It seems that the audio card (admitedly, a cheap one) is not the only component that matters in overal audio quality for laptops.

Do you have any pointers to people comparing laptop audio quality?
Is there anything to check before buying a laptop without listening to it first (through headphones)?

Thanks

I have a dell e1505 and the hissing noise really bothers me! So i'd suggest that you take the earphones you listen to music on (the hissing isn't really there/noticeable when using the laptop's speakers), and listen to music while the AC adapter is plugged in.

Some laptops have noise problems due to power supply design. Sometimes this can be ameliorated, sometimes it is just about impossible to deal with. I've seen threads on some forums discussing "good" and "bad" laptops from this viewpoint, but since new models appear almost daily, I see no way to keep up with reporting which ones to avoid.

It is not worth the hassle and uncertainity to investigate this when buying a laptop. There are other aspects of laptops which are more important because they cannot be fixed afterwards. Fixing the sound on a laptop on the other hand is easy to fix afterwards..... for example by using a PCMCIA card, if you want it to be "internal-like".

- Lyx

You might want to pursue this thread. Some laptop noise problems cannot be fixed with an external soundcard -- or any other approach.
http://www.audiomastersforum.net/amforum/i...pic,6168.0.html

My advice is to put some music on a USB thumb drive, take your best headphones, and listen to some music on the notebook itself. If there is any type of hissing, then don't get that notebook. I would also look at the audio output connection capabilities of the notebook. See whether it offers digital optical, digital coaxil, or just analog output. Also see who the sound card manufacturer is and what model it is. I looked at those things before deciding to get my Dell XPS notebook that came with a SigmaTel C-Major sound card with digital coaxil output. Absolutely no hissing through headphones or the digital output.

Then again, I don't think the employees at those Dell kiosks, an Apple Store, or at Best Buy would be too happy with you trying to listen to music on their notebooks. Notebook reviews don't really help either as I almost always see the same quote of "For a notebook, the sound isn't that bad at all." They don't test for hissing and they don't test for various other aspects.

Thanks for the info. Yes, of course grounding-problems cannot be fixed easily. I didn't consider this when writing my reply, because i expected it to be something obvious to look out for. Strictly speaking, groundloops are something entirely different (but with the same effects, and it is often the main problem with laptops).

FWIW even my macbook core duo has intel high definition audio and integrated optical in/out. Windows XP or Vista can be run on these with boot camp. I can't hear any hissing or any other noises using my Etymotics or my Sony MDR-V300. I can't believe some computers are sold otherwise - i had an old HP which did this, you could hear the hissing and whining (especially when you accessed the HD) even on the cheap speakers attached to the monitor. Disgusting.

I'd just get the laptop I wanted, then add a PCMCIA audio card (like the Echo Indigo I/O).