[fishodeath]

Hey, I could use some help. I need to buy some fairly good quality reasonablely priced headphones for my dorm in college. I think I've found a couple of good choices, but since my funds are limited I need to know weather or not I should by an amp. Will my laptop have enough power on its own to power them?

Thanks

Fishdoeath

 

[MirandaX]

Depends on your laptop. IBM Thinkpads have very good DACs and headphone jacks. People have had good experiences with Apple laptops too. Dells are OK; average sound quality. Grado headphones would work well with either. If you're living in a dorm situation, you should also seriously consider Etymotics. They'll eliminate all the noise around you, dramatically lowering your stress level. They'll probably even improve your grades.

 

[fishodeath]

Hey thanks alot, my laptop is a Compaq Presario 2800T. Do you know how they rate? Thanks for the headphone tip I'll look into it.

 

[MirandaX]

Not sure how the Compaq laptops sound. If you're not satisfied with the sound, you can always add a Xitel Hi-Fi Link (an external sound card) or one of the similar products out there. Keep in mind that you'll need a headphone amp with something like the Hi-Fi Link, but you may not need an amp with your laptop's onboard sound if you choose efficient headphones (Grados, Etymotic 4P/6, Sony V6, etc.).

 

[jodokast]

another possible choice would be the stereo link 1200

 

[thomas]

Quote:

my laptop is a Compaq Presario 2800T.

Nice choice! I just ordered an EVO 800c, which is the "businesS" version of yours. I'd really like to know how the headphone out/line out is on your computer...

Almost any headphone jack will supply enough power for headphones; Adding an amp is mainly to improve sound quality.

Quote:

IBM Thinkpads have very good DACs and headphone jacks

Depends on the laptop. To my knowledge, IBM, Dell, and HP (products designed before the merger) do not design any of their laptops themselves, and basically rebrand computers designed and manufactured by Taiwanese OEM companies. They switch OEMs with every model, so their designs change a lot. My brother's IBM thinkpad has absolutely horrible sound from its headphone out, frequently interrupted by high frequency noise when the computer is used.

I've heard this complant from many laptop owners, if the Compaq's also suffer from this problem, then

 

[MirandaX]

Quote:

Originally posted by thomas Depends on the laptop. To my knowledge, IBM, Dell, and HP (products designed before the merger) do not design any of their laptops themselves, and basically rebrand computers designed and manufactured by Taiwanese OEM companies.

You're right about Dell, but not about IBM (can't speak for HP). The ThinkPads are designed by a group at IBM Almaden here in the States, and manufactured at an IBM plant in Mexico. This is partly why they're more expensive than Dell machines. (I'm not criticizing the Taiwanese OEMs, BTW, some of their designs are very nice.)

To be more precise about sound quality, I really like all the Crystal Semiconductor chipsets since the SoundFusion; sound quality is very good (incidentally, one of the chips in the ART DI/O is also made by Crystal). To my knowledge, all the recent business ThinkPads use this chipset, but I can't speak for the consumer-level ones. I don't really like the ESS chipset that some laptops have; it's rather unsatisfactory.

 

[thomas]

It must depend on the model, as the thinkpad i referred to above was "made in taiwan" (its about 3 years old)... They probably outsource their cheaper notebooks and design the high end versions themselves...

i agree, some of the taiwanese designs are very good, but if companies charge the huge markups for their brand name, they should at least design/manufacture the computers themselves...

THere are two new chipsets for laptops- The expensive Toshibas use Yamaha YMF753, and Compaq uses Analog Devices AD1886...

My soundcard for my desktop uses a similar yamaha chipset, and it is the best sounding consumer card i've heard. i wouldn't be surprised if laptops using that chip have the best sound of any notebook... I've also seen good reviews for the analog devices sound chips (they're commonly used on on-board sound with motherboardS)

 

[Vitalstatistix]

What about Gateway laptops?

 

[Audio Redneck]

From personal experience at work and at home

Gateway:

Yuck (but I don't like anything Gateway)
Toshiba Satellite:

Yuck (unforuately, my favorite/daily-driver notebook)
Compaq:

Surprisingly good sound considering I don't care much for the notebook itself.
IBM 560:

(old faithful)
Dell:

At least the ones I've been incontact with.
Winbook:

Summary observation: The Yamaha chips are pretty good. The Crystal chips (usually) aren't that great.

(FWIW: In my previous job, I made emergency repairs on our company's laptops for field tech. We had a variety of brands and models, and I got some audio experience with them as they all used them as PCDPs or PDVDPs and I had to be sure they worked for such use so I didn't get an ear full when they got back.)

 

[michael_dukakis]

how much are you willing to spend??? Occasionally, the Sennheiser HD580s can be found on ubid.com for ~$100. these headphones will hold their own as you continue to improve your rig. The only downside is that they need an amp -- so, spend the money you save on the phones (they retail for about $240) on a CMOY amp or a Total Airhead if you like portability. I myself have the 580's paired with a headroom little, which costs more and isn't portable, but really makes them start to shine.