Buying Guide - Speakers



If you are looking for the highest quality sound experience when using a Chromebook, you will find it in using your own headphones. You can also connect to an external speaker system via the head phone jack for more awesome sound.

Don't expect amazing sound from speakers on a Chromebook. The speakers that come with Chromebooks are "okay" at best. Generally speaking, the slimmer the Chromebook, the weaker the speakers. Most Chromebook speakers have a tinny (displeasingly thin and metallic) sound. The bass is what is usually lacking in Chromebook speakers due to the small space inside the laptop for speakers. 

Size matters. Chromebooks sized between 11.6 inch and 14 inches usually have the speaker grilles under the laptop and facing down or facing out the sides. For example, the Acer Chromebook 14 has the speakers facing down and they get covered when you type on your lap, which is disappointing. By contrast, the Acer Chromebook 15 has the speakers next to the keyboard and facing up. This setup makes for the best sound experience on a Chromebook. The sideways facing speaker grilles of the Asus C302 provide a much better sound experience compared to down facing speakers under the Chromebook. 

When selecting a Chromebook, I tend to forgo looking at the speaker specifications as there is not a huge variation in speaker quality among Chromebooks. 

Comments