what do i need? a headphone amp/a DAC/an external soundcard

so my issue is this: i own a clevo p150hm, and that line of product is known for shabby sound quality through the headphone jack. i can actually notice the volumedrops when it plays intense audio. all in all im not satisfied with the sound quality

can someone explain the difference between "DAC"s, headphone amps, and external usb soundcard, and which i would need? thanks

 

Headphone Amps are devices that amplify the power of sound that goes though from your laptop on-board audio to your headphones. Therefore, you can experience your sound much louder and clearer as more power is being used to drive the headphones. However, they don't necessary are able to eliminate distortion or enhance the range of clarity of sound that goes though from the on-board to the headphones. So you will experience a higher degree of sound via volume but you don't clear out any distortion noises and such.

DAC or a Digital-Analog Converter basically converts digital sound to analog, with the intention that analog sound being driven to your headphones are going to be naturally clearer, better ranges and severe reduction in distortion noise. They are essentially driven by USB and are considered external sound cards on their own right, since they are emitting sound via a different format.

However more budget or cheaper external sound cards will often continue to release the sound to your headphones in a more compressed, unclear digital format and rely on software drivers to do all the work on giving you clearer sound like a DAC. However, they won't be ever as clear as how a DAC can do it.

Now some DAC's will do both by coming both the Amp and the DAC, so you get more sound and clarity all at once and that is something that you should consider. However, if you don't have really good headphones or speaker system, getting a DAC might be a waste of money, since the sound coming from the DAC will be ultimately be released by your headphones. Therefore a cheap set of cans might still kill off the hard work the DAC is doing and you will end up not taking the full advantage of your DAC.

Therefore it is more recommend you get a good set of cans first and then deal with the DAC next.

 

thanks for the response. +repped!

i see you have the FiiO E10 listed in your sig (or used to?) thats one im actually considering. how is it?

 

The E10 is pretty good actually and I like it, but being that they are Chinese-built, they are a bit delicate. The one I got developed a broken microphone jack and by not seeing a definite warranty for it (or at least I haven't found a sign for one), I managed to return mine for a refund where I could get another. However FiiO is going to release the E17, which is reviewed so far to be even superior to the E10, so I am looking at that as a replacement or go for a better set of cans first. Not to sure at the moment.

 

Read this before you purchase your audio gears if you want to know more about the Audio industry for consumers.

Audio is perceived very differently between the professionals and the consumers.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/off-topic/638968-pc-audio-my-experience-audio.html

 

Anyone here uses Nuforce DACs/Headphone Amps?

 

In my thread I told you the NuForce DAC has some issues with accuracy. Get a Fiio E7 for DAC and Fiio E9 instead. They are better deal and should be cheaper than the NuForce. NuForce claims they designed it for a certain sound, which is bogus since there is no way they could have made sure it sounds good with all headphones etc. They ought to have just kept is accurate and true to the music itself.

 

And how exactly does one go about doing that? What exactly is the reference for "the music itself"? For that matter, what exactly are you defining as "the music itself"?

se

 

The first thing you have to do with your sager is register the thx module and tweak the settings. The difference is significant.

Second, get a pair of good headphones. Some will work well with your laptop like the koss Porta pros and bosch qc15, while others won't sound as good on it like the senns 555 and 595.

Third, if the audio is still not to your liking, get an external solution as mentioned above.

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