[sherazuk]

Hardware: Asus Prime Z270-A featuring Crystal Sound 3 - Realtek S1220A, Windows 10
Realtek Drivers: Via Asus Drivers page (Realtek Audio Driver V6.0.1.8273)

I've had a falling out with my onboard audio gear recently due to not sounding quiet right. In short, I came across a software called RightMark Audio Analyzer (audio.rightmark.org), given they have a free version I thought i'd give it a try. My findings were surprising..

Test	WINDOWS DEFAULT DRIVER	REALTEK DRIVER
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:​	+0.00, -0.01	+1.90, -2.06
Noise level, dB (A):​	-90.6	-101.3
Dynamic range, dB (A):​	91.3	101.0
THD, %:​	0.00139	0.00139
IMD + Noise, %:​	0.00810	0.018
Stereo crosstalk, dB:​	-82.8	-87.3

I would be very great full if experienced members could throw some commentary on the graphs to better digest, and some advise maybe.

 

[castleofargh]

Your measurement seems to show the realtek part using a much higher sample rate and higher bit depth, while the Win drivers were apparently measured at 16/44.1kHz. No idea if the drivers somehow caused a reset of windows setting that you had, or if you picked different setting yourself in RMAA between the measurements? But it would be worth trying again with both at the same sample rate and bit depth(out of curiosity, because you're probably fine forgetting all about this and just using your actual driver ^_^).

The frequency response does seem to be EQed, that part doesn't leave much to imagination. Did you check in the realtek interface that no EQ was set by default? and if so, if you can disable it?

 

[sherazuk]

Your measurement seems to show the realtek part using a much higher sample rate and higher bit depth, while the Win drivers were apparently measured at 16/44.1kHz. No idea if the drivers somehow caused a reset of windows setting that you had, or if you picked different setting yourself in RMAA between the measurements? But it would be worth trying again with both at the same sample rate and bit depth(out of curiosity, because you're probably fine forgetting all about this and just using your actual driver ^_^).

The frequency response does seem to be EQed, that part doesn't leave much to imagination. Did you check in the realtek interface that no EQ was set by default? and if so, if you can disable it?

Thanks for you response. I've carried another set of test as suggest. The EQ for Realtek was set to default (no EQ)...

EDIT: I'm re-installing the Realtek drivers to double double check...

 

[sherazuk]

So i've reinstalled the Asus recommended drivers ensured EQ was off .

​

Test	[MME] Speakers (Realtek High Definiti	Windows Drivers
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:​	+1.90, -2.06	+0.00, -0.01
Noise level, dB (A):​	-108.5	-90.6
Dynamic range, dB (A):​	111.2	91.3
THD, %:​	0.00174	0.00139
IMD + Noise, %:​	0.00378	0.00810
Stereo crosstalk, dB:​	-90.3	-82.8

 

[castleofargh]

So the driver enables both the change in resolution and the apparent EQ despite pretending not to have any. That's strange(or lame). Could it be that the driver adds some extra Asus stuff for audio and they are causing the signature change? Maybe if the Asus driver is much bigger than the generic one that's what happens, although I'm completely guessing and have no idea if that's the case or if Asus even has extra audio crapwares to begin with. I just don't remember reading about Realtek faking to turn off the EQ, that was more a habit of Beat by Dre stuff. That's why I'm thinking of something else being added beside Realtek's own drivers and UI. but honestly I'm too much of a noob when it comes to soundcards.

You can probably change the resolution in Windows settings for that soundcard. I still believe that it should take care of most and probably all the differences in noise, dynamic range, etc, that you're measuring. But the frequency response is more annoying. If you can't find what applies it, it's not worth trying to keep that driver at all.

 

[sherazuk]

Can i throw some measurements from the ADI-2 DAC for comparison..
Sampling mode: 24-bit, 192 kHz

Test	[MME] Realtek Digital Output ADI-2 DAC (via Optical)	[MME] Analog ADI-2 DAC (via USB)	[MME] Oboard Audio Windows Drivers	[MME] Speakers Realtek Driver
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:​	+0.05, -0.03	+0.05, -0.06	+0.00, -0.01	+1.90, -2.06
Noise level, dB (A):​	-93.3	-90.9	-90.6	-101.3
Dynamic range, dB (A):​	92.7	87.8	91.3	101.0
THD, %:​	0.00231	0.00535	0.00139	0.00139
IMD + Noise, %:​	0.00574	0.012	0.00810	0.018
Stereo crosstalk, dB:​	-86.3	-78.2	-82.8	-87.3

 

[halcyon]

Can i throw some measurements from the ADI-2 DAC for comparison..
Sampling mode: 24-bit, 192 kHz

​

What is your device doing the measuring (the unit that does the recording/sampoling of the tested analog signal)?

 

[sherazuk]

What is your device doing the measuring (the unit that does the recording/sampoling of the tested analog signal)?

The recording device is the motherboard onboard audio. This was less about absolute accurate measurements, but rather a side by side comparison.

 

[dazzerfong]

The fact that the RME isn't stomping the Realtek is enough reason to pretty much suspect all the other results, or even perhaps your test setup.