[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

Audio codec is a small chip measuring 0.25 x 0.25 inches (7 x 7 mm) located on the motherboard in charge of the analog audio functions. Knowing the specs of a codec will permit you to compare the audio quality of different motherboards, allowing you to choose the right product for your needs.

nextpage title=”Introduction” Audio codec is a small chip measuring 0.25 x 0.25 inches (7 x 7 mm) located on the motherboard in charge of the analog audio functions.
3D SoundBack Beta 0.1 (Realtek 3D SoundBack restores audio effects, including surround sound, reverberation, and spatial effects, for legacy game titles when running on Windows Vista.) Beta 0.1 2008/07/15 6 MB.
Realtek Audio Control app for Windows 10. 'Realtek Audio Control' provides the best audio experience with the Realtek Audio Codec. You can adjust audio device effects and all the audio device settings in this App.

'A new change for ASUS is the inclusion of the DAC and amp on the back of the motherboard. Previously, the fancy audio equipment only worked on the front audio header. So if you plugged your high ohm audiophile headphones into the back, you’d have a bad time.Now, the killer ESS Sabre DAC (and amp) powers both the front and back jacks.' Audio Chipset: Realtek ALC1220-VB codec. The back panel line out jack supports DSD audio. PCI Express 3.0 x16: 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16). For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4).

For further details on audio codecs, including an explanation of the specs we are publishing, please read our tutorial “How On-Board Audio Works.”

We will separate the codecs according to the manufacturer.

Analog Devices (ADI/SoundMax)

Analog Devices are also known as ADI or SoundMax, and their codecs use names starting with “AD.” In Figure 1, you can see an example of an Analog Devices codec.

Figure 1: Analog Devices AD1988B codec

Model	Channels	Input Resolution	Output Resolution	Input Max. Sampling Rate	Output Max. Sampling Rate	Input SNR	Output SNR
AD1819B	2	16-bit	16-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	87 dB	90 dB
AD1881A	2	16-bit	16-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	87 dB	90 dB
AD1882	5.1	24-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	96 kHz	90 dB	95 dB
AD1884	4	24-bit	24-bit	192 kHz	192 kHz	85 dB	90 dB
AD1885	2	16-bit	16-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	87 dB	90 dB
AD1886A	2	16-bit	16-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	87 dB	90 dB
AD1887	2	16-bit	16-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	87 dB	90 dB
AD1888	5.1	16-bit	20-bit	96 kHz	96 kHz	80 dB	90 dB
AD1980	5.1	16-bit	20-bit	96 kHz	96 kHz	82 dB	90 dB
AD1981A	2	16-bit	20-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	85 dB	90 dB
AD1981B	2	16-bit	20-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	85 dB	90 dB
AD1981BL	2	16-bit	20-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	83 dB	90 dB
AD1981BW	2	16-bit	20-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	85 dB	90 dB
AD1981HD	2	20-bit	24-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	85 dB	80 to 85 dB
AD1983	2	20-bit	24-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	85 dB	80 to 85 dB
AD1984	4	24-bit	24-bit	192 kHz	192 kHz	90 dB	96 dB
AD1985	5.1	20-bit	20-bit	96 kHz	96 kHz	85 dB	80 to 90 dB
AD1986	5.1	20-bit	20-bit	96 kHz	96 kHz	85 dB	80 to 90 dB
AD1986A	5.1	20-bit	20-bit	96 kHz	96 kHz	85 dB	80 to 90 dB
AD1987	7.1	24-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	90 dB	95 dB
AD1988A	7.1	24-bit	24-bit	192 kHz	192 kHz	90 dB	95 dB
AD1988B	7.1	24-bit	24-bit	192 kHz	192 kHz	92 dB	101 dB

[nextpage title=”Realtek (ALC, Avance Logic)”]

Realtek is probably today’s most popular audio codec manufacturer. Old codecs from Realtek can be found marked as “Avance Logic,” and both old and new codecs use model names starting with “ALC.” In Figure 2, you can see an example of a Realtek codec.

Figure 2: Realtek ALC888S codec

Model	Channels	Input Resolution	Output Resolution	Input Max. Sampling Rate	Output Max. Sampling Rate	Input SNR	Output SNR
ALC101	2	16-bit	16-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	70 dB	75 dB
ALC202	2	18-bit	20-bit	48 kHz	96 kHz	85 dB	90 dB
ALC203	2	18-bit	20-bit	48 kHz	96 kHz	90 dB	100 dB
ALC250	2	18-bit	20-bit	48 kHz	96 kHz	92 dB	100 dB
ALC260	2	20-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	90 dB	95 dB
ALC262	4	20-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	90 dB	100 dB
ALC268	4	20-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	90 dB	95 dB
ALC269	4	24-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	98 dB	98 dB
ALC650	5.1	18-bit	20-bit	48 kHz	96 kHz	85 dB	90 dB
ALC655	5.1	16-bit	16-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	86 dB	86 dB
ALC658	5.1	18-bit	20-bit	48 kHz	96 kHz	92 dB	96 dB
ALC662	5.1	20-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	96 kHz	90 dB	98 dB
ALC850	7.1	16-bit	16-bit	48 kHz	48 kHz	86 dB	92 dB
ALC861	7.1	16-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	96 kHz	82 dB	90 dB
ALC861-VD-GR	7.1	24-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	96 kHz	85 dB	95 dB
ALC880	7.1	20-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	85 dB	100 dB
ALC880D	7.1	20-bit	24-bit	96 KHz	192 KHz	85 dB	100 dB
ALC882	7.1+2	20-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	90 dB	101 dB
ALC883	7.1+2	24-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	85 dB	95 dB
ALC885	7.1+2	24-bit	24-bit	192 kHz	192 kHz	101 dB	106 dB
ALC887	7.1	24-bit	24-bit	192 KHz	192 KHz	90 dB	97 dB
ALC888	7.1+2	24-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	90 dB	97 dB
ALC888S	7.1+2	20-bit	24-bit	96 kHz	192 kHz	90 dB	97 dB
ALC888

Realtek Audio Alc1220 Vb Codec (es9018q2c Chip)