[SOLVED] Will my motherboards audio chipset limit budget studio headphones? Audio-Technica ATH-M20x ?s

[NightHawkRMX]

Hello, I have an MSI B350 Gaming Plus motherboard with:
Realtek® ALC892 Codec
- 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
My current headphones are giving up, and I am looking for an upgrade.
I really wanted some Bluetooth headphones, but i saw the Audio-Technica ATX-M20X headphones for $49 at the top of a "best sound quality for under $50" list. Knowing Audio-Technica is a very reputable brand, I found it hard to believe anything they have anything in my pricepoint. I was somewhere surprised that apparently have great audio quality for such a reasonable price, with clarity all over the range, and no overdone bass or treble. They apparently are pretty comfortable and feel nice quality, although not as nice as the higher end MX line of cans. I think as much as I love listening to music with strong vocals that investing in a set of quality stereo headphones with high clarity audio would be a welcome improvement.

Type	Closed-back dynamic
Driver Diameter	40 mm
Magnet	Neodymium
Voice Coil	Copper-clad aluminum wire
Frequency Response	15 - 20,000 Hz
Maximum Input Power	700 mW at 1 kHz
Sensitivity	96 dB
Impedance	47 ohms
Weight	190 g (6.7 oz), without cable and connector
Cable	3.0 m (9.8'), straight, left-side exit
Accessory Included	6.3 mm (1/4") snap-on adapter

Will my low-end audio chipset hamper these headphones in any way? Also, is there any better option.

 

[jojesa]

Try the sound on your motherboard and test it.
If are not please you could go with a more robust PCIe sound card like Asus Xonar AE or ASUS ESSENCE STX II.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Ok. another question. When I plug my current lower end headphones into my front panel "HD" audio (NZXT S340) my sound quality seems a tiny bit worse than the motherboard rear output. Is this expected? I may run another test to confirm.
Edit: I think there may be a small difference, but not a ton.

 

[jojesa]

Yes, generally it is worse and the level of quality will depend on the case audio wires and front jacks.
The rear audio jack may have lightly less interference, since the audio signal is shorter than the longer path to reach the front audio jack.
Electrical noise, from the PC components and and an un-shielded front audio cable will affect the quality of the sound.

Even if you get a good quality sound card, the front audio could be of lower quality because of the quality of the front audio cable and front jacks quality on your case..