Why you should have a home studio? If you are a musician and would like to do some recordings of music, maybe a demo or an album, you have some choices. You can go to a professional recording studio, or you can do yourself at home, or perhaps a friend do it. For me the ability to record at home is best. You should not just wait for someone else to get things ready. You can record every time you want, whenever inspiration strikes. You can have your home studio set up, ready to leave at any time.

If you’ve tried to make recordings with your computer microphone, then you know what poor quality “phone” or microphones have VOIP. In practice this is to talk from computer to computer, with Skype or something similar. They have the quality to reproduce the nuances of a vocal performance by singing or guitar. The microphone is the first link in the chain of home recording studio, and it is to be a good compromise. You can go to find a decent microphone for under $ 100, but how do you get into your computer? professional microphones use a connector called an XLR connector, and can not be found on your average “Sound Blaster” card. In fact none of the Creative Sound Blaster cards have XLR inputs. You will need a card like the Delta 44 or a USB or Firewire Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). This means that to buy another unit on top of the microphone.

A professional quality USB microphone is the easiest cheapest way to go. Several companies are USB versions of their standard microphones microphone. They plug right into your computer’s USB port, and require no additional hardware. (Except maybe a good microphone stand). The quality is miles above the typical Logitech internet chat headset microphone type microphone. You may wish to upgrade to a DAW and standard microphones in the future, but it’s nice to have a USB microphone in your arsenal. I have one I use with my laptop for mobile recording all the time (mine is a Sampson C01U). I can just plug it in, and the computer will automatically recognize as an audio interface. Then I am ready to go. I can make professional-sounding recording for less than $ 100. If it is only the beginning of home recording, a USB microphone will allow you to get your feet wet, and make good quality recordings without spending a fortune.

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Dell Studio 14z Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB L2 cache)
• OS: Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64 bit)
• Memory: 3GB Shared DDR3 at 1066MHz
• Storage: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M G
• Screen: 14.0” High Definition (1600 x 900) LED Display with TrueLife
• Software: 15-month McAfee SecurityCenter subscription, Microsoft Works
• Other: Ruby Red lid, LED Backlit keyboard
• Wireless: Dell 1515 Wireless N
• Battery: 8-cell 74Whr Li Ion Battery
• Dimensions: 0.79″-1.2″ x 13.2″ x 9.0″ (H x W x D)
• Weight: 4 lbs, 9 oz
• Retail Price as configured: $979

Build and Design
The design of the Studio 14z looks extremely similar to the Studio 15, but Dell managed to make this notebook much thinner and lighter … thanks in no small part to the removal of the optical drive. At first glance, the lack of a built-in optical drive might seem to be a disadvantage, but most students and mobile users will confess that they rarely use an optical drive when away from a desk. You can, of course, purchase a matching external optical drive (DVD burner or DVD burner/Blu-ray player) … just in case you need it when you’re working at the office.

The notebook chassis is constructed from a combination of plastics and magnesium alloy for a balance of light weight and durability, and I have no doubt the Studio 14z can survive several years of use and abuse by college students, although I’d feel better about the build quality if the plastic palmrests where made of magnesium alloy instead.

When closed the Studio 14z feels nice and thin, but the weight of the 8-cell battery in our review unit makes the notebook feel like it’s a little too heavy in the rear. The Ruby Red screen lid features a nice thick matte paint with a rubberized texture that should hold up over the years of travel to and from classes. The screen lid shows signs of obvious flex under strong pressure, but I wasn’t able to create any screen ripples when pressing on the back.

The Dell Studio 14z is currently available with your choice of colors including, Black Chain Link, Midnight Blue, Promise Pink, Spring Green, Plum Purple, and Ruby Red. Dell will also donate $5 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure from the purchase of each Promise Pink laptop. Starting in September the Dell Design Studio will offer the Studio 14z in your choice of more than 120 different designs, so you won’t have to worry about owning a laptop that looks identical to a classmate’s notebook.

The bottom of the notebook features the battery and a single access plates that must be removed in order to upgrade the RAM. My only frustration here is that you have no easy access to the hard drive, so be prepared to completely disassemble the notebook if you want to upgrade the hard drive on your own.

Screen and Speakers
The 14-inch high-definition panel on the Dell Studio 14z easily rates as one of the better screens we’ve seen with vibrant colors, excellent contrast, and good viewing angles. The LED backlighting in our review unit is pretty even and offers a range of brightness settings. Yes, it is a 16:9 screen ratio, but this is starting to become standard for all notebooks and Dell was wise enough to offer the Studio 14z with a higher resolution 1600×900 display like the one in our review unit. Horizontal viewing angles are extremely good, so you won’t have any trouble sharing a movie with a friend or two. Upper vertical viewing angles are a little better than average since the colors don’t wash out too much when viewed from above, but colors begin to distort and invert as you move the screen back.

At first glance the two tiny speakers located above and to either side of the keyboard on the Studio 14z look weak and pathetic. Most people would expect speakers like these to produce weak, tinny sound … but we’ll forgive those people for jumping to conclusions. In fact, the Dell Studio 14z includes four stereo speakers: the two tiny speakers located above the keyboard that direct sound up and two larger speakers located beneath the palmrests that direct sound down. The two smaller speakers focus on the high frequencies while the two larger speakers are tuned for the midtones and bass. The sound isn’t quite as impressive as what you’ll hear from two large speakers and a dedicated subwoofer, but this is easily the best sound quality we’ve heard on any 14-inch notebook. Bottom line, if you don’t need to fill an entire room with sound for a party then external speakers are NOT needed with this notebook. The built-in speakers perform surprisingly well.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on our review unit has full-sized keys with good key spacing and an excellent depth to the key throw. Each key has a textured black finish and a relatively flat surface. More importantly, the keyboard is available with optional backlighting for easy typing in a dark classroom or dorm room. The only complaint that I have with the keyboard on the Studio 14z is the surprising amount of flex across the entire width of the board. Even when typing with minimal pressure the keyboard bounces and flexes as you type. If you apply heavy pressure then the keyboard almost feels like a trampoline. Considering that the Studio 14z doesn’t have an optical drive to create an empty cavity beneath the keyboard we were very surprised to find this much keyboard flex while typing.

On the other hand, if you can overlook the keyboard flex this really is a very nice keyboard.

The multi-touch, gesture-based touchpad is reasonably large for a thin and light 14-inch notebook and the dual touchpad buttons have deep feedback with quiet clicks. The touchpad itself is an ALPS model that uses Dell proprietary touchpad drivers. I’m not a fan of the Dell touchpad drivers, but the touchpad was reasonably responsive with good sensitivity and very little lag.

Ports and Features
The port selection on the Studio 14z is a bit of a mixed bag. Dell included three USB ports, one of which is a combo USB/eSATA port, as well as FireWire and an ExpressCard/34 expansion slot. If you have a new external monitor or HDTV then you’ll also be pleased to hear that the Studio 14z includes both HDMI and DisplayPort for digital video and audio output. Unfortunately, Dell made three sacrifices with the Studio 14z that might be problematic depending on what your needs happen to be. As previously mentioned, there’s no built-in optical drive, so forget about watching DVDs or installing software from a installation disk unless you’re using an external optical drive. Second, Dell forgot to include a built-in SD card reader with the Studio 14z. Dell does offer an optional SD card reader that fits inside the ExpressCard slot, but it’s 2009 … every laptop should have a built-in SD card slot. The last thing you might find missing on the Studio 14z is the lack of a standard VGA port. Granted, most new monitors and HDTVs use either HDMI or DisplayPort, but there are still many projectors that require a VGA port. Considering that many students might need to use this notebook to show a presentation in class it seems odd that there’s no VGA port for a classroom projector.

Performance
The performance of the Studio 14zwith an Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor and Nvidia GeForce 9400M G graphics is quite good for a mobile multimedia notebook. It’s worth mentioning that our review configuration of the Dell Studio 14z has very similar specs to the 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro but our performance benchmarks suggest the Dell has better performance for less than the price of the MacBook Pro.

System performance is excellent considering the sub-$1,000 price. The Nvidia 9400M graphics offer superior video playback and gaming when compared to Intel integrated graphis. With an average 3DMark06 score of more than 2,200 3DMarks, it is comparable to low-end dedicated options and can handle previous generation games with some tweaking of the resolution and detail settings. In our test of the game Portal, the Studio 14z delivered 39-45 frames per second (FPS) at 1280×800 resolution on high settings looking through a single portal. Looking through no portals the framerate would be as high as 60FPS, and if you were looking through two it would drop down to about 23-25FPS.

Indeed, the $649 starting price of the Studio 14z starts to look even better when you consider the Nvidia graphics performance and large storage drive options. Unlike netbooks that usually feature no more than a 160GB hard drive, the Studio 14z is available with up to a 500GB hard drive that can store a full music library of up to 125,000 songs, 142,000 photos or 133 DVD quality movies. The 320GB hard drive in our review unit offers a good balance of performance, storage capacity, and price.

Battery
With the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and the Vista power profile set to “Balanced” the Studio 14z stayed on for 4 hours and 58 minutes. For use in the classroom or on your lap in front of the TV this amount of battery life was fine, but it may be cutting it close for all-day traveling. The 8-cell 5400mAh 74Wh battery seems to do a pretty acceptable job for 14-inch laptop, but this isn’t even close to Dell’s claim of “more than 6 hours of battery life.”

Heat and Noise
The cooling system does a reasonably impressive job keeping the external temperatures down. After extended periods of use the right palmrest gets quite warm and the bottom of the notebook near the hard drive and RAM get warm, but temperatures remain well below 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature readings below were taken after stressing the system with performance benchmarks for 30 minutes and should reflect typical external temperatures after more than an hour of serious use.

Noise levels are fairly quiet when running on battery as the fan produces a constant weak “hum” as hot air is pushed out. The fan gets louder when the laptop is set to the “high performance” power profile under Microsoft Vista and was plugged into the AC adapter, but the fan should only be noticeable by others in a very, VERY quiet room.

Conclusion
The Dell Studio 14z is an impressive 14-inch notebook that arrives just in time to give students (and parents) something to consider for back-to-school season. If your child or your family is looking for a convenient laptop for general use then the Studio 14z can handle just about anything you throw at it. The overall price/performance ratio makes the Studio 14z one of the more impressive notebooks on the market if you’re looking for something with a 14-inch screen. The nice design, great sounding speakers and a gorgeous screen make the Studio 14z a touch act to follow.

That said, the Studio 14z has some strong competition from notebooks like the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 and the popular HP Pavilion dv4t. The fact that the Studio 14z lacks an optical drive, SD card slot, and standard VGA port means that some potential buyers will need to look elsewhere. Likewise, the keyboard flex was more than a little disappointing. Still, if you want an alternative to the MacBook Pro that is both attractive and reasonably powerful then the Studio 14z makes a solid choice.

Pros:

• Attractive design
• Good overall performance for the price
• Great screen and speakers

Cons:

• No optical drive
• No standard VGA port
• No standard SD card slot