I've had such vast differences in audio quality from one motherboard to another that, while this is your personal opinion, it really isn't very helpful. A previous motherboard had audio so poorly isolated that any time you moved the mouse you would hear hear a buzz - never a problem in the days of separate sound cards, but also not a problem with most of the more recent on-board audio solutions I've run into. My current motherboard has wonderful, perfectly isolated sound - and I have no idea if that is due to better all-around isolation, the relatively high-end chipset, or some other factor. Realtek doesn't even list most of their newer audio codecs on their webpage so it is tough to tell what you are getting, and the motherboard manufacturers give little or no information on their built-in amps or the audio pathway in general. It would be really cool if someone actually took a look at the hardware motherboard manufacturers were using, and how it differs from a cheap external option. The GA-Z270N-WiFi in my most recent build says it has a "smart headphone amp" and "high-end audio capacitors", but of course there is no specification data on them, and no reviews really go into what any of that means or how it compares to any other motherboard, and the ALC 1220 codec is absent from Realtek's webpage - so it really is all a mystery.
A question about PC audio outputs
Should I just use the front IO audio out (FractalDesign Meshify C) as I have been doing? I don't hear any interference or anything when listening to music or gaming through it. (Maybe FractalDesign shields their IO cables more?)
My motherboard is an Asus TUF B550 Plus. Is it worth it getting a headphone extension cable to use the motherboard audio output? Does the quality of the extension cable matter?
I also have an RTX 2080 in my system which I think supplies audio through my monitor via HDMI (Don't at me, I know I should use DP). Is that audio any good?
My earphones should be of a decent enough quality to pick up on a change in sound quality (KZ ZS10 pro)
Any help would be appreciated
Showing 2 responses by soulja009
I've had such vast differences in audio quality from one motherboard to another that, while this is your personal opinion, it really isn't very helpful. A previous motherboard had audio so poorly isolated that any time you moved the mouse you would hear hear a buzz - never a problem in the days of separate sound cards, but also not a problem with most of the more recent on-board audio solutions I've run into. My current motherboard has wonderful, perfectly isolated sound - and I have no idea if that is https://speedtest.vet/ due to better all-around isolation, the relatively high-end chipset, or some other factor. Realtek doesn't even list most of their newer audio codecs on their webpage so it is tough to tell what you are getting, and the motherboard manufacturers give little or no information on their built-in amps or the audio pathway in general. It would be really cool if someone actually took a look at the hardware motherboard manufacturers were using https://vidmate.bid/, and how it differs from a cheap external option. The GA-Z270N-WiFi in my most recent build says it has a "smart headphone amp" and "high-end audio capacitors", but of course there is no specification data on them, and no reviews really go into what any of that means or how it compares to any other motherboard, and the ALC 1220 codec is absent from Realtek's webpage - so it really is all a mystery. I got this,... |