Disappointed with new laptop sound.
Oct 20, 2012 at 9:09 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 21
Trancecommunity

Trancecommunity

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Hi folks,
 
I need some advice on what to do with this new laptop. I just bought a custom made laptop with very good spec on everything but sound.  Set me back 1500 so im not too happy with the terrible sound. Its much worse than a 5 year old dell i have here aswell. Never heard anything so bad actually.
 
Its a realtek ALC892 chip. 
 
Im not sure if theres something i can do to improve the sound rather than just buy a whole new external soundcard. 
 
Any opinions please?
 
Oct 20, 2012 at 10:06 AM Post #3 of 21
Ive tried a few different headphones but mainly Technics 1200 headphones now. They sound fine in everything else.
 
All headphones just sound terrible with this laptop. Its as if on the equalizer the first half is lowered and the second half is too high. No bass and scratching treble. Others are complaining of the same thing. 
 
However the same chip in other laptops seems to be decent so is it possibly software related? 
 
I think ill have to buy a USB soundcard of some sort.
 
Oct 20, 2012 at 10:21 AM Post #4 of 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trancecommunity /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
However the same chip in other laptops seems to be decent so is it possibly software related?
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Check if all DSP (EQ etc.) is disabled, and that you are not driving your headphones from a line output (this may be switchable in software, but if it is hardwired, and there are e.g. 4.7 or 10 uF capacitors on the audio output, then you will never get good bass response).
 
Oct 20, 2012 at 10:30 AM Post #5 of 21
Quote:
trancecommunity said:
Hi folks,
 
I need some advice on what to do with this new laptop. I just bought a custom made laptop with very good spec on everything but sound.  Set me back 1500 so im not too happy with the terrible sound. Its much worse than a 5 year old dell i have here aswell. Never heard anything so bad actually.
 
Its a realtek ALC892 chip. 
 
Im not sure if theres something i can do to improve the sound rather than just buy a whole new external soundcard. 
 
Any opinions please?
Click to expand...

 
The audio quality is the same with the laptop plugged or unplugged ?
 
Oct 20, 2012 at 10:36 AM Post #6 of 21
Realtek Audio manager says headphones so thats alright. Theres no equalizer except on individual media player Foobar or VLC.
 
Strange thing is this laptop has Onkyo speakers and Subwoofer under laptop which sounds good when not on headphones.  Its this with everything maxed out.
Its the best sounding laptop ive heard using the built in speakers but worst with headphones. :)
 
edit- What do you mean by plugged or unplugged? If its headphones or speakers i just explained. If you mean charger i have it on charge on desk.
 
edit again - More info here
 
Oct 20, 2012 at 10:59 AM Post #7 of 21
Ok this is strange when i set it to 7.1 through Audio Manager it boosts the bass but overall quality is still like the laptop cost me 50 bucks rather than 1500.
 
Its a real pity as the laptop graphic and power wise is unreal. Its like someone stuck a crappy headunit in a top of the range car. 
 
Ive been hearing a bit of the Fiio E17. Do you think i should fork out for something like that? Any other options?
 
Oct 20, 2012 at 10:28 PM Post #10 of 21
Quote:
trancecommunity said:
Strange thing is this laptop has Onkyo speakers and Subwoofer under laptop which sounds good when not on headphones.  
Click to expand...

 
Bult-in? I wouldn't expect built-in speakers to have the clarity and detail of your headphones (and I question the idea that a usable subwoofer could be built in a laptop--lol).
 
So yeah. I don't think the fact that the speakers and "sub" sound good mean that the problem isn't with the motherboard audio.
 
E17's are nice for the price and should solve your problem.
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 1:44 AM Post #11 of 21
Laptops don't have subwoofers.  They don't even have woofers.  Anything that says there is a woofer or subwoofer in a laptop case is a complete lie.  Yes, the designers of the laptop are lying to you.
 
What you probably have is two twiddlers (tweeter/midranges, with the worst aspects of both) and maybe a single midrange for lower volume in the laptop, at best.
 
So -- what you need is a quality external/usb sound card / headphone amp, to shoehorn as much of the processing and sound creation and amplification away from the laptop chassis itself...
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 3:14 AM Post #12 of 21
Dont get me wrong its not exactly a 10" sub or anything. 
biggrin.gif
 Have a look here in the gallery and see what i mean. Its just ever so slightly better than not having it but still better.
 
Problem is definitely the card all right and ive since found out that the quality is above average when used in 5.1 or 7.1. Its just a major fault with 2.0 through headphones.
 
God knows why they did it. Sacrificed 2.0 to get a huge improvement with gaming headsets.
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 4:10 AM Post #15 of 21
Just found something interesting on another forum
 
 
 
[size=1.2em]I suspected it might be the headphone jack, but when I was researching it online people kept mistakenly referring to the sound card. I don't know much about what sound cards do so I kinda just went with that.[/size]
[size=1.2em] Turns out you were right, anyway. I actually have a USB headphone jack adapter that I tried using before I came here, but the computer wasn't picking it up so I kind of just abandoned that route. Tried it again today, got it to work, and everything sounds like it's supposed to through it! The problem was indeed the headphone jack, which isn't a big deal as I'm used to using this adapter anyway (my friend broke the built-in headphone jack on my mac years ago).[/size]

[size=1.2em]Thanks everyone![/size]
 
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