Topic: Laptops for Audio (Read 4497 times)

Maxvla · « **Reply #20 on:** January 15, 2014, 09:03:26 AM »

I wanted a touch screen interface, but also wanted tablet style, so I bought an ultrabook in tablet form in the Acer W700.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Acer-Iconia-W700-tablet-set.jpg

It comes with a dock that expands the single USB 3.0 to 3 USB ports that works very well. It's larger than an iPad (at 11.6")and runs full Win 8 so JRiverMC19 works great in theater view with the touch interface. I also really like the IE app with the touch interface. There's not a lot of local storage so when I'm home I use Wifi to stream off my server PC. For meets and other places I bring my library along on a 2TB WD portable drive that is small and light. I keep this at finger tip length when I'm sitting in my chair so it's handy to switch songs or browse IE while watching a movie or reading a book. If I really get interested in something I can simply slide the tablet out of the dock and set it in my lap or carry it around the house.

It ran me about $600 but it's been one of my better buys in quite a while. Most tablets have maximum of 1 USB, which this does too, but adding the dock gives it 3 USB ports which is perfect for adding a DAC and a USB harddrive. This flexibility made it my choice and the build quality is very good. Consider a full Win 8 tablet like this. It will cost you, but it's worth it.

Hands · « **Reply #21 on:** January 15, 2014, 09:18:25 AM »

You can find the original 64GB Surface Pros for $500 refurbished/used (check eBay, I got a refurb and it is amazing), or occasionally in stores for around $600. You can expand the drive space with a MicroSD card. I ran some simple loopback DAC measurements with the SB1240, and it came out looking fairly nice (IIRC, low noise floor like my desktop USB somehow provides but shared the cleaner response like from my laptop).

Also, the latest quad-core Atom CPUs are rather zippy, but they get great battery life and allow for slim form factors (no fans). You can find some good Windows 8 tablets at great prices with that hardware.

If these devices don't already have keyboard/mouse attachments, they almost all support bluetooth.

Stapsy · « **Reply #22 on:** January 15, 2014, 02:21:49 PM »

The windows8 tablet pc is an interesting idea. Would their be any problems downloading various drivers or Jriver on a surface? The Acer Maxvla mentioned is intriguing as well. Is there any way to increase the hard drive size like you could in a regular laptop?

Hands · « **Reply #23 on:** January 15, 2014, 05:13:24 PM »

There are a select few (I'm only aware of the Razer Edge, which is a chunky beast!) where you can at least semi-easily replace the HDD. You'd need a micro SSD, I believe. Some have MicroSD slots, and you can configure Windows in such a way that it lets you permanently expand the C: drive or create a new physical drive entirely. But, even if not then, you can still store media on it without issues. The Surface Pro is one of those where you do NOT want to try to open them, but they do have a fairly hidden MicroSD slot.

Other than that, if the tablet is running x86 architecture (Intel, AMD), it's Windows. So, no...no problems doing regular Windows things at all! I could hook up my USB->SPDIF converter with its weird drivers and DAC to my Surface Pro or, with the right cable, one of the Atom-based tablets with micro USB.

I have to admit, it's pretty damn awesome. Those refurb Surface Pros are a steal, and I'd recommend looking for a used type cover to go along with it. Some of the new Atom tablets are awesome as well. There's something to be said about how well the Surface Pro shows off the capabilities of Windows 8, though.

funkmeister · « **Reply #24 on:** January 15, 2014, 07:33:02 PM »

HP EliteBook 840 G1. You can configure it to have an M.2 SSD plus a 2.5" 500GB HDD. It can also be setup to have a touchscreen and a backlit keyboard and the soundcard onboard is good enough to use by itself in a pinch... and the headphone port can get really loud. It's also super drop-durable and has a spill-proof keyboard. Replacing parts and swapping hard drives is very easy.

The only problem is that it's part of the HP Elite portfolio of business class products... read pricey.

Oh... HP has a huge divide between their retail junk and their commercial products. I'm quite satisfied with their commercial stuff.

Original_Ken · « **Reply #25 on:** January 15, 2014, 07:59:55 PM »

Quote from: donunus on January 15, 2014, 05:05:38 AM

Quote from: Original_Ken on January 15, 2014, 12:30:08 AM
If you want a mobile listening rig, then there are various companies that make audiophile iPods... plenty of info on head-fi about them.
Not an option for me because I don't want to be limited with ALAC, AAC, and MP3. Also, when rockboxed, the interface becomes too annoying and sound quality is limited to fewer dacs compared to a laptop. What else? hmm I would like to also be able to browse online while having a minimum of 500 gigabytes onboard. I don't think an ipod has even over 160gigs yet so thats that...

Sorry, I was too vague, by "audiophile ipods", I simply meant "ipod sized music device". While there are plenty of Apple-verse devices, there are also plenty of other devices with the same form factor that use Android or Linux and thus are not limited to iTunes audio file formats.

But you are right that they are all limited in storage space. You do need a tablet or laptop to access USB and thus have TBs instead of GBs of music.

Maxvla · « **Reply #26 on:** January 16, 2014, 03:17:57 AM »

Sort of an example of my setup. Have a lot of demo stuff I'm trying to burn in before the Austin meet in a couple days. Normally the tablet sits on the shelf with the X-Sabre and M-Stage HPA-1 on the next shelf and the APC power supply on the bottom rack. Cables a mess atm with so many devices in a small area. Normally the table sits back a bit not blocking the love seat. Pulled it out so I could connect/disconnect stuff easier.

jGray91 · « **Reply #27 on:** January 16, 2014, 08:59:29 AM »

Wow, that Acer tablet looks sweet. How's the build quality? Seeing Acer products die frequently in my college years has made me paranoid of Acer... This and those new Lenovo tablets with built-in stand looks intriguing.

Maxvla · « **Reply #28 on:** January 16, 2014, 09:21:32 AM »

The tablet itself is very well built. All the connections are solid. The headphone jack sounds pretty decent with UERM, too. Perfectly listenable. I tried a Dell XPS18 and the sound from the headphone jack was... jacked. I've never heard worse.

The dock is all plastic so don't expect the world. It can creak softly if you push it, but it never really makes a sound for me. The tablet slides in and out without problem and it's very stable in all the positions it will do. The connections on the dock are solid as well. I particularly like sliding my USB HD between the dock and the stand part on the back. Makes a nice little cubby.

As a Fall 2012 product it's a bit aged so prices are very good on it right now. This one I have would have cost over $1000 when it was just released, but I got it for $600. It still has an Ivy Bridge not a Haswell, but it still gets great battery life and the performance difference between IB and Haswell is not that significant.

It also comes with a well made keyboard cover that works very well if you like to keep it in something like that most of the time. It's kind of hard to get in and out of the plastic retainer, though, so I don't use the cover even when I'm taking it places.

RexAeterna · « **Reply #29 on:** September 23, 2014, 03:19:54 AM »

Quote from: Original_Ken on January 14, 2014, 08:22:04 PM

The latest round of PC-in-a-tiny-box are very close to what is needed for Home Theater, let alone just audio.

If I were doing something for just audio, you just need it to have:

* CPU & RAM
* USB port for external hard drive for music (which can a USB-powered teeny notebook-size drive if you want portability)
* USB port for DAC

So, 90% of it is quality of the USB ports.

But if you want a laptop, this is probably the best deal out there (I buy all my laptops from this guy), note the details of the description:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-Lenovo-Thinkpad-T61-Core-2-Duo-2-1GHz-2GB-80GB-1680x1050-Win-7-Home-More-/251425403284?hash=item3a8a1f3194

I use a T61 into a USB DAC into a Schiit Vali into Mad Dog 3.2 for late night youtube. The headphone jack and its amp are also pretty good sounding for generic chip audio.

what is said here since most laptops and even notebooks have decent processing for simple uses.

for me since i use firewire/ieee for audio i always look for laptops with a decent 1394a or better IEEE with a texas instrument driver support integrated into the motherboard. if using just usb for dac use you have endless options. finding laptops with ieee that is not ''apple'' made is kinda a trivia for me when looking around.

Author Topic: Laptops for Audio (Read 4497 times)

Maxvla

Re: Laptops for Audio

Hands

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Stapsy

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Hands

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funkmeister

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Original_Ken

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Maxvla

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jGray91

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Maxvla

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RexAeterna

Re: Laptops for Audio

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Author Topic: Laptops for Audio (Read 4497 times)