SupremeFX CODECs S1220 and S1220A; what's the difference

[isaacc]

Of the Z270 mobo that have SupremeFX, some are specified as using the S1220A CODEC and others the S1220. What's the difference between the two in terms of features? I've been all over the Internet and can't find any information about it. I wish ASUS had a dedicated SupremeFX page that lays out all the features and specifications of the various SupremeFX packages and CODECs. Thanks.

[xyrium]

THanks Raja. Indeed other manufacturers are using this part, and with good reason. It certainly is producing high quality audio. In fact, it's allowed me to bypass my external DAC, and take the outputs directly to my amp with astounding results.

[Korth]

I cannot post any links to datasheets because there are no datasheets in public domain. S1220/S1220A are custom ALC1150 parts made by Realtek for ASUS. As far as I know, nobody else can buy these parts or obtain their datasheets.

I think it's fairly obvious this is a deliberate decision by ASUS, they want a feature-rich high-spec audio codec that none of the other motherboard manufacturers (particularly copycats like Gigabyte and ASRock) can use on their own products.

[Korth]

I'm surprised these S1220x parts aren't used on ROG laptops. Desktop boards have slots for discrete sound cards, if desired. Laptops don't have the greatest speakers but they could certainly make good use of highest-quality headphone audio. Although the steel RF shield suggests this part is sensitive to EMI/RFI so it needs to be isolated for best performance, maybe the interior of a technologically-dense gaming laptop is not a good environment for it.

[xyrium]

Indeed, though they certainly add a few voltage and current stabilizing components to the audio build that might not fit within the confines of your typical laptop environment. THe DAC is certainly not the only component responsible for the excellent sound coming out of this board.

It would be excellent however, because the design has enough preamp power to send a signal to any amplified speaker, or an amplifier itself, as I am doing.

[Raja]

Korth wrote:
I'm surprised these S1220x parts aren't used on ROG laptops. Desktop boards have slots for discrete sound cards, if desired. Laptops don't have the greatest speakers but they could certainly make good use of highest-quality headphone audio. Although the steel RF shield suggests this part is sensitive to EMI/RFI so it needs to be isolated for best performance, maybe the interior of a technologically-dense gaming laptop is not a good environment for it.

Would be a waste considering these codecs have 8 output channels. Good USB dacs are a better bet.

[xyrium]

Of the USB DACS I've had:

Opps HA-1
Nuprime DAC-9
Teac UD-301

None of which would be considered high end, but all were surpassed by the onboard design of my Hero IX. One of the reasons is the ability to adjust gain on the MB, whereas that wasn't possible via USB. Gain staging is critical to component matching.

Finally, I had no problem with my Teac or Oppo, but the DAC-9 exhibited all kinds of noise via USB, as reported by many users or many outboard DACs, high end or otherwise.

So, while I would agree with you that the quality should be better with an outboard DAC, just as we can't judge a DAC by it's chip, we honestly can't generalize quality by the number of channels, or otherwise. Just my $0.02, though Raja, you clearly have far more in depth knowledge than myself, so I simply disagree very respectfully.

[Raja]

I did say good USB DACs. 😉 A DAC with good USB isolation (galvanic) and a decent output stage helps a great deal. As you said yourself, the stuff you've tested doesn't necessarily qualify in these categories. Gain structure depends on what one is connecting to the output of the DAC. If it's headphones, then things can matter a great deal depending on how difficult the cans are to drive and the gain/buffering of any downstream stage.

FWIW, I roll my own USB DACs. Plenty of kits out there for people of similar mind. That said, even my Essence III floors the mb output (I use Sennheiser HD800s (balanced config) and Bose QC25s for most of my listening).

And the comment regarding output channels is in reference to the fact that laptops aren't spec'd for 7.1 output. Stereo output and a mic input is all that is used. These codecs have an excess of channels for that scenario, hence the comment.

[xyrium]

🙂 SInce both the DAC-9 and the HA-1 are rather highly regarded, I'd say that they're pretty good. Even with the overbuilt power supply, the discrete class A output section, and dual ESS 9018s; the HA-1 still didn't surpass what I'm getting out of this Hero IX 1220 board into a Nuprime STA-9, into a pair of Dynaudio Emits. The timbre of instruments is just astounding. It almost makes me want to purchase one of the Asus sound cards, such as the Strix Raid DLX or the Essence just to see what Asus can really do with audio.

Bottom line, some components, when matched well electrically, just sing. The combo of the onboard audio of the Hero IX with my amp, is just magic right now. Seriously, it's almost embarrassing given the components in my main rig, and some of the high end stuff that I've heard.

I don't want to hijack this thread too much, but talk to me about your home brew DACs...Raspberry Pi I suppose?

[Riekopo]

Whoa wait a minute. I stumbled upon this thread and now I'm concerned about my audio setup. I have an Asus Crosshair VI Extreme mobo and am using a new Sennheiser GSP 600 headset with it. I've been using the rear audio ports because I can't get the front panel audio ports to work at all. My case is a Corsair Air 540 case.

Am I getting lower quality audio by using the rear ports?

[xyrium]

I don't use my onboard audio for gaming, though the headphones you mention shouldn't be difficult for any amp to drive at only 28 Ohms. IME, the rear outputs powered by the 1220 have been excellent in quality. Do you have the internal header connected to your case front output ports?