I recently bought myself a 560s headphone, specifically to go with a laptop, since the Sennheiser 560s are relativly low impedance headphones. I would consider myself an audiophile so the audio matters to me. Can anyone comment on the quality of the built in sound card in the device?
Thanks!
Bad⌠Thereâs a on/off state that creates a noise, and thereâs a constant white noise while itâs on. I got used to it, but if your ears are sensitive getting a dedicated dac might be better.
Iâm a musician and not that picky but it should sound good enough for videos on YouTube for example.
If you consider yourself picky in sound, most laptops are poor spindquality. Even the MacBook needs a external soundcard for real good sound. But thereâs plenty of really good and lightweight soundcards available you can put in your jeans-pocket!
Ok they are not cheap but like I said- for real good sound you need a external card in my opinion (and great headphones of course).
For me the internal works fine with bayerdynamic dt770m and pro, but everyones differentâŚ
Sound quality of the built-in DACâŚseems decent to me (from the 11th gen Batch 2). The power on / off pop is not something that Iâve noticed with my laptop (in combination with SRH1540, DT1350 [85.9 ohms], SE846 [11.0ohms], UM Pro 10)
Also, the noise floor is not something that Iâve noticed either. [Blind test with youtube silence video play / pause.]
That is, itâs a usable / passable DAC without much fuss.
There was a DAC change in the later batches, and I believe thatâs when the on / off pop behaviour becomes audible. Not sure what DAC is shipped with 12th gen units these days.
With the HD560s, Iâm guessing youâre not looking at a portable solutionâŚso, if you WANT qualityâŚexternal DACs is the way as always.
I just plugged my own pair of 560s into my 12th gen batch 2 framework. The power on/off click (mine almost sounds like a beep) is very audible. The noise floor is also audible if youâre in a quiet room. In my office with someone running a weed-whacker outside, the noise floor is audible but I needed to focus to hear it, with the beep still being very audible. With sensitive IEMâs, all of these things become downright annoying.
All that said, Iâd call it functional, but far from good. Itâs definitely not worth using it with the intention to drive expensive headphones to listen for audio details. I personally tend to use a small USB-C DAC that came with my phone ages ago, because I usually use IEMâs with my laptop, and the tiny USB-C DACâs are good enough for me while still being portable.
OoohâŚIâm really starting to think that switching that DAC chip between early batches has a negative side-effect then.
Can anyone else with an 11th gen (batch 1 & 2) comment on audio power on / off âclick/pop/beepâ? I honestly donât hear itâŚand Iâm far from going deaf (AFAIK).
Iâve been thinking about getting dongle DACâŚbut there are so many options out there. Which one(s) are you using?
I have one of the later batch 11th Gen models that I got in April 2022 and a Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X (AKG K371 before that) and for me the audio is excellent. It gets more than loud enough at half volume, details/separation in music are good (I listen to metal) and the noise floor isnât audible for me with either headphone. My normal listening level is between 60 and 70 db. I think people here are exaggerating the annoyance of the click/beep. Before I bought it I also read about these issues and was expecting much worse than what I got. While audible, the beep lasts less than a second and unless youâre listening at super high volumes, itâs a minor annoyance at best.
I had a Thinkpad X395 before and to me the jack of the Framework is louder, clearer and just overall better. I also own a Fiio BTR5 and an Apple USB C Dongle DAC which I tested against the Framework jack and found the differences in audio quality to be minimal and not worth paying attention to.
One other thing to consider is that if youâre trying to use the 560s outside or in public, youâre going to have a pretty rough time, regardless of the quality of the laptopâs audio equipment. The 560s is open back, so theyâre not a great time outside, for you or anyone around you.
For the benefit of any non-audio nerds reading this thread, there are two broad categories of headphones, closed and open back. Open backs literally have an open back on the earcup. This is done for audio nerd reasons that arenât really germane to this thread. Look up âsoundstageâ if youâd like to know more. The important part is that when you listen to Britney Spearsâ âToxicâ for the eighth time in a row, so is everyone else in the Starbucks with you. Conversely, whatever Top 40 pop Starbucks licensed to play in their stores this week will also come straight through for you, too. Closed backs literally have closed backs. This hurts its performance in terms of soundstage and other audio nerd things, but it also spares the other coffee shop patrons your marathon of 2003âs greatest pop hit and saves you from having to hear the inferior music of today.
Reviving this thread as iâve purchased a factory seconds Framework 13 that has the popping/noise issue.
On a Windows 10 install, the suggested regedit trick has had no effect.
I notice that this DAC board is a replaceable part, does anyone know if replacing the sub board resolves this issue or is the problem elsewhere?
Welcome to the forum.
The mainboard schematic shows the audio DAC located on the motherboard. The replaceable board just holds the headphone jack and lid sensor.
But you can get the Audio expansion card for improved sound. Framework says it offers better range and SNR. Framework | Audio Expansion Card. Itâs not listed on the page there, but it uses a Conexant CX31993, which I understand is a well regarded DAC.
I use an HD700 that I got used off of fleabay and an FiiO BTR5. You can spend far more and better THD numbers and a flatter frequency response curve, but I love this setup. I still have an HD558 which is also a great option for even less. The HD700 was always regarded as Sennheiserâs redheaded stepchild by audiophiles, which really pushes its resale value down, while FiiO committed the two cardinal sins of being Chinese and reasonably pricing their (very good) stuff. Audiophiles are a group that almost by definition wants to be way out of the cost/benefit curve tail, so a company that markets itself as â90% as good for 30% of the costâ wonât get much love. Still, for folks who like good audio but donât want to pay for stuff they canât hear, it is a combination thatâs really tough to beat, AND it doesnât cost you 25% of your slots.
Hope that helps someone.