Laptop speakers and wattage

I am looking for a pair of cheap laptop speakers. I see Logitech makes some units that seem to have good ratings. The Z130 is 5 watts, the cheaper and smaller S120 has only 2.6 watts.

(1) I'm wondering if all watts are created equal. Do these numbers mean that the Z130 will be twice as loud?

(2) I haven't been able to hear a demo set in a store. But if I listen to other speakers that are speced at 2.6 or 5 watts, would this mean that the Logitech units would make the same amount of noise?

I realize that the sound would have to be coming from my laptop; I'm assuming for purposes of comparison, that I would be plugging in other speakers to my own laptop, so I could be comparing apples to apples.

 

What are you going to be listening to? Are these speakers in a sealed box at the store? If not, ask them if you could compare them.

 

Like Bill says, it all depends what you are going to use them for.

For ordinary everyday use, the Z130s will be perfectly adequate. Both these speaker systems will be more than loud enough. If, however, you are going to be doing any serious audio work, you will need better quality.

 

No, they are not all created equal - well, electronically, that's not really true as 1W = 1W. When it comes to speakers and audio qualities - that is, "fidelity" and "sound pressure level" (volume or loudness) - the wattage specification really has absolutely nothing to do with it. But rather, the wattage rating is really about how much amplifier power (in watts - or basically, heat) the speaker coil can sustain.

If you want to compare quality, you need to look at the "curve" of the frequency range and distortion. Ideally, you want a really flat "curve" from 20 Hz to 20KHz and you want your distortion levels to be as low as possible - when the speakers are fully driven.

Understand a good computer speaker system can cost several hundred dollars. Note these Logitech Z906 500W 5.1 Speakers cost $350 and are the most expensive set of surround sound computer speakers Newegg sells. For that $350, you get 6 speakers (4 surround, 1 center and 1 subwoofer) and you get all the preamplifiers and amplifiers to power the speakers.

In a 1/2 way decent home theater system where sound quality is really taken seriously, $350 might get you one speaker, not 6. And that does not include any electronics to power it.

Bottom line, if you are looking for audiophile quality in computer speaker system, you will not find it.

Have you tried a decent set of headphones? You can certainly get much better sound quality from a decent set of headphones.

 

I want the speakers to be able to take teh audio track from a DVD playing from my laptop (signal taken onto a projector), and make it loud enough for a classroom full of students to listen to.

This wouldn't be music, but spoken voice. I'm really not concerned about quality/fidelity, as much as volume.

 

The Z130s should be fine for an average size classroom. However, I'd be inclined to spend a little more and get LS 21s since you get a sub-woofer with them and that'd give you a bit more projection in the sound.

 

I do and don't agree with the comments about using a sub-woofer. While a system with the 3rd speaker, the sub, will most likely sound better, lugging speakers around with a notebook is already a pain. Adding a sub-woofer adds to that pain. Since music is not an issue, I agree with the choice a 2 speaker setup. The only thing I would make sure about is that the speakers are self powered. That is, they come with their own power supply instead of sapping power from the USB port. Not only will self-powered speakers have larger amplifiers and therefore produce greater sound pressure levels (are louder), they will not drain the notebook's battery or strain the notebook's power circuits. Yes, the separate power supply for the speakers means yet another power supply to lug around.

 

After looking at a few models, I "m worried that they would be too big to carry in my laptop bag.... I think I'm gonna give the Logitech S120s a shot. They are only 2.3 watts, but I can carry them in my bag and return them to a local Walmart if I need to.

 

I thought from your earlier post that you were going to set this up in a classroom environment and not particularly lugging the whole lot around. That's why I suggested the 3 speaker setup. I agree with Bill that a 2 speaker setup will be better if you are going to be lugging the whole setup around a lot. I also agree that they should be self powered for the same reasons as Bill.

I don't think the S120s are powerful enough though. They're fine for an ordinary desktop environment but I don't think they've got enough power behind them for a classroom.

 

Yes, they are going to be used in a classroom, but unfortunately, they have to move from class to class with myself.

Although I was hoping to avoid this scenario, I'm thinking the only way out of this is simply to buy a set, then use them in the room I'm thinking about and see... then return them if I have to. Small really is beautiful here, so I'll see if the S120s are loud enough.

Unfortunately so much depends on variables like the hardware on my own laptop, etc., that I have no info on. I'll just have to try it out and see.

 

The important thing is that they are self-powered. Then as long as your laptop puts out a signal, the speaker amplifier will take care of the rest.

 

Whole classrooms can gather around a TV and hear it just fine using the TV's measly internal speakers. Just about any set of computer speakers will work just fine. Will they be good for pure entertainment? No. But that does not appear to be the requirement here. You do want some decent speakers though. Get too cheap and they will sound too tinny. And that will turn into a distraction - never good in a learning environment. For that reason, I might recommend the slightly bigger Z320 speakers. Yeah, they weight twice as much, but that is 2lbs to 4lbs! They are roughly the same size, but seem better suited for larger rooms with twice the power.

I realize, like many classroom tools, these assets are paid for by the underpaid teachers themselves, so budgeting is always a concern.

There are other alternatives. If your notebook supports BlueTooth, there are BlueTooth speakers that will easily fill the room, including several in one box that have a remote control. I can see how a remote control in a classroom environment would be real handy - though a remote pause button might be better.

It is most likely your notebook has a headphone jack using a standard 3.5mm mini-stereo jack. There are many portable radios (boomboxes) that support Audio-In via mini-stereo jacks.

 

Its a college class, and I'd rather not have a group like that, up to 40-50 feet back from the screen, have to gather around a TV to hear its internal speakers. What I'm doing is using a projector with my own laptop; the image is obviously large enough to be seen from that distance. I just need the sound to carry.

I'm pretty sure the biggest I'd have to get would be the Z130, although I'll find out soon enough. I'll buy the S120s today and see what they can do. I'll report back next Tuesday.

 

Right. I was not suggesting that as a solution. I was just saying you do not need a large public address sound system for a room full of students to hear. Even the small speakers that come in TVs can fill a room with understandable sound. However, using some sort of external speakers would certainly be much better. If nothing else, you can put the speakers up high so the sound extends out.