Hey, so I guess AI was right in warning that going that direction is quite a different thing. I guess if you’ve been following this thread, you’ll know that my being on a short leash when it comes to budget, that converter, in addition to the ADC, would land me in the doghouse for years.
I got an email today from MiniUSB that mentions a great review from Audio Science Review the Adept ADC got and I am so disappointed in our stupid trade tariffs. I likely would have bought it.
And I spoke to a friend yesterday who said he bought the Behringer, but it was for a non-audiophile need and said he wouldn’t recommend it for such.
Yes that was the one I wanted (for various but all hifi related reasons), but too dear so I made do with the RME ADI2 DAC FS product for DAC-ing, and a (VERY) heavily modified behringer deq2496* for ADC purposes
Just wanted to provide an update. I guess I could call it “problem solved,” but I’m sure there are better products. The problem is finding them - I couldn’t believe how hard it was to find a simple device for taking an analog signal from an RCA connector and digitally recording it in audiophile quality. Thanks to everyone here who contributed feedback.
I ended up going with the TASCAM DR-40X handheld recorder ($157 on Amazon). Its primary intended function is to record live using its built-on microphones, mixing in external line or mic input, even adding effects, overdubbing, etc. But the documentation was clear that it could be used to take line-in, record up to 24-bit/96K and store the recording on an SD card. It has USB output where I can copy the recorded file to my computer, or I could even pass the signal through and record using the computer. With TASCAM’s reputation, I felt good trusting that their technology would do a good job of digitizing the analog.
And it did. My first recording was a rare vinyl jazz vocal album by Johnny Hartman recorded in 1980. It’s a very good recording overall, pretty clean as vinyl goes. I kept everything “flat” as far as any processing of the original recorded file. The recording, the transfer to Mac, and editing went smoothly and I could not tell any difference when playing it back in my listening room.
So I highly recommend it for this purpose. I made a CD of it for a good friend and even created an insert booklet using the LPs liner notes. I had an extra page to fill, so here’s what went there:
I’m glad it worked out, and you got a good deal on the DR40X. I remember when I was looking at the options, I didn’t want to budget a lot of money for the project I was working on. I approached it like I was shopping for a cassette deck back in the day. I just wanted something that could make good recordings via the tape output on the preamp.
Until I can sort out the connectivity with the SugarCube, this still does the job. And like you say, it’d probably be hard to tell the difference between the original record and the digital copy in most circumstances. If I’m streaming it out to the garage or boombox in the yard, or playing it on the car system, it’s plenty good enough.
Alas, the belts in my 40+ year old cassette deck finally gave out, and I have a repair kit with new belts waiting for downtime so I can get around to fixing it. I don’t use it often, but it’s still fun to use. Takes me back to copying LPs to cassette for the car, and making mixtapes. This deck has mic inputs on the front, and I was able to mix between two turntables that way. Good times!
Yeah, for my purposes, it’s fine, if not great. If I was still in radio production, or podcasts, etc., I wouldn’t hesitate to use it. And there’s very little analog I could ever see needing to transfer for audiophile purposes.
I still have a Pioneer cassette deck that I used for duplication - so it has two drives. But when it comes to tape, I still have a Panasonic RT-404 reel-to-reel unit that still works fine. Once I got into higher-end audio, I just had it sitting collecting dust in my equipment rack, but at last year’s AXPONA show, I saw someone selling vintage reels and decided to splurge on a few. I was thrilled that the Panasonic can still operate at a high level, even for commercial tapes. When I was in radio, I used that recorder for many purposes and it was great. You’re right - good times!
