Louder volume from your laptop with headphones/speakers

Hi guys,

As I mentioned in my review of the z70va vs. the z71v, I got a headphone amp from http://electric-avenues.com/ called the Pocket Amp 2 to make up for the very weak audio output from the z70va which also persists in the m3np and probably most asus laptops (except the z71v that i know has great volume output). Most integrated solutions seem to be very weak. I haven't used the PCMCIA version of the Sound Blaster Audigy, but I'm sure it has a great amp in it as well (i remember with the desktop counterparts, my audigy could get way louder than integrated).

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I got it and it has met and exceeded all of my expectations! This little thing is amazing. It runs on two AA batteries and comes with an AC adapter (which can charge the NiMH AA batteries as well as NiCd batteries) and it's amazing how good the sound is and how powerful it is. Even at full volume there is absolutely no sound (no hiss, no nothing). It puts out a combined power of 200mW which is enough power to make my Sennheisers distort unless I use high end professional DJ headsets. The bass is incredibly crisp and keeps the whole spectrum true.

To put it into perspective, the z70va puts out roughly 15-20mW, while the z71v puts out roughly 30-50mW. So you can imagine that 200mW is HUGE POWER (and it does it with over 100dB SNR amplifying from 5Hz-40kHz). I find it particularly useful because now with this amp I can't sit on a bus, watch a DVD (in a quiet dialogue) using SRS WOW (which makes everything quieter but bass, giving the impression of big power when turned up) and still have AMPLE power left over to drive two sets of headphones and still blast it louder than either individual would care to have it at.

Furthermore, this thing lasts a long time on battery. Although I haven't had it long enough to discharge my batteries (which is a great sign ) the designer claims that it lasts over 100 hours. Speaking of the designer, I must say that he has incredible service. He answered all my questions within minutes of sending the email and shipped the item immediately after payment. He even threw in a few extras.

I looked into building my own amp, but after checking out the specs of this amp and the quality of design, not to mention the cost of the high quality parts he uses and the amount of time it would take me to make this, i came to the conclusion that his price is an INCREDIBLE BARGAIN.

Anyway, this sounds like a major plug for this headphone amp, but I'm seriously so impressed with it, I thought I'd share it with all of you. If any of you are frustrated with how quiet your headphone output is, then I'd definitely get this amp, the Pocket Amp 2 .

 

My Z70V is pretty loud...

 

He is talking about dvd volume. All these notebooks work just fine with any streaming or misic or what have you. The problem is with dvd play back where it pretty low. Cheap solution is to hike up the equalizer settings in the realtek control panel. A better solution is getting the turtle beach sound card or what flax just described. My m5n is loud too for a 12" inch its just not loud with dvd's

 

yeah, eddie hit the nail on the head. As i mentioned too, I use SRS WOW. So if i disable it in winamp, then my machine JUST gets loud enough to combat transit noise, but with SRS WOW on, it's very quiet (sort of like a DVD in a "musical scene") except the bass is good. You can download the plug in for free at winamp.com. I started using it years ago, it's great for headphones (the srs wow in windows media player sucks).

 

If you combine that with the realtec equalizer in the sys tray its even louder. I tried it out on numerous models but its never enough unless you are in a low noise environment. It depends on the user but i think watching dvd on the 855 and 915 chipsets means you have to get an amp of some sort. Its not just one particular brand. You will find the same with most brands now just asus.

 

dunno.. But my z70va speaker is very quiet even if i turn it all the way up, with window sound already all the way up. Maybe i'm deaf or maybe my friends talk to loud.

 

Oddly, I found that changing the Realtek equalizer settings for my Z63A made no perceptible difference. Changing the settings for the AC3 Filter, on the other hand, did.

 

Raising the bars on the equalizer didnt make a diff? Very odd!! Worked gread for a w3v i tested. Aphirat. fn+f12 ups the volume in the volume manager. For music the speakers are more then adequate.

 

you have to make sure your equalizer is TURNED ON. it's the little green power button on the right (if it's grey, it's not on). eddie's technique definitly works, but i can't say much for the sound quality when you do that. as for the audio, i'd agree with you eddie that MOST are like that. but as i indicated in my review, the z71v was NOT like that. it is about 3 times louder than the z70va. so although it won't be hugly loud, with dvd's it gets loud enough to hear quiet dialogue (it may be a different story if SRS-WOW was turned on, but i never tested this).

 

Thanks for letting us know about this product and SRS-WOW flaxx~!!!

I downloaded the plug-in and wow it's great, but does it work with JUST winamp? I'm guessing yes, since it's a plugin for winamp

Cheers,
Mike

 

Ah, thanks. I feel a bit silly; I assumed the equalizer was enabled because it was running in the system tray. The on/off status could be indicated more clearly, however.

 

You're welcome tamlin and Shampoo. Unfortunatly, the plug-in is strictly for winamp. As I said, I've seen it for windows media player, but it doesn't seem nearly as good as the one for winamp. The sound from this plug-in is truly amazing. As I said, I've been using it for years (around 5 or more years). one of the reasons i stayed with winamp 2.x and then jumped to 5.x was because 3.x lacked the plug-in support (and the jump plugin). It would be cool if that plug-in could be enabled system wide.

 

Yeah the sound quality is pretty impressive, so I'm using winamp to play my movies and korean dramas now, as the bass is much better...I think I might pay the ten bucks and get the full version, whatever that may give me

Cheers,
Mike

 

I knew you gonna stay that "the F11 and F12" It was all the way up ^_^ and so was the window and all my music programs. It's loud and clear with the headphone though. The speaker is loud enought for me only if i sit right next to the laptop. Also, watching DVD on it; sometime u can't hear anything as if the sound was off when they actually are whispering. Anyways, i always use headset so it didn't bug me.
"Where's the bass?" hehehe

 

I know some of you like pictures. I was in a bit of a rush when I took these, but it still looks great, if I may say so, haha:

 

flaxx...DUDE WHERE DID YOU GET THAT BACKGROUND? I have the same one but it doesn't seem as bright? Maybe I have a crappy screen as yours is so vibrant and bright. All the lights in the picture, hongkongnights, are brighter, and glow more. Could you e-mail me the wallpaper? To see if it's the same one or a diff' version? I'm sure it's the same one, but yours seems so much brighter. hrmm...or did you mess with the color settings in the display settings? I'm using default settings.

Cheers,
Mike

 

haha, dude you're funny. I'm sure our screens are the same. I haven't messed with my colors at all, but you have to remember that depending on the shutter and duration of the shot, colors can potentially seem brighter. In this case my screen in the picture appears a little brighter (and a little washed out if you asked me) compared to how it really looks.

you can check out the wall paper i used at www.ams.ubc.ca/clubs/cabs/00512_hongkongnight_1680x1050.jpg

it's a cool wallpaper, for sure.