Audio Testing

The Gigabyte Z690 AORUS Xtreme WaterForce breaks away from the standard on-board audio by removing it completely from the motherboard. The ESSential HEX Audio Card is connected via USB and placed inside the rear-IO panel. This audio board has a Stereo output, S/PDIF, and Mic In.

This daughter board has one ESS ES9280AC DAC chip and two ESS ES9080 chips in place of the commonly found Realtek ALC codec. Audio analysis could not be performed due to the lack of a Line In port. Mic In cannot be the substitute as it has a lower frequency range and isn't suitable for the RightMark Audio benchmark.