Static on the e14's headphone jacks?

I ordered one of these and it just arrived this morning. Shipped the 9th and got it today so shipping is a good bit faster than the quoted estimate. Will post my thoughts asap. Not had a problem with hiss but expecting clarity to improve and get rid of the "overdriven processed" sound

 

I just noticed the hiss almost completely goes away on mine when the headset mic is turned off as described here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6347979-post1478.html

 

That overdriven sound is probably the boosting of treble and bass to their max settings. Pretty ridiculous they do that.

 

I've been sitting here about half an hour going thru different tracks. My first opinion is I wasted my money. I don't have the hiss problem if there is one with the mic disabled. I don't consider myself an audiophile but I can easily notice the difference in a 320kpbs mp3 vs a CD if the stereo is good enough to expose it. So far I'm not hearing enough difference between the envy and the uDAC-2 to justify buying it. The bottom end does sound a little better with the amp/udac but clarity isn't a huge leap. It may make more of a difference on headphones other than mine.

It also gave me a chance to make sure I had dead silence thru my headphones either way. They are just as quiet with onboard as they are with the udac-2. Audiophiles are gonna have a field day with my post. My next thing is to try it on my work machine where i can tell a huge difference with my headphones. The onboard sound is horrible. Core 2 / socket 775 HP Workstation. I'm sure it will make a difference there.

Sorry for the rambling post

 

If you can discern the difference between 320kbps MP3 and CD then you can call yourself an audiophile.

What gear are you using to do so?

 

I have a Ford Fusion - factory oem system - 6 disc changer. When I first bought the car I went on a mission of making many many CD's ful of mp3s. It didn't take me but a 2 hour road trip to realize I would stick to playing the original CD's for most things. Older music such as Johhny Cash I don't notice. On newer artists such as Nickleback the bass is rolled off alot and the highs are muddy on the mp3's. I imagine a really expensive stereo would sound like utter crap with the mp3s.

I'm actually at odds a bit that I CAN'T tell much difference between the Envy and the uDAC-2 to be honest. I was expecting more but just not hearing it. I can tell more difference between the laptop and the X-Fi Titanium in my desktop. The X-Fi sounds cleaner and more balanced. I had considered investing in some Sennheiser HD650's an amp in the 4-500 dollar range but I think I'll find someone who owns a setup and will give me some eartime first.

I'm more than happy with my Beyer's and what I have for now though.

 

Not sure how accurate their info is but found this just now

The Envy 14’s Beats audio system is similarly impressive and is one area where the Envy clearly outdoes the MacBook Pro. HP isolated the audio components on the motherboard to avoid the interference that can result in static on some PCs, and it also added an amplifier and DSP to boost and enhance the audio. The results on the built-in speakers are extremely good—volume and clarity are far above average for a dual-speaker notebook. Plug the Envy 14 into external speakers or a good set of headphones, though, and you'll find the audio is nothing short of astounding. Even on inexpensive earbuds, the audio clarity and punch of our tunes was significantly better than we’d expect from a notebook. Pressing Fn-B to toggle off the Beats enhancements shows that the system is adding significant depth and additional bass to the audio.

http://computershopper.com/laptops/reviews/hp-envy-14

 

How do none of the reviews mention this major design flaw? I have the Skullcandy Ink'd headphones, and I am getting extremely loud static. The only way to drown it out is if I raise the volume up high enough to get ear damage. I tried muting the microphone, but that didn't affect the static. Ugh. Are there any headphones like the Ink'd (e.g. in-ear, sound isolating, fairly cheap) that work with the Envy? This issue combined with the horrible trackpad & abysmal battery life (e.g. 3 hours with power saver mode and brightness at 30%) are enough to make me seriously consider return the laptop.

 

yup same here man, same headphones... the static is ridiculously loud. I have to turn volume up so high that it is almost deafening.

 

sorry wrong post

 

I use the Monster Beats Tour earbuds. I must say they are pretty darn good. Now I do get static when no music or games are running. It is very low and not as bad as my other notebook. I don't have to turn the volume up very loud at all to make it go away when playing music. I haven't tried muting the mics or anything yet so I can't say if it changes the static for me or not.

 

I have the Tour headphones as well, and the profile for Tour's under the Beats audio software actually makes them sound great.

 

Oh yeah. I was skeptical that it would make it sound any better, but after putting it on the eq for these bad boys they sound even better. I love them and when my friends try them they absolutely love them. Of course they use the earbuds that came with their ipod. =P

 

my Envy 17, tried all methods, no working, if i mute the sound, i can't hear any noise. anyone have a solution?

 

I'm using some ear buds and the hiss is really annoying, way too loud and I need to turn the music way up to fix it... Could it be a driver issue?

 

it depends on the impedance of the headphones, low-impedance headphones show the hiss you can get a level-attenuator lead which will basically just adds impedance

 

I have an issue with recording audio on the Envy 14.. i use Adobe Audition, nothing wrong with my set up as works with another computer.. Problem is massive amounts of interference.. Its so loud is nearly blew my bose headphones and my ears!! You can't make out much else other than electrical noise..

I've found that if I plug the input into the headset port, and then headphones into the other socket (the headphone only one) all you can hear is really loud bad noise.. The same happens if i just audio in, start the session, then record... just records 100% interference, sometimes with a little bit of music in the background if i'm a lucky

also seems the ports are pretty useless.. if i open the Beats config utility, and plug the input in.. it takes a bit of fiddling around before the port on the GUI says "connected"

Audio in does work when i use a headset

Anyone else managed to record audio from a mixer on an Envy 14? If I had any faith in HP i'd send it back, but i don't..

 

The problem here is that you are using skullcandy products, but not just any, their worst offering. 16 ohm headphones. What is nice about this laptop is that is has the power to drive high quality headphones (without needing an awkward amp), like my Sennheiser hd25-1 II's at 70 ohms which sound like mediocre headphones on ipods and cellphones. But with an amp, or with just this laptop they sound like the divine cans they are.

Long and short is, no you are not likely to find a way to remove the hiss you can purchase an attenuator like others have recommended, your cans are too sensitive(and subsequently have no clarity because of it) because they are low on the totem pole. You can also, alternatively, buy some better cans (which I encourage you to do anyway, you will thank me for it later).

I find the trackpad very large and accurate, I don't know why people hate it, but I also don't use multifinger gestures. The battery life is exactly what you can expect of any laptop running an i5 or i7. You trade power for battery life. This is why the Slice is such a cool option.

 

Would getting a portable amp (fiio e7 for example) help with this issue? I was planning on picking up one eventually anyway, but may get one now -- my 32ohm iems (audeo phonaks pe) get the hiss, and I really want to find a way around it on an otherwise ridiculously awesome notebook

 

This would be the opposite of a good idea. An amp would increase the hiss. Go back a couple of pages and read the postings by the guy with the Ultimate ears and about attenuators. These decrease the amplitude which should decrease your hiss if not eliminate it.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be getting the attenuator, and hopefully it works out awesome

 

my envy 14 has been sounding odd recently.

whenever i plug in my super fi 5 EB's i get these periods of crackling while playing audio and i cant seem to get it to stop... it hasent happened before...


any ideas?

 

My Ultrasone HFI-580s are sounding great from my headphone jack. That Said I would gladly pay extra for a better DAC and internal soundcard.

 

yeah i dont know whats going on with my jack.. its pissing me off

 

Read the thread. While your headphones are quite expensive, they only have 21 ohms of impedance. This jack can power some nice headphones pretty well unlike most consumer electronics, theres a trade off. Low impedance phones won't sound so great, and have static etc. You can buy an attenuator, or buy some different cans.

 

I also have static with my UE Triple fi 10's. I've tried an attenuator, but the lower level in sound quality just didn't suit me so I just use a pair of cheap ~$50 headphones with it.

 

I bought the attenuator from the link posted a few pages back and still it didnt fix the problem.

 

My suggestion below may be a bit better.

I know this is not the cheapest option but what I did was buy a separate DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) unit. It is like an external sound card for USB, but better. Here you can find a really good one for a really good price.

Headstage.eu - USB DAC Cable with 3.5mm Mini Plug 75cm (30'')

I bought a different unit that also has an amplifier, but that is a different thing and not everyone needs such things.

 

Tiny amount of hissing using the ibeats earbuds with tour eq setting. With the zune premium earbuds the hissing is slightly higher but it's very bearable. The mic was already off on mine. Turned on the mic to see how loud the hissing was...jeez. LOUD.

 

Changing the Beats Audio settings (see screenshot) can help.



I need to point out that Mike415 is right:

It's mostly up to your headphones, my cheap comes-with-the-phone LG earphones hiss a lot but I only need to turn the volume to 10% to get the same loudness as 30% using my V-Moda earphones (which doesn't suffer from that hiss).

 

Does anyone get static in their headphones even after muting? I have tried my HD555 and S4i, both get static even when the sound is muted. Very weird

 

Having this problem on my envy 17 3D, annoying I almost always use headphones, tried muting the mic and stuff that didn't change anything "/ but it gets less noisy if I mute my speaker, don't know if that matters to why it's making noises..

I've tried with headphones from iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4 (Probably same ), and some cheap in ear headphones, all three are exactly the same with the noise..

And I really don't wanna send my laptop back since there's no other problems to it and I don't wanna risk anything, but if there was just a fix for this...

 

Okay tried doing that after a reboot and boom, it helped, hope it stays that way ^^ But what does that setting do anyway I don't get it

 

I personally use an FIIO E7 USB DAC with my Envy 14... mated with a pair of Ultimate Ears 10 pros.

yeah, I know that the USB is external, blah blah blah. But there is a SIGNIFICANT sound quality difference. I get around a weeks use out of the DAC before it needs to be recharged, and I use the FIIO E9 to recharge it. The E9 makes for a great desktop amplifier as well.

 

Can just say that my static went away by changing headphones, weird since I tried two different but with the third ones I tried I heard NONE even at highest sound. No difference in sound quality what so ever either, these are even better I'd say.

 

What headphones ?
same problem with an envy 17 3D 1190es . My cousin has an envy 15 and no audio problem

 

I'm somewhat of a audio noob, so if someone could point me to a pair of in-ear headphones that don't produce static with this laptop, that would be wonderful. Thank you!

 

I get static through my headphones every time, but its not TOO annoying

 

Don't buy the good ones. The stock ipod earphones don't have any static, but they sound terrible.

 

Alright guys I know it has been stated in here before but this problem is because the audio amp is meant for higher impedance loads. Most headphones are 30 ohms or higher. I don't know where the static cuts in exactly (maybe loads under 40ohms?) but my Ultimate Ear Triple Fi's were getting the static.

Earbuds have lower impedance anyways which means that more current can flow from the device during "idle" time it means that low currents like noise currents can flow through the earbuds as opposed to headphones or other higher impedance equipment. Which is our problem. It's also why, I'm assuming, most of us can only turn the computer up to 15 before we blow our ears out!

It's a simple fix. Just get an attenuator. It gives your whatevers higher impedance. Most of the time flight attendants will hand them out for free if the plane has built in audio for watching TVs or whatever. They do it because some people's ears get blasted and these will lower the power to them.

Just Google "level attenuator" and try and find one. They're like $2.

 

It is not about impedance but about sensitivity IMO, attenuator will not help.

I have two pairs of headphones with the same impedance and in one I can hear hiss but no in the other. The difference between them is their sensitivity shown in Dbs.

 

I bought a FiiO E7 and E9 DAC and Headphone Amp to cut the static (mostly because I was getting into high end audio, and really started to care about sound quality)
The static and hissing noise could be caused by loads of things

bad source files
bad headphones
bad shielding around the 3.5mm jack
Electromagnetic interference from the Envy

In my case, I think its either bad shielding, or EM interference, I dont think HP put much thought into the output of the sound from the 3.5mm jack. they just put a Beats chip and logo inside...

After hearing hi-fi, i dont think I could go back to a regular sound card or bad source files.

 

Same here. I use a Centrance DACPort with my laptop and a Burson HA-160D with my desktop with Beyerdynamic T1 headphones, no going back to $20 earbuds.

 

I've used the attenuator with 3 different earbuds and some cheaper quality headphones for test and it removed the static in every case.

Have you tried an attenuator? If you haven't I recommend trying it before saying it doesn't work.

On another note, even with my friends Sennheiser HD 650 headphones with an amp connected to the Envy the sound is average. I haven't been impressed with any of the sound output with a lot of tinkering.

I'm not trying to argue but this is just a laptop. If you're really concerned about sound quality with a computer go build a cheapy and put a nice sound card in it.

 

I have not tried an attenuator, I am not saying it is not going to work. If it raises impedance it will lower sensitivity.

As for the HD650 - it is not about the amp or phones but about the soundcard in the laptop.

What you need is a USB DAC (digital to analog converter). That is what I use on my desktop computer, PC>USB>DAC>AMP>Headphones.