[ChaosBlades]

So I am planning on getting the ASUS Maximus VII Formula and I wanted to know from someone in the know how good is the SupremeFX Formula 2014 really? I have a Xonar Essence STX + DT990 Pro 250Ohm. It is probably obvious that a $300 motherboards audio is not going to be as good as a $200 (or whatever they are going for nowadays) sounds cards but I just wanted to know how much better from someone that understands high end auto components better than I do.
 
Quote: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VII_FORMULA/

- High-fidelity Texas Instruments® LM4562 drive up to 600ohm headphones and boosts every sound detail.
- Sonic SenseAmp is a ROG invention that detects headphone impedance (below 65/65 ~ 150/150 or higher ohms) and adjusts the built-in amp automatically, for pitch-perfect listening right away!
- Renowned Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC provides brilliant 120dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
- Premium Japanese-made ELNA® audio capacitors

 

[PurpleAngel]

  So I am planning on getting the ASUS Maximus VII Formula and I wanted to know from someone in the know how good is the SupremeFX Formula 2014 really? I have a Xonar Essence STX + DT990 Pro 250Ohm. It is probably obvious that a $300 motherboards audio is not going to be as good as a $200 (or whatever they are going for nowadays) sounds cards but I just wanted to know how much better from someone that understands high end auto components better than I do.
 

 
I would guess(?) the Essence STX is better then the SupremeFX Formula 2014, but might not be a big difference.
If your set on buying the Maximus VII, might as well directly compare the audio quality of the SupremeFX  and ST yourself.

 

[DarthShizNit]

I just purchased a ASUS Maximus VII Hero with the SupremeFX 2014 built it, and I can definitely say that it is NOT as good as dedicated sound card.

I was using a Creative X-Fi ExtremeGamer PCI card (about 6 years old at this point), in an older motherboard that still had an PCI slot. The ASUS board doesn't have any, but with all the advertising about the awesome sound, I figured I was okay.

After doing the new build, I fired up Battlefield 4, and felt I was playing a different game. At first I was using the presets, but then I thought I could tweak the sound to more my liking. It's just not the same. The sound clarity and definition for the onboard audio couldn't come close to the 6 year old plus sound card. Same with music as well. Everything sounds "flat" compared to the X-Fi card. It's not even in ballpark.

Needless to say, I'm orderIng an dedicated sound card ASAP.