A Question on Sound Quality on the 2090 and Soundcards

It is great when it comes to speech, and most music, but I'm coming across a few songs that are getting alot of interference, any tips on getting the best out of the speakers?

Also, as far as headphones go, is an soundcard worth it? I've been reading, but I can't tell what the the actual benefits are. Does it matter if it uses USB ports or ExpressCard slots.

 

it may be a problem of the songs, maybe low quality/low bitrate? or the songs have background interference on them already. switch between speakers and laptop speakers and a headset/earbuds. or the connection in the jack needs a few twists. you might to play with the settings on the Realtek HD audio control panel (if thats the audio driver you have installed)

i find the onboard sound to be more than adequate. if your not an audiophil or hardcore gamer, onboard sound is great. any decent 2.1 speaker setting with a subwoofer will generate really good sounds with deep bass. i recently brought up my old 2.1 Altec Lansing that I bought back in 2002 or 2003 to use in my dorm and I have to say the difference is literally night and day. Of course, the sound card will probably generate even better sound quality with settings for SRS, Dolby Digital audio, etc. and have multiple audio jacks for a 5.1 (maybe even 7.1?) surround sound speakers. the only cons i can see to having a sound card on the laptop is spending extra money and having a USB or PC card slot taken up.

 

If you're not having any specific problems with the onboard audio, I probably wouldn't recommend a sound card. Personally, I ended up buying the X-Fi expresscard soundcard because my onboard audio was giving me problems (high pitched noise and some muffled static that I couldn't fix through drivers or any other means). No idea what the interference was coming from, but the X-Fi gives me a much cleaner signal. Anyway, the sound quality is better with the soundcard than it would have been without under normal circumstances, but not that much better that I would justify spending money.

 

Thanks for the input.