Hi, I want to know more details on Laptop 13pro audio D/A specs (like 192khz 24bits) and maybe the chip used. So far my 13pro audio quality is vary good using external speakers connected to the analog port, so I’m very curious about this specs. Maybe some one from Framework can answer.
If you are interested in getting exceptional DAC performance from a laptop, don’t rely on the internal one. I think mine is noticeably better than the DAC from my last (Dell) laptop, but that was six years old, and I would expect even cheap DAC chips to be improved over that timeframe.
An external DAC unit is really the way to go, but of course one has to set aside additional budget for that.
(I don’t know what chip the Pro uses, I would be intrigued to know its specs too).
The official interface schematic for the AMD Ryzen AI 300 series mainboard says that the audio codec is ALC285. Not much information about this chip is available online, however.
Whether the chip does 16 bit or 24 bit does not make a lot of difference.
It is the analogue side that matters.
In reality, the signal rarely gets better than 14 bits, with the rest being noise introduced on the analogue circuitry. Also, balance vs un-balanced XLR cables improve the noise levels. The value that gives a better indication on how good it actually is, is the effective dynamic range value, reported by some sound card manufactures covering both the digital and analogue parts.
I personally prefer the DAC to be integrated into the headphones / speakers themselves. I.e. USB or Bluetooth headphones because then the manufacturer has chosen the DAC and analogue components to be a good match to the quality of the headphones and can adapt and match to the sound distortion introduced by all headphones. I.e. correct the signal reaching the headphones to null out the distortion that the headphones would produce.
I don’t know if FW have published any of the effective measured values for dynamic range, Signal / Noise ration, and distortion against frequency.
I personally can’t get it to change samplerate from 48k (probably not setting it right). What I can tell you is that, noise-wise, it’s quite middling. With my Sony MDR-7506 plugged in to the integrated port, I can faintly hear white noise, and it is for sure the integrated amp because it disappears when the system puts it to sleep after no audio plays for a while.