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Do i need a portable amp to couple up with my laptop onbaord audio card? (Details inside)

post #1 of 8
2/11/12 at 10:22am
Thread Starter 

Hello everyone!

 

I own  ATH M50 headphones and I listen to my music in my HP laptop which has a pretty mediocre sound card. (IDT HD Onboard audio)

 

Most of the time (99.9%) I crank the volume to 100% in Winamp and I can still listen to my music comfortably. It doesn't feel "loud" at all. 

 

So I was wondering whether I need a portable amp (I've my eyes on the FiiO e6). I played around with the equaliser and yes there was a significant improvement however I do not find much of a improvement over my previously owned Sennheiser HD 203 ($40)

 

The sound quality is good! But I had expected it to be much better and that's the reason I think i need a portable amp to couple up with my mediocre onboard sound card.

 

What do you guys think? Please help :)


Edited by mystaku - 2/11/12 at 10:24am
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post #2 of 8
2/11/12 at 10:26am

Do you just want loudness?  If so, I guess you can get a portable amp to crank them up higher.

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post #3 of 8
2/11/12 at 10:28am

I think Realtek HD Audio onboard Audio sucks ass, thats why I bought an X-Fi Titanium PCI-E for my PC. The sound is much better and I hardly ever go beyond 30% loudness on the Windows slider. I don't know which laptops have good onboard audio but for home listening I would use a proper PC anyway.

 

There is also an X-Fi USB card, but I read it doesn't sound as good as the internal cards. That said even the 20 eur Audigy SE was way better than the onboard ac97/realtek you name it thing.

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post #4 of 8
2/11/12 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMRaven View Post

Do you just want loudness?  If so, I guess you can get a portable amp to crank them up higher.


 

 

Well to be honest, I want loudness + better audio quality! And I may go for a DAC (like E10) however I'm not sure if the increase in audio quality would be worth the $80 that I'll spend on it :( 

 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blinxat View Post

I think Realtek HD Audio onboard Audio sucks ass, thats why I bought an X-Fi Titanium PCI-E for my PC. The sound is much better and I hardly ever go beyond 30% loudness on the Windows slider. I don't know which laptops have good onboard audio but for home listening I would use a proper PC anyway.

 

There is also an X-Fi USB card, but I read it doesn't sound as good as the internal cards. That said even the 20 eur Audigy SE was way better than the onboard ac97/realtek you name it thing.



 I've a desktop too by the way (which has a pretty ****ty sound card). So should I go for the amp or buy a new sound card? Will coupling a portable amp with my laptop's onboard sound card give the same quality as a good desktop sound card? 


Edited by mystaku - 2/11/12 at 10:34am
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post #5 of 8
2/11/12 at 10:37am

I guess it just depends on your usage for both the laptop and desktop.  A dac/amp combo can be used for both, and you can line-out from both, utilizing the superior source.  If you primarily use the desktop, then an upgraded internal soundcard might be worth considering.

 

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post #6 of 8
2/11/12 at 10:45am

I think the E10 would be a great choice. You can easily use it with either your laptop or desktop since it's usb powered and doesn't need a separate adapter. It has very good sq at the price and a decent built in amp. Bass boost feature might be useful too depending on what 'phones you are using and if your preferences lean toward more bass.

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post #7 of 8
2/11/12 at 10:51am
I have the same onboard chip. On a related note try foobar with WASAPI. Provides a tangible improvement me thinks.
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post #8 of 8
2/11/12 at 10:55am

As posted above, the Fiio E10 is really great for the price and I find myself using the bass boost every time I listen to my Grado SR80i's. 

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