KVR Audio

djskope · Post by **djskope** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 12:25 pm

Hi!

Does anyone know any product links for modern day motherboards with native ASIO chip/drivers please?

IMO, if a major motherboard manufacturer like Gigabyte or ASUS would implement and fully integrate a reasonably powerful ASIO-native audio chip into their design (and not take the Mickey with pricing) I think it would clean up in this consumer base.

With decent marketing I think this idea could capture a huge chunk of the external audio interface market for those that mostly mix or produce 'in the box' (cost, convenience, fully optimised, pristine digital audio output via optical and spdif, ultra low-latency, zero setup, zero compatibility issues Vs external audio interfaces)

Is this sector missing a huge trick?

Burillo · Post by **Burillo** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 1:10 pm

the issue is not necessarily the drivers, it's the inputs and outputs. No one would care for the best driver in the world if it comes with crap inputs consumer motherboards have, and "mixing ITB" has little to do with ASIO. if you're producing entirely in the box, you don't need ASIO in the first place, because you can just use Windows drivers (or ASIO4ALL) - there's no external sound source, so all that stuff like monitoring latency etc. does not matter.

so, i think you're trying to solve the wrong problem.

djskope · Post by **djskope** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 2:20 pm

I think you misunderstood my question. Thanks anyway.

Would still like to pursue a real answer with a link to some motherboard options - anybody else please?

starflakeprj · Post by **starflakeprj** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 2:41 pm

Unfortunately I don't think so. The market would be too small for that I believe. The closest you get would be a RealTek chip with dedicated ASIO drivers.

machinesworking · Post by **machinesworking** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 4:15 pm

djskope wrote: Mon Jul 05, 2021 2:20 pm I think you misunderstood my question. Thanks anyway.

Would still like to pursue a real answer with a link to some motherboard options - anybody else please?

The motherboard would be expensive, you're not saving any money through someone developing a specialized computer with a dedicated sound card built in for audio, which seems to us like a large market to us, but it's not. So the board would be boutique, not cheap.

Your 'real' answer isn't going to be what you want it to be.

djskope · Post by **djskope** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 5:22 pm

starflakeprj wrote: Mon Jul 05, 2021 2:41 pm Unfortunately I don't think so. The market would be too small for that I believe. The closest you get would be a RealTek chip with dedicated ASIO drivers.

Hi @starflakeprj - do you have any links to specific products of this kind please?

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 5:24 pm

it's down to what the OS is doing, not really the motheboard
Deferred Procedure call, for instance. The DAW not dealing optimally with ASIO or Core Audio.
your audio card's drivers
The mobo should probably not be tasked with "pristine audio" particularly either. the expectation of your mobo being your super high-end audio reproduction device and your low latency audio interface is entirely unrealistic.

legendCNCD · Post by **legendCNCD** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 5:40 pm

Not since nForce2... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NForce2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundStorm
Its SoundStorm had ASIO drivers and they worked mostly okay until nVidia dropped support completely (and thats when I bought a real audiocard

)

starflakeprj · Post by **starflakeprj** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 5:46 pm

djskope wrote: Mon Jul 05, 2021 5:22 pm
starflakeprj wrote: Mon Jul 05, 2021 2:41 pm Unfortunately I don't think so. The market would be too small for that I believe. The closest you get would be a RealTek chip with dedicated ASIO drivers.
Hi @starflakeprj - do you have any links to specific products of this kind please?

I have the ASUS ROG Maximus Hero XII, but I haven't specifically installed any ASIO drivers for the Realtek chip. It was done automatically. I assume these are ASIO drivers because...well, because it says so

2021-07-05.png

Not using my built-in soundcard though, so I can't really say anything about the quality or performance.

djskope · Post by **djskope** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 6:05 pm

Some thoughts: I cannot know the future yet, so I cannot with 100% certainty say it "would be expensive".

What my intuition tells me is that it 'need not' be expensive.

I don't know precisely how much manufacturers pay for standard audio chips Business to Business but let's say its $10 per chip (in bulk, sounds slightly high to me)

So, how much would installing an ASIO chip instead add to retail cost?

I don't know.
Is it reasonable to guess the manufacturer would pay $50 per chip B2B? (too low? too high? (would be great if someone into hardware manufacturing could guide these estimates)

Now, how much would they charge extra to us for this superior audio capability/direct to digital outputs at retail? (bear in mind my 6 year old Asus mobo came with a realtek chip and optical out as a standard)

I don't know, but would be great if someone in the know could ballpark this too

I would be willing to pay $100 extra for a board like this and it feels like Motherboard manufacturers could still make a decent profit

Considering technical difficulty:
Ultimately it is the manufacturer's choosing to install one audio chip rather than another.
Essentially the integration and installation of many incarnations of audio chip is something they have done many times before in their history of production lines over the years. So installing a different audio chip model on their new mobos should not be a serious hurdle to overcome?

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 6:14 pm

I can make more...enjoy...

djskope · Post by **djskope** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 7:58 pm

Mmmm.. thanks for the popcorn! Does that mean it's a topic of interest to some?

And thanks to those that provided links as well. A couple of products actually have existed, so I'm not the only person in the world to think integrated ASIO capability could be beneficial to some.

A better, modern, more audio targeted spec and intelligently marketed motherboard at a fair price might be more popular than some might think?

Passing Bye · Post by **Passing Bye** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 8:01 pm

Realtek? Some of the chips are better than the others, it's enough for all in the box music production.

Guenon · Post by **Guenon** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 10:22 pm

Burillo wrote: Mon Jul 05, 2021 1:10 pmif you're producing entirely in the box, you don't need ASIO in the first place, because you can just use Windows drivers (or ASIO4ALL) - there's no external sound source, so all that stuff like monitoring latency etc. does not matter.

I'm one of those producers who most often work 100% in the box (certainly not always), and low monitoring latency is something I need in order to work comfortably. So an interface with great drivers and reliable low-latency operation is very important (using RME interfaces here). When in the box, I use Kontakt instruments and a bunch of go-to softsynths as my realtime played sound sources, and I want the latency to be as low as possible to be able to perform on different controllers, generally playing all parts in and then proceeding from there. If I have to use a buffer that is too long, the playing feel suffers.

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Mon Jul 05, 2021 11:05 pm

everyone who plays stuff in needs better than windows drivers, or the other thing. we've seen this for years and years. what a weird assertion

Does a motherboard with dedicated ASIO chip built in exist in 2021?