Why do most laptop speakers aim downwards?

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My wife and I have 2 gaming laptops (MSI and ASUS) and two regular laptops for work (Lenovo and ASUS). All of their speakers fire directly downward to the point where actually using it on our laps makes them nearly inaudible unless cranked up until they sound like crap. Last time I was at a store I checked all of the display models and EVERY ONE OF THEM had downward-facing speakers. This seems so counterproductive to me, but I’m not an engineer so who knows.

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8 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

A lot of laptops aren’t really designed to be used on laps. They don’t just have speakers that face downwards, they have cooling ports that blankets and legs and other things laps usually have can block.

There’s a kind of speaker that is designed to be pointed at a hard surface and reflect sound. I’m not sure exactly why but this makes it able to have decent quality for a lower level of energy use than you’d expect. Those laptops envision that they will often be used on desks, so they chose speakers that work best if they’re pointed at a hard surface. I imagine they believe a lot of people who want quality sound will wear headphones.

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