External sound solution for laptop

C

coolhandluke

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Mar 24, 2008
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My primary computer is a laptop. The laptop is good but the onboard sound sucks. I'm looking for an external (pcmcia or USB) sound "card" that will sound better than the onboard sound. I've looked at three different creative products which all have gotten good reviews: the xmod, the audigy 2 NX, and the audigy 2 ZS. I will not be doing any gaming, just mostly listening to music and watching movies. I have a 2.1 setup (2 bookshelf speakers, a sub, and a receiver) so surround sound output is not necessary. I do not care about form factor either since whatever I end up going with does not need to be portable.

Right off the bat, I like the xmod because it is truly plug and play... no funky drivers or control panels to install. With both of the audigys I will probably have to install a crapload of unwanted software just to get the thing to work.

When I first read up on the xmod I thought it sounded like a gimmick, and maybe it is. But the reviews have been almost all stellar, praising the improved sound quality. Now, I'm not such a fan of mucking around with the sound output to make it sound "better" but will the xmod be an improvement over my onboard sound even with all the effects turned off?

here's some cnet reviews of the three I mentioned
http://reviews.cnet.com/external-audio-adapters/creative-xmod/4505-9335_7-32105686.html
http://reviews.cnet.com/external-au...und-blaster/4505-9335_7-30580579.html?tag=txt
http://reviews.cnet.com/sound-cards/creative-sound-blaster-audigy/4505-9334_7-31156120.html

TIA
 
ditzilla said:
Umm, needs drivers, but the Echo Indigo is supposed to be excellent. Try this site, I've been there just to drool

http://www.zzounds.com/cat--Audio-Interfaces--2418

and have you looked at the Asus 90?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132003

comes in white and black
Click to expand...
I realize the xmod requires drivers, I was merely pointing out that I don't have to deal with creative's bloat... it just uses a standard, built in win xp driver.

The indigo looks really nice, though I was hoping to pay less. The asus looks nice too, more in my price range. I would like to have both a headphone out and a line out though since I will be connecting mostly to a receiver and sometimes to headphones. Thanks for the suggestions, now I have more to consider. Anyone else?
 
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