Anyone else noticed a big jump in mic and audio quality when jumping from a Rampage V Extreme to a Zenith Extreme (Al1150 to SLC1220)

[asim1999]

Has anyone else noticed a big difference in mic and audio quality in general when moving from a board with an ALC1150 codec to an ALC1220/SLC1220?

On my old board i had to boost the mic and it didnt sound great at all, on the new board, it sounds great, everything at default with no boosting.

It sounds like i had got a new mic when in fact its the same Roccat 5.1 Analog headset ive had for 2 years 

Why is this? is it due to a better amp?

[2FA]

I can't really attest to the mic quality difference but I've found the ALC1150 to be not too far off the quality of the Schiit Magni/Modi and it drives my HD 650s pretty well.

 

I will say that I do need boost my mic though with the ALC1150 so I imagine it's better.

[Guest]

My whole foray into DACs was basically because w/ 2x 1080 Tis, the noise from the headphone output was unbearable. It wasn't any better on my Zenith Extreme. Of course now I have headphones I couldn't drive off of onboard anyway.