Why do laptop manufacturers like Gateway and Acer put such crappy speakers on their laptops?

Question

I like the features of this Gateway laptop, but the speakers just sound so weak. They are nothing like the Altec Lansing speakers that Compaq and HP laptops come with. Why do they skimp on something that should not be such a huge expense for the manufacturer?

Answer 1

They sell millions of laptops

millions x how much they save on speakers (not to mention cheap *** ram) = a whole lotta beans

If enough people people demand better quallity parts and are willing to pay for it I'm sure gateway would be happy to put more into it. Most people just don't care about notebook spearkers though....just line out that right to a shelf system or something

Answer 2

It is because everything is in a confined space. This has implications because speakers are driven by magnets. If you use more powerful speakers, which would arguably produce a better sound - bigger magnets would be required. Unfortunately as hard disks use magnetic principles to store data, having more powerful speakers would put your data at risk.

However as you suggest that Compaq/HP laptops have better speakers. I can only suggest that the issue is down to design, where HP have possibly managed to put in better speakers and shield the hard disk. From personal experience though laptop speakers are not up to playing music or listening to sound from video.

There are a lot of design considerations for speakers. Laptop speakers would have to cover the full audible sound spectrum. This potentially makes them poor for producing any sound. If you are a serious music listener, I would suggest getting some external speakers. If you are really keen find a set that separates the deep sounds i.e a subwoofer. These can be identified by being promoted as 2.1 speakers. Alternatively try good headphones.

Answer 3

I have to agree you you, it'a not such a big deal and certainly it would boost the prodution cost so much. However the lptops you referred overall use the cheapest components around. And it doesn't have to be Altec Lansing or JBL to provide a very good sound. I recently built a Compal barebone based laptop. Compal is also a provider for all those brand you referred but astonishingly my unbranded (or COMPAL-branded) speakers performs as good as or even better than the AL or JBL ones I've checked in many high-end laptops.

Answer 4

Cost cuts. Your laptop's primary purpose is not to diffuse sounds all over the place like a desktop or external sound systems. That's also the general logic reason.
Difference between buying a Mercedez or a Toyota ? They both take you from point A to point B why buy a more expensive car then ? It's all about options. It is probably not a huge expense indivudially but in mass production it does stack up the bills to contract with a separate company like Altec for their parts.

Answer 5

its pretty common - my packard Bell speakers are naff unlike the previous Dell Inspiron that were terrific. Ok the newer laptops are mush thinner but I think part of the arguement is a bit like buying a digital camera with a ridiculously small memory card - they leave it up to the buyer to get one that suits their purpose. Same with laptops when you can buy very cheap standalone speakers that produce far superior sounds.

Answer 6

Well if it costs $5 to put altec lancings in a laptop and it costs $3 to use cheap speakers, over 100000 units that's $200,000 saved.

Answer 7

i have a hp zd 8000 and the speakers are not that good

Answer 8

cos acer and gateway are cheap laotops....they wouldnt put a ferarri engine in a morris minor lol

Answer 9

good point. i've got a sony and my speakers are crap