Introduction

Speakers are often an afterthought in the grand scheme of things during a laptop purchase, with most of the focus being on the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, and display quality. Most laptop makers offer devices with mediocre tinny speakers knowing that users would anyhow use wired or wireless headphones. Discerning users even go to the extent of using a dedicated USB DAC/Amplifier to get much cleaner sound than what the onboard audio can provide.

Several reasons contribute to the use of mediocre speakers in a laptop, the primary reason being cost-cutting. OEMs tend to save the costs of developing good speakers to put towards other components that tend to impact purchase decisions. The space constraint within a laptop is also another factor. In the never-ending quest for thinness, it becomes all the more difficult to have thumping subwoofers and good mid-range drivers in an average current laptop chassis.

Notebookcheck readers will know that we test out the sound signature as well in our reviews to get an idea about the frequency ranges covered by the laptop's onboard speakers. In this article, we will take a look into how laptop speakers are designed and how they work. We will also look into what goes into delivering good headphone audio and some of the software enhancements that work in tandem with the hardware. We illustrate these by taking examples of sound design in MSI gaming laptops.

Check out our previous Laptops 101 topics below: