Benchmarks: audio
16 bit, 192kHz
24 bit, 192kHz
The audio experience is always going to be subjective; different users will have different audio equipment, prefer different sound profiles, and so forth. Rightmark Audio Analyser provides a good way of getting around this subjectivity as it measures theoretical audio quality. The benchmark analyses a number of variables before outputting a performance summary.
Audio performance with MSI's Z170A Gaming M7 was excellent, as we'd expect from any well implemented Realtek ALC1150 codec. On the feature side of things MSI does a little better than the competition with its operational amplifiers and fully-featured Nahimic audio customisation software. A soundcard or external DAC is largely obsolete unless the user needs a wider variety of I/O options beyond 3.5mm jacks.
DPC latency is an alternative way of measuring audio quality since lower numbers mean less likelihood of any audiovisual streams being interrupted and stuttering. A general rule of thumb is that a number below 500 microseconds offers a solid experience and MSI delivers that with ease.
