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Author Topic: Laptops for Audio  (Read 4499 times)

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donunus

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Laptops for Audio
« on: January 14, 2014, 04:33:16 AM »
What brands or maybe specific models are recommended if one wants to get a windows 8 laptop to be used mostly for audio? I am looking at maybe a lenovo thinkpad mostly for being known for its durability or a cheap Asus x202 because it may be all I will need... Any comments, suggestions?
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DaveBSC

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Re: Laptops for Audio
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2014, 01:10:23 PM »
When you say "mostly," what else will it be used for? Does it need to be portable?
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Original_Ken

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Re: Laptops for Audio
« Reply #2 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.
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Armaegis

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Re: Laptops for Audio
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2014, 08:46:47 PM »
I always get noise when using usb storage at the same time as a usb dac. Better to just get a higher capacity internal hd.
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Original_Ken

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Re: Laptops for Audio
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2014, 08:51:29 PM »
Quote from: Armaegis on January 14, 2014, 08:46:47 PM
I always get noise when using usb storage at the same time as a usb dac. Better to just get a higher capacity internal hd.
That may be the result of specifics in your setup, such as the specific USB ports, and your music player.

I use memory player in Jriver MC19, so it is playing from RAM.   The external hard drive is connected to a USB 3.0 card, and the USB DAC is connected to the motherboard's USB 2.0 ports.
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Armaegis

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Re: Laptops for Audio
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2014, 09:10:21 PM »
I use memory player in JRiver as well, but I've still had interference from mice and other peripherals that all shared the usb card. If the external drive is on a separate card though (such as the 3.0 in your case), there should be no problem.
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Do you think there may be an acoustic leak from the jack hole? ~Tyll Hertsens

Not sure if I like stuffing one hole or both holes. Tending toward one hole since both holes seems kinda ghey ~Purrin

frenchbat

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Re: Laptops for Audio
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2014, 09:19:59 PM »
Thinkpad owner here (X200S), all good with windows 8 and a 256Go SSD. FYI, out of 3 usb ports, 2 are sharing the same IRQ, and the 3rd one doesn't have enough juice to supply an external DAC properly. AFAIK that's quite good when compared to other brands, which might share more ports on the same IRQ and/or have poor power supply across the board.

If possible, try to get an independant PSU for your DAC, and possibly also your external HDD. This way you can have more choice with the laptop brand/model. However, if you absolutely need to be completely portable, do pay attention to the usb implementation.

Quote from: donunus on January 14, 2014, 04:33:16 AM
What brands or maybe specific models are recommended if one wants to get a windows 8 laptop to be used mostly for audio? I am looking at maybe a lenovo thinkpad mostly for being known for its durability or a cheap Asus x202 because it may be all I will need... Any comments, suggestions?
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DaveBSC

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Re: Laptops for Audio
« Reply #7 on: January 14, 2014, 10:38:10 PM »
Another possibility with more recent laptops is eSATA. No issues with USB DACs there. A Core i3 based Thinkpad Edge with an eSATA port won't run you much more than $200 on eBay.
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Stapsy

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Re: Laptops for Audio
« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2014, 11:11:12 PM »
Good question, I have been thinking about having some sort of dedicated music interface, probably a laptop, desktop, or music server.  Laptop seems like the easiest way to go for portability.  I know nothing about building computers, what are some things that you should look for?

I am thinking that reducing noise and secondary functions as much as possible is the goal here. SSD is one idea, are there any differences in USB ports for audio quality?  Also, is it better to use battery power, is there another way to regulate the power supply, or does it even matter?  I don't want to fret too much, I am just wondering how much of a difference these things will make.  I can't help but feel listening to music while having my laptop connected to wifi and surfing the internet isn't really the best sound quality I am going to get.
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DaveBSC

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Re: Laptops for Audio
« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2014, 11:27:45 PM »
Quote from: Stapsy on January 14, 2014, 11:11:12 PM
Good question, I have been thinking about having some sort of dedicated music interface, probably a laptop, desktop, or music server.  Laptop seems like the easiest way to go for portability.  I know nothing about building computers, what are some things that you should look for?

I am thinking that reducing noise and secondary functions as much as possible is the goal here. SSD is one idea, are there any differences in USB ports for audio quality?  Also, is it better to use battery power, is there another way to regulate the power supply, or does it even matter?  I don't want to fret too much, I am just wondering how much of a difference these things will make.  I can't help but feel listening to music while having my laptop connected to wifi and surfing the internet isn't really the best sound quality I am going to get.

Unless you NEED it to be portable, I think you'll get much better results from a server as opposed to a laptop. The best bang for your buck is to do a "CAPS" style box - an integrated Atom board like the DN2800MT, fed with a LPS or battery, and a USB output card like the PPA, JCAT, or Adnaco. The SoTM seems to have compatibility problems with some DACs and I don't think it's as good as the others.

If you can spend a bit more, you can use a board with a traditional ATX socket as opposed to a DC-in jack, and something like Paul's Pico PSU. That will let you bypass the onboard DC-DC converters and should improve the performance quite a bit. The "extreme" option is a multi-rail linear with its own 3.3, 5, and 12V outputs. That's a serious amount of cash though.

Alternatively, you can just buy an Auraliti PK90USB and call it a day.
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