Laptop sound quality is terrible

I was trying out in a computer store a brand new Compaq Presario (V2000
series) and all was going well until I put in a DVD and played some music.
The sound quality of the laptop's internal speakers was awful, and even with
the volume turned down, it frequently went into distortion. I realize that
laptop computers have small speakers, but I wasn't expecting the sound to
break up. It even broke up playing the few musical notes when Windows XP
closed down. A qualified technician looked at all the software sound
options, but he couldn't stop the sound periodically breaking up. He
explained that the sound from the internal speakers of laptops is never
great and suggested I should use headphones or external speakers.

With headphones, the sound was very good, but I had expected to be able to
watch a DVD and get reasonable sound from the laptop's internal speakers.
One of the reasons I tried out this computer was that I was impressed by the
good reviews of this computer referred to below.

As a newbie to laptops, I would appreciate any comments about the sound
quality of the internal speakers of laptops and whether problems are often
experienced with sound breaking up when playing back commercial DVDs. Thanks
for your help.

The reviews I found which gave good reviews of the Presario's sound quality
are as follows:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2673

"The Altec Lansing speakers are very impressive and shine while playing DVD
movies. They can be turned up, while losing minimal quality. At regular
listening volumes, every detail can be heard. Another bonus is where the
speakers are placed. They are located at the front of the laptop. This means
you can close the lid and still listen to music. The speakers are one of the
shining features of this laptop that sets it above the average when it comes
to budget laptops."

Another reviewer was also impressed by the sound quality of a Compaq
Presario:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2739&review=Compaq+Presario+v2565us+Notebook+Computer
"The speakers do an amazing job and I am very impressed by their
performance. The speakers are made by Altec Lansing and are positioned at
the front of laptop. This design feature is very clever and you can close
the lid and still listen to music without any loss of sound. The speakers
recreate sounds accurately and there is no sound distortion even when I
crank up the volume to a very high setting. Of course, they still lack a bit
of bass and while I'm not suggesting that you throw away your external
speakers, I think they do a quite a fine job."




.

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