How to improve my laptop's sound quality?

Maelstrom · Sep 21, 2011

Hey guys, I'm currently at college and only have access to my laptop and its mediocre onboard audio. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 555s, and they don't sound nearly as nice as they do on my desktop. I'm looking for recommendations on what I can do to get improved audio quality. A number of people have suggested external DACs, so what do you guys recommend? Are there any other methods to get improved quality? Budget is ~$100 US (more if necessary).

Sasqui · Sep 21, 2011

Maelstrom said:
Hey guys, I'm currently at college and only have access to my laptop and its mediocre onboard audio. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 555s, and they don't sound nearly as nice as they do on my desktop. I'm guessing I should get an amp, but I have no idea where to even start or even if that's what I should get . Some help would be greatly appreciated! Budget is ~$100 US (more if necessary).

An amp would only make the crappiness louder

Any idea what's in your laptop for a sound proccesor? There may just be a software/driver solution to the crappiness you're hearing...

Other than that, you might want to consider an external USB sound card...

Maelstrom · Sep 21, 2011

Sasqui said:
An amp would only make the crappiness louder

Any idea what's in your laptop for a sound proccesor? There may just be a software/driver solution to the crappiness you're hearing...

Other than that, you might want to consider an external USB sound card...

It's not that the sound quality is terrible, it's just more that I miss the clarity, if you will, of my asus essence STX that is in my desktop. I'm just wandering if there are any solutions to having better audio quality on my laptop. You mentioned the possibility of a external sound card, what do you recommend?

CJCerny · Sep 21, 2011

http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/iconudac/

No drivers necessary. Tremendous sound quality if you have a free USB port.

CJCerny · Sep 21, 2011

If you need a more powerful headphone amp, try

http://www.centrance.com/products/dacport/

but clearly out of your price range.

Maelstrom · Sep 21, 2011

CJCerny said:
If you need a more powerful headphone amp, try

http://www.centrance.com/products/dacport/

but clearly out of your price range.

Yep, definitely. But that first one you linked looks good! Anyone else have recommendations?

Cybrnook · Sep 21, 2011

Here is a nice external: http://www.abesofmaine.com/item=CRE70SB12400000~item.htm#

Also, read this article to help you clarify about what your asking: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1492635

Maelstrom · Sep 22, 2011

OK, thanks guys for the recommendations so far. Anyone else have any input on the matter?

AhokZYashA · Sep 22, 2011

HD555 is a bit warm in tonality

i can suggest you some good DAC/AMP combo

for 100USD you can get the Nuforce uDAC2/uDAC, FiiO E10,

for a bit more cash, you can get the Audinst HUD-MX1, its about 150-180USD, but the it will improve your HD555 even more

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Processor	Core i7 3770K
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