ThinkPad >> A Winner again in Audio electronics build quality

Firstly, I use an IEM (In ear monitor) from westone called UM2. Its a $300 headphone headphone and if you have used an IEM you would know that its extremely sensitive to even the slightest audio or electrical noice.

I have used the UM2 on a Dell 600m (friends), Dell 700m (friends), HP Pavillion ze4300 (my previous system), Apple Powerbook G4 (borrowed from out univ. library) on several occasions and on all these systems, I cannot connect the headphone directly into the built in Headphone jack because of the electrical disturbances. The HP and the Dell were equally worse with a massive background hiss and even the slightest pointer movement causing clicks and distortion (you can notice this very easily when no music is playing). Typing causes even louder clicks. That was the reason I purchased the Echo Indigo DJ, it gives absolute silence and I have always used it with my UM2 ever since.

It was only today that I thought of testing it on my T43 direct and i am really amazed at the results. Its the quietest i have ever heard on any laptop direct. There is only a slight background hiss, but the pointer movement and keyboard typing causes no audible clicks at all . This again goes out to show a superior design and electrical layout/construction of the ThinkPad. As an electrical engineer myself, I understand the attention to detail and dedication required to acheive this and am delighted to have found one more aspect of IBM's superior built of their system. (One has to firstly, provide the cleanest power supply, have to minimize crosstalk, have a really clean layout making sure that all high frequency and switching noises from all other devices within the laptop does not flood the power, ground or the signal channels, isolation of some sort for the audio circuitary etc.. etc.... One of the reasons why the same product from different manufacturers are priced and perform different)

Will it replace my $160 Echo Indigo DJ PCMCIA sound card? Hell no!! The Thinkpad does have a very slight background hiss (which is extremely difficult to eliminate without going out of the way to completely isolate the audio circuitary and providing the cleanest power supply), but its the lowest and the best I have recently heard. Its leaps and bounds better than the Dell and HP and much better than Apple. Furthermore, the sound quality of the Echo Indigo is really hard to beat and I don't know of any laptop that can do it (Creative soundcards included).

 

Some awesome insight there from a discriminating audiophile and engineer. You're right, it's the finer points such as this that make ThinkPads standout in different ways.