*HP EliteBook 2560p Owners Lounge*

[catariina]

Am I the only one here who is disappointed with the audio quality of this otherwise beautiful little beast? I use high-end headphones (Denon AH-D5000) and I find it way worse than the sound of my 6 year old Lifebook. Getting used to it, but it's not to my liking... Much more "metallic". The Lifebook sounds "warmer".

Is there such a thing as an external SoundBlaster sound card or something? I spent half a day with Googleing but haven't found much. I'm looking for something preferably ExpressCard. I mean I'm looking for a sound card replacement, basically. I found this but I'm afraid it's not what I'm looking for. It still uses the HP's built-in sound card then transforms it into something (they say, into something better) for which purpose I'd rather use a headphone amp -- but if the input signal is of low quality there is not much that can be done...

Thanks


PS. I'm an audiophile.

Update. I found my solution. I think. It's promounced: Pico Portable USB DAC/Amp

[Indrek]

Is there such a thing as an external SoundBlaster sound card or something? I spent half a day with Googleing but haven't found much. I'm looking for something preferably ExpressCard. I mean I'm looking for a sound card replacement, basically. I found this but I'm afraid it's not what I'm looking for. It still uses the HP's built-in sound card then transforms it into something (they say, into something better) for which purpose I'd rather use a headphone amp -- but if the input signal is of low quality there is not much that can be done...

I'm pretty sure the X-Fi has its own digital-to-analogue converter and doesn't use the laptop's built-in sound card.

When it comes to ExpressCard sound cards, the choice is, sadly, pretty limited. Besides the Creative offering, there's the Echo Indigo series, but those are meant for pro audio and DJ applications. And that's about it (unless you want to go into high-end pro audio stuff, but that's probably way beyond your budget as well as serious overkill).

There's plenty of USB-based DACs on the market, though, of varying audio quality. So unless you absolutely need an ExpressCard solution, I'd recommend going for USB. Two popular options are the FiiO E7 and NuForce uDAC. You could also try looking around and asking in the Accessories subforum.

[catariina]

There's plenty of USB-based DACs on the market, though, of varying audio quality. So unless you absolutely need an ExpressCard solution, I'd recommend going for USB.

Thanks!

I just wanted to have something compact/portable (both in size and with the minimal amount of cables) and thought I could use that slot. I think I will go for the Pico DAC/Amp. I needed a good headphone amp anyway.

I asked it here because I'm just so disappointed with the audio and I have this particular model myself.. Before getting this laptop I remember I tried to find reviews about sound (card) quality but ofc I found nothing. Then it came and it was almost like a shock after the Lifebook. But yeah I'll look around in the subforums as you suggested because the Pico is not exactly cheap either.

[Indrek]

I just wanted to have something compact/portable (both in size and with the minimal amount of cables) and thought I could use that slot. I think I will go for the Pico DAC/Amp. I needed a good headphone amp anyway.

Note I added a few alternative suggestions to my previous post (before I saw you had replied).

I asked it here because I'm just so disappointed with the audio and I have this particular model myself.. Before getting this laptop I remember I tried to find reviews about sound (card) quality but ofc I found nothing. Then it came and it was almost like a shock after the Lifebook.

Yeah, most reviews only mention speaker quality and even that in passing. However, you shouldn't really expect spectacular sound quality from any laptop's integrated sound card. Pretty much any dedicated DAC (unless it's the absolute lowest-end stuff) is going to sound better. So a good DAC/headphone amp that will last through several notebooks would be a pretty good investment.

But yeah I'll look around in the subforums as you suggested because the Pico is not exactly cheap either.

The two alternatives I suggested are significantly cheaper than the Pico. Depends on what kind of sound quality you're after, of course.

[catariina]

Note I added a few alternative suggestions to my previous post (before I saw you had replied).

So you edited it! I didn't understand how I could have replied, ignoring your alternatives. I normally read more carefully than that.

[Indrek]

So you edited it! I didn't understand how I could have replied, ignoring your alternatives. I normally read more carefully than that.

And I did it again (edited my previous post to respond to your own edits)

[User Retired 2]

Am I the only one here who is disappointed with the audio quality of this otherwise beautiful little beast?

Did you install the 2560P's IDT audio driver with SRS premium tray control panel? Has a heap of adjustments that are possible.

[Kanuck]

Latest Specs:

HP2650 | i7 2620M 2.7 GHz | Intel 520 480GB SSD | Intel 320 160GB SSD in Newmodus Optical Enclosure | Samsung PM800 128GB SSD via Newmodus eSata cable | 16GB Crucial DDR3-1600 RAM | Centrino 6205 WiFi | HP un2430 EV-DO/HSPA GPS and WWAN | 9 Cell Battery | Fingerprint Rdr

Next on the list:
1. Get a cable from Newmodus that will allow me to connect my bezel-less optical drive via USB.
2. Find a software that is WIN7 x64 compatible to power down the second SSD to save power.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations on your purchase.

1. You want SATA-III for maximum performance. Check the usual sites for the latest and greatest SATA-III SSDs: Intel 520 (SF2281), OCZ Vertex 3 (SF2281), Crucial M4 (Marvell 9128), Corsair Performance Pro (Marvell 9174).

2. HP doesn't sell the caddy but newmodeus has released a 2560P one only a few days ago. See:

2nd HDD / SSD Caddy for HP Elitebook 2560p [OBHD9-SATA-SATA-BU9] - $44.75 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

Note the 5% off coupon on their facebook page.

The faceplate is transferred from your existing optical drive and is mounted on the caddy. If want to keep your optical drive's faceplate then could either run the caddy without one OR would need the 'plastics kit' from HP (see my last post) from which you'd cut off the faceplate and glue onto the caddy frontplate. newmodeus can supply a 2nd detachable frontplate so can have a backup in case case glueing on the cutoff bit doesn't work out and you want to revert to using the optical drive's faceplate instead.

3. The 1866Mhz RAM helps HD3000 iGPU performance, but it's not by that much. The % premium over 1333Mhz RAM certainly not reflective in performance. A $150 i7-2630QM or $200 i7-2720QM quad off ebay as a user-installed upgrade will give you far more performance improvement. Changeover costs from your i7-2620M might be as little as $50-$100.

RAID-0 to boost SSD performance yet again

The HP RAID User Guide indicates that RAID-0 is supported using our upgrade bay (optical drive bay):



So running two identical SATA-III SSDs in a RAID-0 arrangement can effectively double IOPS and seq read/write performance.

UPDATE: Found here that RAID-0 (striping) isn't possible in latest bios version F.22. Only RAID-1 (mirroring) is possible.

[catariina]

Did you install the 2560P's IDT audio driver with SRS premium tray control panel? Has a heap of adjustments that are possible.

Can't install it! Installer freezes on me. No error message or anything, it just doesn't go any further after a certain point; have to kill it from task manager.

[SimoxTav]

I received yesterday the Fenvi HDD caddy and today the frontplate from HP. After about 2h of work and i finished to cut the plastic and now i can say i have the 2nd hdd caddy with a proper frontplate. I had some problems with the cutter and my hands (and that's comic after i made all the DIY eGPU enclosure without getting hurt) and i cut with a small piece of plastic :P, but to handle the camera i need both hands, so i'll post tomorrow the photos of the finished product (meanwhile the glue will do its work).