The audio signals on mini-ITX boards may produce a crackling sound due to electrical interference or poor connections.
The audio signals on mini-ITX boards may produce a crackling sound due to electrical interference or poor connections.
Hi everyone, I'm setting up an audio production station and planning to link a premium external DAC to a Thunderbolt 3 port on the motherboard. I noticed the Asrock mini ITX TB3 Phantom Gaming board might face electrical noise issues with such a setup. My concern is whether audio interference could occur during playback or recording, especially when using a Thunderbolt 3 connection, and if that's why I should consider a larger ATX model instead. Here are the two boards I'm looking at:
Thunderbolt sends a digital signal to your A/i device. As long as your DAC is set up correctly, you shouldn't experience crackle. If it does, and everything seems fine, the issue likely lies with the hardware in your audio path. EDIT: This applies to any DAC, audio interface, or USB audio device—not just those on TB3.
The external DAC isn't connected to the motherboard layout, so it won't influence anything. You're not relying on any audio from it. I'm using the Intel version of that ASRock board (Asrock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/AC), and the built-in analog audio is also clear.