NP8150 - bad sound quality, when using headphones

The best cheaper option is to spend $35 on the X-Fi Go, or $50 on the X-Fi 5.1 USB.

I wouldn't spend $100 on the FiiO E7 unless your headphones cost nearly that much or more.

If you need something which can be used portable, spend $30 on the FiiO E6.

 

$100 Audiotechnica ATH M50s full size headphone.

 

This looks kind of interesting, would like to see if it's more functional than gimicky.

USB Theater Sound Xperience and DTS Surround Sensation

 

Hmm, I just received my P150HM yesterday and used headphones to play games and I thought the sound quality was great. I might be kind of bias though because I never owned a Ipod/MP3 before.

 

I'm currently running Monster In-Ear Turbines and picking up the 8170hm. What would you recommend based on that if I don't enjoy the sound quality out of the 8170? Worth it to go with the Fiio then?

 

I definitely noticed a lack of bass on my headphones, and I do love bass. I was saddened when I had to run two different equalizers to get the sound I wanted.

 

So does everyone agree that it's not the notebook itself that is causing the bad sound?

Mr. Mysterious

 

I do think it's the laptop, because on both ubuntu and windows the lack of bass it's noticeable, compared to my ipod/old laptops, etc.

 

same thought.... it s even worse than my inspiron 6400 (same with win7) ...

 

reading this whole thread I don't think anyone agrees with that

 

Definitely the FiiO E7.

 

Well I have read the thread but there are so many theories about why the sound is so bad and what is causing it, that I have no clear handle on a good answer.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Thanks for the response Kevin_Jack2.0. I'll see how things are when it first comes in, but judging by the responses I will be shortly searching for a place to purchase it within Canada. Cheers.

 

Ipods and most MP3 players have very good sound drivers and hence this is why your music sounds a lot better on them, especially when listening with audiophile headphones. For the average listeners, the stock sound card would suffice.

However, if you are an audiophile and/or have great headphones which can not be truly driven by the on board card, there are many options, depending on your budget.

If you just want something that is more adjustable (As in, detailed and accurate EQ settings), I would suggest this:

Newegg.com - StarTech ICUSBAUDIO USB to Stereo Audio Adapter Converter ($18)

To take full advantage of the various audio technologies offered in modern games, I'd suggest you take a look at the Creative X-Fi Go 5.1

Amazon.com: Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB Audio System with THX SB1095: Electronics (50$).

And if you want your headphones to be actually driven to take full advantage of their abilities, take a look at the aforementioned e7 by fiio ( Amazon.com: FiiO E7 USB DAC and Portable Headphone Amplifier (Black): Electronics.

Although this is the best option by far, I wouldn't suggest buying it unless you are truly an audiophile and you own or plan to own headphones that can take advantage of what it brings to the table.

 

Thanks malibal; i'll add it to my faq later.

Mr. Mysterious

 

You're Welcome

If one would want a free option, and their primary discomforts with the on board sound occur when listening to music, I'd suggest downloading this program: DFX Audio Enhancer - Free Download.

 

Can i ask if you guys update your audio drivers regularly? On the sager website the realtek audio drivers/ THX software is still from May'11.

Is there a way to update to the latest Realtek soundcard drivers from the realtek website?
(Sorry, if there are inconsistencies in my thinking, but im assuming audio drivers are the same way that graphics drivers are. Sager's Drivers are older and updated less frequently while the manufacturer drivers get updated often.) EDIT: Will newer drivers improve audio quality?

And ignorance is bliss. Now, that i know about the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro USB SoundCard and seen this review of it, I want it! Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro USB Sound Card Review + Demonstration - YouTube
I like its portability very much

Tried it. It definitely improves the quality but the trial version doesn't allow full functionality and tweaking.

 

Technically speaking, there's nothing keeping you from using the Realtek drivers from their website. As long as they keep the chipset listed there, it should just work. That said, new drivers don't always add improvements. You should check the readme/changelog file that usually come with drivers to see exactly what the newer versions do. Nvidia does the same thing from time to time, where new drivers are only used to support new chipsets- not actually adding any new functionality.

If you're having poor audio quality issues, drivers may never fix that unfortunately

 

wow im having this problem now, where when i play my music from my computer through an amp it makes a horrible buzzing noise, and then after i unplug the computer from the power supply the buzzing goes away. so basically whoever designed the sound cards for these machines, knows nothing about noise filtering, tonal quality or proper wiring. hear that clevo! get another engineer!

 

Its a notebook! Not a magic machine or a swiss army knife!

Mr. Mysterious

 

hEY, i've had this problem since the first day i got the laptop. read my post here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/596883-what-do-after-unboxing-5.html#post7851886

I had buzzing even with headphones and while the RMA fixed that, attaching any external speakers to the jack esp. with amplification produces an annoying buzzing! its still here. Best option is to forget it and get a USB sound card.

 

Now my NP8150 facing similar problem. The unit still in warranty but if send for RMA, I'm sure it won't solve the problem. So I just went to buy external sound card.

 

well that sure is one defeatist attitude. If anything even remotely goes awry on my laptop I will be sending it in right away, I paid for this 3 year warranty and dammit I am going to use it.

 

What to do? I have to cover the shipping back to reseller and I don't have spare laptop to use. In addition, I buy standard 1 year warranty on parts.

 

This problem is just one of two I have with my 8150... My Bose headphones just sound awful when plugged into my laptop, and I'm not "that" picky about sound quality. Hopefully a headset I just bought will sound better, or come with a usb plug option. Otherwise I'll have to look into an external sound card. Luckly I don't have the buzzing noise the above posters have mentioned..

 

Buy Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! - Sound Blaster - Creative Store (SG) I just bought this a couple of days back and my Sony XB headphone finally sounds good. I still use the laptop's speakers when i'm not using heaphones; the sound is okay on those.

 

I finally discover the main source of the buzzing/over-the-limit sound problem after plug the sb x-fi pro. The problem lays on the player + codec I'm using. I uninstall and reinstall with new one, and there's no more buzzing sound; both on-board and sb x-fi.

But, I fall in love with SB X-fi with it's sound clarity and punchy bass, which I really need.

 

i have two headphones a 60ohm koss portapro and a 16ohm woodees in ear.
the laptop sounds great with my portapros and sound lousy with the woodees.
when i use the woodees with my 5usd 2.1 usd amp it sound so much better(sound like my friends udac).

the reverse is true with my ipod. the woodees sound great on the ipod while my koss sounds above average.

i think what we have hear is impedance mismatching. 16-32 ohm iem's are specifically made for mp3's and are very compatible with that sound source. our laptop however seems to prefer higher impedance iems in the 50-100ohm range. if one goes above this 100ohm threshold though, the onboard soundcard will not be able to drive the headphones any longer ( as proven with the use of my friends boss qc15; and sen 555 and some other model i forgot).
so it seems to me the magic number is 50-100ohms. stick to that and youll get better sounds.

 

Can you give more details about what you did and what codec+player you use?

And did you say you are getting noise from your creative SB USB Go too??

 

Yikes, did you really pay $59? The Pro version goes for less than $30 everywhere else.

 

I can get noise from on-board soundcard and sb x-fi too. Then, I try uninstall and reinstall the codec + player, and somehow it fix the noise problem. The problem lies on the program, and not the soundcard itself.

I use k-lite codec pack full + mpc homecinema

 

I'm thinking this is the problem too. I've got a couple pairs of headphones in the 16 ohm range and they sound miserable through the headphone jack on my NP8130.

My X-fi Go! Pro just arrived today - I didn't even need to install the Sound Blaster software to notice a dramatic improvement on my headphones. Also, the headphones are much louder through the X-fi.

 

The price on the website was in Singapore Dollars.

Okay Thanks

 

What about using DAC Destroyer from HotAudio

"DAC DESTROYER" HAND SOLDERED USB DAC w LINE / HEAD OUT | eBay

Will that be better than the Creative Soundcard?

 

yeah i would not have known it myself if i didnt get help from the audio gurus in the accessories subforum and if i didnt have many iems to test it out.