What port are you plugging it into on the mobo? If you aren't doing this already, I suggest setting the volume on the computer to the highest it goes and controlling the volume on the amp.

(I don't think you'd have different results with the Heretic, for what it's worth)

The board you have should give you loud, clear, distortion free audio, have you checked the sample rate in windows, maybe try raising or lowering it, also turn off audio enhancements, if it’s still noisy I expect something is leaking noise into the system. Can you try your amp from a different source, maybe from your phone/tablet using a 3.5 to RCA, if that’s clear I’d try a cheap external dac as you could spend a long time trying to find the issue with the pc

I’ve tried both the audio out on the board itself and the front audio Jack with similar results. I’ll give your other suggestion a go, I wasn’t sure which volume adjustment was correct. I was just turning the audio up on the amp then fine adjusting with windows

What do people usually use for their sample rate? As high as it goes? Mine is just defaulted to 24 bit 48k but I can go to 96k or 192k or lower. I’ll play around with it

I’ll try running a different device. I’m waiting for the iPhone dongle but I’ll go dig out my old Samsung phone and see what happens

When driving the Magni from the computer, full volume (or nearly so) on the computer is the right way to set it up. The ALC8-whatever isn't going to get anywhere near overloading the Magni's input at full volume, and anything else is amplifying your computer audio's (considerable) noise floor.

Hey, I have many Realtek ALC897/1200/etc. motherboards. Most motherboards will be using Realtek ALC897/ALC1200/etc. even if they're expensive, check the specifications and photos of the I/O (where all the USB/Ethernet/plugs/etc. are) to confirm the audio features you want. Usually the simple green 3.5mm port is all you need but some people need extra things if they want to use speakers and so on.

Sometimes the implementation is just bad, so you do have to get an external audio device to fix that background hissing/buzzing/static/distortion/etc.

Dongles with physical volume control (helps with reducing/remove static/buzzing/hissing/etc. noise, especially when gaming) and PC gaming: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1221u9k/what_digital_connection_from_pc_to_dac/jdonhuc/

Definitely check the above link, it talks about the Apple dongle or dongles without physical volume control, but definitely go for the dongles with physical volume control for better volume variation, especially with headphones.

Open back headphones and solutions to PC noises: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11dh2v9/is_there_anything_i_can_do_stop_hearing_my_own/ja8mltw/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/xpa9zd/pc_noise_with_open_back_headphones/iq2znjn/

Basically search up Noctua fans. Specifically the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM fans.

These days there's the Thermaltake ToughFan 12, Phanteks T30-120, etc. that are a bit cheaper/better/etc. compared to Noctua. The Arctic P12 PWM PST (5 Pack) is still the best value, just be aware of the annoying resonance range, it's like ~1000RPM.

There's also the new Arctic P12 Max that recently just came out, check the reviews of it.

So yes just a get a well-reviewed dongle with physical volume control, it'll reduce the noise for sure. A lot of dongles are overkill, even the $10-50 ones, so don't worry about them not being able to drive your headphones.

Qudelix 5K, other dongles, Bluetooth connection issues, TWS adapters, et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11xmti7/unpopular_opinion_i_do_not_enjoy_qudelix_5k/jdap65c/

Thank you my friend. Another person told me I should be maxing my windows volume out and adjusting with the amp only so I tried that and upped the sample rate. It sounds wonderful now

Thank you for your help my friend. I adjusted the volume the way you suggested and someone else said to play with sample rate. By doing both of those the Sennheisers sound wonderful now, I haven’t tried the others because I don’t want to take these off now lol

Random question: are you using Powerline ethernet? Those things spam EMF like there's no tomorrow.

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