Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Motherboard Audio Review

[amirm]

Amir, any chance of measuring those USB DAC-UP2 ports?

Yes, it is planned. And I have a plug-in card with the same purpose to test as well. It just takes me a lot more motivation to test things that requires messing with my computer.

 

[Zerohour]

That's pretty interesting, I didn't know that onboard audio pushes out more power to the front panel/case connections than the rear I/O:

can we get a test to see if there's any difference in power and output impedance through front jacks? I'm assuming amirm did the measurements with the rear jacks on the motherboard itself...

more power from the case headphone output vs the rear IO, that really seems counter-intuitive to me. Why not just make them both the same.

to be fair, the high output impedance makes it a moot point, since only powered speakers will do fine on it?

 

[Raimei Templar]

That's pretty interesting, I didn't know that onboard audio pushes out more power to the front panel/case connections than the rear I/O:

can we get a test to see if there's any difference in power and output impedance through front jacks? I'm assuming amirm did the measurements with the rear jacks on the motherboard itself...

Yeah the modern gaming motherboards put a headphone amp that only outputs to the front panel connector while the rear connector is just a straight line out. There are a few motherboards that even go so far as to have a wholy different dac that outputs to the front panel.

If you are connecting to a external amp is best to use the rear connector, otherwise the front panel gives more power. Unfortunately the front panel connector is also more vulnerable to picking up noise in my experience so its yet another reason motherboards are not ideal. Even the front panel output is quite pathetic though sadly.

The point about the differences not being huge is valid especially you arent listening to loud volumes or low DR content, it gets increasingly noticble the louder you get as many motherboards will hit distortion and it will start to sound "bright".

I think many people wouldnt know that they werent getting enough power without doing a direct comparision as a distorting amplifier doesnt typically sound like what people would expect unless they are actually hitting clipping, its one of the reasons I hope more of this info gets out. I think most everyone benefits from a headphone amp, especially given how good the 100-200 dolllar amps are now, there is really no reason not to recommend one to anyone looking for better sound.

 

[PolkFan]

Yeah the modern gaming motherboards put a headphone amp that only outputs to the front panel connector while the rear connector is just a straight line out. There are a few motherboards that even go so far as to have a wholy different dac that outputs to the front panel.

If you are connecting to a external amp is best to use the rear connector, otherwise the front panel gives more power. Unfortunately the front panel connector is also more vulnerable to picking up noise in my experience so its yet another reason motherboards are not ideal. Even the front panel output is quite pathetic though sadly.

The point about the differences not being huge is valid especially you arent listening to loud volumes or low DR content, it gets increasingly noticble the louder you get as many motherboards will hit distortion and it will start to sound "bright".

I think many people wouldnt know that they werent getting enough power without doing a direct comparision as a distorting amplifier doesnt typically sound like what people would expect unless they are actually hitting clipping, its one of the reasons I hope more of this info gets out. I think most everyone benefits from a headphone amp, especially given how good the 100-200 dolllar amps are now, there is really no reason not to recommend one to anyone looking for better sound.

Real issue is convincing people that a $100 headphone amp is most likely all they will ever need and nothing above that sounds better haha. Now if you can do that you have quite a lot of skills.

Better is still subject i guess as some love tube amps and they can be very expensive.

 

[cshake]

I'm currently using the Aorus Elite X570, which is a step down with the ALC1200 vs ALC1220-VB (and they don't specify the DAC chip). I know I could get better with an external DAC, but by leaving it at 70% volume in windows and using my Atom amp connected to the rear out, I'm satisfied enough to not be actively looking to spend more money.

To be fair, I could probably get decent sound with the headphone out anyway since I'm using planar headphones (Sundara) so the output impedance is far less of a problem (though they like a bit more peak power available).

 

[PolkFan]

https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/gi13l9
Yet another user who has buzzing sounds from a expensive modern board

Basically everyday i see this.

 

[companyja]

I have the same ASUS Z170-A, no issues with buzzing but it is an anaemic output

 

[Jimster480]

Because my audio app is not multi-threaded, single core performance is most important to me and that is where Intel shines.

Until Zen2 last year
Then AMD is ahead in single threaded as well! I suppose if you have an heavily OC'd 9700k then it would still be ahead but I think that would be the only scenario at this point in time. Even then it would actually depend on the instruction sets used since Zen2 is just so fast at many tasks.

 

[Jimster480]

https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/gi13l9
Yet another user who has buzzing sounds from a expensive modern board

Basically everyday i see this.

My friend has a Z370 or Z390 and his buzzes too.

 

[dropbear]

Yes, it is planned. And I have a plug-in card with the same purpose to test as well. It just takes me a lot more motivation to test things that requires messing with my computer.

This was actually a very good suggestion, I com from PC segment and I try to steer some people from integrated sound cards and low-end PC-gaming-companies' internal/external sound cards to some real equipment, however a year after year USB DACs start to be a real issue more and more.

Intereference is a real problem, sometimes even at idle there is enough junk which gets to the signal, but a load is a real problem (especially with video cards and furthermore with powerful video cards). Back in the days (think 4-6 years), both MSI and Gigabyte were quite heavy on Audio Power (MSI) and DAC-UP/2 (Gigabyte). I personally had MSI Z97 Gaming 5 and that one had this "Audio Power" - it was in a form of an extra Molex to be connected to the board, which was supposedly dedicated to some filtering circuitry. I didn't have a personal experience with Gigabyte's solution, but I reckon it was something similar to that. Asus? Asrock? They didn't care, I still recall reports about Asus motherboards having these problems a lot.

It worked, I was happily rocking USB connection to my DAC(s) before, but when a time to upgrade and MSI also ditched this Audio Power thingy and my last two MSI boards are the witnesses to it. Gigabyte stopped doing it as well, but just partially, they still implement it with their more expensive models (like this tested one), but it is still better than nothing, I guess.

So what about the rest of us? Optical output.

 

[lxr]

I am a long time reader and just registered to write my first comment.
The big problem with onboard sound is internal over coupling (internes überkoppeln). Worst case you can hear your mouse moving.
I was lucky with my old GA-Z77X-UD3H and had almost no problem.
But with my new Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE (ALC1200 Audio / Audio Noise Guard / High-End Audio Capacitors (WIMA & Nichicon Fine Gold).
I have a steady high frequency sound on my AKG Q701, on the front and the back. The output on the front has more power, than on the back like the most mainboards.
So I bought a Topping D50s and A50 and I am happy now.

 

[snake3276120]

I'd rather have them remove the Audio and Wifi for this motherboard. Not just Gigabyte but every motherboard vendor should give us these options. I know they won't because of cost. Sad.

 

[A800]

They better remove/disable the Intel Management Engine/AMD Platform Security Processor backdoor first.

 

[DeepFried]

I'd love to see more motherboard audio reviews. maybe something in the Asus Maximus Hero line.

 

[Jave]

This is my motherboard! Will you test the "DAC up 2" functions?

That's what I've always wondered. If disabling USB power does anything at all.

Did amirm write a review for this in the end? I can't find it

 

[Deleted member 5035]

I have an ASRock X370 Gaming K4 motherboard running Realtek ALC1220 audio. The headphones output is useless - weak and noisy. However, the rear Line Out appears to be excellent. With a decent DVM, I'm measuring a maximum of 2.20 volts RMS at 1 KHz on each channel. I'm using that Line Out to drive a JDS Atom amp. With the Windows sound turned all the way up, the Atom sensitivity on high, and the Atom volume turned all the way up, I can hear no noise at all on sensitive AKG K371 headphones - no hiss, no hum, and no computer digital noise.

And the RMAA numbers are impressive - especially considering that these are Line Out to Line In loopback numbers, being analyzed through the ALC1220 ADC...

Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB .. +0.01 -0.06 .. Excellent
......................... Noise level, dB (A) .. -103.2 ....... Excellent
....................... Dynamic range, dB (A) ... 103.1 ....... Excellent
...................................... THD, % ... 0.00210 ..... Excellent
......................... THD + Noise, dB (A) .. -88.2 ........ Good
.............................. IMD + Noise, % ... 0.00447 ..... Excellent
........................ Stereo crosstalk, dB .. -96.0 ........ Excellent
............................ IMD at 10 kHz, % ... 0.00444 ..... Excellent
......................... General Performance ................. Excellent

Seems ASRock did a stellar job with the audio on this particular motherboard, and I'm having a hard time justifying an external DAC.

Am I missing something?

 

[Offler]

Sorry for opening older thread, just adding my 2 cents.

This is by no means an accurate measuring, just to get the idea about desktop computers, internal DACs and USB sound devices.

Aud01 was measured from my amplifier NAD d3020 v2, connected from headphones out to ALC1220 LineIn. Amp is connected via Toslink.

Aud02 was measured with same connection, but I turned on graphic stress test (MSI Kombustor) on graphic card (Radeon VII). Power consumption went up by 300 watts, and the card coils are usually making noticeable high-pitched sound. The graph then showed spikes above 750Hz reaching -70db threshold

Later i tried to disconnect AUX input, use USB soundcard, then i moved the USB to the hub located on display. Nothing changed, the noise got through USB ports, and USB hub as well.

 

[amirm]

Good testing there...

 

[abdo123]

Sorry for opening older thread, just adding my 2 cents.

This is by no means an accurate measuring, just to get the idea about desktop computers, internal DACs and USB sound devices.

Aud01 was measured from my amplifier NAD d3020 v2, connected from headphones out to ALC1220 LineIn. Amp is connected via Toslink.

Aud02 was measured with same connection, but I turned on graphic stress test (MSI Kombustor) on graphic card (Radeon VII). Power consumption went up by 300 watts, and the card coils are usually making noticeable high-pitched sound. The graph then showed spikes above 750Hz reaching -70db threshold

Later i tried to disconnect AUX input, use USB soundcard, then i moved the USB to the hub located on display. Nothing changed, the noise got through USB ports, and USB hub as well.

Ooof, is the USB DAC powered by the USB port?

I have a feeling like this is a result of abusing the PSU.

 

[Offler]

Ooof, is the USB DAC powered by the USB port?

I have a feeling like this is a result of abusing the PSU.

Yes, the USB soundcard is USB powered (just a common Soundblaster SB1140). I just wanted to know if the noise is just inside the PC with ALC1220, or in USB as well.

PSU is Seasonic Ultra Titanium, rated at 850 watts and I made sure that highest power draw is around 500 wats at most, close to highest efficiency, between 40-60% of rated power.

So... i guess to get a clean reading i have to use completely different computer or device as an input.