Is it just me, or do newer computers generally have very good built-in audio?

[averydonovan]

I've noticed both with my Acer Aspire One and my new Mac Mini that the audio output on them is many leagues above what was built-in to the computers I had bought even a few years ago. Even the cheap little Acer absolutely stomps all over my 4-year-old iBook G4 and even surpasses my Creative Zen Vision:M. Maybe I'm just not as picky as I once was, but it is nice to be able to plug in a set of headphones directly to one of these machines and not instantly start cringing. Let alone plug in my amp and be pleased with the results.

 

[iriverdude]

Definietly for desktops but not so sure about laptops.

 

[ozz]

Better living from newer chips but yes I agree they seem to be paying attention to this of
late, digital downloads probably has something to do with it when they review something of late they make a comment on its sound quality something the reviewers neglected years ago.

 

[ljokerl]

I don't know about the Acer Aspire One (should be the same), but the audio out on my Eee PC seriously lacks punch. However, this being a relative comparison, it is better than the staticky junk coming out of my 5-year-old Toshiba Satellite and 4-year old Thinkpad.

Integrated desktop audio is leagues ahead of where it was 5 years ago. I was holding on to my SoundBlaster for many pc builds and have only started relying on the built-in Realtek chipset in my newest build.

 

[Currawong]

Macs have generally had better than average audio output. If some PC makers are starting to follow suite, then that's good. It'll be good when travelling with just IEMs and one's laptop.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donovansmith /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've noticed both with my Acer Aspire One and my new Mac Mini that the audio output on them is many leagues above what was built-in to the computers I had bought even a few years ago. Even the cheap little Acer absolutely stomps all over my 4-year-old iBook G4 and even surpasses my Creative Zen Vision:M. Maybe I'm just not as picky as I once was, but it is nice to be able to plug in a set of headphones directly to one of these machines and not instantly start cringing. Let alone plug in my amp and be pleased with the results.

Absolutely. Onboard sound for example, has surpassed many discrete soundcards from a few years back.

 

[ecclesand]

The onboard audio of the mobo I just put in a recent build has very good audio using Realtek HD, plus it has an optical out which is pretty handy. An older Intel build I gave to my son (it's about 5 years old from when the Socket 478 P4 Northwoods were popular) has horrible onboard sound. An old Dell 2400 has even worse SQ. Yes, there is definitely an improvement in onboard SQ in recent motherboards.

 

[Skorpitarius]

Yes very definetly .
No complaints on my new-ish HP pc

 

[MCC]

I've noticed the opposite effect. My old Lenovo Z60t had pristine sound but my new W500 has serious issues with low impedance headphones. I had to buy an impedance adapter to get rid of fuzzy sounding bass on my EP-630s.

The speakers, on the other hand, are 10,000% better on the W500.

 

[compuryan]

Yup! Onboard audio is much better than it used to be.

 

[olblueyez]

Yeah, even the onboard stuff trumps the old SB Live.

 

[tattoou2]

Surprisingly, the onboard sound from my 'newish' Toshiba Satellite is much better than my older Macbook. Technology has come a long way within even the past four years.

 

[kanix]

it is better. Although I never noticed the actual difference and always use a external DAC for my computer. I think a new model now have better sound.

 

[zerodeefex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif Macs have generally had better than average audio output. If some PC makers are starting to follow suite, then that's good. It'll be good when travelling with just IEMs and one's laptop.

considering Macs are using regular 775 and 1366 socket mobos, etc, there should be parity from a hardware standpoint.

 

[voon]

I think you are right... as mentioned in another thread, I uselessly started , without having found this one. It is also true for at least some Notebooks. The Asus B50 (A cheap entry noteook btw) has the RealTel HD Audio solution, and what can I say, it drives the 250 Ohm DT880s with more than enough power, you can get them louder than you can endure. And to be honest: It sounds pretty good. No need to fall into depression, just because you let your favorite amp at home. Sure, it's not totally up to the one amp I know, my D10, but scarily close in some aspects.