Sound card on Clevo P170EM [replacement inside]!?!?

Removed due to privacy concerns

 

If your primary use for such a card is gaming, consider one of the X-Fis. Otherwise, your best choice isn't going to be one of those - or anything mainstream - at all.

 

Which one do you recommend? Then? :thumbup:
This is why I want everyone's recommendations

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Just get a true 5.1/7.1 headset instead, the sound is perfect with 5.1/7.1 analog output, only 2.0 output is bad on the Clevo on board sound card because the bass is only output through the CEN/SUB jack in the P150EM/P170EM, not the stereo jack.

 

I was thinking on this one:

http://steelseries.com/products/audio/steelseries-7h-usb

But I want your opinion. Which one would you buy?


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That one is a virtual 7.0 headset, it uses its own USB soundcard, it's not a true 7.1 headset tho.

For true 5.1 headsets you can look into Turtle Beach's Z6A/Tritton's PC510 HDa. For true 7.1 headsets so far only Razer's Tiamat 7.1 is available on the market.

 

Well I will go for razer. Gorgeous design

http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-tiamat-71

Thanks mate

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if you already have 5.1 surround speakers then i would try this first.
plug in green to headphones socket and yellow to mic socket and a popup will ask if u want mic or speakers.
green is front two and yellow is sub and rear.

i was going to get the x-fi as well but this is as good and saves some wonga.

 

Currently I only own this: Seinheiser HD205

Lol at wonga ahahah

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Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro USB Sound Card powered by THX TruStudio

 

I concur. More than enough to drive my ATH-M50's.

 

Well I'm considering the headphones from Razer. I will check a review on them

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"Surround" headsets, virtual or otherwise, are often, if not always, bested by a high-quality pair of traditional headphones. The above-mentioned ATH-M50 are a good choice, as would be the Ultrasone HFI-780, among others. As far as sound cards go, outside of gaming, quality is king - if you're not happy with the internal sound, invest in a good DAC/amp, like the Fiio E10. You won't be disappointed.

 

Remember this is happening on a P150EM/P170EM that outputs little to no bass to the stereo jack without any 3rd party tools. Getting an external amp is like trying to amplify the already bass less and low quality stereo source, if you want to talk about quality here... An external USB soundcard would be the only choice if you absolutely need to use 2.0 headphones and have the best quality. However the 5.1/7.1 analog out is working perfectly on the P150EM/P170EM.

 

Note where I said "DAC". The Fiio E10 is a USB DAC with an integrated amp, it never touches integrated audio.

 

K0nane i really appreciate your help in this matter and i will buy my Clevo P170EM (see signature) along with razer headphones and the Fiio E10 USB DAC

Thanks a lot

 

I was aware that the Fiio E10 reacts as an external sound card when connected to PC, however if there's anything that only amplify the stereo source then that's a no go for the P150EM/P170EM .

 

You can't use the E10 with the Razer Tiamat's.. Well you can, but it would defeat the purpose of having true 7.1 headphones..

You either should get good regular headphones and the E10 (or similar USB DAC), or use the surround sound headphones (even though I believe youve only got hook ups for 5.1 for the Tiamat)..

 

Well actually i was seeing the Clevo P170em from the right side of it and actually only has 3 jacks.. so only outputs real 5.1.. not 7.1! The 7.1 are actually simulated by THX studio :|

Guess i need to go for the 5.1 headphones instead!

Looking at the specs of Clevo P170EM:

 

Are you sure there's only 3 jacks on the P170EM or your are just seeing pictures that might be the P170HM?

On the P150EM it's true 7.1 all 4 jacks are used. You have to assign them, stereo jack is default for stereo channel. Mic-in shares with CEN/SUB. S/PDIF shares with Surround left/Surround right. Line-in shares with Rear left/Rear right. A lot of users didn't even know this and claim the sound quality is bad on the P150EM/P170EM just because they didn't know the soundcard is capable of outputting 5.1/7.1, also it's the only way to get strong bass out of this onboard soundcard.

 

As you can see from my signature it says: future proud...

I'm waiting for money to arrive to buy the beast on my signature and yes... Stupid me was looking at a photo of clevo P170HM lol

Yeah it's true 7.1 actually

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You can take a good look here Product info for P170EM Core™ i7 Notebook Barebone, Intel® HM77, 17.3" Full HD LED Glossy, FPR, PCIe x16 MXM-III Discrete Graphics

From left to right: FL/FR, CEN/SUB, SL/SR, RL/RR.

When you plug the jack in a message window will pop up by default and ask you what do you want to use the jacks as.

And if you want to convert stereo audio source into 7.1 you will need to use THX's surround feature.

Also don't forget to turn on THX speaker feature and tweak the crossover frequency in THX setting to your liking , if the bass is too strong with a wide frequency coverage you can lower it.

 

The really sad part about this is the two weeks ahead of me that I will have to wait until I get the money and then the waiting time until I receive it

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I waited like 3 weeks for mine and that indeed was long already .

 

Well two weeks have passed since the money was sent.. So it won't take long until it arrives

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I bought the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro USB Sound Card powered by THX TruStudio. Honestly, the difference in sound quality is night and day. Music is so much deeper with this "card" that I could never go back to on-board sound, and the enhancement in sound is more than apparent in gaming as well. For around $60 I consider this particular upgrade to be a no-brainer. The reviews I've read on the X-Fi Go! Pro don't do it justice, but it could just be that I am so impressed with the increase in sound quality relative to the awful onboard sound.

 

Well, the reviews have a point, as there are minor crackles and (an almost unnoticeable) hiss with it on some volume levels, so it isn't perfect. But yeah, it's nothing like the muddy and pathetic sound of the onboard card in this machine. In fact, after fiddling with the X-Fi to compensate for my experience with the onboard card, I had to lower the volume below medium and cut back on the bass frequency in the equalizer because it was thudding my headphones so much that I was getting mild headaches

 

i have found the Solution :

Incentives Matter: Solution to the Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro Buzz (Hiss) Problem

 

[sarcasm]Oh, I only need to customize an adaptor and implement a resistor in there to fix it? Silly me, why didn't I think of that sooner?[/sarcasm]

Thanks, though. I'll live with this, it isn't THAT bad.

 

/thread

Positional audio in games is often much better with stereo headphones than gimmicky "surround" headphones.

 

So, is it not possible to change the internal card instead of using an external usb??
cheeers!

 

Passive attenuators might be good off-the-shelf solutions also as suggested in this post:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/675744-audio-quality.html#post8729036

 

There is no internal "card". It's a chipset integrated into the motherboard design. The integrated audio can be disabled by not loading the drivers. A hardware mod would be required to implement the audio internal to the PC. E.g. solder wires to connect USB sound card to unused port, wire 3.5mm jacks together...

 

Basically this. Definitely not possible.

 

SO! Should i buy Razer Tiamat 7.1 and wish sound card to you guys recommend?

 

I thought the point of buying 180$ headphones is that you wont need a sound card with it isnt?
and BTW will the xifi blaster pro improve the sound quality without the headphones, too or is it just with headphones

 

This is the point when i myself LOLOL

I really i'm tired today... only speak sh*t :thumbsup:

Answering your post: I am going to buy a USB sound card for my GF's Clevo!

 

Hey,
Off topic: I was actually planning to buy a P150em but all the issues regarding the crappy audio and the poorly designed keyboard (ghosting, key misses) is making me consider a m17x or a GT60 (this one would come with the same keyboard issues cause it's got the same electronics).
On topic: Maybe the opamps and the capacitors in the audio path on the motherboard could be replaced with better ones. Does anyone have a schematic of the board or some detailed pictures?
Also, did anyone try linux on the clevos. Maybe the sound issues aren't present with a linux audio stack.

 

Well i was turned to buy an Alienware M18X but i love the simplicity of the Clevo's P170EM! But what really pisses me off is that i am going to give more then 3000$ for a laptop which has a top configuration and the sound card is a real crap

 

m18x also supports true 7.1

 

Hackness so i made some math counting and guess what!?

Between Clevo P170EM and Alienware M17X R4 both with the same configuration as my signature the final prices are as follows:

Clevo P170EM:

3,445.00 EUR = 4,310.18 USD from inforphone the retailer i am going to buy!

Alienware M17x R4:

3,953.99 EUR = 4,947.00 USD from xoticpc!

More 500€ which in my opinion is a lot!

And since i am going to buy 2 Clevo P170EM with the same configuration and a Clevo W170ER for my girlfriend (no she doesn't need a top Clevo...LOL)

In total i am going to spend 8336€ in laptops!

That's why it makes me think! lol

 

Man you added everything on the config page, I always thought reaching 4000 usd with config page is hard, looks like it's not. Mine is like 1711 usd including international shipping, and I swap in the GTX680M myself later on.

 

Almost everything.. not office and stuff i can "buy" online (if you know what i mean)

 

I also find the design of the m17x too fancy and I hate the glossy plastic that they've put above the screen (guess I can remove that), but the 90Wh battery is very nice and I think it's got a proper keyboard and decent integrated audio.
I'm planning to carry the notebook to school, but I think the +5kg of the AW would break my back.
Do you guys know if the non-backlit clevo keyboard carries the same issues as the one with the backlight (and the steelseries one)? Do they really miss keypresses that often? Planning on writing code on it besides gaming.
Do earbuds get decent bass from the p1x0em integrated sound card?

Thanks

 

I have read about that issue, but it's never surfaced for me. Maybe I'm just lucky!

 

Well put the sound card in 7.1 mode and you can bypass the bass issue

 

It appears when I use my amp and heavily increase the bass, so that might be the case. But it's very faint and not nearly as bothersome as the onboard sound.

 

Gonna buy a XFi pro too

 

Yes, I think I can recommend that, all things considered. Especially if you don't have a 7.1 headphones.

My suggestion as someone who had two different 5.1 headphones (Zalman ZM-RS6F and Logitech G35) - leave those gimmicks alone. The tiny speakers inside them are pathetic and they'll wear out their welcome faster than you think. Instead, get a good Studio-Grade headphones like my Audio Technica M50, which don't cost a lot, get that Creative X-Fi Go Pro and have fun.

 

I own Senheiser HD205 II and they have a clear sound even with the on-board sound card from my As

In here the Audio Technica M50 cost 130€ but i'm willing to buy the Razer Tiamat 7.1 for myself and the Creative XFI Pro for my GF