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Why does my onboard sound card sound better than my mp3 players?

post #1 of 5
12/12/09 at 8:59pm
Thread Starter 
Hi guys. I am just curious about sth. I have Itouch 3g 32gb and Samsung Q2 and an acer laptop I am not an audiophile so I don't use any device to get the best sound out of my players and in this situation my laptop sounds better than my mp3 players. I mean, it is not about the detail but its sound is more fun and full. Is it because its more powerful and mp3 players need and amp? I don't think it is so because my headphones are easy to drive. Thanks in advance for the answers.
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post #2 of 5
12/12/09 at 9:08pm
You're probably right - your onboard sound card likely has more power than your DAPs do.

The iPod was designed to maximize battery life, so power was cut to its amplifier. A sound card can get plenty of power from the computer's power supply, so it can send more to the amp.
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post #3 of 5
12/12/09 at 9:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ok1907 View Post
Hi guys. I am just curious about sth. I have Itouch 3g 32gb and Samsung Q2 and an acer laptop I am not an audiophile so I don't use any device to get the best sound out of my players and in this situation my laptop sounds better than my mp3 players. I mean, it is not about the detail but its sound is more fun and full. Is it because its more powerful and mp3 players need and amp? I don't think it is so because my headphones are easy to drive. Thanks in advance for the answers.
The matter is that you need to have a sournd standard. if there is not a basical sound evaluation standard, you can't give the assessment to your mp3 player and sound card. I have friends often ask me the same question.

Maybe you feel the sound card sound is fun and full, I guess you mean the volume's louder level.

Basically I think the Touch and Q2 is better than most PC stock sound card. especially in the details , 3D image ,and background noise and many other aspects.
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post #4 of 5
12/12/09 at 9:46pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for quick reply. The thing you said seems so logical but an ampless mp3 player sounding worse than a laptop is illogical Will it change if I buy a portable amp such as fiio e5? If not, could you suggest a portable and cheap amp? I am considering to order e5 from focalprice if there isn't any other option better than that.
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post #5 of 5
12/12/09 at 9:54pm
Thread Starter 
@newfier yeah you are right. They are better in detail and 3d but I am not talking about volume's louder level. Laptop sounds better in flat settings and when I use eq in mp3 players they get better but not a real improvement. If I had an x-fi sound card I wouldn't worry about it sounding better than mp3 players because it should sound better but an onboard sound card sounding that good is ridiculous Maybe my ears can't distinguish the difference but they can distinguish a good mp3 player and a bad one By the way, my sound card might be very good
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