Clevo sound quality fix(?)

So I have a Sager NP7330 (Clevo W230ST), and I've been annoyed by its sound quality since day one, even through the headphone jack. Fiddling with the settings in the VIA audio driver and Sound Blaster Cinema didn't help me either.

Today, I decided to try turning off all effects in the Sound Blaster Cinema, and I discovered that the sound quality through the headphone jack actually became good! It's definitely comparable to iPods, and I can actually *listen* to my music. Did anyone else find disabling Sound Blaster Cinema improves their sound quality significantly? Perhaps the sound cards on the Clevo are not that bad after all.

 

is soundblaster cinema on board or have you got an external sound source.
on last years model we have (i think) TFX which doesnt do much.

not sure if it works on the SM models but for external sound try this:

 

The problem is that these Clevos come with a subwoofer. When you plug in an external stereo device like headphones, the system forgets to forward any bass to it, hence sounding like a tin can.

To fix it, you need to increase the crossover frequency to around 200(or more if you want).

Personally, I am no audiophile but the original settings were so bad even I was contemplating getting an external sound card. However, after implementing this setting, I have no problem with the sound the system outputs to my headphones. =D

 

If you set the crossover at 200hz, you're not gonna get any bass. Thats the mid-low tone range (mostly mid).
The bass range is from 100hz down (and even from 50hz down, this is what most people call "REAL" bass).

My crossover frequency at THX is set at 55hz, the results are satisfactory (even very good) for me.
BUT my onboard audio is stereo and it aint got this 7.1 c.r.a.p in it.

 

Mmm, I have kinda bad hearing from military service in terms of high pitch. I didn't have any issues with W230ST with both speakers and using my USB Logitech G930 headphones. However I'm really not an audiophile.

I also have a pair of Sennheiser headphones (nothing expensive around $120 on sale I think), so I could test with them to see any difference when turning Sound Blaster Cinema off.

Update: I certainly prefer the sound with Sound Blaster Cinema with Sennheiser HD 555, especially the surround sound effect most of all. The rest of the options are not so evident. Smart volume is kinda useless, don't really like Crystalizer, a little bass helps though.

 

I don't install THX or the XFI and just leave the realtek drivers set to 7.1 and it all seems about as good as it could be.

 

Hmm, IIRC, I was never able to get the Soundblaster Cinema thing to work, and ended up just installing the VIA HD Audio deck only, which has some effects, but nothing special. Am I missing out on anything form the SB Cinema?

 

There are some interesting features in THX, like the Smart Volume. I downloaded a 1080p MKV of the Muse concert in Berlin, the sound was low-volume for some reason (in all players tested).
Smart volume works its magic and slowly increases the volume of the material till it reaches the 90db maximum volume (you can set the level how you want) and I enjoy listening to the concert now that the volume is high enough.

Crossover also helps, get the bass as low as you want it (try below 50hz, something like 40hz or so with a good subwoofer).

I enjoy the Crystalizer, set at its factory setting (at 40% I believe), adds some harmonics to the sound and the dull-ness is gone.

 

this--or even just leave the windows default audio drivers. i don't understand why people profess fixes when it's the hardware that's lacking.

 

All of the crossover stuff I tried got it sounding to around stock with no creative stuff working, anything else just sounded unnatural and distorted.

 

The sound chip on laptops drives audio devices connected to the 3.5mm jack fine, but the chips themselves are not wunderkinds in audio processing and amplification. A USB DAC is really needed if audio quality is important. Even cheap ones often yield better audio reproduction than onboard audio.

Software adjustments will only iron out some of the wrinkles ─ or make things worse.

 

Does everyone get hiss / static connected to the headphone jack?

 

Yes there is a bit of crosstalk from the internals depending on loading and frequencies.

 

yes, same here. getting a usb dac was the best decision I made with regards to my current sager.

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for that mate!

I will be slightly reconfiguring my XFI app tonight and trying your settings.

 

Am I the only one without this problem?? Im using headphones at work, noise levels are null (at least Im not hearing such things).
Used to have hissing from P150HM, though. Not the W.

 

I'm not getting it!

Clean and clear as can be here, even with Surround and 5.1 turned on in X-Fi.

 

Thats how it should be

 

Yep for sure mate!

Nice to see you have an XMG as well. You know I originally planned to get the A723 from the advanced series, but a bigger payslip meant I could instead go for the P723 the pro daddy

 

Schenker has the best offers in the EU right now, congrats on ur machine!
Next year I will be moving on to Broadwell. Should be quite faster compared to my Ivy Bridge, lol.
Although my current setup works perfectly for my everyday tasks and gaming.
I'd love to have a 18.4" screen, maybe Clevo could surprise me with another 18" chassis (like the old P180HM)
since Im rarely moving the machine at all... Photoshop work on 17.3" is doable, but a tad bigger would be ideal.

I remember when I tried to work on 15.6" with 1080p...never gonna make that mistake twice.

 

I get clicking sound in every frame rendered when running games. It can be heard in quiet moments like in game menu. It has something to do with SLI ON and has been like this since I bought it in February. Have not found any drivers to fix this. Anyone else have this issue?

 

Ive never owned dual graphics powered computer, but this proves the point - dual graphics are more trouble than they are worth the last 5 years.
Maybe in the future they may improve beyond those annoying side effects, but for right now....expect to have problems.
Double the graphics, double the problems that may occur.

 

I've had no issues like that even with high levels of overclocking, yes I get a little more static the more I overclock but that's just like a single card machine.

 

Well my previous Clevo D901C with 8800GTX SLI worked great for 5 years. Even the sound quality was better not to mention the keyboard, but I still love this one the most.

 

Nether have I, however I guess its just pot luck. At the moment there are more games that dont favour the dual-GPU setup, pretty sure it will all change in the near future though as games will quickly overtake the current power cards. Thats why people will require 2 GPUs just to run at the highest level.

 

I've not had any issues on my end with dual cards. Makes overclocking a little trickier.

 

Have to say I probably wont bother with overclocking for now, unless I can get a fairly big improvement with a small clock boost.

 

Well there is nothing like tomb raider running at 1080p on almost highest details with 4xSSAA at 90FPS