Thinkpads Forum

Is there any way to get a T61P to make sounds above a whisper? I've got all the system settings and volume cranked up 100% as best I can tell, but sometimes I'll play a DVD or internet audio and I have to strain to hear things that are clearly audible on other computers.

I've come to realize audio (both in and out) were badly neglected on these machines, but are they any retrofits? Or practical outboard audio solutions? PCMCIA audio maybe?

I can't help but wonder if there's a glitch (perhaps my Vista Ultimate choice) because oddly enough when I run the Control Panel and try to check/assign system sounds, using the "test" button for a sound usually produces...silence! instead of the sound. And yet, if the sound is selected directly as a WAV file, media player has no trouble playing it. Indicating to me that there's some software problem in the system, not just inadequate hardware.

Sound is surely the most neglected side of the Thinkpads. And actually, I don't know any laptop with a good sound card. It sucks not to be able to configure our sound card or do anything. All I can do is show the SoundMax Icon that links to... Nothing. Though I find mine surprisingly good soundwise, it is powerful enough to drive my 300 Ohm Sennheiser HD-650 headphone in an enjoyable way.

If you want more option to your sound, get a Creative Labs X-Fi Extreme Notebook (PC Express). If you want better sound, get an audiophile externe USB DAC with an amplifier such as a Headamp Pico or a RSA Predator if you want it portable (those are like the best and cost about $500).

I find that the audio on my T61p is very adequate.
Like... having everything turned to max, I can't stand it because I find it way too loud.

I also find the audio on my T61p is adequate. When I have everything turned up, it is quite loud. I'm running XP Pro x86. As soon as I received my laptop I wiped Vista and put XP on it. Runs AWESOME. Friends don't let friends use Vista.

Thanks, Kel. $500 is way above what I'd spend to fix the audio, but are you sure the Creative card still exists? Creative shows it as "backorder" status, and retail vendors who show it, list it above Creative's price--most unusual if Creative is still making them. Some vendors don't show it available at all, so I'm thinking it is like their PCM sound card--out of production, available only from limited sources.

Now I just have to remember, the bottom slot is PCMCIA, the top slot is PCI-stubby.<G> Never used PCI-stubby yet!

hellosailor wrote:Thanks, Kel. $500 is way above what I'd spend to fix the audio, but are you sure the Creative card still exists? Creative shows it as "backorder" status, and retail vendors who show it, list it above Creative's price--most unusual if Creative is still making them. Some vendors don't show it available at all, so I'm thinking it is like their PCM sound card--out of production, available only from limited sources.

Now I just have to remember, the bottom slot is PCMCIA, the top slot is PCI-stubby.<G> Never used PCI-stubby yet!

Yes, the X-fi Notebook Express/54 is still available and it makes my T61 audio sound several orders of magnitude better (and more powerful) when used with quality headphones or an external 5.1/7.1 speaker system. However this is only for Windows XP. It also lets you record stuff from any source and it's control software offers lots of special effects and enviroments to choose from. I would never leave home without it. However, my T61 is always docked with an external monitor, KB and mouse and used as a desktop replacement.

I got mine from Buy.com about a month ago and they can barely keep them in stock because many of the new 2007 laptops have their sound cards crippled to prevent recording anything other than from a mono mic input due to copyright pressures from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). This $75 card provides a workaround plus a much greater sound quality. Everyone I know who's using winXP and can afford the bucks is snapping them up. I know that all the engineers in one company's division that were issued company T61s with WinXP last fall bought the card with their own money ..... that's about 250 guys alone in just one division of just one Fortune 500 company!

However, I don't think the X-fi drivers are fully working yet with Vista (according to some others here on the Forum), so your mileage may vary.