[Virgil Tracy]

I'm looking to buy a new one , but I want it to have the capacity for decent sound , not massive 100w per speaker but I suppose the equivalent of 15w .


I know the speakers in the laptop aren't very good , but I'm really talking about connecting speakers , but trying to know whether the laptop will act a a good enough amplifier .

hope I'm explaining that well .

is there a way of knowing what quality sound a laptop can pump out .

[LightningIguana]

None of them, really. I have a beats HP and that's... well it's louder than my last one but even my teeny ipod dock has more warmth and depth.

[mred2000]

Get a creative external sound card for laptops like this:http://uk.store.creative.com/sound-b...o/1-20055.aspx

Got one to use on my old laptop when I did some DJing back in 2004/2005, it made a world of difference. Still got the same unit now, miles better than anything inbuilt on any of my laptops.

[Virgil Tracy]

just to clarify - I'm not talking about the quality of the inbuilt speakers (they're always poor) but rather the capacity of the laptop to output good sound to speakers .

[home_alone]

You are going to have to rely on the external speakers if you want decent sound.

One possibility is a laptop with 3.5mm jacks for line in / audio out / microphone in, where the jacks have the capability to also connect to a 5:1 speaker set using line in for the back speakers, microphone for centre/subwoofer & the audio out for the front speakers.

The audio out jack may also be capable of operating as an optical/spdif port with a suitable 3.5mm to optical adapter, to give dolby 5:1 via an external decoder.

I can't recommend a current laptop with these capabilities, all I can say is that my 3 year old Medion Akoya P6620 can do it all, so I'm sure more modern laptops will be just as capable.

Worst case is you get a decent 2:1 amplified speaker set to plug into the audio out jack.

[evil c]

I have an Acer 8942g which produces excellent sound via the Realtek HD sound card when connected to my hi-fi. A quick look at the laptop reviews on the Which? site reveals that there are quite a few laptops with good quality sound and I guess that would mean that this would also be OK when connected to a hi-fi.

[Chairman___Meow]

I've got last years Macbook Pro and the output sound is excellent compared to my previous Compaq. I use it to record with Logic Pro through a pair of Harmon Kardon Soundsticks and am always impressed by the sound quality.

You can't turn them up as loud as I'd like without them distorting but thats probably a good thing as it saves my hearing!

[Frank1]

Originally Posted by Virgil Tracy

I'm looking to buy a new one , but I want it to have the capacity for decent sound , not massive 100w per speaker but I suppose the equivalent of 15w .


I know the speakers in the laptop aren't very good , but I'm really talking about connecting speakers , but trying to know whether the laptop will act a a good enough amplifier .

hope I'm explaining that well .

is there a way of knowing what quality sound a laptop can pump out .

No laptop will drive loudspeakers directly.
You need an amplifier.
Frank

[chrisjr]

Some very early PC soundcards did have speaker amplifiers onboard. Some even had separate speaker and line out jacks. But I haven't seen one in years.

Most computer speakers these days are self powered. So the quality of the amplifier in the speakers and the speakers them selves is likely to have more influence on the sound. Though obviously if the laptop line out is really poor then no external amp/speaker set-up will make it sound any better.

Since most laptop line outs are also used as headphone outs you can get an idea of the sound capability by plugging in a decent set of headphones and listening to those.

[evil c]

Have you considered buying a USB external sound card which you can then connect to stereo /surround speakers or headphones. They come in a variety of prices from £2 to £30, for example: http://www.amazon.co.uk/PC-Trading-V...im_computers_1
and: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Lab...cp_computers_0
You could also buy the SRS WOW plugin which would make a big difference to the sound quality: http://mediaplayer.srswowcast.com/ or iWOW-U adapter: http://www.srslabs.com/store/store/c...p?idProduct=52

[annette kurten]

......

[scruffpot]

the choices are
basic passive speakers - not powerful
active speakers
a usb sound card to speakers
a usb mixing desk/ or analogue mixing desk with pre amp or you'll need an amp
a 3.5plug to phono into back of a hifi/amp
a preamp to speakers

depends on budget, more you spend the louder you go
anything else i may have forgotten?

cheap way is the cable to the hifi option if you have a spare one with an aux