Which Realtek audio codec is the most powerful and advanced?

[SandyBay]

I am an audiophile. I have very expensive and advanced audio devices. I have Sennheiser HD 800 S, HyperX ProCast, Edifier AirPulse A200. I am concerned with buying a motherboard with the best audio codec for my devices. I don't care about price at all, I care only about specs. Which Realtek audio codec is the most powerful and advanced?

[mariushm]

ALC1200 and ALC1220 are the most common high end and will have about the same analogue performance

ALC1220 is technically better, as it has a front panel headphone amplifier capable of driving 600 ohm speaker, but lots of high end motherboards will have their own high end opamps for headphone amplifier purposes so the sound quality may be even better than plain ALC1220

 

From Igor's labs : Realtek ALC1200 demystified - what really distinguishes the entry-level sound chip from the larger ALC1220 | igor'sLAB

 

The ALC1200 offers a maximum of ten DAC channels, which simultaneously support 7.1-channel playback, as well as two independent stereo output channels (multi-streaming) via the stereo output on the front panel (HD audio) with up to 110 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

 

The ALC1220-VB is also a SoC and high fidelity multi-channel audio codec with a bi-lingual interface, supporting High Definition Audio 1.0a and the industry standard I2S and I2C. The ALC1220-VB also offers DRM, 10 DAC channels and two channels for multiple streaming. However, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the front panel is now even up to 120 dB, i.e. 10 dB more. There are also three instead of only two stereo ADCs integrated and the line-in offers up to 110 dB SNR instead of the 102 dB of the smaller ALC 1200.

DRM is also not an issue, but the ALC1220-VB also has a Direct-Stream Digital (DSD) decoder and encoder to enjoy DSD stream content and create your own DSD streams with minimal quality loss due to DA and AD converters. The headphone amplifier at Port-D (front panel) is a so-called capacitor-free connector, which eliminates the need for an external coupling capacitor and ensures less distortion and fewer pop effects. This headphone amplifier at port D has a high output voltage of up to 2.1 Vrms and can drive high impedance headphones (up to 600 Ω), which is not possible with the ALC1200.

 

There's some newer Realtek audio chip, mostly on Intel motherboards, but I didn't do research on it but I doubt it's better for analogue quality

 

For example MSI Z790 MEG Ace has a Realtek ALC4082 paired with a ES9280 DAC ( digital to analogue) which supposedly is better for headphones.

The ALC4082  is basically ALC1220 but with input a USB 2.0 connection instead of HDA / whatever is traditionally used, so in theory higher throughput, digital etc etc

See for more details this : https://www.igorslab.de/en/the-old-alc4080-on-the-new-intel-boards-demystified-and-the-differences-from-alc1220-insider/

 

The ES9280 claims higher SNR (130dB vs 120dB the Realtek chip would have) : ES9281A_80A_PRO-Product-Brief-v0.2.5.pdf

[Spuriae]

ALC1220, ALC4080 are the best Realtek ones. They're still nowhere the performance of a basic USB DAC/Amp. Motherboards with those codecs will probably get loud enough for most HD800S users though.

 

The circuit design usually has a larger effect on audio quality than the chip itself, and motherboard audio design tends to be pretty terrible regardless of which chips they use.

[weez]

Get an external amp/dac. It will be miles better and you don't have to worry about audio when you upgrade your system. Please don't spend more $ on a motherboard because of the audio chipset. Depending on the components used it can still be trash. Schiit and Topping have good options. Also, audiophiles don't use onboard audio lol

[rice guru]

5 hours ago, SandyBay said:

I am an audiophile. I have very expensive and advanced audio devices. I have Sennheiser HD 800 S, HyperX ProCast, Edifier AirPulse A200. I am concerned with buying a motherboard with the best audio codec for my devices. I don't care about price at all, I care only about specs. Which Realtek audio codec is the most powerful and advanced?

This is a level of gear where getting an external amp/dac will be highly beneficial for you. At least get a $220 schiit stack. It will be way better than any motherboard realtek audio. 

[CTR640]

Motherboard audio is trash. Such audio as you got there are screaming for external audio solutions. Another benefit is, you can take them over to any pc/laptop. 

[Psittac]

9 hours ago, weez said:

Also, audiophiles don't use onboard audio lol

I didn't think audiophiles usually refer to themselves as such, there's usually someone who has something better, or has better meat behind the hardware.

 

Myself I am an audio enthusiast, I'm old enough that my meat isn't the greatest, probably wasn't helped so much by laying ontop of speakers at clubs when I was young and dumb.  I do have a good deal of money in my audio but with a couple exceptions it's all low/mid tier.  I enjoy trying different thing's and understanding what the real audiophiles talk about.  Shoot it took a specific headphone to teach my melon how to hear imaging, now I can hear imaging on headphones  

 

9 hours ago, rice guru said:

This is a level of gear where getting an external amp/dac will be highly beneficial for you. At least get a $220 schiit stack. It will be way better than any motherboard realtek audio. 

I had to double check, but a schiit stack is about $240 now, inflation/human malware/dac factory burning down all add's up.  Just a few years ago it was $200

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, Psittac said:

I had to double check, but a schiit stack is about $240 now, inflation/human malware/dac factory burning down all add's up.  Just a few years ago it was $200

oh damn your right thankfully there are Cheaper DAc alternatives that sound as good as the modi

[weez]

8 hours ago, Psittac said:

I didn't think audiophiles usually refer to themselves as such, there's usually someone who has something better, or has better meat behind the hardware.

 

Myself I am an audio enthusiast, I'm old enough that my meat isn't the greatest, probably wasn't helped so much by laying ontop of speakers at clubs when I was young and dumb.  I do have a good deal of money in my audio but with a couple exceptions it's all low/mid tier.  I enjoy trying different thing's and understanding what the real audiophiles talk about.  Shoot it took a specific headphone to teach my melon how to hear imaging, now I can hear imaging on headphones  

 

I had to double check, but a schiit stack is about $240 now, inflation/human malware/dac factory burning down all add's up.  Just a few years ago it was $200

Yeah I really don't like the term audiophile. Audio enthusiast is much better. Audiophile is too cringe.

[rice guru]

55 minutes ago, weez said:

Yeah I really don't like the term audiophile. Audio enthusiast is much better. Audiophile is too cringe.

I feel most audio philes claiming it aren't even audiophiles. I'm pretty sure a pretty big qualification for it is making systems as neutral as possible to get as close to what the artist inntended as possible. This is why I disqualified myself cause I really could not care less what the artists intended. 

[SandyBay]

On 4/29/2023 at 11:29 PM, weez said:

Get an external amp/dac. It will be miles better and you don't have to worry about audio when you upgrade your system. Please don't spend more $ on a motherboard because of the audio chipset. Depending on the components used it can still be trash. Schiit and Topping have good options. Also, audiophiles don't use onboard audio lol

 

On 4/30/2023 at 12:17 AM, rice guru said:

This is a level of gear where getting an external amp/dac will be highly beneficial for you. At least get a $220 schiit stack. It will be way better than any motherboard realtek audio. 

I wanna have all my hardware inside my Fulltower PC case.

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, SandyBay said:

 

I wanna have all my hardware inside my Fulltower PC case.

Ah man feels like a waste but if we can't convince you otherwise at least get the best you can get. A evga nu audio pro should be decent. The shielding in most modern soundcards should be good to fend off interference and electrical noise in a PC it can pick up but the value just sucks for these. But if you insist the nu audio pro is there.motherboard audio just straight up isn't worth investing in neither are sound cards but with a headphone as resolving as the hd 800s at least get something decent

[SandyBay]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

Ah man feels like a waste but if we can't convince you otherwise at least get the best you can get. A evga nu audio pro should be decent. The shielding in most modern soundcards should be good to fend off interference and electrical noise in a PC it can pick up but the value just sucks for these. But if you insist the nu audio pro is there.motherboard audio just straight up isn't worth investing in neither are sound cards but with a headphone as resolving as the hd 800s at least get something decent

Evga nu audio pro is unavailable for buying in any country at the moment. Really I prefer external audio cars, but only ones of them which connect via PCIe, not cables.

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, SandyBay said:

Evga nu audio pro is unavailable for buying in any country at the moment. Really I prefer external audio cars, but only ones of them which connect via PCIe, not cables.

Why not USB? USB will give you the same performance for cheaper

[SandyBay]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

Why not USB? USB will give you the same performance for cheaper

USB increases latency of sound + I can't put it into my fulltower case.

[HAL90000]

On 4/29/2023 at 12:08 PM, SandyBay said:

I am an audiophile. I have very expensive and advanced audio devices. I have Sennheiser HD 800 S, HyperX ProCast, Edifier AirPulse A200. I am concerned with buying a motherboard with the best audio codec for my devices. I don't care about price at all, I care only about specs. Which Realtek audio codec is the most powerful and advanced?

You should be asking which desktop amp and dac to get for your headphones IMO. HD 800S isn't something you should plug into a motherboard. You should bare minimum get something like a Fiio K7 if not something more robust from Burson, iFi, etc.. Or even a Fiio K9 but at that price level IMO Burson makes better stuff. If you already have an amp/dac  your on-board audio codec is irrelevant. You just want a clean USB or SPDIF out at that point. The codec will not be used.

[CTR640]

7 hours ago, SandyBay said:

USB increases latency of sound + I can't put it into my fulltower case.

Who told you that? Only wireless increases latency. 

 

You're limiting yourself big time and HD800S is not a headphone you want to use with abomination onboard audio. No one in their right mind would do that, ever. I don't know the exact reason to have all your hardware inside a fulltower pc but that goes for keyboard, mouse and monitor to be there too. 

[rice guru]

8 hours ago, SandyBay said:

USB increases latency of sound + I can't put it into my fulltower case.

That's not how that works. Both pcie and USB solutions have latency. Both latency is basically about the same if not less than your mouse latency. The only time anyone ever notices audio latency is when their recording vocals and monitoring themselves other wise audio latency in gaming is negligible and pointless to avoid. At this point your limiting yourself and will end up with worse sounding audio which is more detrimental to the amount of money you spent on those headphones and not being able to get the most out of them you can by getting worse audio gear. This is more detrimental to your setup than the latency that a DAC has through USB. Which again is negligible.

[SandyBay]

On 5/3/2023 at 7:16 PM, CTR640 said:

Who told you that?

ChatGPT

On 5/3/2023 at 7:16 PM, CTR640 said:

I don't know the exact reason to have all your hardware inside a fulltower pc

All my hardware is a top and an enthusiast level. I like the feeling kinda like: "My pc is super duper powerful", not "My pc is not really powerful, but with some stuff near to it, it's super duper powerful". Kinda like cloud gaming. Your PC is a garbage, but server of your could gaming provider is pretty good. When you're playing games you see great graphics and a lot of FPS, but your PC is a garbage seamlessly.

On 5/3/2023 at 8:37 PM, rice guru said:

The only time anyone ever notices audio latency is when their recording vocals and monitoring themselves other wise audio latency in gaming is negligible and pointless to avoid.

When I watch a movie or any video and I people open their mouths and only for a while my speakers play their speeches it's frustrating.

On 5/3/2023 at 8:37 PM, rice guru said:

At this point your limiting yourself and will end up with worse sounding audio which is more detrimental to the amount of money you spent on those headphones and not being able to get the most out of them you can by getting worse audio gear. This is more detrimental to your setup than the latency that a DAC has through USB. Which again is negligible.

Bro, I can tell you some thing which is hard to believe, but it's true. I didn't buy all my devices for real money, <removed>  So this internet store doesn't have any DACs. It's a single reason I don't have one. But this internet store has Asus Strix Raid Pro and Asus Xonar U7 MKII. But I read bad reviews about Asus Strix Raid Pro and Asus Xonar U7 MKII must be outside my case, not inside + it doesn't have optical output, it has S/PDIF but only for coaxial cables.

Edited May 6, 2023 by SansVarnic
Removed content.

[rice guru]

On 5/4/2023 at 3:33 AM, SandyBay said:

ChatGPT

Don't use everything chap got tells you as cold hard truth it's a chat bot. Chat gpt doesn't have a fact checker and it's too unfiltered to provide everything useful. Do proper research. 

 

On 5/4/2023 at 3:33 AM, SandyBay said:

Bro, I can tell you some thing which is hard to believe, but it's true. I didn't buy all my devices for real money,  <removed> So this internet store doesn't have any DACs. It's a single reason I don't have one. But this internet store has Asus Strix Raid Pro and Asus Xonar U7 MKII. But I read bad reviews about Asus Strix Raid Pro and Asus Xonar U7 MKII must be outside my case, not inside + it doesn't have optical output, it has S/PDIF but only for coaxial cables

Then at that point get the one with the best reviews I dont know.  Again when it comes to audio outside of your case is a good thing. It's good for avoiding noise in the system and latency legit doesn't matter. 

Edited May 6, 2023 by SansVarnic
Removed content.

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, SandyBay said:

When I watch a movie or any video and I people open their mouths and only for a while my speakers play their speeches it's frustrating

Sounds like you have a deeper problem with either your motherboard or your speakers are bad. I have way too many DACs all USB and I don't get this at all. 

[SandyBay]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

Then at that point get the one with the best reviews

Do you think they are better than ALC1220 or ALC4080?

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

It's good for avoiding noise in the system

Do you mean a noise from fans?

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

latency legit doesn't matter

It's important.

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

Sounds like you have a deeper problem with either your motherboard or your speakers are bad.

I have great modern enthusiast level speakers and motherboard. I experience this issue only when I down of video speed in several times to test latency.

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, SandyBay said:

Do you think they are better than ALC1220 or ALC4080?

yes

 

2 hours ago, SandyBay said:

It's important

again its literally unnoticeable in most USB DACS.

 

2 hours ago, SandyBay said:

I have great modern enthusiast level speakers and motherboard. I experience this issue only when I down of video speed in several times to test latency.

IF you have to go that far that mean your not noticing it under normal operations. there is no lower latency than your motherboard itself and PCIE and and USB latency will depend entirely on the device you have connected to the USB or PCIE and the motherboard. in most cases pcie and USB DACs will have the same latency. yes latency matters but if you get a DAC with low latency which is literally almost all modern DACS. only a few exceptions. your good. I doubt your better than someone like shroud. shroud uses a G pro X which he uses with a  USB DAC. cause he knows what matters in comp gaming. skill. fighting latency this hard will waste more time and money than it's worth

[SandyBay]

18 minutes ago, rice guru said:

yes

How much?

28 minutes ago, rice guru said:

IF you have to go that far that mean your not noticing it under normal operations. there is no lower latency than your motherboard itself and PCIE and and USB latency will depend entirely on the device you have connected to the USB or PCIE and the motherboard

ChatGPT said USB has a big latency for sound.

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, SandyBay said:

How much?

Hard to quantify unless I have access to both and have measurement instruments to tell me. If Asus were at all a competent company at making soundcards you should be able to tell a difference easily.

1 hour ago, SandyBay said:

ChatGPT said USB has a big latency for sound.

Again don't use chat gpt as fact. Literally google it yourself and find the answers using different sources. This is what we call research please do that. Chat bots like chat gpt don't have fact checkers therefore are unreliable.