Onboard Audio

Matthew Hunt · 10 Feb 2023 at 21:16

Not sure if this is being posted in the correct place.

But looking into motherboards and there is several variants of the Realtek onboard audio and I trying to find the answers online seems a bit vague.

There are several difference chipsets with what appears to be the ALC1200 the latest model with the ALC1220 the better of the two chips which seem to be available.
There are also the Realtek ALC887/897, which I understand are older chips which are no longer used except in budget motherboards.
There is also an ALC4080 chip which seems to come on very high end ASUS boards, so assume this is the very top chip.

This is my understanding, but just asking if anyone in the know, knows what is the correct list of which are the best Realtek chips and what sort of order they go in.

Tetras · 10 Feb 2023 at 22:23

Audio really isn't my thing, but these were the best articles I could find.

ALC4080 v ALC1220

"So what’s different? The technical parameters are strikingly similar and there is no audible difference. At least not in a first blind tasting with a Beyerdynamic T5 on port D. This is also an important finding. If the ALC1220 has been enough for you so far, you will also like the ALC4080, otherwise the same problem will arise. So in terms of sound, it’s not an advance, it’s just an adjustment in how the chip is connected. Interface cinema, instead of evolution in sound."

The Realtek ALC4080 on the new Intel boards demystified and the differences to the ALC1220 | Insider | igor´sLAB

The Realtek ALC4080, which was launched in 2020, can now be found as a sound solution on many new mid-range and high-end Intel boards without the customer really knowing what’s behind it.

www.igorslab.de

ALC1200 v ALC1220

"The ALC is better than its reputation, but has some distinct disadvantages. The codec itself is absolutely ok and you will find at most a slightly higher noise floor in a blind test, but this depends strongly on the external circuitry and the selected gain. It is also a modern chip, whereby it is of course exactly one price and performance class below the ALC1220. The latter can also be used with higher impedance headphones, at least in the front audio, which definitely doesn’t work with the ALC1200.

As an end user, you can do without protocols such as I2S and I2C if necessary. The fact that DSD is completely missing is rather annoying in some situations. Then you might benefit from, say… the Nubert nuPro X-3200 is also nothing, because they could do that, but don’t get it delivered. But those who use the digital output or USB will generally not notice any difference, DSD and other sophistries are left out. Then it remains rather the question which third party software up to DTS is still supported. However, this is then a pure license question by the board manufacturer and not a hardware feature of the ALC1200."

Realtek ALC1200 demystified - what really distinguishes the entry-level sound chip from the larger ALC1220 | igor´sLAB

One finds the Realtek ALC1200 very often on beginner and mid-range motherboards, and if you google once or interpret the swarm intelligence of the relevant forums, there is also a frightening amount…

www.igorslab.de

theforce · 16 Feb 2023 at 23:42

In general, l stay away from onboard solutions regardless of the chip used. The same chip can sound better or worse depending on what motherboard it's on. The Realtek S1220A can be found on entry-level dedicated audio cards like the Asus Xonar SE.

Rroff · 16 Feb 2023 at 23:59

Onboard audio is a very mixed bag with a lot depending on the implementation layout wise and component selection, I've several PCs/laptops which use the 1200/1220 - on some systems it is a bit susceptible to picking up interference when the CPU or GPU, sometimes storage, is under heavy load. Some implementations though sound high quality are also kind of dull and especially in music can sound "uninvolved or indifferent" for want of a better way to describe it (probably use cheap electrolytic capacitors in the audio path), while other implementations are largely transparent.

digitaldreams · 2 Apr 2023 at 08:44

I've always steered clear of onboard audio due to quality/noise issues. Currently using a Soundblaster AE-7 with its handy external volume control.

SkyTerran · 5 Apr 2023 at 01:10

The onboard audio chip is mostly a marketing trick. If you want basic decent on-board audio look for a motherboard with a shielded audio line. If you want proper PC audio get a good USB DAC.