC-adapter just to not have to carry that **** thing
around with me! So yes, if the soundquality is important for you (as far as it needing to be of a minimum quality) then stay away from the Studio's!

 

To be fair, there are not a lot of portables out there that have really GOOD speakers. I would start talking about acoustics, design, space and what not but it is pretty pointless. There are some laptops, like the Lenovo ideapad, that add a small subwoofer to round out the sound, but I doubt even that would really satisfy me (I have a touch of audiophile in me). Though I have heard that it makes a real improvement.

I would either invest in a good pair of headphones, or a good set of speakers, not necessarily computer speakers (though a nice set of 2.1's would probably seem great), just a cord connecting to my receiver, amp, whatever. Maybe someday great sound will be standard. Today is not that time unfortunately.

 

agreed, the speakers do not disturb me, whereas i have a set of speakers to plug in from my older laptop.

 

I had a go of a Studio 15 in a store today and yes it did sound quite tinney. But I don't think that would be enough to put me off a laptop. I use my iPod with my decent speaker system and its just generally more convenient anyway.

I wouldn't let them put you off the laptop, if you wanted amazing sound quality you wouldn't be using integrated laptop speakers...Yes you can get better speakers on laptops but tey wont be amazing either.

 

I agree that for sheer audio quality the built-in speakers on the Inspirons are not good enough. Totally logical. But there sure is a minimum requierement to listen to spoken words (tv-show) without pain to your ears. That's what I mean. Having to add external speakers nullifies the ease of use and portability of a laptop.

 

on portability, the studio 17 is a desktop replacement. i did not buy this to haul around everywhere. on vacations, yes, on business yes, but i dont do either much. unfortunately on the vacation front.

ease of use depends on what you want to use it for. it can play news, video, music, and television. but if i want loud sound, i use phones or speakers.

 

So why didn't you just buy a desktop?
I want to be able to pick up my laptop and move to the bedroom or maybe even the toilet to continue watching my movie without having to take al kinds of stuff with me.

btw, I tested the inspiron 9300 with the same movie besides the Studio and the inspiron sounded better than the studio with creative's laptop speakers attached! They did an amazing job with the 9300, it's a real shame that they *can* but just didn't bother...

 

because i want the ability to take it to work or on business when i have to.

i actually DO take it to the bathroom, my wife laughs every time.

all kinds of stuff not required for my uses. it works perfect for what i need/want/do.

 

hehe, and ik keeps your legs warm in the bathroom too