EVERY time I get a new mobo, I try the onboard sound. EVERY time I do it pales in comparison to a dedicated sound card. 
I've been doing this ever since onboard sound was available...maybe 20 platforms over the years, at least.
No need for actual measurements. The difference is obvious even to untrained ears, IMO.

BizSAR
EVERY time I get a new mobo, I try the onboard sound. EVERY time I do it pales in comparison to a dedicated sound card. 
I've been doing this ever since onboard sound was available...maybe 20 platforms over the years, at least.
No need for actual measurements. The difference is obvious even to untrained ears, IMO.

Same here. Onboard sound always sounds like a stark contrast to any decent sound card, with the sound card sounding better in volume, clarity, depth, and bass.    

I prefer external DACs, DACs plus headphone amplifiers, or DACs plus headphone amplifiers and digital music players. I have the Lotoo Paw Gold Touch and it’s stellar with my Focal Stella headphones. Lag free incoming audio too, I can use it with any USB-C source or via the 1TB SD card I have in it.

Soundcard or motherboard's integrated audio? It really depends what You are after and your listening experience. I have had over 20 Years for my CD's and LP's decent stereos from Densen (preamplifier, separate monoblocks for speakers and Pro AC SC1 speakers + REL sub), this audio-system costing totally 25 thousand €. But I also have a pretty new (DIY) PC with Evga Nu audiocard + Densen integrated amplifier + Pro AC Studio 125 speakers and really quality RCA cables and quality speaker-cables (audio in this PC costing about 4 thousand €). You can see the price difference   (24 thousand vs. 4 thousand) and I can hear it, but anyway I listen more this PC audio combination. So I totally agree, even I  have more quality amplifier and speakers for CD's, I prefer my  PC + audiocard-system in everyday when listening Youtube music-channels. This was only loose thinking, but this way it goes.

Depends on what you want and your setup. I use a Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC with 2 x Audioengine a5+speakers and a S8 POWERED SUBWOOFER with my main gaming/video editing PC. DACs are nice because no drivers are needed and it's external. If you have good speakers then you will notice a difference when going form onboard to a quality internal sound card or external DAC. Basically, it's all in what you want. As for me, I love music(metal and death metal with some occasional 70's funk) and I enjoy games, so my setup does exactly what I want for what I was willing to pay. 

DavidJ5545
DACs are nice because no drivers are needed and it's external.

They all use DACs.  Internal ones use DACs.  External ones use DACs.  Ones with drivers use DACs.  Ones without drivers use DACs.
That's how digital audio works.  All digital audio uses a DAC.


Imagine paying 24k for a sound setup. I imagine for that amount of money, you would convince yourself about all sorts of different things.

ty_ger07

DavidJ5545
DACs are nice because no drivers are needed and it's external.

They all use DACs.  Internal ones use DACs.  External ones use DACs.  Ones with drivers use DACs.  Ones without drivers use DACs.
That's how digital audio works.  All digital audio uses a DAC.


Imagine paying 24k for a sound setup. I imagine for that amount of money, you would convince yourself about all sorts of different things.

While this is true, external DACs have advantages. Like I said, it's all in what you want with sound. If someone is happy with onboard sound then so be it because it's all about your setup anyway. If someone has the means and wants to dump 24k into sound, then so be it. Again it's all about your setup which should determine what you buy. A 24k sound system will definitely sound better than a 400.00 setup. When determining if you want to upgrade from onboard sound, the first step is to determine what speaker setup you are going to use. Have a nice internal or external sound card with low-end speakers will sound no better than onboard sound. It's all about your budget and a little research to get the best results.
 
Also, my statement about drivers should have been more refined in that I meant no bloatware etc. My Schiit used a simple usb driver without anything else, so no need for fluff etc, but there is nothing wrong with software as long as it's coded correctly.  

DEJ915
It really depends on what you are going to use with it, if you have $10 earbuds or 100 dollar speakers it won't make such a big difference but with much more high end headphones and speakers the difference becomes much more apparent.  I would always invest in headphones+amplifier/speakers first before upgrading sound card.

I Agree with DEJ915.  If you are perfectly fine with the sound on the MB you can save the money and spend on another component (M.2 Drive, GPU, etc).  Some people have better ears than others can sense the difference that specialized audio hardware will provide.  My ears aren't quite that sensitive so I haven't bought a discrete sound card in years.

I own a NU Audio Pro that pushes a pair of DT 990s(250ohms) and it sounds quite nice. I am no audiophile,  I just pretend to be one in real life. 

I've heard on board audio often gets spotty when taxing the cpu whereas audio cards are good in eliminating this - anyone experience or not experience this between the two