Question Gigabyte Gaming X AX Sound Problem.

[kenwood850]

If you are a Gigabyte Gaming X AX (Rev 1.0) motherboard owner, have you noticed any problems with the on-board sound? Comparing the MB's default output sound to the sound of my other PCs, the sound has a fair amount of reverb added that is not what I would consider normal. At first I thought Gigabyte’s default Realtek drivers, or the Realtek Audio Console, might be the source of the problem, but apparently that is not the case. On a fresh install of Windows 11, with no drivers except those loaded during the install, and no added applications, the problem persists. It does not seem possible to obtain a flat response without embellishment.

 

[Eximo]

What are the chipsets of all the motherboards? They are not all created equal.

Gigabyte has been rather poor in putting the actual audio chipset under specs. Which says they may be using multiple chips.

When in doubt, go get the latest drivers from Realtek and skip the motherboard vendor supplied ones.

Beyond that, there is the option of a USB DAC which is what most enthusiasts use these days.

 

[kenwood850]

What are the chipsets of all the motherboards? They are not all created equal.

Based on Device Manager using the driver recommended by Gigabyte, it is an ALC897

Gigabyte has been rather poor in putting the actual audio chipset under specs. Which says they may be using multiple chips.

I have asked for a solution from Gigabyte Tech Support on line as well as posting here, but I am not very hopeful they will have a solution.

When in doubt, go get the latest drivers from Realtek and skip the motherboard vendor supplied ones.

The Realtek site only shows drivers through Windows 10, and suggests newer drivers should be obtained from motherboard manufacturers.

I did however try the Windows 10 version they offered just for grins, plus countless others from various places. The results were all the same.

Beyond that, there is the option of a USB DAC which is what most enthusiasts use these days.

I suspect the "enhancement" of the sound is intentional and is aimed at gamers, not retirees that listen to music of years past. At this point I think a solution will not be forthcoming and, as you suggest, I will be looking at an alternative, probably a quality sound card. Years ago I purchased the first Xonar iteration and was satisfied. I just looked at what they are offering now and it appears the newest ones are aimed at gamers as well. It seems to be the thing today so who knows what I will end up with.

 

[Eximo]

Xonar is typically C-Media audio chips. That was also the last sound card I bought. First party drivers always let me down, but third party ones worked quite well.

Again, these days a USB DAC is the most commonly recommended. Don't really see a lot of PCIe sound cards anymore. Getting the analog components as far away from the noisy environment inside a PC is a good idea.

If I am remembering correctly ALC897 and ALC898 is the new entry level chip, not that it is a bad thing, just what they tend to make now. ALC12xx was the chipset to have a few motherboard generations back.