G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

Hello,



I've been a lurker here for the past year, which is how long I've had my G73JH-A2. First, I want to thank everyone in this forum for the time and effort that they have contributed to making my experience with this laptop a far better one than if I was on my own.



Second, I have a decent set of headphones on order - the Shure SRH940. Have any of you used DAC's, Amp's or DAC/Amp's with your laptop? I was thinking about getting an external iBasso D6 DAC/Amp and running 24 bit/96,000 Hz audio through the USB > DAC/Amp > Headphones.



Info on iBasso D6: iBasso



Has anyone experimented with 'high quality audio' using these laptops? What are the strengths and weaknesses of our built in sound card in this kind of application? If so, please post your experiences, observations and recommendations. Many thanks!

Reply 1 : G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

The best output I've measured on the Realtek solution was 100dB SNR with 24/96... which is just slightly better than the 16bit limit of 98dB... in other words, mediocre.



I upgraded with the Creative USB HD, which sports a nice 114dB capacity, and an amplified headphone port. They say it's good to 330Ohm, but I find it more realistic to 150Ohm cans.



My only caveat with it is that it lacks 16/44.1 direct output.

Reply 2 : G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

You really can't go wrong spending $200+ on an amp. But spending less than $200, you really can't go particularly wrong either, so long as you remember you're buying a sub $200 amp - you might as well stick to a cmoy reference off ebay, or a FiiO from deal extreme.

Reply 3 : G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chastity The best output I've measured on the Realtek solution was 100dB SNR with 24/96... which is just slightly better than the 16bit limit of 98dB... in other words, mediocre. I upgraded with the Creative USB HD, which sports a nice 114dB capacity, and an amplified headphone port. They say it's good to 330Ohm, but I find it more realistic to 150Ohm cans. My only caveat with it is that it lacks 16/44.1 direct output.

Hi Chastity, this seems like a nice sound system .. three questions regarding the Creative USB HD:



1. Did you have to remove the existing Sound Blaster Software (EAX 4.0 etc) from the G73JH prior to installing all the Sound Blaster software that comes with the USB HD ? Does it come with equivalent software ?



2. Does the Realtek onboard sound have to be disabled in order to use the USB HD ?



3. Can the HD USB drive the internal speakers/headphones of the G73JH or are you restricted to using the headphone jack/outputs of the USB HD itself ?



Thanks ..

Reply 4 : G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Der Kommissar Hi Chastity, this seems like a nice sound system .. three questions regarding the Creative USB HD: 1. Did you have to remove the existing Sound Blaster Software (EAX 4.0 etc) from the G73JH prior to installing all the Sound Blaster software that comes with the USB HD ? Does it come with equivalent software ? 2. Does the Realtek onboard sound have to be disabled in order to use the USB HD ? 3. Can the HD USB drive the internal speakers/headphones of the G73JH or are you restricted to using the headphone jack/outputs of the USB HD itself ? Thanks ..

1) I uninstalled the X-Fi MB software, as this unit supplies the updated THX Pro suite, with EAX5 support for ALchemy.



2) No, no need to disable Realtek, just need to change the USB HD to default playback.



3) You can not drive the internal speakers, and the gain in fidelity would be lost on them anyways.

Reply 5 : G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

Hi, Chastity:



Interesting unit at a great price. Have you ever had any problem with the DAC in your unit 'clipping' at the higher bit rates due to data 'overload'? I tried to find out which receiver and D/A chips are in the Creative USB HD, but so far no luck.



Also, what is your subjective opinion of the relative increase in sound quality over the stock card? Are there dramatic improvements in clarity, tightness of bass and depth of soundstage (the '3D sensation')? Finally, what kind of cans are you using? Many thanks!

Reply 6 : G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Me109K6 Hi, Chastity: Interesting unit at a great price. Have you ever had any problem with the DAC in your unit 'clipping' at the higher bit rates due to data 'overload'? I tried to find out which receiver and D/A chips are in the Creative USB HD, but so far no luck. Also, what is your subjective opinion of the relative increase in sound quality over the stock card? Are there dramatic improvements in clarity, tightness of bass and depth of soundstage (the '3D sensation')? Finally, what kind of cans are you using? Many thanks!

1) No data stream clipping. Just use a happy USB2.0 port.



2) The DAC is the AKM AK4396VF.



3) Yes, it's very noticeable difference from the stock headphone port, plus it has 1/4" ports for real headphones. It also has a proper toslink if you need one, and RCA line-out if you want to use an external amp.



4) I can drive my Sony MDR-SA5000 from the on-board amp. My HD580s need an external amp however. (Not important tho, since I've been using the Sony's primarily)



5) Audio quality is on par with my desktop setups in the past, and I'm talking the Audigy 4 Pro, X-Fi Elite Pro, tho not as good as the Auzen HD HT > HDMI > Yamaha RX-V863 w/ Burr Brown 124dB DAC. This setup has better amplification and analog path. (No duh!)



newegg has them for $85 shipped.



Overall, it's a good external DAC for the sub-$100 price. You can also look at the uDAC 2, but I went with this because I wanted to test it's gaming support. (No 5.1 > headphone surround mixing )

Reply 7 : G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

I have an iBasso D1 and Sennheiser HD650s, which should be comparable to the D6 and Shure SRH940s. It's a great sounding setup and should help to keep you from getting that 'itch' to upgrade... at least for a little while.

Reply 8 : G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

The uDAC 2 also looks like a great value. On their website, they discuss USB port selection: To minimize noise and dropouts, connect your audio interface to a port at the back of your computer. Ports on the computer’s face, monitor or keyboard generally don’t perform as well. If you use a USB hub, choose one with its own AC power adapter.



If there are differences, which USB port on the G73 would you guys recommend using?

Reply 9 : G73JH - Audio Options for a Budding Audiophile???

I think they may be referring to desktops, that sometimes have unpowered (or underpowered) front USB ports. On the G50/51 series I remember the rear port had less noise for some reason, maybe because it wasn't on an add-on card. I'm not sure about the G73 having any difference between ports, besides the JW/SW that have one USB3 port.