[Gluegun]

Hi there, what is a good entry level piece of equipment to get passable sound from laptop?

 

[dkjohnso]

I used to use the M-Audio Transit with my laptop: it's analog out is quite nice and clean. Plus it has digital out if you want to use it with a standalone DAC at some point. If your laptop has a PCMCIA slot, you could find an original Echo Indigo for $50.

 

[velingara]

A used Total Bithead from Headroom- might be a few dollars more than $50, but look around, I've seen some on ebay and this forum.

 

[johnanderson]

From what I've found of cheap DAC's it looks like your options are the m-audio transit, alien DAC, Behringer UCA202, or m-audio audiophile(used). There are some pcicia options but youre probably better off sticking to usb.

 

[pterodactilo]

Has the Edirol UA-1EX good DAC ?

 

[Brian loves music]

maybe look for a emu 0202 usb? 70 bucks

 

[Punnisher]

I've been testing the Behringer UCA202 for the last couple days, its really nice for 30 USD.

It has optical out too, really clean output (16 bit). I got mine from Amazon.

 

[brainsalad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gluegun /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi there, what is a good entry level piece of equipment to get passable sound from laptop?

I started with the SUPER Pro DAC 707 USB. It up samples to 192khz. Not to push my own agenda, I have a new one on sale on Ebay if you're interested.

Also, the Headroom Bitheads are excellent. They sound great and are very small and easy to take with you. They also can serve as just an amp.

 

[dizzyorange]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pterodactilo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has the Edirol UA-1EX good DAC ?

It's a solid clean signal. Not up to the level of an EMU0404 USB however. The best thing about the Edirol is that it is rock solid at ASIO. No skips or 3rd party driver nonsense.

 

[Brian loves music]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brainsalad /img/forum/go_quote.gif I started with the SUPER Pro DAC 707 USB. It up samples to 192khz. Not to push my own agenda, I have a new one on sale on Ebay if you're interested. Also, the Headroom Bitheads are excellent. They sound great and are very small and easy to take with you. They also can serve as just an amp.

up sampling 44hz recordings to 192 actually improves quality? Is that true?

 

[Gluegun]

I'm trying to get someone a decent audio interface on the cheap...

I checked Froogle, and these are the cheapest prices of these items I found

Behringer UCA202,Behringer UCA202 Ultra low-latency 2 In/2 Out USB/Audio Interface, UCA-202 ,UCA202,UCA202 Ultra low-latency 2 In/2 Out USB/Audio Interface, UCA-202 ,Behringer

M-Audio Transit - USB 24 bit and 96kHz recording and playback to any USB compatible computer.

JR.com: Edirol UA-1EX USB Audio Interface in Digital Recording:

The only one that is actually within the correct price range is the Behringer UCA202. How do those go with the Sennheiser HD205's for an entry level home system with a Laptop?