new small adc ...
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hgo58
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Better in what way? Better noise level maybe but does it matter?
The ears would have to decide that. 
Technically (according to specs) this little ADC is about as good as such things get and transparent for all practical purposes, and on par with the best WiiM DACs. With this device the one could achieve transparency from analog sources on the Ultra and Pro Plus.
Technically (according to specs) this little ADC is about as good as such things get and transparent for all practical purposes, and on par with the best WiiM DACs. With this device the one could achieve transparency from analog sources on the Ultra and Pro Plus.
eagledriver
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I have the same kind of device but from another brand. My use case: I have an integrated class D amp with faulty analog inputs. With this AD converter, I can connect any device with analog out's to the integrated amp despite of faulty analog inputs, using one of the amps three digital in's. Works perfectly well for me.
(Well, for above use case, I could as well use the analog input of my Wiim Pro+, which goes digitally to the same class D amp. But at the time, I did not have the Pro+ yet). Still in my to-do list is comparing the sound quality of the two different AD conversions.
In case of feeding the turntable's preamp to the AD converter, the straight analog signal from the beginning to the end is lost. One can argue about that.
(Well, for above use case, I could as well use the analog input of my Wiim Pro+, which goes digitally to the same class D amp. But at the time, I did not have the Pro+ yet). Still in my to-do list is comparing the sound quality of the two different AD conversions.
In case of feeding the turntable's preamp to the AD converter, the straight analog signal from the beginning to the end is lost. One can argue about that.
One could, but it's hot air. I crossed the Rubicon in 2009. Completely DSP controlled 4-way loudspeakers here, so anything analog gets digitized (and back again of course).
MINIDSP POCKETADC Convertisseur ADC
Le miniDSP Pocket ADC est un convertisseur analogique-numérique (ADC) compact et performant. Il dispose d'une entrée analogique RCA stéréo et de deux sorties numériques : une sortie optique Toslink et une sortie coaxiale.
PocketADC
The miniDSP Pocket ADC is an extremely compact high-resolution A/D (analog-to-digital) convertor that accepts a stereo analog input on single-ended (RCA) connectors and converts it to SPDIF coaxial and TOSLINK optical digital outputs. This pocket size converter supports high sample rate and...
Steve Woodhouse
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Whether you could hear difference or not would take a double blind A/B test, of course.
But here's how both the phono stage and ADC measure:
WiiM Ultra Streamer Preamp Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Ultra network streamer, DAC, phono stage and preamplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $329. Physical attribute are modern and attractive enough. Alas, I can't say the same thing about the graphical interface. Icons seem...
www.audiosciencereview.com
Phono stage isn't so hot. ADC is fairly good. But you're having to double bubble here.
If you're a real (ahem) 'vinyl enthusiast' you're probably going to want to spend a few bob on the phono stage.
Look at this Fosi, which is only $110:
Fosi Audio Box X5 Phono Preamp Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Fosi Audio Box X5 stereo Phono stage. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $109.99. Company manages to bring a touch of class in a category that is universally utilitarian with those rounded corners and orange power button. Flexibility...
www.audiosciencereview.com
SINAD beats the WiiM by a massive 20dB.
But (and back to the thread) if you're a vinyl fan who grudgingly accepts the necessity of ADC -> DAC in the Ultra for its PEQ, room correction, sub crossover, etc., or if you're a vinyl fan who's suddenly woken up to the fact that what you 'like' about the vinyl sound isn't is purity, but what it adds to the sound, and accept the Ultra's DAC stage as transparent, you're still going to want the best ADC possible.
In short, if the ADC is as close to transparent as you're going to get, and the DAC is transparent, then you're getting all the Ultra's scrummy digital processing for your vinyl, without adding any audible noise, distortion, or frequency change.
And finally I get round to answering your question.
If you've spent heaven knows how much on a turntable, over $100 on the phono pre amp, and $300+ on the Ultra, I think $50 extra on an ADC stage (presuming it measures up to the job) is chicken feed.
Most excellent post, @Steve Woodhouse.
not to mention the phono input aspect which is inseparably linked to the line ADC...the ADC has nothing very qualitative...these measures are rather very poor for an approach, certainly modest, but in 2025...
if in the case of the pro, pro plus ,etc, just as a complement...
in the case of the ultra which is more of a preamp/streamer, it is much more regrettable...
(This small pocket-sized device, advertised at $55, is a definite demonstration of this... es9821q few dollars...in the future wiim should invest some effort on this entry as soon as it presents...care to be taken)
if in the case of the pro, pro plus ,etc, just as a complement...
in the case of the ultra which is more of a preamp/streamer, it is much more regrettable...
(This small pocket-sized device, advertised at $55, is a definite demonstration of this... es9821q few dollars...in the future wiim should invest some effort on this entry as soon as it presents...care to be taken)
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slartibartfast
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That Fosi phono amp looks good but there are quite a few reviews on Amazon complaining about failures. God knows why a low power device should fail but apparently they doWhether you could hear difference or not would take a double blind A/B test, of course.
But here's how both the phono stage and ADC measure:
WiiM Ultra Streamer Preamp Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Ultra network streamer, DAC, phono stage and preamplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $329. Physical attribute are modern and attractive enough. Alas, I can't say the same thing about the graphical interface. Icons seem...
Phono stage isn't so hot. ADC is fairly good. But you're having to double bubble here.
If you're a real (ahem) 'vinyl enthusiast' you're probably going to want to spend a few bob on the phono stage.
Look at this Fosi, which is only $110:
Fosi Audio Box X5 Phono Preamp Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Fosi Audio Box X5 stereo Phono stage. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $109.99. Company manages to bring a touch of class in a category that is universally utilitarian with those rounded corners and orange power button. Flexibility...
SINAD beats the WiiM by a massive 20dB.
But (and back to the thread) if you're a vinyl fan who grudgingly accepts the necessity of ADC -> DAC in the Ultra for its PEQ, room correction, sub crossover, etc., or if you're a vinyl fan who's suddenly woken up to the fact that what you 'like' about the vinyl sound isn't is purity, but what it adds to the sound, and accept the Ultra's DAC stage as transparent, you're still going to want the best ADC possible.
In short, if the ADC is as close to transparent as you're going to get, and the DAC is transparent, then you're getting all the Ultra's scrummy digital processing for your vinyl, without adding any audible noise, distortion, or frequency change.
And finally I get round to answering your question.
If you've spent heaven knows how much on a turntable, over $100 on the phono pre amp, and $300+ on the Ultra, I think $50 extra on an ADC stage (presuming it measures up to the job) is chicken feed.
Steve Woodhouse
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not to mention the phono input aspect which is inseparably linked to the line ADC...the ADC has nothing very qualitative...these measures are rather very poor for an approach, certainly modest, but in 2025...
To be clear, which I know is anathema to you.
Are you criticising the methodology of the measurements taken, or WiiM'ss 'forced' digitisation of analogue inputs?
Steve Woodhouse
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You're too kind. Thank you.
just the digitization is of very low quality..we know how to do better even in the general public for 20 years..that's all...we are not even at 16bit enob...It's a little sad...
Let's stay there... this little minidsp dac might just be of interest to some people...
It can have many uses with or without Wiim...
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Steve Woodhouse
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Yes, I agree. Presuming it's any good, it's a way of upgrading any and all of the Ultra's analogue inputs for not much cash. Ditto other devices.
If MiniDSP's own measurements are accurate, and there are no caveats, this thing would be very close indeed to being theoretically transparent, and probably completely transparent in most real-world applications.
SINAD 114dB
THD+N c.112dB
FR flat to within +/- 0.02%
In the absence of feedback from asr etc...
I insisted with Minidsp to have some additional measurements and in particular in sweeps, always much more relevant... (mores relevant things but not allowing for much sought-after rankings..no comment)
so they added some interesting ones which seem to go in the direction of a well-designed machine... and therefore rather useful...
(moreover, their other even "heavier" machine, Adept, has not even benefited from these few measures for the moment...)
I insisted with Minidsp to have some additional measurements and in particular in sweeps, always much more relevant... (mores relevant things but not allowing for much sought-after rankings..no comment)
so they added some interesting ones which seem to go in the direction of a well-designed machine... and therefore rather useful...
(moreover, their other even "heavier" machine, Adept, has not even benefited from these few measures for the moment...)
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Steve Woodhouse
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The more traditional MiniDSP products do room correction, crossover for subs, etc., etc. A lot of this can be done cheaper and far more easily by the Ultra. Can it do them as well? Maybe, maybe not. But the ADC stage of MiniDSP products have usually been good, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before they just took that stage to sell separately. Looked at like that, it probably shouldn't be a surprise that they can sell one so cheap.
eagledriver
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Until the PocketASC can be distributed by European dealers, this ADC from Marmitek might be the interim solution. It works perfectly well in my system. And has a dedicated on/off switch.
We just made a nice little modern pure ADC, allowing you to add nice analog inputs to some of their machines (see the possibility of joint power supplies in cascade etc.) that's all...
bravo to them
and demonstrates that it is possible at low cost for those who have the skills and the desire
There's hardly any point in discussing this subject...
end
bravo to them
and demonstrates that it is possible at low cost for those who have the skills and the desire
There's hardly any point in discussing this subject...
end
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it is distributed now....
that's why I put the link...but also in Germany etc.
(what you are pointing out seems really unrelated .. ;-) )
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