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Topic: Has anybody RMAAed a netbook (Read 9373 times) previous topic - next topic
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Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Has anybody done an RMAA test on the onboard sound of a netbook (something like the Dell Mini or Asus Eee PC)?  If so, could you post your results here? What about electrical noise?  Is this a major problem?

I've been looking for portable (in the house) music solution that can play internet radio and I can get a netbook for the cost of an Itouch.

Thanks,


Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #1
I'm very interested in this question as well.
And I wonder (although I don't know) whether it is relevant that netbooks likely have cheap soundcards. Does that matter?
God kills a kitten every time you encode with CBR 320

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #2
I did a quick test with my Acer Aspire 150. I generated 44.1 kHz 24 bit test WAV with RMAA 6.2.3 that I played with foobar2000 Kernel Streaming output and recorded with desktop computer's X-Fi. The results are here.
Edit: for comparison the results for X-Fi in loopback mode are here.

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #3
Those results actually aren't bad for a product that probably uses cheap on-board sound.  I have an Acer EEE PC 1000MAH and have been surprised by it's sound quality.  I was expecting a noisy mess but was pleased with the results.  I was so pleased that I sold my 1G 16GB iPod touch and purchased a 120GB iPod classic as a companion.  That way I can get full internet browsing while having access to more music and videos.

I wonder how other brands would compare to the Aspire 150.

Edit: I forgot to add that I did not conduct any type of blind testing or RMAA testing.

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #4
Case - Thanks for doing the test.  The results are actually quite decent.

Considering how far onboard sound chips have come, I'm not completely surprised by the result.  A quick browse on Newegg revealed that you can get a Biostar motherboard with an ALC888 chip (measures quite well) for $80.  The actual ALC888 chip must only be a few dollars.  So it's obviously not a huge cost burden for netbook manufacturers to put a decent sound chip in a low cost netbook.

For those of us who only need a portable music solution for using in the house, a netbook is a great idea. 


Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #5
I used RMAA on my Toshiba Satellite. I had the same peak at 1 kHz as Case.
Much to my surprise, when I unplugged the mains, it became worse.
I expected it to disappear when using battery power.
The pictures are at the bottom of this page
TheWellTemperedComputer.com

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #6
The 1kHz peak is intentional, and is used to measure THD. It's the harmonics of 1kHz that are the problem.

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #7
I did a quick test with my Acer Aspire 150. I generated 44.1 kHz 24 bit test WAV with RMAA 6.2.3 that I played with foobar2000 Kernel Streaming output and recorded with desktop computer's X-Fi. The results are here.
Edit: for comparison the results for X-Fi in loopback mode are here.


Thats not great for an unloaded test.  I have a cheap onboard thats a couple dB worse in noise floor and hiss is quite audible with IEMs.  Drives studio headphones well enough though.

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #8
They may not be great but they certainly aren't bad for a netbook that costs $300 (or less depending on where you purchased it).

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #9
The 1kHz peak is intentional, and is used to measure THD. It's the harmonics of 1kHz that are the problem.

Feels like another fool with a tool.
Any clue why the pattern changes when switching to battery?
Thanks
TheWellTemperedComputer.com

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #10
Quote
Any clue why the pattern changes when switching to battery?


jitter?

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #11
A friend just had his new Toshiba Protege M800 N10 checked by Toshiba, because they audio quality wasn't up to what he needed, especially with headphones. There was some background noise which was disturbing him. He's using aural training software (music teacher). After 2-3 weeks, they called him to say that it is "within specification" and there's nothing they can do. They offered him to swap it with a similarly priced model. We'll see how much better that is, i fear not much.


Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #13
A friend just had his new Toshiba Protege M800 N10 checked by Toshiba, because they audio quality wasn't up to what he needed, especially with headphones. There was some background noise which was disturbing him. He's using aural training software (music teacher). After 2-3 weeks, they called him to say that it is "within specification" and there's nothing they can do. They offered him to swap it with a similarly priced model. We'll see how much better that is, i fear not much.


I guessed that electrical noise might be a problem with some, if not all, netbooks.  I suppose that audibility of the noise also depends on the headphones being used.

Would something like a Edirol UA1-EX work through USB?  I've heard the USB power output of netbooks can be a little flaky and devices that draw a good amount of power (such as a USB  powered hard drive) may not work properly.

Of course, the UA1-EX costs 1/3 of what a netbook costs!

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #14
I would be interested to see how the Dell Mini 9 performs.
I have been very pleasantly surprised with my new Mini running Foobar and a 128CBR Podcast file.

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #15
The 1kHz peak is intentional, and is used to measure THD. It's the harmonics of 1kHz that are the problem.

Feels like another fool with a tool.
Any clue why the pattern changes when switching to battery?
Thanks


I'm not sure about Atom processor, but laptop C2D processor generate noise when it is at C4 state (power saving), so I guess atom also has the same problem. You might want to download RMClock and tweak it (sorry, I don't remember the exact option).

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #16
I'm not sure about Atom processor, but laptop C2D processor generate noise when it is at C4 state (power saving), so I guess atom also has the same problem. You might want to download RMClock and tweak it (sorry, I don't remember the exact option).

A - I was unaware you can play music while the Atom is in C4. 
B - The Atom and C2D don't share enough in common to assume the electrical behavior of one is predictive of the behavior of the other.
C - The effect of CPU noise on audio is largely tied to the specific implementation of the motherboard.  Broad generalizations don't tend to work.
Creature of habit.

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #17
I'm not sure about Atom processor, but laptop C2D processor generate noise when it is at C4 state (power saving), so I guess atom also has the same problem. You might want to download RMClock and tweak it (sorry, I don't remember the exact option).

A - I was unaware you can play music while the Atom is in C4. 
B - The Atom and C2D don't share enough in common to assume the electrical behavior of one is predictive of the behavior of the other.
C - The effect of CPU noise on audio is largely tied to the specific implementation of the motherboard.  Broad generalizations don't tend to work.


A- Here I can play music while my processor is in C4 state 96% of the time.
B- I agree
C- A lot of C2D users have the same problem.


 

Has anybody RMAAed a netbook

Reply #19
I think I found something quite interesting. A page with an integrated new netbook comparison tool. You could answer your own question with that.  maybe you want to check that out.

Personally I do not not think quite good of the dell 9, although it is quite a lot better than the 12 but the capacity processes are very lame. and the high tech level is very low. you should think over taking this netbook actually.