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Old ProMedia 2.1(2002) versus New ProMedia 2.1(2015) - Old has much better sound!


DRC72

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The foam surround on my old ProMedia subwoofer deteriorated, so I decided  to go ahead and purchase a whole new ProMedia 2.1 unit at Best Buy. Hooked it up and to my dismay the sound quality sucked. The sub sounded muddy, and the satellites where very tinny sounding. Keep in mind I did not change any equalizer settings on my PC. My old unit sounded fantastic with the same settings. So I decided to mess with the equalizer setting to see if I could improve the sound, but it really didn't help much. So I took my old unit apart to see how easy it was to replace the subwoofer, turned out to be very easy actually. Bought an aftermarket replacement on EBAY, and I couldn't be more happier with the sound. Returned the new unit, and never looked back. What did Klipsch change with the new units? AMP design,  material used in the satellites, and wtf is up with no power switch? Come on Klipsch your better than this.

Edited by DRC72
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I wonder too. I still have my old 2.1 and an old 5.1. In love with both of them. It's sad that the new ones aren't as good.

There is a night and day difference between my old unit and the new units out. The old unit definitely has much better sound quality, and bass response. I'm just going to continue to use my old unit until it dies.

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Hit the pause..

 

1.  Replacing the woofers is very inexpensive

2.  I replaced one but....  they actually sent me two.  Ultimately telling me to keep it as it was cheaper for them to write it off than the pain of shipping back.

3.  I think I still have it

4.  If I do (and I'm 99% sure I do), I'd be more than happy to ship it to you. No cost for the driver and perhaps no cost to the shipping.

5.  I don't think shipping would cost but a couple dollars.

 

Ok, you can hit the play button now & let me know.

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I think back to the Audiovox purchase of Klipsch a few years back and wonder if we are in for yet more changes to come. From what I read the group is looking to infiltrate the likes of Walmart and such. Obviously if the selling prices will be lower then the quality may be lowered as well...leaving consumers with less desirable goods from this fine manufacturer. I sure hope this will not be the case. So far since they are keeping the lines of legacy equipment in place it seems like they still have quality as a top priority. I just hope this remains to be the case. I have been pretty disappointed with the new budget lines like the ones offered at Best Buy and such. These entry levels sound cheaper and more tinny than the lines they replaced.

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Hit the pause..

1. Replacing the woofers is very inexpensive

2. I replaced one but.... they actually sent me two. Ultimately telling me to keep it as it was cheaper for them to write it off than the pain of shipping back.

3. I think I still have it

4. If I do (and I'm 99% sure I do), I'd be more than happy to ship it to you. No cost for the driver and perhaps no cost to the shipping.

5. I don't think shipping would cost but a couple dollars.

Ok, you can hit the play button now & let me know.

Appreciate the offer, but I already purchased and installed the new woofer. Thank you anyways.

Sent from my AT&T iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think a part of the reason for the superior sound is the fact that the speaker wires are plug-in style vs. being hardwired. The older system might also have superior fuses as well.

 

Speaking of the wires, you can further increase the audio quality by upgrading to 16 AWG wires (the stock wires are much thinner at 22 AWG). You can get them brand new through eBay (which is actually what I did) for less than $25 after shipping. You can either get the Monster-branded wires or you can get some mystery-brand if you don't want to contribute to Monster's already-excessive income. I went with the mystery brand because unlike the description of the Monster wires, these said that they're made from Oxygen-free wires. In addition, the description also says that the exposed ends that plug into the amplifier are soldered in with a Silver solder; I can't tell if the Monster wires are soldered at all (there's only one photo of the Monster wires, and it's not very good). The description of the mystery brand wires claims that using a Silver solder maximizes conductivity resulting in an even better and clearer sound signal. All I know is, I definitely noticed an upgrade to the audio quality coming out of my satellites! The mids and highs are indeed clearer and crisper, and the sound stage was improved as well. Another nice thing about having the ends bieng soldered is, you don't have to worry about frayed wires that you have to twist back together.

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I think a part of the reason for the superior sound is the fact that the speaker wires are plug-in style vs. being hardwired. The older system might also have superior fuses as well.

Speaking of the wires, you can further increase the audio quality by upgrading to 16 AWG wires (the stock wires are much thinner at 22 AWG). You can get them brand new through eBay (which is actually what I did) for less than $25 after shipping. You can either get the Monster-branded wires or you can get some mystery-brand if you don't want to contribute to Monster's already-excessive income. I went with the mystery brand because unlike the description of the Monster wires, these said that they're made from Oxygen-free wires. In addition, the description also says that the exposed ends that plug into the amplifier are soldered in with a Silver solder; I can't tell if the Monster wires are soldered at all (there's only one photo of the Monster wires, and it's not very good). The description of the mystery brand wires claims that using a Silver solder maximizes conductivity resulting in an even better and clearer sound signal. All I know is, I definitely noticed an upgrade to the audio quality coming out of my satellites! The mids and highs are indeed clearer and crisper, and the sound stage was improved as well. Another nice thing about having the ends bieng soldered is, you don't have to worry about frayed wires that you have to twist back together.

Interesting! My unit sounds great with the current wires, but if a thicker gauge yields even better sound, then I might have to upgrade the cables.

Edit: Are these the cables you bought?

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=261784106840

Sent from my AT&T iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

Edited by DRC72
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I think a part of the reason for the superior sound is the fact that the speaker wires are plug-in style vs. being hardwired. The older system might also have superior fuses as well.

Speaking of the wires, you can further increase the audio quality by upgrading to 16 AWG wires (the stock wires are much thinner at 22 AWG). You can get them brand new through eBay (which is actually what I did) for less than $25 after shipping. You can either get the Monster-branded wires or you can get some mystery-brand if you don't want to contribute to Monster's already-excessive income. I went with the mystery brand because unlike the description of the Monster wires, these said that they're made from Oxygen-free wires. In addition, the description also says that the exposed ends that plug into the amplifier are soldered in with a Silver solder; I can't tell if the Monster wires are soldered at all (there's only one photo of the Monster wires, and it's not very good). The description of the mystery brand wires claims that using a Silver solder maximizes conductivity resulting in an even better and clearer sound signal. All I know is, I definitely noticed an upgrade to the audio quality coming out of my satellites! The mids and highs are indeed clearer and crisper, and the sound stage was improved as well. Another nice thing about having the ends bieng soldered is, you don't have to worry about frayed wires that you have to twist back together.

Interesting! My unit sounds great with the current wires, but if a thicker gauge yields even better sound, then I might have to upgrade the cables.

Sent from my AT&T iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

 

 

(You will want to read this on your computer because it's extremely long - you'll see why it's so long once you read it)

Yeah, mine was producing a great sound too. So, I was surprised to hear a difference at all because I was kind of thinking that the aftermarket wires were just for being able to achieve the same audio quality at louder volumes (I thought that maybe the audio quality noticeably decreased at higher levels, which I never tested). My reason for buying them was, I'd rather know instead NOT knowing if they will improve my audio quality. When they improved my audio quality, I began wondering how because I'm not really sending that much power through them at all. After thinking about it for a while though, it began to make sense: there are several more strands inside the protective jacket to carry the power (or the amplified electrical signal) to the speakers. So, the more strands there are, the easier it is for each strand to help carry the load (there's a lighter load for each strand). Of course, these aftermarket wires could also have thicker-gauge strands as well, but I can't tell. I'd definitely say though that there are several more strands. I think too that the more strands there are, the better the chances are of the entire signal reaching the speaker, thereby minimizing signal loss. Or maybe it could be more that it helps avoid (or at least minimize) any gradual weakening of the signal over the length of the wire, thereby resulting in a stronger, fuller electrical signal at the speaker.

So, let's assume just for the sake of argument that the ProMedia 2.1's stock 22 AWG speaker wires only have 7 strands inside the jacket at 30 AWG per strand (which would be called "22 AWG 7/30"), and that the 16 AWG aftermarket speaker wires have 26 strands in the jacket at 30 AWG per strand ("16 AWG 26/30"). Remember that this is for one wire (one jacket), not for both the positive and negative (red and black) wires combined. Anyway, I don't know if these are the actual specs for both the stock and aftermarket wires, but if we have the same electrical signal on both of them at the same amplification, then the power, integrity, quality and purity (etc.) of that signal should be superior from the 16 AWG 26/30 wires by the time it reaches the speakers since there are more strands to share the load. Of course, it's not just the number of strands. I mean, of course, other considerations include the thickness of the strands (maybe the aftermarket's strands are thicker as well, I'm not sure), the material of each strand, the quality of that material, how the strands are wound together, and probably even the jacket, to some degree.

Regarding the fact that the wires I am recommending are soldered at the exposed ends (with a Silver solder), I understand now as to why this helps. Soldering the exposed strands together basically transforms them into one solid piece. So, it's probably akin to soldering them to a plug (such as the plug on the end that goes into the satellites). The plug end is a solid piece of metal, so why not solder the exposed strands together at the other end in order to make those ends become one solid pieces too? That way, absolutely all of the strands become one with each other right from the very beginning of the wire. To find the wires that I bought and recommend, search eBay for Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Premium Gold 16ga Speaker wires, Cables, Professional, Pair. You can also find the Monster wires by searching for Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, Premium Monster Cable Speaker Wires, Custom Made Pair 10'.

Picture the ends that go into the speaker connector on the amplifer on the microscopic scale. I mean, imagine that you're like a millimeter tall and you are looking closely at the ends of two different stranded wires: one end is soldered together (with silver solder) and the other isn't; it's just twisted together like normal. The strands that aren't soldered also have to be twisted together very tightly in order to minimize power loss, and even then you can still see gaps between the strands on this microscopic scale. Therefore, the conductivity between the strands is inferior to the soldered strands because the silver solder connects all of the strands together thereby making them become one solid unit. This, in tern, results in the entire signal getting transferred to ALL of the strands right from the start. Having such a strong start results in a strong finish.

So, picture them being pinched inside of the speaker wire connectors on the amplifier. With strands that aren't soldered together, you'd see the twisted strands getting squished and separated slightly while some of the wires still aren't even coming into contact with the wire connector. If I'm right, then this would mean that only some of the strands are in direct contact with the wire connector (maybe most of them, but definitely not ALL of them), thereby forcing the electrical signal to have to travel down those directly-connected strands a little ways before it can reach all of the strands equally by way of transfer from strand to strand as the signal goes further and further down the wire. The result would be that some of the strands at the very beginning are being forced to work much harder since some of the other strands aren't able to share the load yet due to not even receiving the signal yet. Of course, I'm just assuming that there are microscopic gaps between the wires. This still isn't a bad design though because the signal does quickly reach all of the strands eventually by way of natural transfer from strand to strand. It's probably just not the BEST design in terms of acheiving the highest audio quality possible from the wires. You want to minimize resistance as much as possible to have the cleanest possible transfer of the electrical signal from the source all the way to the speakers. The less you lose between the amplifier and the speaker, the better the audio quality.

So, with strands that are soldered together, direct contact is being made to each and every strand inside the amplifier's wire connector right at the very beginning because the speaker wire connector is touching the silver solder, and all of the strands are connected together by the silver solder. So, the signal goes from the speaker wire connectors to the silver solder which, in turn, gets transferred immediately to all of the strands right from the very beginning since all of them are soldered together. That way, NONE of the strands have to work any harder than any of the others at any point, not even in the first millimeter of length! In addition, there are many more strands in the aftermarket wires than there are in the stock wires, so each strand has an even easier job. The more and more I think about it, the more and more I feel that this is a beautiful design.

I guess this begs the question, "Why didn't Klipsch use wires like this instead?" I think the answer is, using those cheaper wires helps keep the overall cost down while having a negative impact on the audio quality that normal consumers would never notice or care about (I mean, even with the new version of the ProMedia 2.1, we're seeing mostly 5-star rave reviews, and we know that the new system isn't as good as the original). This makes me wonder what other compromises they made, and whether I can replace those compromising parts with better ones in order to achieve the fullest potential of this speaker system. I mean, if I can hear a difference between the stock wires and the aftermarket wires, then surely I should be able to hear further improvements by upgrading other parts that were chosen to help keep the cost down (or maybe chosen just to help keep Klipsch's costs down to maximize profits).

So yeah, the satellites do produce a very good sound quality on the stock wires, but they produce an even better sound quality on these aftermarket wires. Is the improvement worth $26.49 after shipping? It depends. The answer is 'Yes' if you can appreciate an improvement that I think most normal consumers would either say is "small", "negligible", "barely noticeable", or that they can't even hear. I have a few family members like that: they can't even tell the difference between a 128k MP3 and FLAC. I can hear the improvement with these better wires and I appreciate it very much, but I would bet there are people who would say that the difference is too small to even be worth paying ANY money for it (partly because you also have to do the work of disconnecting the stock wires and then connecting the new ones). I would bet that some people would even be like, "I don't even need the sound to be as good as it is with the stock wires, so why should I pay $26.49 to improve it even further when it's already more than I need?" For me though, I deeply appreciate high fidelity audio (I could probably become an audiophile if I really wanted to). So, I want to hear the fullest potential of this speaker system and I'm willing to do almost whatever it takes to get it. I want my audio quality to be as good as possible without spending hundreds of dollars, and so far, I'm doing exactly that, partly thanks to these superior wires! The quality really is cleaner, clearer, and crisper, and the sound stage really is superior. I love it!

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Very nice write up! I went ahead and ordered those wires on EBAY. Can't wait to hear the sound! I'll keep you guys posted. Plus those cables are located in CT, so shipping shouldn't be more than 3 days at most.

Edited by DRC72
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Very nice write up! I went ahead and ordered those wires on EBAY. Can't wait to hear the sound! I'll keep you guys posted. Plus those cables are located in CT, so shipping shouldn't be more than 3 days at most.

 

Thank you! Remember though, the difference won't be like the difference between night and day. Well, it wasn't for me, at least.

 

As for the shipping time: the seller says to allow up to 2 business days for orders to be sent out. I ordered mine on Tuesday the 17th at about 5:30 a.m. and it didn't ship out until Thursday the 19th, and then it was delivered on Monday the 23rd. My ProMedia 2.1 system arrived on Friday the 20th. I didn't mind though because I wanted even more time than that to get used to the stock wires so that I could appreciate the new wires even more. Of course, 3 days isn't much, so I'm really looking forward to reading what you think. Of course, individual results will vary due to having the speaker system connected to different sources and whatnot, but still! I'll be watching this thread. :)

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Very nice write up! I went ahead and ordered those wires on EBAY. Can't wait to hear the sound! I'll keep you guys posted. Plus those cables are located in CT, so shipping shouldn't be more than 3 days at most.

Thank you! Remember though, the difference won't be like the difference between night and day. Well, it wasn't for me, at least.

As for the shipping time: the seller says to allow up to 2 business days for orders to be sent out. I ordered mine on Tuesday the 17th at about 5:30 a.m. and it didn't ship out until Thursday the 19th, and then it was delivered on Monday the 23rd. My ProMedia 2.1 system arrived on Friday the 20th. I didn't mind though because I wanted even more time than that to get used to the stock wires so that I could appreciate the new wires even more. Of course, 3 days isn't much, so I'm really looking forward to reading what you think. Of course, individual results will vary due to having the speaker system connected to different sources and whatnot, but still! I'll be watching this thread. :)

I'm looking forward to testing out those cables. Fortunately I had my pro media unit for years so I know it's exact sound., and will easily be able to hear any quality differences with the new cable.. Appreciate your help., I'll definitely keep you guys posted.

Sent from my AT&T iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

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Very nice write up! I went ahead and ordered those wires on EBAY. Can't wait to hear the sound! I'll keep you guys posted. Plus those cables are located in CT, so shipping shouldn't be more than 3 days at most.

Thank you! Remember though, the difference won't be like the difference between night and day. Well, it wasn't for me, at least.

As for the shipping time: the seller says to allow up to 2 business days for orders to be sent out. I ordered mine on Tuesday the 17th at about 5:30 a.m. and it didn't ship out until Thursday the 19th, and then it was delivered on Monday the 23rd. My ProMedia 2.1 system arrived on Friday the 20th. I didn't mind though because I wanted even more time than that to get used to the stock wires so that I could appreciate the new wires even more. Of course, 3 days isn't much, so I'm really looking forward to reading what you think. Of course, individual results will vary due to having the speaker system connected to different sources and whatnot, but still! I'll be watching this thread. :)

I'm looking forward to testing out those cables. Fortunately I had my pro media unit for years so I know it's exact sound., and will easily be able to hear any quality differences with the new cable.. Appreciate your help., I'll definitely keep you guys posted.

Sent from my AT&T iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

 

 

I'm curious now: what do you have your ProMedia 2.1 system hooked up to? If it's your computer, then is it onboard sound or is it a sound card? If it's onboard sound, then I'd be interested in the model number of your motherboard. If it's a sound card, then I'd be interested in which sound card it is. If it's hooked up to something else, then tell me about it. I guess I want to geek out a bit. lol :)

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Very nice write up! I went ahead and ordered those wires on EBAY. Can't wait to hear the sound! I'll keep you guys posted. Plus those cables are located in CT, so shipping shouldn't be more than 3 days at most.

Thank you! Remember though, the difference won't be like the difference between night and day. Well, it wasn't for me, at least.

As for the shipping time: the seller says to allow up to 2 business days for orders to be sent out. I ordered mine on Tuesday the 17th at about 5:30 a.m. and it didn't ship out until Thursday the 19th, and then it was delivered on Monday the 23rd. My ProMedia 2.1 system arrived on Friday the 20th. I didn't mind though because I wanted even more time than that to get used to the stock wires so that I could appreciate the new wires even more. Of course, 3 days isn't much, so I'm really looking forward to reading what you think. Of course, individual results will vary due to having the speaker system connected to different sources and whatnot, but still! I'll be watching this thread. :)

I'm looking forward to testing out those cables. Fortunately I had my pro media unit for years so I know it's exact sound., and will easily be able to hear any quality differences with the new cable.. Appreciate your help., I'll definitely keep you guys posted.

Sent from my AT&T iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

 

 

I'm curious now: what do you have your ProMedia 2.1 system hooked up to? If it's your computer, then is it onboard sound or is it a sound card? If it's onboard sound, then I'd be interested in the model number of your motherboard. If it's a sound card, then I'd be interested in which sound card it is. If it's hooked up to something else, then tell me about it. I guess I want to geek out a bit. lol :)

 

Lenovo 64 Bit Intel I7 12Gb of onboard RAM

 

My sound system card indicates Realtek High Definition Audio. I'll get you the other info when I get chance.

Edited by DRC72
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Lenovo 64 Bit Intel I7 12Gb of onboard RAM

 

My sound system card indicates Realtek High Definition Audio. I'll get you the other info when I get chance.

 

 

Oh, a laptop. So, you don't even have a sound card (that's what I like to call "onboard audio"). So, you're not really hearing the full potential of the ProMedia 2.1 system. ;) You can get an external USB Digital-to-Analog Converter ("DAC") such as the Schiit Modi 2, but it's about $110 after shipping. That's a large amount of money for me, but if you happen to feel that this is no big deal (like, if it's pretty affordable), then I would highly recommend it because it is highly recommended by audiophiles for people who would like to keep their costs as low as possible while still getting a huge upgrade.

 

To be clear, every digital device that can play sound has a DAC. You see, digital audio has to be converted to analog audio so that we can understand it, but the quality of that DAC determines the quality of your audio output, and Realtek is really a producer of low-quality audio products that are "good enough for most people".

 

The only potential problem with a USB DAC is (including the USB "sound cards") is, there's a very small chance that you'd also need something like this:

 

http://schiit.com/products/wyrd

 

...and it costs $99.99 before shipping as well. Of course, that's a "wait and see" situation.

Edited by TwoCables
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TwoCables. Nice write up. Sometimes I feel 1 mm tall, so it seemed as though you were speaking directly to me.  :)

 

There are some speaker wire calculators out there that talk about signal loss variations due to wire gauge alone. For that reason, many simply say zip wire is good enough. I understand oxidization also causes resistance since electrons travel mostly on the surfaces of the copper. That's why oxygen free wire is likely superior over time. You have made a very good point about soldering the ends, as it effectively consolidates all those electrons. What good is an electron if it doesn't even end up getting to the speaker. In your point, even soldering the little 22AWG would be a benefit. 

 

Good points, and this wire isn't overly costly like many wire upgrades. 

 

As for sound cards, you can really improve upon Realtek onboard stuff. I typically disable it and install a sound card. If you've got great speakers connected, you should send them great sound.

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TwoCables. Nice write up.

 

Thank you!

 

Sometimes I feel 1 mm tall, so it seemed as though you were speaking directly to me.   :)

 

lol :)

 

There are some speaker wire calculators out there that talk about signal loss variations due to wire gauge alone. For that reason, many simply say zip wire is good enough.

 

I didn't know what "zip wire" is, so I looked it up and I found this:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip-cord

 

So, I'm guessing that you mean that many people feel that all that matters is the wire gauge.

 

I understand oxidization also causes resistance since electrons travel mostly on the surfaces of the copper. That's why oxygen free wire is likely superior over time.

 

You just taught me 3 things here:

  • Oxygen-free copper was created to avoid oxidation
  • Oxidation causes resistance (but I guess I would have figured that out immediately upon realizing what the point of oxygen-free copper is)
  • Electrons travel mostly on the surfaces of copper
  • Oxygen-free copper isn't superior when it's new; it's just a longer-lasting product because without oxygen in the copper, it can't oxidize and therefore it can last much longer.

Up until now, I thought that the point of oxygen-free copper was probably for a purer, cleaner signal right out of the box. So, I thank you for this valuable education!

 

You have made a very good point about soldering the ends, as it effectively consolidates all those electrons. What good is an electron if it doesn't even end up getting to the speaker. In your point, even soldering the little 22AWG would be a benefit.

 

If I'm right, then I would think so! I mean, it seems to me that NOT soldering the strands probably results in the electrons being unable to get to all of the strands at the point where the wire connectors are holding the wires, but instead have to travel a little bit before they can eventually get to all of the strands naturally by transfer from strand to strand. If this is is true, then soldering should mean that the electrons go from the wire connector to the solder and thus directly to all of the strands immediately, which, if this is true, then would result in all of the strands receiving the signal right at the wire connectors immediately and simultaneously. Well, it's not truly simultaneous in extremely slow-motion, but it's probably close enough. :)

 

I hope I'm right about all this because it certainly makes sense in my little brain. :)

 

Good points, and this wire isn't overly costly like many wire upgrades.

Thank you!

 

Yeah, I guess I could spend a lot more by making my own, but I don't know enough to know if that would even provide a noticeable upgrade over these wires. I mean, the ProMedia 2.1 system is good, but it's not like it's an extremely high-end boutique system costing like a thousand dollars or more.

 

As for sound cards, you can really improve upon Realtek onboard stuff. I typically disable it and install a sound card. If you've got great speakers connected, you should send them great sound.

 

That's if his Lenovo isn't a laptop. I'm assuming it is because he described the memory as "onboard memory".

Edited by TwoCables
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