Looking for suggestions on accurate ADC's.

[plissken]

Under $1000. I don't have access to the RME FireFace any longer.

[pkane2001]

If you can use it with a Mac/thunderbolt, I can highly recommend the Apogee Element series.

[Miska]

RME ADI-2 Pro is one of my favorites. Can run PCM up to 768/32 and DSD256. If you like more channels and have a bigger budget, Merging Hapi is a very good choice as well. Or Merging Anubis, but I haven't got my hands on one yet.

 

[mitchco]

The good ol Lynx Hilo has an excellent ADC. I can share measurements, but one can also find them here:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-lynx-hilo-adc-part-2.3596/

 

Also: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/showpost.php?p=14477582&postcount=1850 The Hilo is still in the top spot for AD DA loop testing linearity.

 

You should be able to find a used one for around the price you are suggesting or maybe a bit more.

 

Good luck!

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

I’ve always wanted a Hilo just because it’s such a good ADC. But, I have nothing to convert from A to D 😏

[AudioDoctor]

10 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I’ve always wanted a Hilo just because it’s such a good ADC. But, I have nothing to convert from A to D 😏

 

Chris, I'll let you convert some of my vinyl to digital... 😉

[StephenJK]

On 2/17/2020 at 8:12 PM, plissken said:

Under $1000. I don't have access to the RME FireFace any longer.

Look for a used Korg MR-2000S. Should be able to find one for 700 to 800 clams. Likely the best digital recorder and ADC ever made. 

[Archimago]

I still use my Focusrite Forte as an ADC. It's good enough for pretty detailed measurements and I have used it for vinyl rips with excellent results. Should be able to get used for <$500 these days.

 

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2016/07/measurements-focusrite-forte-usb-audio.html

 

 

[Rexp]

On 2/23/2020 at 11:48 AM, Archimago said:

I still use my Focusrite Forte as an ADC. It's good enough for pretty detailed measurements and I have used it for vinyl rips with excellent results. Should be able to get used for <$500 these days.

 

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2016/07/measurements-focusrite-forte-usb-audio.html

 

 

Do you record at 16/44.1 or higher, is there much difference? Thanks! 

 

 

[Rexp]

Any other objectivists, other than @Archimagorecord at higher than 16/44.1? Would like to know why? 

Thanks! 

[erin]

On 10/7/2020 at 11:28 AM, Rexp said:

Any other objectivists, other than @Archimagorecord at higher than 16/44.1? Would like to know why? 

Thanks! 

I record vinyl at 48khz.

Why? Because some records have measurable audio up to 24khz and for the sake of thoroughness and because i can, i do capture that information in the digital recording. Why not? Its my recording so i can do whatever i want. 😁

 

Additionally, i perceive that my DAC sounds slightly better playing 48khz files.

I don't know why so don't ask.

I cannot hear 24khz so its a mystery.. but its my experience.

 

 

[jandswalker]

I've had a Hilo for nearly 5 years now. The sound quality from both ADC and DAC is excellent. But (and for me it's a big but) the Hilo was advertised as "USB Class Audio compliant", which led me to believe that it would work with Linux. Only after paying my money did I discover that Lynx interpreted "USB Class Audio compliant" as meaning "it works with a Mac". I tried to engage Lynx's assistance, but their CTO came over all passive-aggressive when asked to reply to questions. Lynx took its user forum offline a couple of years ago after they had posted a new user interface before they'd finished the manual. I still have an aspiration to see if I can get the USB audio working in Linux user-space, but for now I'm stuck with stereo SPDIF in and out.

[jandswalker]

Quote

Any other objectivists, other than @Archimagorecord at higher than 16/44.1? Would like to know why? 

Thanks! 

I'm in my mid 60s, and still enjoy the sound of vinyl (this might be important). For digital, I've standardized on 24-bit 96 kHz stored as flac, being convinced to take that step when I heard my first 24/96 file 12 years ago. The speed and storage penalties have gone since then, but I regularly perform listening tests, assisted by the better and unbiased ears of my daughter. One test sticks in my mind - an A-B comparison between the CD and DSD layers ripped from the same SACD. We both clearly and quickly heard more detail in a quiet, complex opening passage. (I commend that specific test - it may be that 2 layers had different mixes, but everything else is as equal as possible.)  My personal conjecture is that higher  bit-depth is key, but I can't prove it; higher fs I'm less sure of. I held off buying a CD player for a long time because of the tiring harshness - reconstruction filter artefacts? - jitter? Modern high res DACs have overcome those issues. Cables? I use Mogami (or van Damme) for interconnects and speaker cables because of their pro audio reputation. I'm very sceptical indeed about mains cables. For digital, I use lab quality 75 ohm test cables terminated with BNCs. I've tried USB  filters and cannot tell a difference. Finally, it's really hard for me to see how an Ethernet cable can have an effect. Why? Well, put some music on, then unplug the network cable. Did the music carry on playing for quite a while (10s of seconds) from the buffer? This sums up my difficulty with the industry - there's not enough genuine exposition of technical reasons why you should invest.

[March Audio]

Hi@plisskenRME ADI2 pro fs is about as good as ADCs get but beyond your stated budget.

 

In the budget I don't think you will find anything to beat the Motu 8A at $795.

 

I can provide measurements if interested.

 

Another useful trick, probably more useful if using for measurement, is that you can parallel channels up and reduce the noise floor.  2 to 3dB improvement per doubling. 

 

So with the 8A 8 channels used in stereo you can gain a good 5dB SNR.

[phoenixdogfan]

Motu M4 has a good one.  Not as good as a Lynx or some of the others mentioned here, but plenty good enough.