MSI or Asus onboard Sound better?

[80-watt Hamster]

That is actually no longer true the 1220 codec is really good. I tried a Asus Xonar AE card vs the 1220 adn the 1220 was louder and crisper than that. I must say I was truly impressed. Knock on Wood but the on board audio chip dying prematurely also seems to be resolved.


I have that board too and I also find the bass aw little bit weak but the mids are stellar

Codec only gets you so far. An awesome DSP can't help poor signal integrity or amplification. Two 1220 implementations can end up very different quality-wise.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Just gonna leave this here so all of u know

Got a C type one and a iPhone one, both pretty good, C type works fine on a phone or a PC

 

[Solid State Soul ( SSS )]

Realtek ALC4082 + ESS Sabre9018 DAC

Msi is better, as it has a better realtek audio processor over the ASUS, the ESS Saber is for front audio i think

every onboard audio solution is crap.

I disagree, this isnt 2007 anymore, any board with atleast a realtek ALC 1150 or above will give a satisfactory audio quality for most users, unless its a cheap board with Realtek 887 or 897, i wouldn't invest in a external sound card

 

[ir_cow]

Just going to leave this here. I Think Igor explains onboard audio well and compares ALC1220 vs ALC4080.

LINK
Igorslab - Disadvantages of onboard sound – Influence of graphics card, headphone sensitivity and motherboard layout

 

[oobymach]

Just gonna leave this here so all of u know

Without an amplifier my speakers don't make any noise, I can't just plug my speakers into a usb adapter and call it a day, there needs to be wattage pushed through a wire or the speakers they no worky.

 

[GerKNG]

I disagree, this isnt 2007 anymore, any board with atleast a realtek ALC 1150 or above will give a satisfactory audio quality for most users, unless its a cheap board with Realtek 887 or 897, i wouldn't invest in a external sound card

i don't say that they are unuseable but i have boards with the highest end ALC 4080/4082 and it is still a LOT worse than the sharkoon USB DAC. and i am not an audiophile person at all. but it sounds like a FLAC file from a CD compared to the youtube version in 144p.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

i don't say that they are unuseable but i have boards with the highest end ALC 4080/4082 and it is still a LOT worse than the sharkoon USB DAC. and i am not an audiophile person at all. but it sounds like a FLAC file from a CD compared to the youtube version in 144p.

Have to agree.

Though to be fair, i read a review of a board with the same onboard audio as mine Realtek ALC4080 and Savitech SV3H712, who said-

Objective performance from the audio chain is excellent based on RMMA’s weighed scoring. Now frequency response is flat with minor deviations from the 0dB centered 1KHz frequency. As for THD, jitter is acceptable since the harmonics are well below audibility. IMD on the other hand also looks decent but the presence of harmonics at 100-200Hz worries me a bit. Shouldn’t be audible.

Subjectively, this is one of the best DAC and Amp combo I have tested in recent times. The Realtek ALC4080 and Savitech SV3H712 outputs an ESS like sound signature, providing good macro details, separation, stage and imaging. Amplification is excellent too, able to power up my Hifiman HE400i (94dBSPL/mW) at generous levels that would otherwise distort from other onboard solutions that just couldn’t provide the current required to drive planars. It synergizes really well with the HD58X and the more power hungry HD600. Nothing to dislike here.

I just prefer my USB DACs sound, it seems crisper. I guess PC audio is subjective and down to the listeners taste.

 

[Jetster]

They are the same bird

 

[Chrispy_]

Another vote here for an external DAC.

Onboard sound quality has dramatically improved in the last couple of decades, but converting to analogue before it leaves your PC's case means it *WILL* pick up a bit of EMI from components inside no matter how well the audio circuits are isolated from the rest of the board.

You don't even need a fancy DAC, cheap DACs are good for speakers up to a few hundred bucks and unless you're going to do room calibration there's no point spending silly money on DAC or speakers because the room modes will likely be the next biggest hurdle for audio quality after an external DAC.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Read the igors lab link. External Dac wins, however good the onboard is, there is interference from the GPU, even with a soundcard installed.

I have a Cambridge audio Dacmagic 100 and a Samsung USB C dongle, and even that sounds better than the onboard.

 

[mclaren85]

case means it *WILL* pick up a bit of EMI

Can we even recognize these uninvited EMI signals? By using external DAC, what extent does the sound improve?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Can we even recognize these uninvited EMI signals? By using external DAC, what extent does the sound improve?

It would be cleaner, more crisp, no interference. just get a cheap USB DAC to try it, you will notice the difference imo

 

[mclaren85]

It would be cleaner, more crisp, no interference

I will, If only Nahimic software would still be active.
Do you say USB Dac is even better than an external soundcard?

Just going to leave this here. I Think Igor explains onboard audio well and compares ALC1220 vs ALC4080.

LINK
Igorslab - Disadvantages of onboard sound – Influence of graphics card, headphone sensitivity and motherboard layout

That is an excellent comparision. Thank you

 

[bug]

An external DAC is the only answer

That, or digital out. Either way, onboard sound is rarely worth a second thought (or an extra penny).

 

[Chrispy_]

Can we even recognize these uninvited EMI signals? By using external DAC, what extent does the sound improve?

They're usually audible as faint squealing/screaming noises and you sometimes get pulsed clicks too. It depends what's in your case but for most people a GPU under load will make an EMI storm that most analogue internal audio can pick up with ease.

Let's put it this way - I've never not heard it for any onboard audio. Back in the old days of internal analogue soundcards it was the same issue. The problem isn't the quality of the DAC or the analogue circuits, it's that the minute the signal is analogue it's susceptible to any magnetic field. The digital signal is susceptible too, but it gets cleaned up to a pure 1 or 0 again at the end of its noisy journey down a trace or cable.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I don't like headphones personally
Ears get clammy after a short time.
Taking them off my hearing is all messed up so I just let the external speakers air it out

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Hi,
I don't like headphones personally
Ears get clammy after a short time.
Taking them off my hearing is all messed up so I just let the external speakers air it out

I mainly use speakers, same reason plus i wear glasses so they hurt my ears. Only ever wear phones for talking to buds on discord.