Did Dell Fix The Audio Problem?

Was curious if Dell fixed the audio issue with their laptops yet.

By that I mean the whole fiasco involving the audio jacks and motherboard feedback and such.

 

I can't hear any interference on my vostro 1400

 

Same here, have no issues with sound on my M1330.

 

I can hear it on mine, but only when nothing is playing on my headphones.

Vostro 1500

 

It's a setting issue, and here's how to fix it:

1. Open KMix.
2. Go to the "Switches" tab and make sure "Analog Loopback" is NOT on. Note that the noise disappears as soon as that option is disabled.
3. Play music and enjoy the HD audio.

Why that works is because the audio chipset has an option to pass through audio from the optical drive. However, the optical drive does not have analog output (or it is disabled in firmware) so the analog audio lines are just left "floating", which means that nearby logic can couple noise very effectively. By using KMix to disable this feature, no more noise!

You'll also notice "Line In as Output". That does exactly what it says - you can use the line in connector as a second headphone output! Besides that option, you will also have to go to the "Output" tab and turn up and unmute the "Surround" slider. Unfortunately, it was never designed for a headphone output so quality is bad, but it's better than nothing!

 

Dumb question, but isn't KMix something for Linux? It sounds like it'd be nice to have if it fixes the problem but I can't find it for XP anywhere...

On another note, yeah, I hear it, and it drove me nuts. Until I decided to go and get an inline volume control for my headphones. Now it sounds fine. Other than that little hassle, I love my 1520. I call her Vera.

 

Posting a Linux-only solution in a Windows-dominated forum doesn't really impress anyone

(Disclaimer: I have Linux dual-booted, but acknowledge that 99% of desktop users don't run it)

 

you mean 91%

>.< -- it's gonna help me

 

So.. which models are suffering from the quiver through the audio jack?

 

I know the vostro 1500 is

 

I have the 1500.. on my cheap ear buds I can hear it when no sound is playing, when I use my high quality headphones there's no interference. There's some good solutions people have used on this forum if you do a search.

 

I've got $500 headphones, and the interference is still insane.

As soon as the AC adapter is unplugged, all gone. Not really a solution as you can't listen to much music on battery

 

This is the ground loop hum(also called 60 cycle or 50 cycle hum). A ground loop isolator may help. In some cases, a better shielded ac adapter solves the problem. It comes from the electrical wiring