Is the case the most important audio device ?

[nagual]

Contrary to mainstream, I belive the central question in computer audio today, is not onboard X dedicated, but noise, in all its instances,  because if the noise floor is audible it´s gonna spoil the quality of the audio wherever it comes from.  Not to stay in the realm of the endless theoretical discussions,  I propose a litle experiment: Check your MB and see if it has washers between the screws and the board (in the metallic holes)...If so remove them. Tighten all the screws that fix the motherboard to the case  (I´ve donne it with my fingers),  the psu to the case, and the covers of the case .  The goal is to increase the grounding of your pc,  lowering the noise floor.  If you succeed, you must heard loudness increase, and "quality" improvement. At least, this was what happened to me.
For more details:
http://www.pcmus.com/power-grounding.htm#How%20can%20I%20fix%20/%20improve%20my%20Grounding%20to%20stop%20problems%20for%20good.

 

[leeperry]

the root problem of internal soundcards is shared grounds, all but a few(latest Auzen have a switch to either share or isolate the grounds and the Asus Essence) share the chassis ground and the audio ground, so all the noise from the GPU/HDD/CPU ends up into the analog output. tighening mobo scews ain't gonna save ya.

 

[nagual]

Quote:

the root problem of internal soundcards is shared grounds, all but a few(latest Auzen have a switch to either share or isolate the grounds and the Asus Essence) share the chassis ground and the audio ground, so all the noise from the GPU/HDD/CPU ends up into the analog output. tighening mobo scews ain't gonna save ya.

 Well,
first of all, thanks for your feedback !
Although,  I can see,  you,  as Plato,  don´t support empiricism.  Philosophically I´m on the opposite side, as I believe experiment is necessary to knowledge, thence my proposal to "tightening mobo screws".  Even because one have nothing to loose...

 

[leeperry]

well, check out the measurements in those links I posted a while ago: http://www.head-fi.org/t/438160/oooow-pimped-prodigy-hd2-to-the-maxx#post_5904553
 
if you get audible noise out of your internal soundcard, it means that its designers don't have much clue. Check out the cheapo Creative's and the so-called "PCI Noise Killer" in the Prodigy HD2: http://www.head-fi.org/t/438160/oooow-pimped-prodigy-hd2-to-the-maxx#post_5904553
 
Auzen have learned their lessons w/ all the issues on the Forte: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1456895
 
So they've made damn sure to provide a switch on all their newest boards to provide the ability to either share or break the chassis/audio grounds. Asus have used a 4 layers PCB in order to shield the audio path from EMI/RFI interferences and also don't allow the chassis ground to get through. Don't shoot the messenger, you can get noise-free PC audio if the designers know what they're doing. The only real last issue is the high ripple shared SMPS.
 
 

 

[nagual]

leeperry,
 
the efforts made by these manufactors in order to prevent noise,  reinforce the idea that grounding has a critical hole in audio "quality",
I believe,  based in my particular  experience,  the tips I shared here can help reducing noise, free.
That´s it !