There's a certain appeal to this motherboard as it focuses (to some extent) on the power aspects of the device.
In experiments with PCs on another forum we have come to the tentative conclusions that one crucial factor in computer audio is the power on the motherboard. In moving from SMPS to linear to battery power, a commensurate & noticeable improvement in sound was noted. In further separating the battery power into 12V, 5V & 3.3V feeds, another improvement in sound was achieved. I know that there are still DC-DC switchers on the mobos & these may well be the next area to address but so far the results have been encouraging. Some have reached the stage where there are now no audible differences between different playback software - a situation that was not the case in the untweaked PCs. (Does this give any clues as to what might have been the underlying factors in these software players?)
In this Giga mobo, the VRM (voltage regulator module) may be more stable, lower noise?
Supplying clean power to the USB ports is one of the factors that we have identified as crucial, although when the mobo PS is cleaned up this separate USB power is no longer needed.
Not particularly interested in the on-board audio, unlike Vincent, as I feel that the analogue side of things needs different considerations to the digital side & is better separated from it.[/QUOTE]
Given that Vincent just said his preference is for conversion isolated and re-clocked outside of the computer, I don't think you disagree on this point. Power supply impact is, of course, another question.
P