Asus Xonar DGX sound card vs Realtek S1220A codec on Prime-A Z370 Asus MB

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tokeylokey66

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Aug 17, 2017
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Okay... so i have a feeling motherboard onboard sound has come a long way to now. I just bought a xonar dgx sound card to put in my mobo because i felt like 'upgrading'. Little did i know a few months later i would upgrade Motherboards so i can use the 8th gen intel CPU (replacing my old 2500k). New motherboard is Asus Prime-A Z370, which has a bunch of features.

The new board has Realtek S1220A onboard audio. From the website : It also features an unprecedented 120dB signal-to-noise ratio for the stereo line-out and a 113dB SNR for the line-in, providing pristine audio quality. Additionally, a new impedance-sensing circuit automatically adjusts gain to ensure the optimal volume range for your headphones. It uses Crystal Sound 3 as well,
anyways please don't tell me i wasted money on the sound card (I did didn't I?)

When i get the motherboard should get rid of the sound card or install it?
 
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Globespy

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Feb 8, 2017
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Almost all Z370/ALC1220 boards have been plagued by sound problems that is playing the "blame the other guy" game.
Run a search for "popping" or "clicking" audio issues on any z370 board and you will find the same issue on pretty much every board.
For most the Realtek driver make the front panel that most use for headphones unusable.
I have a AsRock Z370 Extreme 4 and an AsRock Z370 Taichi and they both have the same trouble that the Asus Maximus X and all other boards of this type have.
You may be lucky with that board of yours, I have heard some people don't have issues, but it's not the rule.

I haven't had such a rough time with onboard sound for years so I'm going with the DGX since I mostly game using a high quality set of headphones (not gaming trash).
I don't use any of the fake surround sound as it's gimmicky and since I won't be plugging in a surround sound system (I have a dedicated home theater with 7.2 surround for that) the DGX will be perfect for gaming.

I was going to get the more expensive DX or DSX but the DGX has a nice amp for headphones and automatic switching to front panel on the PC case when headphones are plugged in, which is good.

The current realtek software can't tell the difference between desktop speakers plugged into the motherboard at the back of the case or headphones at the front panel.

I'm over onboard sound.
 
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gamerk316

gamerk316

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Jul 8, 2008
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While newer realtek audio codecs have solid SnR ratios (120db is quite good), they still aren't as good as dedicated sound cards in other areas. Also, I find their sound signature to be flat and bland; dedicated sound cards tend to have richer audio.

Note the lower end ASUS cards (DGX, DSX, DX) are getting old at this point; they work on Windows 10, but don't expect a lot of future driver updates. I *think* ASUS has done a product refresh lately, but I'm not sure if there are new options on the low end. In any case, I'd recommend the DGX at the low end, and move all the way to a Creative Sound Blaster Z if you want a more high end option. ASUS Essence II at the top if you have money to splurge and are a dedicated headphone user.
 
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