Thinkpads Forum

Hey Guys,

Do we know what audio chip these things are going to have? The T60 has an AD1981HD chip in it, but I'm hoping for a little better.

Thanks.

The T400 has an AD1984HD and the T500 has a Conexant 20561 (can't find specs).

wswartzendruber wrote:The T400 has an AD1984HD and the T500 has a Conexant 20561 (can't find specs).

Has anyone actually received a T400 or T500 and tested whether they can record audio beyond just through the internal mic?

Do we know yet if they suffer from the same X61 and T61 series audio recording issue as documented within this Sticky?

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=52527

eecon wrote:

wswartzendruber wrote:The T400 has an AD1984HD and the T500 has a Conexant 20561 (can't find specs).

Has anyone actually received a T400 or T500 and tested whether they can record audio beyond just through the internal mic?

Do we know yet if they suffer from the same X61 and T61 series audio recording issue as documented within this Sticky?

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=52527

If you're talking about the Stereo Mix issue, give another week and I should be able to tell you.

wswartzendruber wrote:If you're talking about the Stereo Mix issue, give another week and I should be able to tell you.

Thanks

How strange that they use 2 different audio parts in the T-series. I can't remember that ever happening before. Are there any feature differences?

awolfe63 wrote:How strange that they use 2 different audio parts in the T-series. I can't remember that ever happening before. Are there any feature differences?

I don't know. I know the AD1984HD has 96+ dB SNR, 96 db dynamic range, and plays up to 192 kHz at 24-bits per sample. That seems pretty good.

Okay, hold everything. Lenovo has the Conexant driver marked for the T500, R500, R400, AND the T400. What gives? Does anyone with a T400 have any insight?

wswartzendruber wrote:Okay, hold everything. Lenovo has the Conexant driver marked for the T500, R500, R400, AND the T400. What gives? Does anyone with a T400 have any insight?

Not sure, but I'm hearing rumors from friends in Asia that the new Lenovos will remain crippled like the T61 and X61 series with regards to audio recording from anything other than "mic" ..... again, just rumors so let's wait and see what actually is delivered to the US and European markets.

eecon wrote:

wswartzendruber wrote:Okay, hold everything. Lenovo has the Conexant driver marked for the T500, R500, R400, AND the T400. What gives? Does anyone with a T400 have any insight?

Not sure, but I'm hearing rumors from friends in Asia that the new Lenovos will remain crippled like the T61 and X61 series with regards to audio recording from anything other than "mic" ..... again, just rumors so let's wait and see what actually is delivered to the US and European markets.

I'm not holding my breath on the Stereo Mix option, I just want the dynamic range of SNR of the Analog Devices chip.

1. My T400 has a Conexant.
2. I don't see a stereo mix option.

wswartzendruber wrote:1. My T400 has a Conexant.
2. I don't see a stereo mix option.

I guess the rumors about the crippled recording capabilities on the new models may have some merit.

What version of Vista do you have? I though I read somewhere that Vista Ultimate allows for recording stereo sources with some tweaking, but I could be wrong.

eecon wrote:

wswartzendruber wrote:1. My T400 has a Conexant.
2. I don't see a stereo mix option.

I guess the rumors about the crippled recording capabilities on the new models may have some merit.

What version of Vista do you have? I though I read somewhere that Vista Ultimate allows for recording stereo sources with some tweaking, but I could be wrong.

I'm running Ultimate 64-bit, I haven't even tried to enable this yet. All I see under Recording Devices is "Microphones." This is also my own build, not a Lenovo build.

wswartzendruber wrote: I'm running Ultimate 64-bit, I haven't even tried to enable this yet. All I see under Recording Devices is "Microphones." This is also my own build, not a Lenovo build.

Excellent .... let us know eventually if stereo audio recording with Ultimate can be enabled .... Thanks

eecon wrote:

wswartzendruber wrote: I'm running Ultimate 64-bit, I haven't even tried to enable this yet. All I see under Recording Devices is "Microphones." This is also my own build, not a Lenovo build.

Excellent .... let us know eventually if stereo audio recording with Ultimate can be enabled .... Thanks

You got some steps for me to follow? Honestly, I don't give a [censored] about this feature. But if you can help me help you, I wouldn't mind it at all.

wswartzendruber wrote: You got some steps for me to follow? Honestly, I don't give a *****Expletives removed by Moderator***** about this feature. But if you can help me help you, I wouldn't mind it at all.

I'll dig through some older threads and get back to you ... thanks.

wswartzendruber wrote:But if you can help me help you, I wouldn't mind it at all.

Here you go:

http://forums.techarena.in/vista-music-video/962145.htm

I would be willing to wager that the reason SoundMAX isn't showing up as a chipset in any of the new ThinkPad models just announced might have something to do with this

-- Nathan

Sorry man, I don't have an "Extra Control" tab there. Any other ideas?

NathanA wrote:I would be willing to wager that the reason SoundMAX isn't showing up as a chipset in any of the new ThinkPad models just announced might have something to do with this

-- Nathan

I read that and it sucks. 96 db SNR/DR for an integrated sound chip isn't bad at all.

wswartzendruber wrote:Sorry man, I don't have an "Extra Control" tab there. Any other ideas?

Sorry, plum out of ideas plus I'm still using XP ..... thanks anyway for trying

wswartzendruber wrote:96 db SNR/DR for an integrated sound chip isn't bad at all.

If you do the math, you get a 96dB ratio just for using 16-bit samples. I'd wager that's the source of their number, not from any testing or measurement.

I doubt it. For years these parts have been specified at 68-72 dB SNR due to high analog noise levels. Now that the analog portions have become better than the D/A, the 16-bit input is the limiting factor - so the 96dB SNR is real.

Excellent. Let's hope the analog input section doesn't destroy the signal with noise so the chip can do its job.

There is no more separate analog input. The connector basically goes right to that chip (with a few very small capacitors/inductors on the inputs to remove RF noise.

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a line-in on the machine or the dock.

awolfe63 wrote:Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a line-in on the machine or the dock.

Of course not ......

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 387#445387

wswartzendruber wrote:Hey Guys,

Do we know what audio chip these things are going to have? The T60 has an AD1981HD chip in it, but I'm hoping for a little better.

Thanks.

The Soundmax of the T6x/T4x is already touted for having what is probably the best onboard sound quality from a laptop. It's horrible when it comes to latency or driver functionality wise, which is true for any consumer solution. But it does what it should do: Output sound to anyone who connects headphones, or small desktop speakers.

If you really want a step up, the approach is not a different chipset with better theoretical specs, but a new layout with it's own DSP in a seperate shielded box. The Echo indigo IO is the minimum real step up IMO.

But i really hate to see AD leaving this market segment, knowing what advancements they have done for signal proccessing. Especially in comparison to what the competition has accomplished. I had hoped to see AKM or Crystal to come with a solution instead...

You guys realize that these chips are 24-bit now days, right? That's where 96 dB is NOT a hardcoded factor.