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Best Way to Connect PC Motherboard to RCF Evox ?

Regev

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Hi,

I bought a new Intel gen 12 12600K CPU, and im about to buy a motherboard for it. I want to place this machine near the living room, and stream music directly from it to the RCF Evox 8:


My question, how's the best way to do it? Is onboard audio enough? I found different audio specs on different boards - some have Realtek stuff, some use ESS, the Asus ones use ROG SupremeFX chips, etc. Any specific board for Gen 12 intel that you guys recommend?

And if onboard sound output is inferior - what then is better?

I have the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm cable - will connecting the Evox that way (I have a 3.5mm to XLR cable that i've used on the Evox, with my phone) be better than using the motherboard's onboard chip?

If not, any sound card / DAC / whatever, that you guys recommend and can justify the cost? If the difference is barely noticeably, I prefer not to go on that adventure (i.e If onboard sound output is 95% of the sound quality of a $400 DAC, I'd rather use the onboard chip)

P.S if you do recommend a motherboard with a soundcard, I'd prefer it a MiniITX, or a MicroATX max. I know there's only one PCIe slot on MiniITX, but that's ok - i'm using the onboard GPU anyway.

Thanks,
Reg
 

twsecrest

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My two cents.
A $60 external DAC should easily equal or be better than most on-board audio.
USB DAC, connect the USB DAC's 3.5mm (1/8") TRS output to each RCF Evox un-balanced input (1/4) TS jack.
Higher prices DACs will use a dual RCA output (so RCA to 1/4 TS cable.
Even higher end DAC will use XLR (balanced), so XLR to XLR cable will work.
 
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Regev

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Will the difference in sound quality be noticeable in a blind test, between a pricier USB DAC, onboard-audio, or the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm cable ?
 

AnalogSteph

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Do yourself a favor and get a basic USB audio interface in the interest of simplicity and convenience - this will generally give you balanced outputs and a volume knob. You could run onboard audio e.g. into a Behringer HD400 (3.5 mm to 2x TS in, TRS to XLR out) and that should work OK, too, but if you can afford a new PC and these $1000+ PA speakers I wouldn't consider $100-200 for an audio interface to be a showstopper. Something like a Focusrite Scarlett Solo should be quite adequate already.

Neither onboard audio nor internal soundcards provide balanced output so you'd have to mess about with line-level transformers like the HD400 I suggested in order to steer clear of ground loop problems. A PC is not a floating source like a phone, just using a 3.5 mm to XLR cable is likely to result in a concert of unwanted noises related to PC activity.

DACs with balanced outputs and a volume knob tend to be $350+, that's getting a bit spendy. ASIO drivers aren't quite as much of a priority as in audio interfaces, where music production use pretty much necessitates them.

The motherboard, power supply and case are the three components one should never cheap out on. Budget permitting, I would recommend a mid-tier 6-layer board by a manufacturer with a decent track record for long-term BIOS support (so NOT a Biostar, but rather an Asrock, Asus, MSI or Gigabyte). You will also have to check whether the availability of DDR5 memory has improved or sticking with a DDR4 board still is the better option. Also do a sanity check of internal slot layout and have a good look at back panel connectivity (if you want both PS/2 and USB-C, that would narrow things down quite considerably, for example). Fan management is another thing I would be interested in (I rather like ASUS Q-FAN, which after calibration will even operate 3-pin fans across a wide range).

I've been going through a number of Mini-ITX and µATX LGA1700 boards, and a silly amount of them seem to be using the basic Realtek ALC897. Boards seem to have gotten more basic and more expensive with 12th gen as a general theme.
 

twsecrest

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Will the difference in sound quality be noticeable in a blind test, between a pricier USB DAC, onboard-audio, or the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm cable ?
On-board audio can very in quality, using the audio processor as a DAC, higher end boards can even come with an add-on DAC chip. USB keeps the signal clean.
 
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Regev

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I've been going through a number of Mini-ITX and µATX LGA1700 boards, and a silly amount of them seem to be using the basic Realtek ALC897. Boards seem to have gotten more basic and more expensive with 12th gen as a general theme.
On-board audio can very in quality, using the audio processor as a DAC, higher end boards can even come with an add-on DAC chip. USB keeps the signal clean.

So, will the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm cable (recommended here as best value cable for connecting a phone to speakers) provide better audio than simply connecting the cable to ALC897 (or ALC1220) ?
 

AnalogSteph

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So, will the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm cable (recommended here as best value cable for connecting a phone to speakers) provide better audio than simply connecting the cable to ALC897 (or ALC1220) ?
From what I've seen, the Apple USB-C dongle is at least ALC1200 level though maximum output only is in the ALC897 ballpark (1 V and change).

All of them are likely going to require a line-level transformer / line isolator.
 

JayGilb

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Do yourself a favor and get a basic USB audio interface in the interest of simplicity and convenience - this will generally give you balanced outputs and a volume knob. You could run onboard audio e.g. into a Behringer HD400 (3.5 mm to 2x TS in, TRS to XLR out) and that should work OK, too, but if you can afford a new PC and these $1000+ PA speakers I wouldn't consider $100-200 for an audio interface to be a showstopper. Something like a Focusrite Scarlett Solo should be quite adequate already.
I concur with AnalogSteph's advice about purchasing a simple usb audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett. A physical volume control is nice to have as well as balanced outputs.

Your PA speaker is mono and I was wondering if you have two of them otherwise you will not be listening to stereo and will have to sum the channels together in order not to lose musical information.
 
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Regev

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I have one Evox unit. Will I really lose musical information? A friend of mine (from the music industry) told me "we're not in the 90s anymore" - he said music today is recorded across all channels, so that it is well played no matter how many speakers you're using. Is that correct?
 
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Regev

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From what I've seen, the Apple USB-C dongle is at least ALC1200 level though maximum output only is in the ALC897 ballpark (1 V and change).

All of them are likely going to require a line-level transformer / line isolator.

Which of these two has a better audio chip?

Gigabyte B660M Aorus Pro AX​

Asus TUF GAMING B660M-PLUS WIFI D4​

 

JayGilb

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I have one Evox unit. Will I really lose musical information? A friend of mine (from the music industry) told me "we're not in the 90s anymore" - he said music today is recorded across all channels, so that it is well played no matter how many speakers you're using. Is that correct?
It depends on the music/recording. Most music is spread evenly across both channels, especially vocals and bass, but some is panned quite wide and some information could be lost if not summed to mono.

I just wanted to point that out to you.
 
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twsecrest

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Which of these two has a better audio chip?

Gigabyte B660M Aorus Pro AX​

Asus TUF GAMING B660M-PLUS WIFI D4​

Both use Realtek on-board audio, but do not list the model number, so nothing outstanding about the audio. Roughy equal in quality, I guess.
 

DownUnderGazza

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I own a pair of RCF Evox J8’s.
I’d never connect a single ended (RCA) source to a balanced powered pro speaker. The likelihood of noise, interference or accidentally driving them at full volume is too great.
I use either my Focusrite Scarlet 2/4 or Allen & Heath ZEDi-8, as intermediary monitor controllers. USB in, balanced XLR cables to the J8’s and a nice big volume control knob or slider.
 

AnalogSteph

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Which of these two has a better audio chip?

Gigabyte B660M Aorus Pro AX​

Asus TUF GAMING B660M-PLUS WIFI D4​

Both are listed with ALC897. You can't buy the Gigabyte around here yet, but I suspect it may end up being a bit more expensive than the Asus going by the price of other Aorus Pro series boards... beefier VRM and bigger BIOS chip, too.
 
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