new small adc ...

[harkpabst]

Yes, that's a nice little device, but I'd like to avoid any domain conversion in the signal path from phono preamp out to power amp in - while still enjoying the benefits of the WiiM Pro (namely, ability to select from among several inputs (all digital, of course, including Internet music services).

If you want to keep the phono signal in the analogue domain (for whatever philosophical reasons), then no ADC on this planet can ever be the solution, for obvious reasons (ADC = analogue to digital converter).

Just discovered this ADC from MiniDSP: https://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-audio-interface/adept for $299. Built-in phono preamp! Very tempting!

This explicitly includes the ADept, of course.

Too bad (1) I already have an excellent phono preamp, and (2) want to stay in the analog domain. My apologies if this device has already been discussed in this thread.

You must either give up at least the second prerequisite or this thread is not for you.

 

[xgrep5]

OK, I see that the ADept has been discussed in this thread. Definitely a very good product (reviews around the Internet seem to agree).

So I have one more device to mention, which is a pro ADC that I currently own, and which has way more bells and whistles than anyone here wants or needs: the Radio Design Labs (RDL) HR-ADC1 (https://rdlnet.com/product/hr-adc1/). At the moment, You can find it on Amazon at https://a.co/d/irwKspS for just under $1,000. I got one on eBay for $250, which is a very good price, but I don't think anyone here is looking for this kind of equipment. It's not exactly user-friendly unless you're an audio engineer (I'm not), and is totally unnecessary for anything you'd want the PocketADC for.

I got it a year ago to digitize my record collection (about 3,000 vinyl discs in very good to excellent condition). As you surely know, it's not like ripping a CD at 24x playback speed, you have to do it in real time. So if you've guessed that I haven't finished after a year, you'd be correct. I'd like to say that it's a labor of love, but the love wore off a while ago and it's now just a chore to be done when time and mood permit.

So you can see that I have a large commitment to vinyl (and vacuum tubes), and an interest (for this particular passion) of doing everything in the analog domain. The WiiM Pro is a wonderful product at a spectacular price, and I commend anyone who has bought one and enjoys what it can do. It just doesn't currently have a pure-analog signal path for people like me. But I have no intention of getting rid of it.

 

[harkpabst]

So I have one more device to mention, which is a pro ADC that I currently own, and which has way more bells and whistles than anyone here wants or needs: the Radio Design Labs (RDL) HR-ADC1 (https://rdlnet.com/product/hr-adc1/). At the moment, You can find it on Amazon at https://a.co/d/irwKspS for just under $1,000. I got one on eBay for $250, which is a very good price, but I don't think anyone here is looking for this kind of equipment. It's not exactly user-friendly unless you're an audio engineer (I'm not), and is totally unnecessary for anything you'd want the PocketADC for.

I got it a year ago to digitize my record collection (about 3,000 vinyl discs in very good to excellent condition). As you surely know, it's not like ripping a CD at 24x playback speed, you have to do it in real time. So if you've guessed that I haven't finished after a year, you'd be correct. I'd like to say that it's a labor of love, but the love wore off a while ago and it's now just a chore to be done when time and mood permit.

Digitising your records is quite a different task from listening to records in your living room, even if both take place in real time.

If you want room correction and/or flexible EQ for other purposes, then there's no alternative to digital signal processing. If you are after after a theoretical "pure" approach (playing some LPs made from digital recordings) then you'll always need a way around any WiiM streamer.

 

[xgrep5]

Very good points. Yes, there are times when the mood calls for pure analog and others when room correction is greatly appreciated (the WiiM Pro does a very good job of this!). If I had the $$$$$ to build a wonderful listening room that was designed so as to not need correction (and speakers up to the task), well that would be nirvana. But in the meantime, there are compromises to be tolerated (budget being the biggest constraint).

 

[Valentino]

I have an ADept and I don't care... My 4-way speaker system was ready in 2009 and it's always been digital in.
Here's my take:

1. If you have a Luxman EQ-500 or some other beauty you want to keep get a pocketADC, set the switches to 96 kHz and enjoy transparent AD conversion for your WiiM device.
2. If you don't love your phono amp that much sell it and buy an ADept. On top of being an exellent phono amp with opt and coax digital outputs it's also an transparent receiver and AD converter for the analog signals from your SACD player, and it lets you do archiving to PC or Mac wity it's USB output.
3. Use theWiim Device as a streamer only and get an analog preamp to die for, like this one for example: