Hi Matt
thanks for the reply. I tried 3 different pairs of headphones, none seem to work ie. i can hear the sound from both headphones and onboard speakers

I'm heavily annoyed *lol* took my paintbrush and shoved it in, hoping that miraculously it would somehow be reverted back to it's original stage but no luck there.
Wonder what would happen if i opened the rear up ? I know laptops are darn sensitive but is there a chance that something could just be in the wrong place and need 'gentle' treatment ie. pushing/pulling etc back into whatever area it came out from ? I guess I'm asking how bad I'd mess the laptop up if i just opened it *assuming that i can* and took a look around.