[bcasey25raptor]

OK everyone i wanted to find out from you guys what you thought the best integrated audio is, i know realtek is trash but how is conexant, preferably Conexant CX20671 smart audio. i always assumed it sucked as its only available in low end Toshiba laptops(maybe others i didn't look). is this a good card. i noticed it drives my headphones really loud.
 
 
thoughts and opinions? should i get a dac/amp for this card. or is it sufficient?

 

[HardDrive]

I haven't used the CX20671 but I have used Conexant before. I had one in an older desktop that shipped w/o a pci sound card. I was rather happy with it . I did end up putting a audigy (they were still new then). One of the biggest factors for quality of integrated soundcards is the design and layout of the MoBo its on and how they choose have conduits and data lanes travel on the MoBo. Alot of people will tell you integrated sound is complete trash, but thats not entirely true. Some are definately trash because of the MoBo design or because of the way the manufacturer uses the MoBo to fit in what they want on the board can also effect it.  But some are not. Generally speaking in my personal opinion, desktop systems with integrated sound can be a little less noisy (and I mean by a very small difference compared to lappys) because most OEM laptop MoBos try to cram everything onto that board (Sata controller, wifi radio, integrated usb ports, power supply for monitor and vga, etc.) . But that doesn't make that much difference really, or hardly any. I am also willing to bet having your computer's internal drive be a SSD might reduce some of the residual "background" noise if your card is normally has a high noise ratio. Generally when I worked with most integrated laptop soundcards, amping is only required for high imped. HP, if you like your music loud, or trying to drive passive powered speakers. If you wanted to get a cheap DAC/soundcard that will boost SQ I would recommend the Turtle Beach Micro II or Amigo II if you need mic and line out. They run about $25 on amazon. For an actual DAC you would have to spend a bit more. I don't know how the Syba USB DAC (Actually just bought it for the heck of it seeing if it worked, its only $7.60 right now) but some people say that they a pretty good in terms of giving some boost in SQ, they use the C-media 119 chipset if my memory serves me right. So that one is not utter trash. Some people here recommended it for a quick replacement DAC if your on a real tight budget. As I understand its pretty good in its price/performance ratio. http://www.amazon.com/Syba-SD-CM-UAUD-Adapter-C-Media-Chipset/dp/B001MSS6CS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304878844&sr=1-1-catcorr. Micro II and Amigo are on amazon too.
Ultimately what sounds best to you is what is best. That said I my favorite integrated sound card I have got to date has actually been an IDT chip. Realtek is fun to "play" with your media as they generally include a "sound suite" with the card.

 

[TMRaven]

The intelhd audio used in iMacs never seemed too bad.

 

[germanium]

Intel HD audio is considerably better than the old AC97 onboard audio but still falls far short of a real quality soundcard like the Asus Xonar series cards such as the D2/PM or Essense cards. These would clean Intel HD audios clock for sure. I know as I already did direct comparisons between these cards & Intels HD audio & the Intel HD audio lost in a big way. Sounded more conjested & thick like listening with cotton in your ears. Every thing seemed there but the thickness of the sound was unappealing compared to Asuses Xonar cards which sound open & vibrant, no conjestion. If you get some extra money I would definately try to get beyond onboard sound as they all are bad to one degree or anouther. If you are using a laptop you will likely need to go with a USB soundcard such as Asuses U1 or E-mu 0204USB.

 

[TMRaven]

We're talking about integrated audio here, not standalone cards, is it even fair to compare the two?
 
I think his best option is to get an external dac/amp or external dac and then amp.

 

[germanium]

Quote:

We're talking about integrated audio here, not standalone cards, is it even fair to compare the two?
 
I think his best option is to get an external dac/amp or external dac and then amp.

I was merely suggesting the same thing as you but giving my reason why. Because performance in real audible terms is better. How is that a problem? I don't think it's a problem myself.
 
 

 

[WrxSTI]

Quote:

Intel HD audio is considerably better than the old AC97 onboard audio but still falls far short of a real quality soundcard like the Asus Xonar series cards such as the D2/PM or Essense cards. These would clean Intel HD audios clock for sure. I know as I already did direct comparisons between these cards & Intels HD audio & the Intel HD audio lost in a big way. Sounded more conjested & thick like listening with cotton in your ears. Every thing seemed there but the thickness of the sound was unappealing compared to Asuses Xonar cards which sound open & vibrant, no conjestion. If you get some extra money I would definately try to get beyond onboard sound as they all are bad to one degree or anouther. If you are using a laptop you will likely need to go with a USB soundcard such as Asuses U1 or E-mu 0204USB.

Back when I had the Z-5500, even its DAC sounded better than the ALC889, and that's what I'm currently forced to use. Need a balanced output DAC for these awesome monitors.
 

 

[Xymordos]

I have conexant hd on my thinkpad x200s
Compared to E7 its just noisier with deeper (and more) bass but less impact. Its also slightly farty. But cant really tell a difference in the treble. IMO conexant stands out more in the treble.Plays back on 192/24 too! Pretty good for an integrated i must say

 

[TMRaven]

Quote:

I was merely suggesting the same thing as you but giving my reason why. Because performance in real audible terms is better. How is that a problem? I don't think it's a problem myself.
 
 

It is not a problem, there's nothing wrong with recommending a better audio solution to the topic creator.  Both you and I recommended he go the same route.  The original post wanted people's experiences with what they thought was the best integrated audio, and I gave it.  Giving an opinion on best integrated audio is vastly different than comparing integrated audio to after-market sound cards.

 

[ninjikiran]

If your using cheap headphones, the audio out on todays onboard solution are head and shoulders above the previous generation.  It wasn't like popping in an SB Audigy for the first time and really hearing a huge improvement even over LQ MP3's even with cheapo headphones.
 
Even with mid-end headphones if your system is not very noisy you won't get as huge an improvement by jumping to an actual sound card IN MY OPINION.

 

[TMRaven]

After jumping from intel hd audio to the hrt music streamer II, I'm not noticing that huge a difference-- or even a decent difference, between it and the music streamer.  The major advantage is having a much more efficient amp and no background noise while computer things are happening, but purely musical wise, it's real hard to tell.
 
I'm going to be getting a proper rca and maybe a proper usb (if that even exists) to see what I can do.