Using a laptop to power jukebox? (re: sound quality)

[TxGlenn]

I'm looking at the pros and cons of using a laptop versus a desktop to power my jukebox.  Whatever it is will be connected to a Denon receiver.  The laptop is nice and small and no messing with mouse and keyboard etc, but sound quality is my top priority.  Can I get sound quality from a laptop that equals a desktop or should I just get a desktop with a nice soundcard?

[Usul]

wouldn't a high end USB soundcard for the laptop solve the problem?

[saurian333]

wouldn't a high end USB soundcard for the laptop solve the problem?

USB soundcards can be an improvement if the laptop in question has a crappy card...but not necessarily.  There are a lot of other factors to take into account.  For example, I have a Logitech AudioHub (has a Holtek something-or-other chipset) which is a complete USB sound card/2.1 speaker unit.  It generally sounds pretty awesome for a small system, but when I connected it to an older laptop with USB 1.1 ports, the sound is still good, but there's a noticeable bit of "skipping and popping" introduced.  I suspect it has to do with the lower bandwidth of USB 1.1.  On USB 2, it works great.  I would say that generally, if you're using USB 2, there shouldn't be such a problem, but I wouldn't put money on it.

Any on-board sound in a laptop that I've tried usually sounds just fine.  I guess I'd suggest just trying it out if you're talking about a laptop you have on hand.  If you're looking to buy one, look for detailed specs and compare the audio chipset with that of known good-quality ones.  A great many systems use the Realtek chipsets that are the same as on-board desktop ones; whether the quality of that is good enough for you is a matter of opinion, for the most part.  Your choices are fairly limited.  You're very unlikely to find a laptop with a built-in SoundBlaster, for instance (though I'm sure they exist).

[glen65]

I’m currently running my wallbax using a laptop with the stock sound card. I don’t know much about this subject but I’ll tell you this. I have the laptop running to a pair of external, powered pc speakers through the standard output jack and it really sounds good. I’m sure a true audiophile will be able to tell the difference but I don’t think the average user will notice any difference. As a matter of fact, I’ve been told it sounds great by a lot of people.
Hope this helps.

[HanoiBoi]

Well, it's probably not hard to test both...unless you don't have either the PC or the Laptop.

In my basement, I currently have a laptop (Dell 5100, stock) running into an Onkyo 706 receiver.  From there, it goes out to 5 pairs of ceiling speakers via a speaker selector.  I have no problem with the sound.  I'm not an audiophile, but I'm a big fan of music.

As for the rest of the house, I use 2.1 powered PC speakers in the kitchen, bathroom, office and garage.  I just bring along an MP3 player and I'm good to go. 

[kjbalto]

I have a laptop in mine and it sounds good.  I hooked the laptop up to a small amp I got cheap on ebay, and then connected two 6.5" speakers. You can also hook up a subwoofer too if you want more bass.