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    P170EM Sound Chip, Better go with Xonar?

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by c0xad, Jul 18, 2012.

  1. c0xad

    c0xad Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi there.

    How good is our Realtek HD compare to the Xonar u3 ?.,
    Is it worth the upgrade ? . ,

    Im going to use B&W P3 HeadPhones on my laptop. . .

    Cheers !!
     
    c0xad, Jul 18, 2012
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  2. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Well I can't talk for the P170EM but my P150EM exhibits terrible interference on the headphone out socket. I use Etymotic IEMs which are very analytical and you hear every little detail. The low end is also lacking on the Realtek ALC892 regardless of THX settings.

    The U3 is on the way and I'll be testing it out shortly but the reviews say that it's very good for isolating any interference. The extra bonuses of Dolby Headphone HRTF virtualisation and Dolby Digital Live is pretty good too.
     
    iaTa, Jul 19, 2012
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  3. crosslimit

    crosslimit Notebook Evangelist

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    if you plan on using headphones, get anything other than stock. There is no bass on my headphones and sound is generally not so good,also the sound output through my external speakers is worse than a 600$ dell inspirion
    the THX Software helps, but only a bit
     
    crosslimit, Jul 19, 2012
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  4. Aeyix

    Aeyix Notebook Evangelist

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    So the 3.5mm out is that bad too in the P150EM? I'm starting to get a little worried now. I do consider myself an audiophile but my only high fidelity headset I have is Sennheiser PC 350s. I also have a cheap Logitech 5.1 system. I know on my current Dell laptop, the first audio out, HDMI audio, and oboard sound card on my keyboard produce weak sounds using my headset and even speakers. But my second audio out jack blasts thankfully and is all that I use. I really hope it isn't as bad as my other options. I guess if it really is that bad, I do have an Astro Mixamp than can accept Coaxial, RCA, 3.5mm, and SPDIF but I use the SPDIF for my Xbox and the others cause slight background static.

    How's the SPDIF audio out on the P150EM? If I understand it, I'd need a Toslink Mini connecter to connector the normal Toslink cable? Is that included with the laptop?
     
    Aeyix, Jul 19, 2012
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  5. arg8

    arg8 Notebook Consultant

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    Useless as far as I'm concerned. I use an external USB sound card. Something's not right with the analog outputs. Others shared similar experiences:

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/677124-there-solution-np9150-audio-quality.html

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/675744-audio-quality.html

    The sound should be fine with SPDIF, or at least "fixable" with your external gear as long as the stream's dynamic range is maintained. But I can't comment as I haven't tried. I need to use earphones most the time if I need to listen to something.
     
    arg8, Jul 19, 2012
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