[kafebiwa]

Hi,
I have to change motherboard + processor. If anyone can recommend a systemboard (z97 chipset) with a respectable audio without having to buy additional cards?

 

[PurpleAngel]

How much are you willing to budget for a motherboard?
 
My two cents is to get a lower priced Z97 motherboard and also a Sound Blaster Z sound card.

 

[kafebiwa]

  How much are you willing to budget for a motherboard?
 
My two cents is to get a lower priced Z97 motherboard and also a Sound Blaster Z sound card.

 
Thanks for reply. I would like to spend on motherboard max 150$ so this is impossible to buy board + card for additional 100$. That's why I ask about best solution for integrated sound card. I saw that are many kind of sound chip on mobo so maybe someone have experience in different models.

 

[PurpleAngel]

The ALC1150 is about the best on-board audio processor, even better when a separate DAC chip is added to be used along with the ALC1150.
Some higher costing boards will come with Creative Soundcord3D audio processor, and sometimes with an add-on DAC chip.

 

[Bojamijams]

  The ALC1150 is about the best on-board audio processor, even better when a separate DAC chip is added to be used along with the ALC1150.
Some higher costing boards will come with Creative Soundcord3D audio processor, and sometimes with an add-on DAC chip.

 
Any driver issues with Creative's Soundcore3D?  Last I used creative products was back in the days when MIcrosoft decided to drop sound acceleration from directx because creative's drivers were responsible for most blue screens. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
Any driver issues with Creative's Soundcore3D?  Last I used creative products was back in the days when Microsoft decided to drop sound acceleration from DirectX because Creative's drivers were responsible for most blue screens. 

 
I'm more of an Asus Xonar fan, but I'm not hear much about people regretting switching from X-Fi (CMSS-3D) to Z series (SBX) because of driver issues.
Might try asking on the Sound Blaster forum
http://forums.creative.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6

 

[kafebiwa]

  The ALC1150 is about the best on-board audio processor, even better when a separate DAC chip is added to be used along with the ALC1150.
Some higher costing boards will come with Creative Soundcord3D audio processor, and sometimes with an add-on DAC chip.

 Thanks for reply, so I will search mobo with this chipset.

 

[prot]

http://anandtech.com/show/9454/the-msi-z97a-gaming-6-review/3
The Rightmark and DPC numbers are relevant for SQ .. check the tables and choose the best for your needs (price/performance ratio, size, etc). Generally any 2015 MB should sound pretty good, especially the ones with the 1150 chip.

 

[obobskivich]

Any driver issues with Creative's Soundcore3D?  Last I used creative products was back in the days when MIcrosoft decided to drop sound acceleration from directx because creative's drivers were responsible for most blue screens. 

I have both a Recon3D ("first-gen") and Z-series ("second gen") and honestly can say that since getting the Recon3D, I've dumped X-Fi and haven't looked back. The drivers are a significant improvement over X-Fi, and a return to the much more stable and unified drivers found on Audigy (and Creative has actually brought the Audigy back into production quite recently as well). I wouldn't go so far as to blame Creative for the switch to UAA - UAA was proposed and under development long before the release of Windows Vista (or the X-Fi), and was meant to provide a more consistent audio experience for Windows. It did eliminate DirectSound 3D HW (DirectSound still exists under UAA; it just doesn't have h/w acceleration), but Creative's drivers and extensions were not the only (or worst) problem child that Microsoft was seeking to address (and IME, Live! and Audigy were generally not that problematic, especially compared to X-Fi).

As far as motherboards, ASRock's Fatal1ty series may be worth a look, as well as some of the nicer Asus offerings. They all contain "premium audio" solutions of one manner or another (many are ALC1150 based).

 

[Bojamijams]

I have both a Recon3D ("first-gen") and Z-series ("second gen") and honestly can say that since getting the Recon3D, I've dumped X-Fi and haven't looked back. The drivers are a significant improvement over X-Fi, and a return to the much more stable and unified drivers found on Audigy (and Creative has actually brought the Audigy back into production quite recently as well). I wouldn't go so far as to blame Creative for the switch to UAA - UAA was proposed and under development long before the release of Windows Vista (or the X-Fi), and was meant to provide a more consistent audio experience for Windows. It did eliminate DirectSound 3D HW (DirectSound still exists under UAA; it just doesn't have h/w acceleration), but Creative's drivers and extensions were not the only (or worst) problem child that Microsoft was seeking to address (and IME, Live! and Audigy were generally not that problematic, especially compared to X-Fi).

As far as motherboards, ASRock's Fatal1ty series may be worth a look, as well as some of the nicer Asus offerings. They all contain "premium audio" solutions of one manner or another (many are ALC1150 based).

 
Thanks for the indepth reply!
 
Would the motherboard Soundcore3D be the equivalent to the first gen or the second gen in terms of drivers? 

 

[obobskivich]

Thanks for the indepth reply!

Would the motherboard Soundcore3D be the equivalent to the first gen or the second gen in terms of drivers? 

It may be neither - Creative has released a UAA software package that provides similar functionality to the external SoundCore USB parts as well, and that may be what the motherboard version uses. If it actually has the SoundCore chipset on-board, it is "first gen" if it has THX, and "second gen" if it has SBX. Neither is bad IME - my guess is that Creative and THX simply split and Creative had to re-brand their stuff, not that there was a significant architectural change.

 

[kafebiwa]

I would like to thank you everyone for help, especially @prot for link to tables. I choose asus z97-pro. Definitely over budget but I found good price in my country for it. Now, I'm waiting for new system board

 

[Ethan Groover]

  I would like to thank you everyone for help, especially @prot for link to tables. I choose asus z97-pro. Definitely over budget but I found good price in my country for it. Now, I'm waiting for new system board

I've built two systems with that board, and it has extremely surprising audio quality/clarity compared to others I have used! Great choice

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Thanks for the in depth reply!
Would the motherboard Soundcore3D be the equivalent to the first gen or the second gen in terms of drivers? 

 
Both the Recon and Z series use the Creative Labs SoundCore3D audio processor.
The SoundCore3D provided all the DAC function on the Recon3D
Creative added a single CS4398 DAC chip to the SB-Z & SB-Zx, which took over (and improved) the DAC function for the headphone and Front speakers
The SB-ZxR comes with three separate add-on DAC chips, PCM17XX series
 
The Recon3D uses THX headphone surround sound, the Z series uses SBX headphone surround sound, I believe SBX software is consider better for headphone surround sound, then THX software.

 

[obobskivich]

Both the Recon and Z series use the Creative Labs SoundCore3D audio processor.
The SoundCore3D provided all the DAC function on the Recon3D
Creative added a single CS4398 DAC chip to the SB-Z & SB-Zx, which took over (and improved) the DAC function for the headphone and Front speakers
The SB-ZxR comes with three separate add-on DAC chips, PCM17XX series

The Recon3D uses THX headphone surround sound, the Z series uses SBX headphone surround sound, I believe SBX software is consider better for headphone surround sound, then THX software.

IME the THX and SBX suites are identical, and as I said it may be a software solution for a motherboard integrated part (they did the same thing with previous Sound Blaster generations). Sound quality wise the Recon3D is perfectly fine as an analog source imho; not sure what problem it's supposed to have though. AFAIK there's no SRC or aliasing problems (at least that I ever encountered), as with much older Sound Blaster cards.