Dell Unveils XPS 27 All-In-One With 10 Speaker Dual 50W Sound System (hothardware.com)

MojoKid writes: Over the past couple of years, Dell has been driving a redesign effort of its consumer and commercial product lines and has systematically been updating both design signatures and the technology platforms within them. Dell's premium consumer XPS product line, perhaps more so than any other, has seen the most significant design reinvention with the likes of its XPS 13 and XPS 15 notebook line. At CES 2017, Dell announced the XPS 27 7760 all-in-one PC that has a radically new look that draws at least one design cue from its XPS notebook siblings, specifically with respect to the display bezel, or the lack thereof. Though Dell isn't officially branding the touch-enabled version of XPS 27 with an "InfinityEdge" display, the side and top bezel is cut to a minimum, accentuating a beautiful 4K IPS panel. However, the machine's display might not be the most standout feature of the 2017 Dell XPS 27. Under that display, Dell actually expanded things mechanically to make room not only for a Windows Hello capable camera but a 10 speaker sound system that was designed in conjunction with Grammy Award-winning music producer and audio engineer, JJ Puig, that takes the system's audio reproduction and output capabilities to a whole new level. Its sound system is very accurate with dual 50 watt amplifiers at less than 1% THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) and a 70Hz to 20KHz frequency response. Though the system is currently built on Intel's Skylake platform, Kaby Lake versions are imminent and with discrete AMD Radeon R9 M470X graphics, it has decent gaming and multimedia chops as well.

Comments

Plagiarism much?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey submitter, the post isn't supposed to be a direct copy of tfa. Got nothing of your own to say?

Re:Plagiarism much?

[Anonymous Coward]

As with many submissions on Slashdot, the submitters are often the actual publication that created the content. It has long been one of the ways in which Slashdot curates its news and since there is link citation, it's obviously not plagiarism.

Re:Plagiarism much?

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you for this post. This kind of thing bothers me very much. Students have been expelled from my college for doing something similar. It's not like using quotation marks or indenting the lifted text to distinguish it from Slashdot's blurb would have been difficult.

fifty dollar headphones will smack its peepee

[drinkypoo]

subject contains comment

Re:fifty dollar headphones will smack its peepee

[TheFakeTimCook]

You mean, $15 Earbuds will smack its peepee.

Huh

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess kind of understand All-in-one systems for home use or for the receptionist. But why an expensive system with speakers? Is it really that hard to just buy a pair of computer speakers, which will probably work fine (might need a dongle) for the next 25 years?

Considering this is just an ad, maybe somebody from Dell would care to explain?

Re:Huh

[MojoKid]

It's not an ad, it's a straight-up review of a product. And why would you buy discrete speakers to attach to an all-in-one PC that's supposed to typify product convenience and simplicity (the product type, like iMac etc). People don't use all-in-ones in the home or office because they want to treat them like a PC to connect things to, they're supposed to be "all-in-one" - hence the product category. Dell just made the all-in-one more complete, in my opinion, with this system.

Re:Huh

[Anonymous Coward]

It isn't hard to buy a pair of speakers that will sound a lot crappier than this thing. And people do dumb things like getting $20 or less speakers, or pair $2000 worth of gaming hardware and peripherals with a $50 2.1 kit which is just criminal and will piss some unlucky nearby people off.
This looks to have some value at least (get cheapest one and bump the RAM up)
I'm the first to hate integrated everything but this is an imac killer. Shame about that Windows OS that tries to copy Android GUIs but it may be powerful enough to play some games on linux.

Re:Huh

[jenningsthecat]

It's not an ad, it's a straight-up review of a product...

Perhaps it isn't an ad, but in may ways it reads like one. For this crowd in this forum, making the story sound less like an advert, by toning down the hyperbole, would likely make it better received. Phrasing such as "most significant design reinvention", "accentuating a beautiful 4K IPS panel", "most standout feature", and "reproduction and output capabilities to a whole new level", won't win you many friends here. Most of us are primarily interested in the facts; we'll make up our own minds about just how "gee golly gosh" a product is based on its features and specs, not on the enthusing of a breathless reviewer. Here, personal opinions tend to be well regarded only if they're written in the language that most of would use in a casual conversation. If they sound like they came from a Madison Avenue press release, prepare for pushback.

Re:Huh

[MojoKid]

I get that and actually typically do tone things down for a Slashdot submission. However, on this one, agreed I didn't. So, fair enough. That said, those are indeed well-founded opinions of this product.

Re:Huh

[unixisc]

This is very useful in dust rich environments, where you don't have to worry about loose parts or crevices that are dirt magnets.

50 Watts, huh?

[dwywit]

So, does the sound system consume 50 watts of power in operation, or is it capable of converting 50 watts of power into sound?

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[BigBuckHunter]

So, does the sound system consume 50 watts of power in operation, or is it capable of converting 50 watts of power into sound?

Uncle Doug explains it pretty well.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

TLDW... Input 1k signal. Plug amp into a load with a known resistance. Turn up volume till it is max volume distortion free. Measure voltage to the load. P=V^2/R. This will give you RMS output.

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

So, does the sound system consume 50 watts of power in operation, or is it capable of converting 50 watts of power into sound?

Most likely they are using class d amplifier technology. I have one like this. link which would be 40 watts rms. It works fine for my pc to big speakers. It isn't super loud, but it is loud enough. Actually I doubt it really is 40 watts rms though. Still the idea is similar. Class T is a variant of Class D. Efficiency of a glass D is good since the output waveform is, as the D implies digital. It becomes analog after the filtering.

The interesting this is with the class D you need to match the load to the filter circuit, since it is actually part of the filter. In an all in one that is quite doable.

Re: 50 Watts, huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

The D does not imply digital. The vast majority of class D amps are pure analog, simply because performance is better and they are easier to build.

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[TheFakeTimCook]

Look up "Peak Music Power" - marketing numbers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

I seriously doubt it's a real 50W RMS of audio power.

The maximum power supply available is 12v, P = v^2/r comes to about 28W. Yes, there is a -12V but it's usually very low draw.

O.K. you could get 50W with 4 ohm speakers, I'm still very cynical about the numbers.

This is 50W just like all those car stereo amps are 700W.

Watt a joke!

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[thegarbz]

What makes you think that? 50W is a pretty pathetically low target to hit. Divided through 10 speakers you could easily put 5W into each small driver.

I have no doubt that it's real 50W RMS. I also have no doubt it sounds like garbage.

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[thegarbz]

The maximum power supply available is 12v

What makes you say that? There's nothing fundamentally limiting your computer to 12V.

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[TheFakeTimCook]

What makes you think that? 50W is a pretty pathetically low target to hit. Divided through 10 speakers you could easily put 5W into each small driver.

I have no doubt that it's real 50W RMS. I also have no doubt it sounds like garbage.

First off, it isn't 10 speakers, it's 8. From the review:

Six front-face speakers, two down firing speakers, two passive radiators

Second, they only spec 90 dB SPL. That doesn't sound like 50 W to me, unless those speakers are MONDO inefficient.

And yes, I am SURE it sounds like garbage, with plastic cabinet-resonances and IM distortion (which you notice they don't spec) galore. I certainly LOOKS like garbage, that's for sure...

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[Lumpy]

When I was into competition class car stereos I had amps rated at 50W that would utterly destroy the kiddies with their 700W and 2500W amps.
  Mine were 50W at 0.00005% thd while the garbage that most kiddies buy is rated at "PEAK" and 60%thd.

I also had decent speakers that were highly efficient. Again not the complete garbage kiddies buy... OHHH BIGGER MAGNETS ARE BETTER OOOOH!

Come on back when you have a basic education in electronics and understand what thd is what speaker sensitivity is. Hell I have Klipsch horns at the house that will produce 106db with 1 watt of power.

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[KozmoStevnNaut]

A lot of PA speakers will produce over 120dB from only 1 watt. It's all about efficiency.

I would love to live somewhere with a room that could properly fit a set of Klipschorns.

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[TheFakeTimCook]

When I was into competition class car stereos I had amps rated at 50W that would utterly destroy the kiddies with their 700W and 2500W amps. Mine were 50W at 0.00005% thd while the garbage that most kiddies buy is rated at "PEAK" and 60%thd.

I also had decent speakers that were highly efficient. Again not the complete garbage kiddies buy... OHHH BIGGER MAGNETS ARE BETTER OOOOH!

Come on back when you have a basic education in electronics and understand what thd is what speaker sensitivity is. Hell I have Klipsch horns at the house that will produce 106db with 1 watt of power.

Listen closely, you insufferable twit:

I do have (much more than) a basic education in electronics, and in sound reproduction, and know full well what THD and IM distortion (which (IM) you didn't even mention) is. I also understand speaker sensitivity (usually expressed as "x" dB SPL at 1W @ 1m, and usually at 1 KHz).

Your gratuitous and snarky comment regarding your Klipshorns (which are most definitely efficient; but sound like... horns) is both snarky and irrelevant. If you had read TFA, you would know that these are simple direct-radiating, not horn-loaded, speakers, and two of them are PASSIVE radiators (so, the best thing this could be was a labyrinth system), and so the sensitivity is likely to be in 80 to 84 dB range.

And although the typical sensitivity figure-of-merit makes it sound like you can get 160 dB SPL out of 10 W with any speaker, the truth is, you need a DOUBLING of Power (Watts) to achieve a measly 3 dB increase in loudness (SPL). So, that 50 W gets eaten-up pretty damned fast. 84 dB SPL @ 1 W, 87 @ 2 W, 90 @ 4 W, 93 @ 8 W, 96 @ 16 W, 99 @ 32 W and, theoretically, 102 @ 64 W.

In fact, TFA also specs a maximum 90 dB SPL from the system; so, even for typical speakers, I kind of doubt that 50W RMS figure. And that at 1% THD (and unspecified IM, which, as you should know, is FAR more objectionable to listeners).

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[thegarbz]

Second, they only spec 90 dB SPL. That doesn't sound like 50 W to me, unless those speakers are MONDO inefficient.

They most definitely are inefficient. Look at their size. You could pump a lot of juice into something very small without burning it out and still create very little sound. I just don't doubt for a moment that the amp is capable of delivering 50watt RMS total output. On the cheap side of things you can get that kind of output from a single chip amplifier in the $10 category bolted onto a little bit of metal.

Re:50 Watts, huh?

[TheFakeTimCook]

Second, they only spec 90 dB SPL. That doesn't sound like 50 W to me, unless those speakers are MONDO inefficient.

They most definitely are inefficient. Look at their size. You could pump a lot of juice into something very small without burning it out and still create very little sound. I just don't doubt for a moment that the amp is capable of delivering 50watt RMS total output. On the cheap side of things you can get that kind of output from a single chip amplifier in the $10 category bolted onto a little bit of metal.

I agree,. And the relatively high THD figure make me feel like you're right that it is integrated (chip) amplifiers, plus, that's how cheap shit (and some not-so-cheap) is done these days. Most stuff is nothing more than glorified car stereo shit these days...

Re: 50 Watts, huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

You are right. But D could also imply big breasts or bigger batteries. It's also the fourth letter of the alphabet.

That is so metal

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks Slashdot

Re:That is so metal

[hcs_$reboot]

Slashdot should thank us to read and even comment on an ad.

All-in-One = One-Shot Monitor

[Kunedog]

One of the most expensive components of your computer is your monitor, but it is also one of the most standardized and longest-lasting. Think about it: pretty much any monitor bought in the last 20+ years* (including CRTs) can be used with any computer or video card on the market, requiring at most a super cheap adapter.

But with an AIO, you lose this major advatage desktop systems have over laptops. You're still paying for the monitor, but have little to no choice in which model it will be, and you will only ever use it with this one computer. And when the computer dies, the monitor is finished too (even if it's in working condition).

* Yeah, I know analog/VGA is starting to go away. I still holds for digital.

Re:All-in-One = One-Shot Monitor

[Khyber]

If the computer dies, the monitor is still just fine and dandy, and can quite often be swapped into another bezel (or be ballsy and build a custom PC case with the monitor as a side-panel. Kits exist for this exact thing and they're like $30.)

Re:All-in-One = One-Shot Monitor

[umafuckit]

If the computer dies, the monitor is still just fine and dandy, and can quite often be swapped into another bezel (or be ballsy and build a custom PC case with the monitor as a side-panel. Kits exist for this exact thing and they're like $30.)

Only a tiny proportion of consumers will do that. The rest will chuck it and buy another.

Re:All-in-One = One-Shot Monitor

[SirSlud]

Desktops or whatever you want to call this don't really die tho.

Re:All-in-One = One-Shot Monitor

[tlhIngan]

One of the most expensive components of your computer is your monitor, but it is also one of the most standardized and longest-lasting. Think about it: pretty much any monitor bought in the last 20+ years* (including CRTs) can be used with any computer or video card on the market, requiring at most a super cheap adapter.

But with an AIO, you lose this major advatage desktop systems have over laptops. You're still paying for the monitor, but have little to no choice in which model it will be, and you will only ever use it with this one computer. And when the computer dies, the monitor is finished too (even if it's in working condition).

The monitor is one of the cheaper components these days. Yes, this is a 27" 4K IPS monitor. It probably cost $2K last year. Nowadays they can be hand under $1k. And in a few years when the computer dies, you probably can buy it for $200.

Monitors, especially flat screens were pricey 20 years ago because everyone used CRTs. Now that everyone uses LCDs, the cost of the technology has plummeted dramatically, especially at resolutions that re-use TV components. Mass production basically plunged the prices. It was only a decade ago when a 17" LCD was a luxury, and nowadays you can't give them away.

Everyone complains about 1080p or 4K, but using TV resolutions mean mass production takes the cost way way way down.

And given the prevalence of 27" monitors of late, the price of them will plummet soon as well and those with 24" monitors soon can't give them away.

By the time this computer is dead, the monitor will probably be fairly worthless because you can run out and pick up a brand new one with all sorts of improvements. Scavenging is good for now, but after that it'll be a hobby project.

Re:All-in-One = One-Shot Monitor

[Anonymous Coward]

But with an AIO, you lose this major advatage desktop systems have over laptops. You're still paying for the monitor, but have little to no choice in which model it will be, and you will only ever use it with this one computer. And when the computer dies, the monitor is finished too (even if it's in working condition).
 

So with this Dell you don't just get to replace the monitor, you can replace the sound system too! No wonder they're pushing this.

Re:All-in-One = One-Shot Monitor

[Anonymous Coward]

They count on the lack of critical thinking on the part of the consumer to buy this shit (just like Apple).

People who value price-to-performance, ease of upgrades, ease of repairs, general smoothness of operation and system security are not using AIO desktops.

Re:All-in-One = One-Shot Monitor

[TheFakeTimCook]

One of the most expensive components of your computer is your monitor, but it is also one of the most standardized and longest-lasting. Think about it: pretty much any monitor bought in the last 20+ years* (including CRTs) can be used with any computer or video card on the market, requiring at most a super cheap adapter.

But with an AIO, you lose this major advatage desktop systems have over laptops. You're still paying for the monitor, but have little to no choice in which model it will be, and you will only ever use it with this one computer. And when the computer dies, the monitor is finished too (even if it's in working condition).

* Yeah, I know analog/VGA is starting to go away. I still holds for digital.

Unless you replace your computer every 2 years (which is ridiculous nowadays), by the time your computer is ready for the dustbin, the monitor is not far behind,

And, unless you get a really high-end monitor, replacing a monitor costs less than, or about the same as, replacing a 4 TB internal HD.

Nice Option for a Very Few

[Kunedog]

If the computer dies, the monitor is still just fine and dandy, and can quite often be swapped into another bezel (or be ballsy and build a custom PC case with the monitor as a side-panel. Kits exist for this exact thing and they're like $30.)

Technically that's a valid point, and I just found this video which admittedly makes it look like a productive (and fun!) project for the right sort of person. I even kind of want to tear apart one of my retired laptops now and do it (thx for the idea btw).

But practically, it will almost never happen, and this epitome of vendor lock-in will pay off (and the vendors know it). I mean, the same is true of laptops, but I've never known anyone who's done this; have you?

Thats amazing

[Zimnylech71]

Im feeling so embarrassed and confused.

Gaming

[dreamchaser]

That GPU isn't going to run games well at 4k.

Re:Gaming

[TheFakeTimCook]

That GPU isn't going to run games well at 4k.

I was wondering about that.

People have excoriating Apple for offering an RX 460 (with 4 GB GDDR5 RAM) in the 2016 MacBook Pro; yet this crappy little AIO, with an R9 M470X (with 2 GB GDDR5 RAM), is supposed to be God's gift to gaming.

I also looks like the RX 460 is indeed better in every way vs. the R9 M470X. Another example of unbridled Apple Hate, or is there a huge difference between the two GPUs? Because, it looks like the R9 M470X is based on the older "Bonaire" technology, whereas the RX 460 is the newer "Polaris" tech.

Re:Gaming

[dreamchaser]

Most 'M' GPUs make compromises so they can use less power and produce less heat. That is what lets them be deployed in laptops and all in 1s. The GPU in question here would probably be okay to game with at 1080P but no way will it handle the native 4k resolution of this unit.

Re:Gaming

[Khyber]

" The GPU in question here would probably be okay to game with at 1080P but no way will it handle the native 4k resolution of this unit."

This will run 4K Quake 3 smoother than glass (as I'm doing that right now on my shitty GeForce 650Ti.) It's as if you forgot about older games and nothing exists any more except Battlefield or Call of Duty or the ever-unoptimized Crysis.

Slashvertisement

[Anonymous Coward]

My ad-blocker must be malfunctioning, because this "story" is an advertisement.

The biggest downside:

[slashdice]

it's a dell.

Typical conversation with someone that loves a dell:

I love my dell. It's fucking awesome. Of course, I had to return the first 3 they sent me because they were broken. And the wifi chip is garbage but it's a simple matter to take the laptop apart, de-solder it and solder in a new one. And sure the trackpad is awful and randomly clicks but I use a mouse. But yeah I love my dell. 10/10. Would buy and return until they sent me one that works again.

Re:The biggest downside:

[_merlin]

The quality of Dell's professional products has slowly improved over the years. I'm very happy with current PowerEdge (13th generation) and Precision. I did have one issue with the Precision in that when it arrived the SAS card was in a slot directly above a Quadro so it didn't get enough cooling and overheated. I moved it to another slot and put a Chelsio T580-LP-CR (2x40Gbps Ethernet) card in that slot, and it's been fine. A decade ago, PowerEdge was the cut-price server with crappy build quality, and Optiplex was plagues with capacitor issues, but they've matured into great products.

Re:The biggest downside:

[germansausage]

That's getting to be old news. I do remember those days, but lately they seem to have upped their game.My sister bought her kids mid-range Dell Inspiron laptops for university three years ago and they're still running. My work computer is a dell box with 16GB and an I7 and it hasn't so much as hiccuped in two years. As always, YMMV.

Re:The biggest downside:

[nnull]

I would agree with you, but since buying an XPS 13 with linux running on it, I've been quite happy. I would have never thought of buying a Dell either, but I did and I've been happy with it.

Fixes spellings & grammar

[unixisc]

Hey, look at the bright side. It at least reduces the spelling and grammar errors, which the current crop of editors seem incapable of handling

70 Hz? That's it?

[Khyber]

My shitty old Centrino-based Toshiba laptop had better speaker response range - 40Hz to 22,050Hz.

Guess Dell's using some shitty Beats by Dre knockoff audio system.

Missed marketing opportunity.

[fahrbot-bot]

They should have dialed it up to eleven - speakers.

"Radically New Look"

[Anonymous Coward]

Somewhere in Dells design department... "Well, lets take an iMac, paint it black, and put a shitload of speakers in it. Job done."

New for turds...

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a horrible retardo consumer device.