PC Motherboard ROG SupremeFX7.1 (DAC ESS® ES9023P) versus Audioengine HD6 (AKM AK4396A DAC)

[Mark with a K]

Q: What is the quality of this stage?
A: This is only what I can find in the tech specs on the ASUS website of the audio from the motherboard:

ROG SupremeFX7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking, up to 24-Bit/192kHz playback
- Dedicated audio PCB layers
- Unique de-pop circuit
- Audio Cover
- Premium Japanese audio capacitors
- Power pre-regulator: Reduces power input noise to ensure consistent performance
- Impedance sense for front and rear headphone outputs
- High quality120dBSNR stereo playback outputand113dBSNR recording input
- ESS® ES9023P
- Supports up to 32-Bit/192kHz playback
Audio Feature :
- SupremeFX Shielding™ Technology
- Gold-plated jacks
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
* Due to limitations in HDA bandwidth, 32-Bit/192kHz is not supported for 8-Channel audio.

From the Audioengine HD6 speakers I can not find to many detailled tech spec's on their website. I guess the HD6 have the same integrated DAC tech spec's as the Audioengine D1: https://audioengineusa.com/product_tech_specs/d1-24-bit-dac-headphone-amp/

 

[Mark with a K]

Toslink jitter is nothing more than red herring, if the jitter is high enough you get drop out and clicks. Yes, if you measure it in a clean environment like what Amir did in his reviews, Toslink is often inferior when the DAC chip itself or the DAC PCB does not have additional reclocking circuitry, but the reality is that jitter is correlated to signal strength but ground loop is not. Things like -100dB spikes in J-Tests look distracting but you are not listening to a 1/4 sample rate high amplitude tone, you listen to sounds with full spectrum, so all these jitter components fall into the noise floor and masked by psychoacoustics anyway.

Ground loop on the other hand is not correlated to the signal, when the signal is weak, it becomes audible. It has nothing to do with product specs, it depends on how you chain different pieces of audio equipment together, so product specs mean nothing.

Guess I just have to wait than till I get the new PC and test both connections to the speakers..

 

[Doodski]

Guess I just have to wait than till I get the new PC and test both connections to the speakers..

Yes, try them both and make sure you compare the EQ when ON and OFF. I'm pretty sure you'll want that EQ ability. If your motherboard uses Sonic Studio 3 here's the link. It's tricky to find if you are not aware of it.

 

[Mark with a K]

Correction: the above is not to eliminate 'Toslink jitter', but to eliminate (potential) jitter from the analog connection cable to connect from the PC soundcard to the speakers. So it is probably better to use the integrated DAC from the speakers using the Toslink (optical) connection to prevent this..

 

[bennetng]

Perhaps you can edit your post so that your "correction" is not inside a quote box of mine. Otherwise it may look like I wrote it.
Basically, you own speakers with toslink input and it depends on how the DAC inside the speaker to handle the jitter.
Your "correction" is actually incorrect, jitter happens in digital to analog conversion, so the jitter is embedded into the analog signal right after digital to analog conversion, before leaving the motherboard. The analog connection to the speaker can only add analog distortion like ground loop or other forms of electrical noise, but not jitter.

 

[Mark with a K]

Perhaps you can edit your post so that your "correction" is not inside a quote box of mine. Otherwise it may look like I wrote it.
Basically, you own speakers with toslink input and it depends on how the DAC inside the speaker to handle the jitter.
Your "correction" is actually incorrect, jitter happens in digital to analog conversion, so the jitter is embedded into the analog signal right after digital to analog conversion, before leaving the motherboard. The analog connection to the speaker can only add analog distortion like ground loop or other forms of electrical noise, but not jitter.

OK, I understand the analog connection could potentially add analog distortion like ground loop or other forms of electrical noise (so it's not called jitter). So to conclude: it would be better for me to use the toslink optical connection over the analog connection as this is a better (lossless) quality connection right? (assuming both DAC's have the same audio quality)

 

[bennetng]

OK, I understand the analog connection could potentially add analog distortion like ground loop or other forms of electrical noise (so it's not called jitter). So to conclude: it would be better for me to use the toslink optical connection over the analog connection as this is a better (lossless) quality connection right?

Yes, unless the DAC in your speakers is a total garbage, with significantly poorer performance than the one on the motherboard.
Amir measured some motherboards and the measured performance is quite different from product specs, like this one, also mentioned the use of ESS Sabre chip as well:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...te-z390-aorus-motherboard-audio-review.13083/
However, if there is no ground loop or other noise issues, don't be surprised if there is no audible difference, with level matched comparison.

 

[Mark with a K]

Yes, unless the DAC in your speakers is a total garbage, with significantly poorer performance than the one on the motherboard.
Amir measured some motherboards and the measured performance is quite different from product specs, like this one, also mentioned the use of ESS Sabre chip as well:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...te-z390-aorus-motherboard-audio-review.13083/
However, if there is no ground loop or other noise issues, don't be surprised if there is no audible difference, with level matched comparison.

I assume the DAC in the HD6 speakers is the same as the Audioengine D1 DAC (I can not find any confirmation of this on the audioengine website). So I guess this should be better than the ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero DAC...

 

[Bachhu bhai]

I just bought a new PC with a ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero motherboard that includes soundcard: ROG Supreme FX7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC with DAC ESS® ES9023P. And supports up to 32-Bit/192kHz playback.

Now I also have the Audioengine HD6 spreakers that include a AKM AK4396A DAC. These support only 24-Bit/192kHz playback.

Should I 'technically' get better audio quality if I connect the speakers with the motherboard DAC (ESS ES9023P), or connect to the Audioengine HD6 speakers DAC (AKM AK4396A) using the Toslink optical connection?

Tech specs links:
https://rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-crosshair/rog-crosshair-viii-dark-hero-model/spec/

https://audioengineusa.com/product_tech_specs/hd6-wireless-speakers/

.

I have recently assembled pc with same Mobo rog viii dark hero x570 windows 11 ed. But on selecting audio bit/sample rates anything above 48khz cause constant hissing sound only from front panel right channel headphone audio (white noise really very annoying like in old school TV when no channel is perceived) my rear audio is working perfectly fine no issue when connecting headphones in rear audio output with selecting any sample/bit rates.
The question is-
Is my Mobo is faulty or this issue is present in all rog viii dark hero...??
My specs:
Crosshair Rog viii dark hero x570
Ryzen 5900x
Rtx 3090
32gb corsair 3600mhz
1050w mwe v2 coolermaster
Pls help me guys...

 

[ThatM1key]

I have recently assembled pc with same Mobo rog viii dark hero x570 windows 11 ed. But on selecting audio bit/sample rates anything above 48khz cause constant hissing sound only from front panel right channel headphone audio (white noise really very annoying like in old school TV when no channel is perceived) my rear audio is working perfectly fine no issue when connecting headphones in rear audio output with selecting any sample/bit rates.
The question is-
Is my Mobo is faulty or this issue is present in all rog viii dark hero...??
My specs:
Crosshair Rog viii dark hero x570
Ryzen 5900x
Rtx 3090
32gb corsair 3600mhz
1050w mwe v2 coolermaster
Pls help me guys...

It could be a few reasons. Usually if a system is underload, the audio quality suffers (PCIe Soundcards & MB Built in sound chips). Your front audio jacks & wires are usually made very very poorly, unshielded & all. Since you mentioned that the rear outputs output fine that confirms, its just a computer case problem not a motherboard problem. I would just use your rear output jacks & not worry about the front panel.

 

[Bachhu bhai]

It could be a few reasons. Usually if a system is underload, the audio quality suffers (PCIe Soundcards & MB Built in sound chips). Your front audio jacks & wires are usually made very very poorly, unshielded & all. Since you mentioned that the rear outputs output fine that confirms, its just a computer case problem not a motherboard problem. I would just use your rear output jacks & not worry about the front panel.

I've tested when pc is idle not under any load
I have just replaced HD audio cable with shielded ones it completely removed emi noise.
But on selecting certain bit/sample rates causes the problem...
16/24/32bit above 48khz causes loud hissing only from front I/o right headphone, left channel is completely normal with or without system load on any bit or sample rates... This is weird

FYI
My case is masterframe 700 (coolermaster)
Which came with unshielded HD audio cable which I have already replaced with shielded one.
EMI issue is gone but above mentioned issue still persists.

 

[ThatM1key]

I've tested when pc is idle not under any load
I have just replaced HD audio cable with shielded ones it completely removed emi noise.
But on selecting certain bit/sample rates causes the problem...
16/24/32bit above 48khz causes loud hissing only from front I/o right headphone, left channel is completely normal with or without system load on any bit or sample rates... This is weird

FYI
My case is masterframe 700 (coolermaster)
Which came with unshielded HD audio cable which I have already replaced with shielded one.
EMI issue is gone but above mentioned issue still persists.

Maybe your Front Panel Header is broken, I don't know what else to tell you. Maybe you could reinstall drivers. Like I said earlier you could just use the rear outputs and buy an extension cable.

 

[Doodski]

I have recently assembled pc with same Mobo rog viii dark hero x570 windows 11 ed. But on selecting audio bit/sample rates anything above 48khz cause constant hissing sound only from front panel right channel headphone audio (white noise really very annoying like in old school TV when no channel is perceived) my rear audio is working perfectly fine no issue when connecting headphones in rear audio output with selecting any sample/bit rates.
The question is-
Is my Mobo is faulty or this issue is present in all rog viii dark hero...??
My specs:
Crosshair Rog viii dark hero x570
Ryzen 5900x
Rtx 3090
32gb corsair 3600mhz
1050w mwe v2 coolermaster
Pls help me guys...

On my ASUS ROG STRIX Z370E the front and rear headphone jacks have separate circuitry for amplification. How old is your motherboard? Maybe the motherboard has a issue.

 

[Doodski]

This details the configuration of the front and rear audio outputs and how they may play different stuff at the same time. Therefore one can be bad and the other good.

 

[Bachhu bhai]

On my ASUS ROG STRIX Z370E the front and rear headphone jacks have separate circuitry for amplification. How old is your motherboard? Maybe the motherboard has a issue.

My Mobo is pretty new you can find specs below

ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero | Motherboard | ROG India

AMD Ryzen 3000 series ATX motherboard with Aura Sync, SupremeFX, ROG Audio, Dual M.2, Realtek LAN, Wifi , M.2 heatsink and USB 3.2 Gen 2

rog.asus.com

I don't know if Mobo has different or same amp circuitry...

 

[Doodski]

My Mobo is pretty new you can find specs below

ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero | Motherboard | ROG India

AMD Ryzen 3000 series ATX motherboard with Aura Sync, SupremeFX, ROG Audio, Dual M.2, Realtek LAN, Wifi , M.2 heatsink and USB 3.2 Gen 2

rog.asus.com

I don't know if Mobo has different or same amp circuitry...

Hmmz. I found this.>

- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking.

So it appears that the front and rear have independent headphone amps.
Have you contacted your retailer or ASUS tech support for your country?
I think you have a motherboard issue.
Providing you uninstalled and reinstalled the sound driver, checked the settings and there is no change in the issue then it's the motherboard.
If it is very new the retailer might have a ~30 day replacement policy otherwise it is ASUS that will replace the motherboard.

I downloaded the manual for your model of motherboard and it states this.>
So it has independent front and rear audio amplifier circuitry.

 

[urfaust]

In my experience with very sensible iem the difference between my rog audio output (maximus code motherboard) and a topping d30 pro is night and day, i could sort them out blind very easily, if not only for the noise level that is extremely obvious. As said by others there s an analog stage on those and i bet it's absolutely terrible. Only worse is the analog headphone out of my panasonic tv but pretty similar to the rog output.

 

[Bachhu bhai]

Hmmz. I found this.>

- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking.

So it appears that the front and rear have independent headphone amps.
Have you contacted your retailer or ASUS tech support for your country?
I think you have a motherboard issue.
Providing you uninstalled and reinstalled the sound driver, checked the settings and there is no change in the issue then it's the motherboard.
If it is very new the retailer might have a ~30 day replacement policy otherwise it is ASUS that will replace the motherboard.

I downloaded the manual for your model of motherboard and it states this.>
So it has independent front and rear audio amplifier circuitry.
View attachment 168796

I installed windows 10 & 11 tried different versions of audio driver updated/downgraded BIOS but still no luck.
in my country, ASUS tech support is talk like noobs, they keep on transferring calls and mails but didn't try to understand what I'm trying to say.
I Get good quality audio if I select a sample rate below 48khz but above this, it is totally a mess only with the right channel.

 

[Doodski]

I installed windows 10 & 11 tried different versions of audio driver updated/downgraded BIOS but still no luck.
in my country, ASUS tech support is talk like noobs, they keep on transferring calls and mails but didn't try to understand what I'm trying to say.
I Get good quality audio if I select a sample rate below 48khz but above this, it is totally a mess only with the right channel.

I can select any bit rate or sample rate and there is no issue on my ASUS Z370E. There is no noise issue or anything.

 

[Bachhu bhai]

I can select any bit rate or sample rate and there is no issue on my ASUS Z370E. There is no noise issue or anything.

I recently contacted Asus service they told me that they will only replace my mobo box to box if it is within 7 days from the date of purchase otherwise they will exchange with another mobo which is used by someone but submitted within the warranty period due to some issue {the repaired ones} they keeps on repairing and cycle them from customer to another customer which is really bad.

btw thanks for your support.