DAC/AMP setup for laptop

[kimchi]

Hi,

I have a desktop (gaming build from 2016) and a laptop (alienware r2 m18).

On My desktop I have a sound blaster sound card which runs my Audio Technica ATH-AD700X headphones, and it works very well for detecting position of enemies in FPS games (very light on bass, big sound stage).

On the laptop I have a hard time hearing where sound cues are coming from.

I noticed that the volumn control knob for my soundblaster[www.dropbox.com] has a bigger receiving port than the laptop headphone jack port (which'll only fit the smaller plug-in size). I think this is making a difference in the quality of audio in games.

My question is what kinds of setups are you guys running (if any) for a quick DAC/AMP setup on your laptops ?

edit: image link since the filter is messing it up
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wuzl84eanv74d4kjaayzx/IMG_2693.jpg?rlkey=t1s0zfh2tvcbpn0tq8mlpgb4w&e=2&dl=0

[VisciousFishes]

Links are dead.

[kimchi]

Автор сообщения: VisciousFishes

Links are dead.

I stuck a link on the end to manually copy / paste

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wuzl84eanv74d4kjaayzx/IMG_2693.jpg?rlkey=t1s0zfh2tvcbpn0tq8mlpgb4w&e=2&dl=0

[Crawl]

Your links don't work but it sounds like you are talking about a 3.5mm jack vs a 1/4" jack maybe? If that is the case there is no audio quality difference between the two and it is more likely a power or quality of components difference.

The dac/amp combo I use is the Schitt Magnius and Schitt Modious. I use them with my desktop but there is no reason they couldn't be used with a laptop. The pair run a little over $400 but price to performance I think they are hard to beat.

[smokerob79]

3/8 vs 1/4 jacks wont mean anything on sound quality.....signal to noise ratio, separation and DB ratings for distortion are the major factors....the sound blaster card in the tower is up there on the numbers.....you dont need a 400 dollar set to get better sound.....any of their USB offering would be fine and better then the laptop......

https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-play-4

this one has good specs given the 20 dollar price point.....

[Trout]

you don't need an amp, your headphones have a 32 ohm impedance so even a crappy phone with a jack could easily drive them and they would be LOUD at max volume. as far as a DAC goes for your laptop, the $10 USB-C jack from apple is transparent as far as sound quality goes. you might not need more

[r.linder]

Автор сообщения: Trout

you don't need an amp, your headphones have a 32 ohm impedance so even a crappy phone with a jack could easily drive them and they would be LOUD at max volume. as far as a DAC goes for your laptop, the $10 USB-C jack from apple is transparent as far as sound quality goes. you might not need more

You didn't read the post in full, their problem is not volume, it's that the internal sound card is bad enough that he can't hear sounds on it as well as he can on his desktop that has a soundblaster. Which makes sense as internal sound cards are usually garbage for actual sound quality.

[r.linder]

As others have stated, the jacks are not the reasoning for difference in sound quality, it's the actual internals of the sound blaster, the drivers, etc. that make up the difference. The jack is just a form factor, 3.5mm jacks can have adapters to fit, brands like Beyerdynamics do that a lot.

The reason why there's a difference is because the on-board/internal sound card of the laptop sucks in comparison, even if you use the same headphones, the sound card just can't drive it the same because it's not the same quality as a soundblaster.

[Trout]

Автор сообщения: r.linder

You didn't read the post in full, their problem is not volume, it's that the internal sound card is bad enough that he can't hear sounds on it as well as he can on his desktop that has a soundblaster.

he mentions the amp and then someone else talks about a $400 schiit stack. i told him a separate amp isn't needed, just in case he's actually gonna go out and blow $200 on an amp for his 32ohm headphones. the apple dongle solves his issue. it likely won't compare to his sound blaster, but it's miles better than any crappy onboard solution

[r.linder]

Автор сообщения: Trout

Автор сообщения: r.linder

You didn't read the post in full, their problem is not volume, it's that the internal sound card is bad enough that he can't hear sounds on it as well as he can on his desktop that has a soundblaster.

he mentions the amp and then someone else talks about a $400 schiit stack. i told him a separate amp isn't needed, just in case he's actually gonna go out and blow $200 on an amp for his 32ohm headphones. the apple dongle solves his issue. it likely won't compare to his sound blaster, but it's miles better than any crappy onboard solution

Definitely wouldn't buy an apple dongle, they don't know sound quality either. Better off with something affordable like a FiiO E10K but not dirt cheap, because it won't be much better than on-board, especially if it's a recent laptop.

[Tiberius]

For a laptop or mobile device, you prolly want a portable amp, like hip dac 3

[Crawl]

Автор сообщения: Trout

Автор сообщения: r.linder

You didn't read the post in full, their problem is not volume, it's that the internal sound card is bad enough that he can't hear sounds on it as well as he can on his desktop that has a soundblaster.

he mentions the amp and then someone else talks about a $400 schiit stack. i told him a separate amp isn't needed, just in case he's actually gonna go out and blow $200 on an amp for his 32ohm headphones. the apple dongle solves his issue. it likely won't compare to his sound blaster, but it's miles better than any crappy onboard solution

I mentioned my set up because the OP specifically asked what others were using, I'll leave it up to them to do their research and decide what fits their needs. I would also point out that just because because their headphones are 32 ohm doesn't mean they won't benefit from an amp and Investing a few hundred dollars in a setup that will carry them for years is far better than literally throwing money in the trash on an Apple dongle that's going to do nothing for them.

[smokerob79]

apple is garbage....just buy the 20 dollar sound blaster card......