Sound Card for Laptop?

[jar1087]

I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron e1705 and ordered Dell's software based audio upgrade. However, I was not particularly impressed with the sound and would like to buy a new sound card. I was looking at the Creative Audigy ZS PCMCIA card, which I can get for $50, but I wasn't sure if it would be worth it. Would this be a good upgrade or should I look at other options such as a USB card? Oh yeah, I'll mostly be listening to rock and DVDs using either the built in speakers or Shure E4s. Any advice would be great, thanks.

 

[uzziah]

generally, you'll want an external dac

 

[gates_2]

be advised, all the new dells ship ONLY with an expresscard slot, NOT a PCMCIA slot, so that card WILL NOT WORK with your laptop.

I just got a nice new e1505 and was very dissapointed(was going to get the indigo IO card- I highly reccomend it if anyone with a PCMCIA slot laptop wants a compact I/O card

 

[socrates63]

If the card slot option won't work, then is a USB sound card like the Bithead the way to go?

 

[dodap]

Indeed, USB is the way to go: There are tiny little dongle like DACs as the M-Audio Transit or Edirols UA-1EX or little boxes as Jan Meier's Porta Corda or luggable desktop cases as the Bithead DAC or my cheapy DIYEDEN SVDAC04 or the smaller Firestone Fubar.

 

[MrFaust]

I have the same laptop. I ended up going with the EDIROL UA-25

 

[Mr Do]

I have the same laptop. I ended up going with the EDIROL UA-25

How does the Edirol sound? I'm thinking of getting the Edirol UA-25 for my Asus W7J laptop running XP but not sure if it will work well with Apple iTunes and lossless files. Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Do!