Which motherboard on board audio is best?

[Alir]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/parts/motherboard/#f=2&c=99&y=1,2&E=1,2&qq=1&u=1&sort=a7

 

How should I decide which motherboard to buy? I'm thinking of choosing based on on board audio because of all the bad things I've heard about sound cards.

 

So which motherboard should I buy?

[Alir]

Or how do I choose which motherboard to buy?

 

And as for which motherboard I should buy: why?

[Archangel1994]

Asus Maximus motherboards have the SupremeFX sound which is pretty good but only slightly better than ALC1150 which can be found on multiple motherboards. Still pretty good though. What is the rest of your build and we will find you a suitable motherboard.

[Alir]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Alir/saved/Twkqqs

 

 

Might change case.

Will probably change PSU also.

And the fans are undecided.

 

Those are pretty irrelevant though.

 

This PC is for gaming, game design, coding, listening to music, watching movies.

The regular stuff.

[runit3]

What's the impedance on your headphones/speakers (if they're not externally powered)?

[Alir]

I have no idea.

But I change headphones/speakers every several months. So I'm looking for something that would last with a built in equaliser which would last a few years. Don't want to purchase sound software, a sound card or an external EQ either.

[Alir]

And I often buy expensive headphones so yuh

 

For listening to music, the currents speakers are cheap but kinda amazing in sound quality(at least compared to my TV which trust me, is worse than anything apple can put together):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trust-Raina-Subwoofer-Speaker-Black/dp/B00AA9TZZW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413987333&sr=8-2&keywords=trust+speakers - then again I don't play with these speakers. My PC can hardly run minecraft.

 

headphones I use now:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LW2UVA4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Headphones I will undoubtedly purchase in the future (I have tried them and they're flawless)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-High-Performance-Foldable-Headset-In-Line/dp/B005LBQ7BY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413987318&sr=8-1&keywords=akg or http://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-K550-High-Performance-Closed-Back-Headphones-Black/dp/B005CNR7B0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413987318&sr=8-2&keywords=akg

 

Any headphones I will purchase for gaming will likely be expensive and or amazing in sound quality - I hate cheap products and most of all cheap or crap audio hardware or software.

 

Hence I want a decent on board audio.

Every board I research seems to have amazing audio... or so their over the top marketing says

[runit3]

I have no idea.

But I change headphones/speakers every several months. So I'm looking for something that would last with a built in equaliser which would last a few years. Don't want to purchase sound software, a sound card or an external EQ either.

Well...that would be the first thing to figure out. If you're running headphones over ~100Ω your board selection will actually matter, anything under that any ALC1150/892 will function fine, it would just be a matter of your personal audio interface preference (software on-board). Although, in any situation make sure the board has a shielded I/O panel if that's where you plan on plugging in your audio devices.

[runit3]

And I often buy expensive headphones so yuh

 

For listening to music, the currents speakers are cheap but kinda amazing in sound quality:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trust-Raina-Subwoofer-Speaker-Black/dp/B00AA9TZZW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413987333&sr=8-2&keywords=trust+speakers - then again I don't play with these speakers. My PC can hardly run minecraft.

 

headphones I use now:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LW2UVA4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Headphones I will undoubtedly purchase in the future (I have tried them and they're flawless)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-High-Performance-Foldable-Headset-In-Line/dp/B005LBQ7BY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413987318&sr=8-1&keywords=akg or http://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-K550-High-Performance-Closed-Back-Headphones-Black/dp/B005CNR7B0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413987318&sr=8-2&keywords=akg

 

Any headphones I will purchase for gaming will likely be expensive and or amazing in sound quality - I hate cheap products and most of all cheap or crap audio hardware or software.

 

Hence why I want a decent on board audio.

Every board I research seems to have amazing audio... or so their over the top marketing says

All of those headphones/buds have low impedance, any board should not have a problem driving them.

Here's a decent Z97 round-up for audio: http://us.hardware.info/reviews/5385/51/19-intel-z97-chipset-motherboards-review-testing-the-new-generation-sound-quality

 

I can vouch for ASUS's Crystal Sound 2, they actual give some power to my G4me Zero's (150Ω), but I would need a sound card to power them properly. You won't run into that issue with the headphones you listed. The audio interface is nice, has a light GUI, and waaay more options than you'll probably ever need. Here's some screen grabs:

[Alir]

Don't motherboards come with audio software for lets say: windows?

 

I always notice an improvement in audio quality using those 'features'

[runit3]

Don't motherboards come with audio software for lets say: windows?

 

I always notice an improvement in audio quality using those 'features'

Motherboards come with drivers for whatever audio device is on the board (usually ALC892 or ALC1150). The driver interface I guess could be described as software, but I'm not aware of any provided MOBO driver or software that would give you anything like what a studio audio suite could do (Soundforge, Premiere, etc.)

 

If all you want is an EQ this is what ASUS has to offer;

 

Every board manufacturer will have a different flavored Realtek driver interface, but I wouldn't describe them as stand alone "software". They should all perform the same basic tasks attributed to the Audio device on board.

[runit3]

IMHO, the choice you make regarding your headphones is far and away the most important choice. If you're buying $200+USD headphones with 100+Ω impedance designed specifically for producing accurate sound you shouldn't need to ever touch an EQ or sound setting unless you're trying to alter the music you're listening to. EQ's are generally used to makeup for a lack of audio quality, not enhance an already high quality track (FLAC or 392kbps).

 

If you're venturing into audiophile territory a sound card is really the only way to go, usually with swappable op-amps and analog output.

 

In terms of MOBO's sound isolation and shielding is the most important thing besides knowing whether or not they would properly power a high impedance driver. ALC892/1150 is only going to give you so much, and studio audio quality it is not, but it is sufficient for 95% of people out there.