Audiophile Laptop Sound Cards

[Tommy B]

I'm finally placing an order for a laptop tomorrow to replace my PC. Now I won't be surprised if the built in sound card on this Sony FZ Vaio is useless, despite it being an "entertainment" laptop.

My PC is my main source of music, and is connected to my Hi-Fi. The laptop will thus be replacing the PC for this.

Can anyone recommend any sound cards I should take a look at. I've been looking at M-Audio and their USB cards, but I seem to remember another outstanding company who produced dedicated high fidelity laptop sound cards.

Cheers

 

[Vai]

The EMU 0404 USB gets mentioned a lot

 

[Tommy B]

Yep, as I thought the built in sound on the laptop is god awful. The quality is OK but you can hear the hiss of the HD in the background which isn't great.

Is there anythin a little cheaper than the EMU as that seems to deal with MIDI which I don't have any use for?

Cheers

 

[Bigsy]

While the EMU 0404 usb would be an excellent choice, a better option imo would be a USB DAC with built in amp, main contenders are usually the Headphonia, Corda Move and total bithead.

They are around the same price but they all are smaller than the EMU (no midi etc), just as good SQ, will drive hungry cans better, and also give you the flexibility to use as a normal (portable!) headphone amp when not on your laptop.

 

[Hen_Dawg]

Sound ( ) advice there ^^

Loads more info at http://www.head-fi.org/