HP-1 Barracuda with Standard Audio Card

Alright, well, I don't know much about soundcards and what you can do to improve them, what ones work best, et cetera, but I'm trying to play catchup, as I've been a radio DJ for some time, but have never looked at soundcards like this.

Anyway, to the point. I just got a pair of HP-1 Barracuda gaming headphones from Razer for Christmas. I seem to have it hooked up completely (though the "Rear Speakers" jack doesn't seem to exist on my laptop), but the sound... it's just not that great. While listening to music, I get almost crackling at some of the more straining highs. It gets all the little details, but it seems like it's not keeping up sometimes.

My suspicion is that it's my terrible standard-issue soundcard at work. I have a Dell XPS 1530 laptop, and the soundcard is a SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC (this is what I should be listing right?).

Does this sound right? And if you agree that this is the problem, how in the world can I fix it, or should I send them back to the store? I know you can't replacement the soundcard without replacing the motherboard, but know there might be a way around it-- doesn't Creative Labs makes some kind of converter? I don't know, but i really need help.

If you're skeptic that it's worth it to go through with, considering my rig isn't exactly top-notch (though definitely capable), maybe you could recommend some other gaming-approved headsets I should look at instead of the Barracuda?

Your help is much appreciated.

 

You can probably get a x-fi express card card or the 5.1 sound card.

 

Where would those go on the laptop?

Also, for anyone else, any suggestions on a good headset that wouldn't require the need to update the soundcard on my laptop?

 

Where would the express card go? In the express card slot!

All notebooks that I know of have either a type II cardbus PCMCIA slot, or the newer express card slot. Some notebooks have both, Much more common on new notebooks is the express card slot.

A much better choice than the soundblaster xi-fi express card that someone mentioned, is the new Echo Indigo express card. ( www.echoaudio.com).

If your notebook has the larger type II cardbus slot, Echo made the Indigo card to fit that form factor for many years, an excellent card, which I have. Laterly they discontinued that model, replaced by the express card model, since cardbus slots are on their way to extinction. However, if you search for one, I would bet you can still find the Indigo cardbus card for sale.

 

M1530's 3x audio jacks can be configured to output 5 channel audio ( Front, [EDIT]Center[/EDIT] and Rear) through Sigmatel driver settings (Control panel > Sigmatel Audio) .

But still, sound quality of the integrated sound card is very poor. Therefore you are better off buying an external 5.1 card (either expresscard or USB).

EDIT : 3 channels for the 5.1 are Front, center and Rear, sorry for the typo.

 

Its front, center, and rear. Sub doesn't really need its own signal, cause it just takes the signal from the other speakers and only plays the lowest frequencies. I use the Echo AudioFire2, but its only 2.1 but it does really good. As far as the crackling, it could also be the files you are using, if they aren't high quality then you'll get that crackle regardless of what card your using.

 

I found that the cackling was partly because of the file quality, as Syndrome said, but still the HP-1s were bothering me (and the bass was not what it boasted). I traded in for a cheaper Creative Fatal1ty gaming headset and bought a neat gaming mousepad. I'm going to look into a soundblaster card or something like it. I only have external slot on my 1530, and I'm guessing it's the express card slot. it's right on the side of the computer where my mouse would be, which I'm worried about.

The Fatal1ty headset is a USB headset (I didn't want to bother with the jacks) and has a built in mini soundblaster or something...I like it, works well. My question is though, would the Soundblaster Card be something I have to jack into, or will it work with USB headets? Or do they just bypass it completely?

 

USB headsets will bypass the sound card completely, it will have it's own internal sound card.

 

Yeah, you have to plug into them with 3.5mm plugs. You can always get a USB one if your express card slot is positioned in a bad spot. IMO its actually better to have it completely out of your computer, instead of inside of it. You can always just get a USB sound card and Velcro it to your laptop so its always there.

 

That Razer headphone isnt that great either. Not sure how much a better sound card will help.

 

ooooo, indigo express cards..... (goes hunting for price tag)

hmm, about £175... maybe not. m audio transit is looking more likely.