Difference between front vs rear audio?

[mclaren85]

Is there any (whether noticeable or not) difference in audio quality using the rear jack vs the front on the case? I have an msi meg x570s ace max.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Shouldn't be
Rear has more options for addition speakers/ sub/..

 

[Thimblewad]

I have noticed, many times, that using the front panel mic and headphone jack at the same time, sometimes causes interference and you can hear what the person is playing throught the headphones over the microphone. Issues were fixed after using the rear outs. Different cases, different quality boards etc.

Also, front panel audio quality is sometimes better through the back (16-bit 48khz max on the front vs 32-bit 174 khz for example).

I see you're also using your optical audio outs, you'll never get that quality over front panel connectors.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Quality? No. At least not "in theory" with the analog outputs.

However, when you use the front audio jacks, they work by interrupting the output to the rear jacks. This is a mechanical process. If the contacts are dirty, you may hear some of the problems Thimblewad notes.

That said, when possible, when the audio source is digital, it is typically (not always, but usually) better to stick with digital for as long as possible. So if your speakers supports digital input (S/PDIF) I would do that.

 

[nomdeplume]

Whether or not you are able to detect a difference is the most prolific answer.

Because we live in a physical world devoid of absolutes. One or both could theoretically be faulty due to poor construction or misuse.
Which should be the only reason for asking this question without preconditioning responses.
Trust your ears to tell you if something is different.

 

[pf100]

Of course there's a difference. The jack on the back is as direct a connection as you can get. The jack on the front goes through a wire subject to more interference because it's a wire running through your case around noisy components.
There's no way you'll know if it actually sounds worse until you compare the two though.

 

[nomdeplume]

Of course there's a difference. The jack on the back is as direct a connection as you can get. The jack on the front goes through a wire subject to more interference because it's a wire running through your case around noisy components.
There's no way you'll know if it actually sounds worse until you compare the two though.

Theoretically correct.
Noise is in rather ample supply at the board as well though.
The wire might actually have some cancellation or addition that is found pleasing.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Of course there's a difference.

I disagree.

Of course there "might" be a difference. That does not mean there "will" be.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Is there any (whether noticeable or not) difference in audio quality using the rear jack vs the front on the case? I have an msi meg x570s ace max.

Other than the fact that the audio connector will look janky coming out of the top of your case, no. The quality of the audio signal will be the same unless you live in an area that is has a great amount of radio frequency pollution. But it would have to be VERY noisy to have any effect on your PC audio, and at that point, you're going to notice other problems first.

 

[caroline!]

Unless you're an audiophile, no. Though there's a point for both, the rear ports are meant for speakers with a permanent connection while the front ones are for earbuds or a headset.
Sometimes the front will be louder because it goes through a mini amp.

 

[Operandi]

Of course there's a difference. The jack on the back is as direct a connection as you can get. The jack on the front goes through a wire subject to more interference because it's a wire running through your case around noisy components.
There's no way you'll know if it actually sounds worse until you compare the two though.

Not just the wire to connect the ports on the front of the case but a different path on the motherboard as well and thats usually where it goes wrong. Audio performance is pretty far down the list of priorities in motherboard design.

 

[Vario]

With the typical ear, you'd probably either hear either additional interference noise, or none at all. I am guessing no difference. If you do hear additional interference just use the back panel, unless you are a recording engineer, where you'd probably want a better hardware either way.

 

[sLowEnd]

I've had a bit more background hiss using front audio in a couple of builds. YMMV.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Whether or not you are able to detect a difference is the most prolific answer.

Because we live in a physical world devoid of absolutes. One or both could theoretically be faulty due to poor construction or misuse.
Which should be the only reason for asking this question without preconditioning responses.
Trust your ears to tell you if something is different.

How can one believe we live in a physical world and at the same time believe there are no absolutes?

 

[evernessince]

Your motherboard is outputting analog audio from the motherboard's DAC, to the cable, to the 3.5mm jack in the case of front panel audio.

By extension this means it'll be subject to any interference along the way.

"Noticeable" is a subjective term and ultimately it's going to vary a lot based on your components, cable routing, audio gear, and your own personal ability to hear or tolerate noise.

There's a very simple way to test this out, plug your headphones into the front jack and if you don't hear any noise with the volume cranked up you are fine.

At the end of the day if you can't hear the noise, it's not a problem.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I've had a bit more background hiss using front audio in a couple of builds. YMMV.

That can happen. Not a lot though.

 

[thewan]

Is there any (whether noticeable or not) difference in audio quality using the rear jack vs the front on the case? I have an msi meg x570s ace max.

Yes in two places, the motherboard side, and the front panel audio cable side.

For the motherboard side, the front panel audio is usually dedicated for headphones which are more sensitive. Therefore some more advanced or premium implementations will have a better or more powerful amplifier, and better components like better capacitors etc wired up to the front panel while the rear panel doesn't get any or gets less. Some have the better DAC wired only to the front panel, with the rear audio getting audio direct from the realtek solution. The rear audio is almost always used for speakers, which are less sensitive.

There is also the front panel audio cable part. How well is the cable shielded. How well is the audio jack grounded and isolated from the rest of the front panel ports. The general quality of the cable and audio jack. How did you route the cable, maybe you squeezed it in between the motherboard and the PSU. Maybe you route it underneath the GPU. All those can contribute to inteference and noise especially if your audio jack or your casing in general is poorly grounded.

 

[nomdeplume]

How can one believe we live in a physical world and at the same time believe there are no absolutes?

I can with absolute surety state that I'm absolutely unsure the state of your hardware or your hearing.

You took my statement outside of context to attach irrevocable polarity. Your hearing is not a constant. It changes across the day and can easily be impaired or heightened by any number of stimulus. Nor is there any rationale that would lead one to believe your mobo or case wiring are beyond failures or capable of nothing but failures.

Your logical fallacy on the other hand...

 

[Bill_Bright]

Your motherboard is outputting analog audio from the motherboard's DAC, to the cable, to the 3.5mm jack in the case of front panel audio.

It is outputting analog to the standard rear jacks too.

 

[thewan]

Forgot to add, as mentioned above by many others, my previous post above is entirely objective. Whether the subjective part, you can hear the difference, only you will know. Objective listening measurements will show a difference, even within the human range of hearing, but as to whether can each and every human hear that difference, I'm not gonna bother arguing. In the end its your money and your ears and your life, enjoy it as you will, just don't try so hard to do same unto others.

The only difference that one can consistently tell the difference, is that in some motherboards, the front panel audio will have a dedicated amplifier for headphones. It will sound louder without distortion or much changes to the sound quality in general besides better higher volume. Using software to boost the volume, or not having a headphone amp at all its a big difference in terms of how loud it can go to support higher impedance headphones. Something that rear jacks no need to worry about since they are for speakers which have their own amps, or you sometimes connect to your own speaker or headphone amp. front panel audio is for direct connection to headphones.

 

[Regeneration]

The front panel uses internal extension cable which adds resistance and possible static noise.

It is always recommended to use the rear output. Even for USB. The front panel is mostly for convenience and temporary devices.

 

[Bill_Bright]

The front panel uses internal extension cable which adds resistance and possible static noise.

So what?

No doubt the cable is shielded. "Possible" noise does not imply there will be noise. Resistance does not imply degraded "quality". Plus, that is a very short cable - soldered at both ends.

Soldered connections are ALWAYS preferred (in terms of possible noise and resistance) to a jack & plug connection. External speaker cables will have at least one jack & plug end, possibly two.

Using the standard rear analog connections requires much longer cable(s) to the speaker inputs - cables the may very well run parallel to several other power (including AC) cables and data cables (let's hope they have good shielding). Cables that are much more exposed and thus susceptible to physical abuse.

Again - as noted in post #4 above, there is nothing to suggest, as a general rule, that case front audio is inferior to rear audio. In order to make that determination, specifics about the motherboard's integrated audio (or sound card) are required, as well as specifics as to how the audio signal is delivered to the speakers. Everything else is just guesses and supposition, or totally inaccurate.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
If I had to choose which is more likely to cut corners it would be case makers
So with that in mind I would and do always use the rear ports except for an occasional flash drive.

 

[Bill_Bright]

If I had to choose which is more likely to cut corners it would be case makers

Another reason to do our homework and buy quality cases.

That said, if I had to choose who is more likely to cut corners, I would say it is the speaker makers. I mean what sort of quality can one realistically expect from a 2.1 speaker system that includes 2 satellites, a sub, the amplifiers, cables to the amp and cables out to the satellites (and the cable connectors) for only $50 or less? Or even $100?

Let's not forget there are a lot of budget motherboards too. So again, it boils down to specifics.

 

[Regeneration]

So what?

No doubt the cable is shielded. "Possible" noise does not imply there will be noise. Resistance does not imply degraded "quality". Plus, that is a very short cable - soldered at both ends.

Soldered connections are ALWAYS preferred (in terms of possible noise and resistance) to a jack & plug connection. External speaker cables will have at least one jack & plug end, possibly two.

Using the standard rear analog connections requires much longer cable(s) to the speaker inputs - cables the may very well run parallel to several other power (including AC) cables and data cables (let's hope they have good shielding). Cables that are much more exposed and thus susceptible to physical abuse.

Again - as noted in post #4 above, there is nothing to suggest, as a general rule, that case front audio is inferior to rear audio. In order to make that determination, specifics about the motherboard's integrated audio (or sound card) are required, as well as specifics as to how the audio signal is delivered to the speakers. Everything else is just guesses and supposition, or totally inaccurate.

As ThrashZone suggested, this is where case manufacturers cut corners, even the most reputable ones and high-end products.

The front panel is never good like the rear I/O and sometimes it results with connectivity issues, data corruption, and static noise - most noticed with headphones.