This latest public version https://forums.mydigitallife.net/th...-definition-audio.72236/page-135#post-1739845
I have an old Asus motherboard (B85M-G PLUS) with an ALC887 codec that doesn't support UAD drivers. Reading the topic I saw that in the opinion of some users the best HDA versions are the 9205 and 9239. I am currently using the 9239 FF00 driver downloaded from the ASRock website and I have liked the sound quality, at least I thought it was better than the old driver available on the Asus website (7770) for my motherboard. Is there a newer HDA version that matches the sound quality of previous drivers? Thanks.
This might sound stupid, but what are the advantages of running the Realtek drivers these days? Granted I only use the onboard audio on my Asus Z690 Maximus Hero for line-in from my Mac mini, I have Hegel HD12 + Schiit Magnius amplifier for output. But I've played around using Windows 11 21H2 (22000.xxx) and 22H2 (22621/2.xxx) using both the native Microsoft High Definition Audio Drivers and the Realtek USB drivers. The only noticeable difference to me is the ability to run the Realtek Audio Controller software and Sonic Radar software which doesn't seem to really add much unless you need it to make things somewhat more userfriendly. One thing I noticed myself when using line-in is that when I use the Realtek USB audio drivers it utilises the "Legacy Kernel Caller" in Windows when listening to the line-in, as the name entails this is outdated and legacy way of doing things. When using the native Microsoft drivers this is not the case. A huge benefit of using the native drivers is that my system is actually able to go to sleep while using line-in to have audio from my Mac mini. As a result of the Realtek USB audio drivers utilizing the "Legacy Kernel Caller" when listening to line-in Windows is incapable of going to sleep on its own. I'll have to enter the sleep state manually. Another thing I've noticed while using the Realtek USB audio drivers is how the Windows Volume Mixer keeps on resetting after a reboot. I use the Windows Volume Mixer extensively to balance audio between applications. Really annoying to have Microsoft Edge jump from my preferred 60% back to 100% after a reboot. When using the native Microsoft High Definition Audio Drivers this never happens. Am I missing something here? I always keep my drivers up-to-date so by default I would always get the latest drivers directly from the manufacturer. But with these audio drivers I'm starting to get confused as they seem to be inferior compared to the ones supplied natively by Microsoft in various ways.