[Chinchy]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but I have a question. I'm wondering which laptop you are aware of that has a good headphone out jack? Case in point: I have an IBM Thinkpad T20 and a Compaq Armada M700. The headphone jack on the T20 is great, you don't really hear any system noise. On the M700 however, the headphone out is terrible, with lots of static and periodic "rings" from somewhere in the system. The headphone jack out of the docking station for the M700 is just fine though.

I did do a quick search to see if I could find anything, but the closest I can find is for an external USB sound card...

Just curious.

 

[Wodgy]

The IBM Thinkpad T2X series is known to have a very good headphone out.

There's a site out there that measures various laptops, but I can't remember where it is. Anyway, there's a huge variation in sound quality between laptops. The Thinkpad T2X series was one of the best, as was some of the Apple laptops, if I remember correctly. The Dell laptops measured quite poorly.

 

[christsay]

I've heard good things about the echo indigo:

http://www.echoindigo.com/

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally posted by christsay I've heard good things about the echo indigo: http://www.echoindigo.com/

Haven't heard it, but have heard the same raves. M-Audio Audiophile USB is also talked highly of.

 

[Chinchy]

Quote:

Originally posted by Wodgy The IBM Thinkpad T2X series is known to have a very good headphone out. There's a site out there that measures various laptops, but I can't remember where it is. Anyway, there's a huge variation in sound quality between laptops. The Thinkpad T2X series was one of the best, as was some of the Apple laptops, if I remember correctly. The Dell laptops measured quite poorly.

Thanks for the relevant response!

Yes, so far I haven't been disappointed by my T20. I've had 3 Dell Latitudes in the past, and their headphone outs were awful. Sometimes even mouse movement found its way into the audio stream.. Terrible. Anyone else have any suggestions? Strictly headphone output, not USB.. Thanks!

 

[Wodgy]

You can reduce the noise floor on the Thinkpad T2X series by a small (but noticeable) amount by turning off the infrared port in the Thinkpad configuration application. (The infrared port is located right beside the headphone out and at full volume you may occasionally hear a small chirp periodically when it scans for hosts. Unless you're using infrared, it's completely okay to turn it off.)

Also, on the T2X series, you should set all the volume sliders to maximum in the volume control applet, and use the hardware volume control (the two grey buttons at the top of the keyboard) to control the volume. This will maximize the sound quality.

 

[GeoffW]

The Toshiba 5205 multimedia series laptops have very good headphone outs. I have a 5205-s703 and it's quite good. The soundcard is based on the yamaha YMF753 codec, and also has digital optical out (s/p dif) and dolby ac3 out.

 

[Guyferd]

yeap..
satellite pro 5100 user here..
yamaha ymf753 also.. it's quite good for laptop

 

[Hiker]

http://www.echoindigo.com/

Thats the best way to go.

Hiker

 

[usc goose]

vaio grx560

headphone out is hella good.

hella.

edit: it runs yamaha ax-xg wdm integrated audio if that means anything.

 

[Chinchy]

How about performance of the laptop as well? I'm kinda leaning towards either IBM or Sony strictly due to good past history. Probably more towards the IBM due to their tremendously excellent service and laptop builds. The Sony's are not bad, but in my mind tend to be more geared towards interoperability with other existing Sony devices.

The Toshibas may be okay, but my past experience with their laptops have been spotty. It may be better now as it has been at least 4 years since I last touched one.

Does anyone know how the soundcard of the Thinkpad T series (i.e. T30) compares to the others?

Thanks!

 

[bsdfish]

I've had both Sony(SR-7k) and IBM(T23) laptops and like the headphone out in both of them. I also used an HP laptop - its sound card left something to be desired. I love my IBM's sound and I think it's a much better value than the Sony because it feels more solid and won't break quite so easily When I ran RMAA on the IBM, I got numbers significantly better than on my desktop (which has a really bad sound card so I suppose it's not a good benchmark), and the headphone-out sounds pretty darn clean.

 

[JMedeiros]

I have the Sony Vaio PCG-R505EL from last year and it's headphone out is very capable. It uses the Yamaha AC-XG Audio Device. I have enjoyed much music and many DVDs using it with my Porta Pros & Sony CD3Ks.

However, these are easy to drive phones. On the Senn600s, DT880s and the Koss Pro4AAT I am currently auditioning, it drives the phones to listenable volumes, but not spectacular.

John

 

[loveheadphones]

if you get an echo indigo, is it worthwhile to connect a dedicated headphone amp to the headphone-out?

 

[Hiker]

Anyone heard the headphone out of the VPR Martix Laptops from Best Buy? Their website tends to build them up to be pretty good. Company propaganda of course, but what does anyone think of it?