Tried your 1520's headphone jack?

Can you give us a link to the doc?

 

For anyone who's interested, to get the new sound card you have to call customer care. They will try to transfer you to tech support, but tell them tech support said you have to call them and just say your sound card sucks and they know it and you want the creative express one.

Mines in the mail finally, after 7-8 calls and/or chats.

 

Any chance you could post this document? I want some sort of bargaining chip against those idiots on the other end of the phone when I call in to either get the X-Fi sound card or some other satisfactory end to be able to listen to headphones and not hear static.

 

Just talked to technical support:

11:22:19 PM Agent Sup_Abhinanadan_108541
Taylor, Technician Amit has discussed with me that you are getting the Noise issue from your inspiron 1520. Am I right?

11:22:51 PM Customer Taylor
Correct, when listening to any audio through the headphone jack of my Inspiron 1520 I hear a loud buzzing sound.

11:24:04 PM Agent Sup_Abhinanadan_108541
Taylor, Dell Engineering has already recognized this issue with this system and currently we are working on it to resolve this issue.

11:25:14 PM Agent Sup_Abhinanadan_108541
Taylor, once a fix or patch is available then we will inform our customers about it.

 

Anyone interested should PM me..

Also, on another thread someone who I sent this to brought up info from the doc to a dell tech about the bad MB on the m1330 and the audio buzzing and that there is a newer MB replacement that fixes it.. They said Dell did not deny this internal document and was going to send him the new rev MB. So that seems to put even more legitimacy to this internal doc. The problem is, that the headphone jack on the 1520 seems to be the worse catastrophic problem with no real solutions other then toggling on the BT. The doc does mention they are working on a bios fix but that has been pending for months. This really should be raising red flags for those interested in this model. Back in June, when they first released the 1520 this issue immediately came up and is still here today. I remember one gal very early on returning her system over this and that seems to be the trend for many others. So unlike the audio buzzing issue on the M1330, the doc mentions no solutions for the headphone jack and its rather pessimistic as to when and if there will be.

My assumption is that fixing the issue would cost dear and probably require a new MB design and remapping of the headphone jack.. That would also require them to shut the line down.. thats not going to happen during the Christmas season. Dells shareholders would not allow that to happen.. them killing their biggest seller and reducing their market share. Most likely, dell will never publicly admit to this issue because of legal/recall issues. Whats sad is oftentimes Dell will offer a MB replacement to fix the issue.. when internally they admitt this does not help.. This fact is also reinforced over and over again from posts on this forum stating MB/replacement systems do not fix issue. They will eventually release a newer model and the issue will no doubt magically disappear.

It reminds me a few years back with Creative had a MP3 player zen micro that had a bad headphone jack that broke very easily. Many people took them apart to show the weak soder joint and bad design.. Creative never admitted to a problem.. But newer models shipped with a stronger design.

 

I agree with you.. This is probably the best option if the 1520 is something you really want. For the price point and the fast 8600 GT GPU, I can understand why many desire the 1520. The express card option is the way to go and if you play your cards right with dell, can probably score one for free. And Its my belief dell needs to provide this free of charge until they fix this issue once and for all.

 

Or, like me, you got stuck with it from a system exchange....

What is BT toggle?

My laptop doesn't even have bluetooth....

 

If you ordered it with the internal BT modual, you can toggle the BT so its always on.. that apparently helps some. That will also eat your battery more too.. BT takes more battery life then one would think.. up to a hour less! If you wanted to add BT now it may be possible. I did see some threads about it and some part numbers etc.. you have to open up your case and it installs on MB. I don't know if it even eliminates the issue but reduces it. Personally, I would try getting a free creative express card from dell. That is the only way to completely eliminate the problem.. which bypasses the jacks completely.

 

I still wonder why some 1520 have this problem and some, like mine, which has only a slight hum on very high volume levels, and I don't use some crappy headphones or speakers, my Creative HS-600 Headset or the P380 speakers are not top notch but are good enough to be sensitive enough to hear the hum.

As for motherboard redesign, my Latitude d610 had this problem as most of them and Dell never redesigned it and the audio out was really bad.

 

I think if dell routed the jacks up front like with the 1420 this would be a non issue. Incidentally, the jacks are also up front on my 15" HP dv6500t. Makes sense keeping them away from the processor and other components that could create interference issues. I do remember hearing the slight morse code effect when I briefly had the 1420. Some people report those morse code sounds being loud on the 1520. As far as headphones go, its seems to differ between makes etc.. High quality headsets have been reported to pick up the noise really bad as well as cheap ones. But it appears that there are differences. Maybe the impedance of the headset makes a difference. I am also thinking the speed of the processor may be at issue. We also know that using battery versus plugged in can make a difference as well as having the BT enabled.

I am pretty sure that Dell may have a fix by now, but that fix just costs too much to implement being it probably means a new MB design. Like your d610 this may never be fixed.

 

" Originally Posted by sparker View Post
For anyone who's interested, to get the new sound card you have to call customer care. They will try to transfer you to tech support, but tell them tech support said you have to call them and just say your sound card sucks and they know it and you want the creative express one."

I got my 1520 a week tomorrow. Noticed problem the second I plugged in my headphones. I have of course tried several sets of headphones from crappy $10 buds to my $150 studio set all with varying degrees of the noise present. Anyway, just got off the phone with tech support, this issue is finally on the official Dell support forums, and they acknowledge that it is a MB problem. The Tech Support person said this will be corrected in A04 bios update. It took a long time to get him there, he first offered a MB replacement, and I then directed him to this forum. He offered exchange for a new 1520, which I said would also not work. I suggested the express slot sound card, he told me they weren't any available and there are no other sound card options for this system. I am in Canada and cannot find an Express Slot card on the Dell Canada website. If anyone has a link to the product on a Dell site can you please post it?

Tech support told me that they have no announcement as to when the new Bios version will be available, but thinks it should be within a month. He said it "should" fix the problem. I do not feel that I should have to pay for a USB or Express card out of my pocket when they should simply be selling a product that works. What sort of "Multimedia" laptop has terrible sound?????

Anyway if anyone can post details of your resolution, he says Express Slot isn't an option, but do I really have to accept static and pops for at least a month? This is awful; I bought this for the 8600M GT...gaming loses its appeal when the sound in your ears is driving you nuts.

Shame on Dell for releasing something with such an obvious issue. They must have known about this prior to release. To have it out for this long with no fix is truly inexcusable

 

is this the same as the cpu whine? i have interference in the headphone jack, but if i use the rmclock fix it goes away

 

They have been working on the bios update for quite awhile.. at least the techs have been talking about it for some months from what people are posting. I am thinking that the bios update will probably downclock the processor... sort of what rm clock does. Its not an optimal type of fix if that is the direction they are going. A bios fix will probably try to mask over the the interference. According to the internal doc.. dell believes there really is a problem with the MB layout. Therefore, to really fix this problem they would probably have to redesign and remap the headphone jack layout.. But thats probably not going to happen.. big money $$ do go that direction. Lets hope the bios update does some magic.. my guess, is they must be having problems with it or it probably would have been out by now. That makes sense since many people who have used rm clock say its does not eliminate the issue. I think a bios fix will probably help but don't look for a total solution here. Hopefully I am wrong. I also think Dell wants their best shot at the bios solution before they release.. if it does not satisfy, theres going to be some hell for them. It will be interesting to see if they wait till after Christmas rather then before to release the fix.

As for them not having express cards on their web site.. hmmm.. thats a smart move. Me thinks they don't want them being there may be too many customers asking for free ones for the problems with the headphone jacks. The easiest way not to provide something is to say you don't have it.

" Shame on Dell for releasing something with such an obvious issue. They must have known about this prior to release. To have it out for this long with no fix is truly inexcusable"

Dell has really good support.. I think they are in a real bind over this one.. We might be talking about a catastrophic design flaw here. If they could come out with a quick fix you can bet they would have already done it.. they do fix problems all the time.. They did fix the audio buzz in the m1330. But for some reason, the 1500/1520 is allot more serious. And if they did release a new MB there would be a ton of recalls being this is their hot cake and you can imagine how many they have sold already. If they put the jacks up front they would also have to redesign the freaking case as well.. its sounds like a nightmare and probably why they have keep quiet so long on this issue. I think they know their quality department let the cat out on their internal doc and why its now being talked about on their official forum. That is exactly what I had hoped for.. for them to at least acknowledge the problem instead of just telling people they need to swap out their MB.

 

when i was playing counter strike, people complained about my headphone jack making a buzzing noise whenever i spoke

 

I get the noise in headphones but not in speakers I plug into the headphone port.

 

"I am thinking that the bios update will probably downclock the processor... sort of what rm clock does."

I sincerely hope this is not their fix; I paid for the T7500 and 8600M GT because I wanted performance. I called again to get a guarantee in email that I can do an exchange after thirty days if the Bios upgrade does not correct the problem to my satisfaction.

Anyone else have success getting the express slot sound card on Dells coin? I can't imagine that they would rather pay for a total recall on this thing. The 1520 and Vostro equivalent have been available for nearly half a year. That is a massive number of laptops to replace. Will this become another issue similar to the Dell battery fiasco?

 

Yep, got it yesterday. Too bad I already bought a new lightweight laptop and am selling this one, oh well.
Just tell them you wont pay for something that should be fixed under warranty, they tried to send me to sales for the X-Fi and I was like nope, not paying for it, you're sending it to me.

 

You apparently didn't read too close. You need to talk to CUSTOMER CARE not Technical Support.

not canada:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=eep&cs=6007&sku=A1164635

 

i also have a interference sound in the headphone jack, and is not present when listening to the speakers. with rmclock it diminishes a lot but still makes some little intereference and by doing certain tasks you get some sounds too (for example when minimizing and maximizing windows with animations enabled)

it only bothers me when using headphones but thats a important thing for me, i record lectures and always listen them with headphones

i'm going to contact dell tomorrow

 

Same here, all of my important lectures are recorded so I can relisten to the beginning of the semester when finals come around.
Stress this very much with customer service, and you should get an X-Fi out of it, thats all I had to do.
Also, it seems that the only way to get the X-Fi from them is if you have gone through multiple rounds with tech support, as they request you troubleshoot there first before going forward with 'freebie' solutions from CS.

 

i'll have it mind when i had struggled with tech serv -_-

i forgot to mention that i have the sound both with AC or using battery.

 

I read that very closely, but tech support advised me that there was no express card for Canada. Perhaps he was lying, uninformed or there is some sort of export rule.

 

Hi
I'm sorry to ask that question but this topic is very long : is there a fix to solve the noise we can hear using headphone jack for a vostro 1500 (guess it is the same as inspiron) ? Thanks

 

Apparently their is a bios fix pending. But that has been pending for quite some time and whether it fixes the problem completely, or just masks part of the noise.... we will see. But as of now, no. But using a creative X-FI express slot sound card does eliminate the issue, being it bypasses the jacks.. completely. And yes, the vostro/inspiron are the same.

Also, there are cheaper USB sounds cards that people are using. The creative solution will probably work best I am thinking.. They have been making nice sound cards for a long time. Some people have also received free X Fi cards from dell for all their troubles with the headphone jacks.. but be prepared to make several calls to Dell tech/ CSR's to score that. Even though Dell knows there is a flaw in the MB layout, they don't like giving out free X FI cards on a whim. Those are a bit pricey third party cards and even though they should provide it free of charge for those that ask, its not that easy from what people report.

 

Thank you very much for you very precise answer and your reactivity.
But this problem isn't the same as the whining noise on some notebook due to CPU or whatever (even if the sounds are the same) ?

 

No. Like I said, if you use a creative X Fi express slot sound card it takes care of the issue. However, the cpu whine can also be an issue, not just with Dell notebooks. That can be heard without using headphones.. that is a completely different problem and is not related to the headphone jacks.

 

Looking at a leaked picture of the upcoming Dell XPS 1530 system, we see the headphone jacks up front. I understand this is a different form factor class of laptop but putting them up there away from the processor and other components could be to reduce headphone jack interference? Some people were commenting on the site I grabbed this picture that they did not like the jacks up front. But I am thinking, that might be a good thing. Maybe the next gen 1520 will have jacks up in front too. Time will tell. HP already puts them in front in all their DV series notebooks. http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12369&stc=1&d=1195141666
dell-xps-m1530-top.jpg series notebooks.

And for anybody thinking they can dump their 1520 with 8600 GT card for a 1530 with 8600 GT.. it sounds like it will come with the GS version instead. Hopefully they find room to cram a GT into this thing but from what people are saying.. don't expect that.

 

i thougth at first that it was the same problem, or at least related, because if i apply the cpu whine fix, most(but not all) of the headphone noise goes away.. am i wrong??


btw i have a vostro 1400, and it has the headphone jacks in front

 

Your right that the static is most likely coming from the CPU. But if the Headphone jacks design and layout were different, it may well not pick up the interference at all. For example, the express card solution seems to be free of any interference from the CPU. As I said, dell has already said from their own internal document that its a bad MB layout for the jacks. And yes, you can hear some static even with the 1400 buts its not enough to bother over.. at least I did not thing it was when I briefly had a 1420. Apparently, the 1520 has it bad for some.. to the point where it interferes with gaming etc..

You might be partly correct but there are many users here that complain only about the headphone jack and not the CPU whine. Maybe they just can't pick up that frequency. Rather, you hear about that more on the m1330. But they have a new MB rev that takes care of that.

As for that internal document, it does seem to be legit. Somebody has already raised the point in the doc to dell about the new MB rev for the m1330 and the tech did not deny it.. rather he said he would ship the new MB out. Also, since the leak, Dell apparently has admitted (finally) to the headphone jack issue on the official dell forum. However, I have not checked that for myself. But if anyone ones to check out the doc.. as I said before,, PM me. Its not something one should post.

Again, the bulk of the posts here are complaints about the jacks and not the cpu whine.. So for most at least, the whine is not relevant. However the whine is a real issue for some and it seems to affect many manufacturers not just Dell.

 

it does bother me,of course the interference is covered when you got sound over it, when your listening to music or playing games, but i hardly listen to music, i do listen to recordings and transcribe things and i do it in a quiet environment so every time y press "pause" to write something i hear the TEEEE EE E

on the other hand dell gave a very good discount and price(which will be difficult to match again), the laptop came with very little problems (only this and battery wobble but that doesn't bother me at all) and i don't have any other problem with cpu whine (i fear that if i ask for replacement it will come with the external cpu whine and other problems)

 

Well, dell says there is a pending bios fix for this.. but I don't know if that would work on a 1400. You can always do the creative x-fi solution.. you got the express slot for it.

 

Got my X-fi.

If you get it be prepared to spend 3 hours trying to get it to work, and MAKE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE "SYSTEM UTILITIES" FROM DELL DOWNLOADS!!!!

It was a 3 min download to fix a problem in vista that stops express cards from working.

Download # R143625 (dell) even though it is a vista issue...

Creative didn't know about it and Dell didn't know what it was for. I was so PISSED!

I let dell run my computer, and after an hour of him trying to get the card to work i said "I'm leaving, you can keep trying if you want" and he must have tried stuff for an hour, and there was a 3 min download on Dell's own website that would have fixed it. I came back and he wrote this:

"The hard ware for your system is working absolutely fine.
The card is detected in the slot and the BIOS(System setup).
The problem is with the software conflict.
I will suggest you to try and register yourself for the creative product.
The registration window is open right now.
Incase the card doesn't work after registration as well then we need to go ahead and format the harddrive and then reinstall the operating system."

The fix is also avaialble from Microsoft, as this possibly affects all Vista systems:
KB Article Number(s): 929550

BS!!! I did an hour of slightly different phrasing of a search and found the download.

Creative sends me to dell, and Dell sends me to Creative. I hate these bastards now.

All is well now.... we'll see for how long.

 

How does the X-fi sound? Hopefully the results are worth all your trouble. At any rate, I have heard other software conflicts with creative products and vista.

 

It sounds awesome!

 

I very recently purchased.
Even i am facing this problem its very annoying.
When i contacted Dell they said its static noise and its common. I am a s/w engineer and electronics student hence i know about static noise in headphones.
Its not static noise i am talking about its a creaking noise which i explained to Dell Tech Support.
Next day they sent an engineer and he replaced ear phones, audio jack and even entire mother board nothing seems to work. He just left without solving ny problem. I checked wih other laptop brands they do not have this kind of noise what so ever.
If i had known i wouldn't have purchased this one
Inpiron 1520
1.5GHZ processor core 2 duo processor
2Gb RAM
160 GB hardisk
Sigmatel audio device

 

They've been working on a BIOS fix for this for 3 months, dont hold your breath.
X-Fi is the best solution.
Dell did actually come up with a hardware solution for this problem though, I think the internal name for it was the 1525...

 

If your within the first 21 days.. you can send back and get a refund.. a 1525 model is in the works and will no doubt address this issue. Dell won't charge a restock fee if there is something wrong.. and they know all about the headphone jack on the 1520. Yep its pretty much a catastrophic problem at this point.

You know its funny dell is even swapping out MOBO's for this issue anymore.. Dell themselves have acknowledged MB replacement does not fix this. What the heck are they thinking? I guess they just don't want to actually tell a customer that there is nothing they can do? So they go ahead and waste money and time doing things they know wont' work.

I guess its important to use this forum before buying a laptop. Believe me, this thread is huge and dates back to the first 1520 systems shipped in June. Immediately at launch this headphone static issue popped up on this thread and had made the front page probably every week since it started.

 

Still no fix on their site and a complete lack of desire to fix it. Talked to another rep and they are still offering MB replacements which they know don't work or returns. I am considering a return. This is my fourth dell machine. Can someone recommend an alternative system that will perform as well with similar complete care type warranty; I want as good as the 8600 GT and same price. This is insane; I can't listen to a thing on this machine. 1520: My fourth Dell machine and most likely my last

 

Talked Dell into giving me an X-Fi for free. Should be here Monday.Will let you know how it goes.

 

I received my x-fi card form Dell a couple weeks or so ago. Took me a couple of hours of arguing and being sent from one dept to the next for them to finally give it to me (use my computer and headphone jack all the time for college, majoring in anthropology and focusing on audio anthropology, I need the sound quality and ability to listen to it)
The card is nice and fixes the problem, however, for me, it’s a hassle having to carry the card around and constantly put it in and take it out. I only carry my notebook in a slipcase and the card won't fit in it. Have to carry it in my pocket and I am scared that I will forget about it and sit on it. I really don't know if the x-fi card is worth it in the end or not.

The bonus is that the creative headphones that come with the card are really great; much, much better than the creative headphones that came with the notebook for the webcam (they're junk).

 

OMG. This is such a disappointment.

So I was playing around with my Vostro for a day, and I was totally impressed [and ecstatic about getting a decent screen]. Then, the next day, I remembered this headphone jack issue. So I tried using some of my headphones here. Yup, I've got the static...

It's worse than I imagined. It actually gave me a headache. Although it's inaudible when sounds are actually playing into the headphone, it's still annoying. Ugh. It's not a deal breaker for me, but it's still very disappointing. I'm very much a headphones person -- my desktop doesn't even have a set of speakers; it's connected to my better set of headphones instead.

So, does getting an external sound card [express card or USB] solve this problem?

 

Using USB headphones doesn't have the issue right?

 

An external sound card or usb headphones will solve the issue, you only get static if you plug into the Dell factory headphone jack.

I have a creative X-FI express sound card; no longer have static but the card sticks out, about an inch, outside of the laptop.

 

My 1520 had terrible headphone jack noise when I got it back in September...and all of a sudden now it's totally gone. I'm talking dead silent. I have no clue why because I haven't changed or installed anything over the past few weeks. Is it possible that this problem can just disappear? Has anyone else had this happen?

 

Yeah, that can happen. At one point my 1520 had no headphone noise while listening to mp3's in iTunes, then a day later it was there while listening to a DVD.
I think it depends on the multitude of power settings and whether or not its plugged in and all that fun stuff.

 

Well, I called again to see if there is a fix. I am automatically escalated when I call now. The rep I spoke to was perplexed as to why the original rep had said a bios fix was in the works. She also had no idea when the new 1525 would be out, and I am not going to buy into that rumor based on one endgadget report that has been republished on a dozen other sites. Unless someone here has some new info???

I am calling tomorrow for my return. I still haven't found another brand with the price/configuration options I want. I really don't want to give them my money again. It sounds like a small issue because the rest of the machine is great, but to pay over two grand for something that almost works perfect that I will probably have for 2-3 years is not acceptable to me.

 

I have the same headphone noise that everyone is describing. I have been emailing back and forth. I have done the bios upgrade, removed the dvd and hd, battery or ac, all the tests described here. They wanted to replace the motherboard. I said why bother when it won't fix it. I finally asked for the sound card. They said hold on for a few days. Now, supposedly there is a new style motherboard that will solve the problem. It hasn't been used in many systems yet. Anybody had a motherboard replaced recently? Like in the last week? The new board is supposedly being put in new builds also.

 

Hi guys. Long time lurker, first time poster here. Anyway, I'm on a Vostro 1400 that I just got last month. Replaced Vista Home Basic with XP Pro when I received it. Very pleased with the Vostro, except for the audio.

i would hear a lot of noise (static and feedback) whenever i plugged in my headphones. however, i didn't have that big of a problem with this since my previous dell (an inspiron 6000) had a really bad hiss problem anyway. besides it wasn't audible when i was playing music. however, it's the issue of audio skipping and random clicks and pops that's really been a drag.

I use foobar2000; every time I'd manually start a song (by double-clicking it or navigating to it via the media forward and back buttons), I'd hear a sharp click. Granted, regular transitions between songs (that is, one song going to the next in order without me manually playing it) seemed OK, no click there. However, I did get the usual, incredibly annoying SKIPPING, clicks and pops that intermittently occured during playback, every minute or so (sometimes more frequent) especially while I was browsing the internet; it seemed to be linked to anything CPU intensive, usually happened when I was loading up images and the like, though I can't be quite sure. It was incredibly frequent whenever I was browsing/working on the computer and listening to music at the same time. the only time it sounded OK was when my computer was idle (doing nothing but playing music).

i've also tried some of the solutions posted on these boards - disabling hardware acceleration, disabling my wi-fi, etc. -- all to no avail. the choppy audio laced with clicks, pops and skips just would not go away!

I even tried to replace the Sigmatel drivers I was using (v.5.10.0.5511) with old Intel AC'97 ones, which cleared up much of the hissing issueI had with my old Inspiron 6000, but the Intel ones are not compatible with the Vostro's sound card. having exhausted my options, i resorted to searching for a deal on the Creative X-Fi Notebook external sound card -- even went as far as adding it to my favorite search list on ebay.

Then, today after browsing Dell's drivers and downloads site and updating my Vostro's BIOS from A02 to A03 (which, as far as I know didn't do anything to solve the audio problems), I stumbled on a new set of Sigmatel drivers released TODAY for the Inspiron E1505, though they're also compatible with Vostro models:

http://support.dell.com/support/dow...-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=3&fileid=235761

[ETA: on closer inspection it appears this new driver release is compatible only with Windows XP. sorry Vista users!]

they are version 5.10.0.5515, a definite upgrade from my old drivers. i figured their "driver date" would show up as 12/4/2007 in the Driver Properties window, but actually it says 5/10/2007 -- which is strange because the old drivers I had were released on 10/23/2007, according to Dell's drivers site. go figure.

however, onto the good news these new ones are working quite well! static and light hiss are still audible when i plug in my in-ear headphones (though this isn't that big of a deal since it's inaudible during playback). but get this, the sharp "click" i heard before when manually starting a song is GONE! whew, what a relief. it was so annoying! furthermore, the skips, clicks, crackling, and pops during playback have pretty much all but disappeared. it happened once or twice about 30 minutes ago. but i've been listening to The Beatles for the last half hour and i, AMAZINGLY, haven't heard anything since! gonna keep my fingers crossed.

so yeah, just wanted to give you guys a heads up on this new driver's release! go ahead and give it an install and update us on your audio situation! hopefully this means goodbye to choppy audio forever!

ETA 2 : another 15 mins. of listening and browsing the boards, and the skips are definitely not completely gone. they do, however, seem to be occurring much less frequently.

ETA 3: ...or not. they're flaring up again, every 30 secs or so now. sigh. considering calling dell and asking for a free X-fi. those of you that have scored that, any tips? i'm guessing i'll probably have to make multiple calls and play dumb. sigh, at least the click/chirp when starting a song is fixed.

 

The noise is very bad on my Vostro 1500 under Vista, and absent in Ubuntu Studio (which needed a little bit of fiddling just to get the drivers working at all). If I work out how to get rid of it in Windows, I'll post here.

I remember someone posting a plausible technical explanation of what causes the problem, but unfortunately they got a lot of flames because the only workable solution they presented for it was linux based, and the thread went off on a bit of a tangent as they helped other linux users implement their solution. As I'm somewhat capable of abstract thought, rather than flaming anyone, I'll see if I can find a way of applying it to windows, although I'm not sure how possible it will be. Anyway, it raises the hope of a software fix from Dell.

 

I'm subscribing to this thread for a fix. My laptop was built sometime in mid-November and the hissing sound in the supplied headphones is really loud (at least to me).

I have a similar issue with the built-in ac97 sound on my abit motherboard that I've dealt with for years. Abit never fixed it.