Why does onboard sound have to suck?

[Slaimus]

How come there are no high quality AC97 CODECs out there?
Motherboard manufacturers have to either spend a little on these cheap AC97 CODECs, or spend a lot on an expensive DSP, which handles the AC97 functions, plus a I2S DAC. How come companies that make these high quality I2S DACs for standalone soundcards like Philips/Wolfson/Cirrus Logic do not just make a AC97 CODEC?
It is absurd to require a DSP (which MSI does on their boards with SB Live 24-bit, adding to costs significantly) for better sound, when all people need is just a better DAC. Unless you need hardware EAX, which is done in software anyways for all cards except high end Creative Labs cards.
So how about just a 5.1 AC97 codec from Wolfson, which offloads EAX and mixing to the CPU, on a motherboard? It will cost significantly more than the Realtek ones, but it still still be significantly less than what MSI does (integrated SB Live 24-bit) or Chaintech used to do (integrated Envy24).

 

[Sqube]

Sounds like tryin to get the best of all worlds, which works for me.

Of course, I got lost in the Forest of Acronyms, so I can't respond any more concretely than that.

 

[glorifiedg790]

I have an msi nforce2 mobo with integrated dolby digital. Tis not too bad, sounds pretty decent.

 

[Garlic]

Becasue the AC97 codec is more than enough for a laptop....why should a manufacturer use a more expensive chip when consumers dont care since they wouldnt tell the difference between the two anyway?

 

[Ausm]

I would only buy a sound card if I was going with a 5.1 speaker set-up. I use 2.1 Klipsch with my onboard sound and it does an adequate job for me.

Ausm

 

[Slaimus]

Because you CAN tell the difference between a good DAC and a bad one.
I was merely ranting that there is no middle ground between cheap AC97 codecs, and expensive DSP+DAC combinations. You can keep the price low by using just a AC97 codec, just make it with a better internal DAC. It is very inexplicable that companies with audio expertise are not making AC97 codecs, only I2S DACs.

 

[stevty2889]

cause if every motherboard had good onboard sound, people wouldn't need to buy sound cards anymore..