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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.
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"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
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.
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.
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.
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.
Slashdot should thank us to read and even comment on an ad.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
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?
Im feeling so embarrassed and confused.
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!
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.
The maximum power supply available is 12v
What makes you say that? There's nothing fundamentally limiting your computer to 12V.
That GPU isn't going to run games well at 4k.
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...
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.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
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.
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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.
Eat the rich.
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).
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.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
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
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.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
They should have dialed it up to eleven - speakers.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
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 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.
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...
This is very useful in dust rich environments, where you don't have to worry about loose parts or crevices that are dirt magnets.