Is there a plug 'n' play ADC?

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Every standalone ADC I read a review of has an 'interface' of some sort, often including the necessity of a PC or phone app to operate.

And yet quite a few digital pre amps have analogue ins, and (as far as I can tell) absolutely no controls whatsoever, other than occasionally a choice of sampling rate.

Is there a standalone ADC that's similarly plug 'n' play?

 

[MaxwellsEq]

Every standalone ADC I read a review of has an 'interface' of some sort, often including the necessity of a PC or phone app to operate.

And yet quite a few digital pre amps have analogue ins, and (as far as I can tell) absolutely no controls whatsoever, other than occasionally a choice of sampling rate.

Is there a standalone ADC that's similarly plug 'n' play?

It's a good question. I suppose you could say that the ADC in your phone converting your voice to digital (or the same thing in a telephone exchange) is plug-and-play. There may be something in the gaming world for headset microphones

In general, most dedicated ADCs are bought by people who are recording things or are part of a test-set. In which case, people want to set the input gain (overloading an ADC is a disaster) because the manufacturer can not in advance know what levels are going to be used; as well as sampling frequency. In which case they need at least simple controls. With a DAC, the data is already fixed and levels are known, so plug and play is easier.

 

[Blumlein 88]

MSB once made such a thing. You picked sample rates with buttons and it was 24 bit. Had reasonable settings for levels and it put out a digitized signal. I did this for a few years. Digitized all my analog stuff (this unit had like 9 inputs). Reel tape machines, phono, cassette, FM radio all of it. Then had an early DAC with volume control on it. Worked great.

Now you can use an audio interface this way in most cases. You will need to set them up with a PC initially. Choose routing, and then you can unplug the PC and just use it plug and play. You'll still have the ability to adjust levels usually without a PC. Best way is dependent upon your particular needs.

I do wish someone made the equivalent to the MSB unit from back when. We get people asking about such devices on a regular basis. It was even before MSB went crazy on pricing. I think I paid $325 for the one I had. I had the ADD (Audio Digital Director) shown in this thread. Even back then they measured quite well.

MSB PAD-1 (90's era ADC) - Now with measurements

I recently ask Amir if he would be interested in measuring this interesting piece of kit that's been in my system rotation for many years but, given it's vintage, he understandably declined. I've always wondered how the ADC measured though especially with the specs MSB gave it. It is limited to...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

In general, most dedicated ADCs are bought by people who are recording things or are part of a test-set. In which case, people want to set the input gain (overloading an ADC is a disaster) because the manufacturer can not in advance know what levels are going to be used; as well as sampling frequency. In which case they need at least simple controls. With a DAC, the data is already fixed and levels are known, so plug and play is easier.

Thanks for the reply.

We have ADCs in loads of places. Two obvious ones are AVRs and some turntables. Almost all require no user input, and some appear to be pretty good. I presume setting input gain is done automatically on these.

 

[dedobot]

Ha..yesterday I was wondering similar and came across this:

https://www.microchip.com/en-us/about/media-center/blog/2020/understanding-integrated-vs-standalone-analog-digital-converter

 

[Count Arthur]

What about these things?:

 

[Lambda]

behringer umc202hd.
Works without installing any special drivers.

 

[EJ3]

What about these things?:

View attachment 425290

Pray tell: What is one of these things?

 

[Count Arthur]

Pray tell: What is one of these things?

They are for connecting headsets to PCs. Given that it plugs into a USB port, it must contain both a DAC for the headphone, and an ADC for the microphone.

I used one in a PC on which I couldn't get the on board sound to work. As far as I remember, I just plugged it in and it worked. I don't remember having to install any drivers to get it to work, it just showed up as an audio device in the system settings.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UGREEN-Headphone-Microphone-Raspberry-Ultrabook/dp/B01N905VOY/

 

[Sokel]

behringer umc202hd.
Works without installing any special drivers.

Similar to this one?

Behringer UMC204 HD Audio Interface Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Behringer UMC204HD Audio Interface (ADC/DAC/Mic Preamp). I reviewed it a long time ago. OK, it was just two years ago but in dog years, it is a long time. :) I had a different audio analyzer there which made it difficult to measure USB...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Measures like a typical behri I guess which is close to their (worst) analog stuff:

Cheap analog electronic crossover

Additional "asking for a friend" questions: Would the DC PSU Motronix sells be quieter than an AC transformer? Should the PSU be kept separate from the crossover (mounted in a separate box)? Should the box be metal or is plastic OK? Are there other considerations for keeping things quiet (hum...

www.audiosciencereview.com

They do the job and that's it.

 

[KSTR]

Many interfaces from RME can be operated standalone, with all operation control directly on the device. Whether that qualifies as plug&play depends on the use-case requirements which the OP has not given in detail....

 

[zeropoint]

Analog to Digital Audio Converter RCA to Optical with Cable RCA L R or 3.5mm Jack to Toslink and Coaxial Adapter​

Amazon.co.uk

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Analog to Digital Audio Converter RCA to Optical with Cable RCA L R or 3.5mm Jack to Toslink and Coaxial Adapter​

Amazon.co.uk

That’s exactly Roy the sort of thing. But is it any good?

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Many interfaces from RME can be operated standalone, with all operation control directly on the device. Whether that qualifies as plug&play depends on the use-case requirements which the OP has not given in detail....

In AVRs and most turntables with digital outs, as well as digital pre amps, there are no controls for the ADCs whatsoever.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

In AVRs and most turntables with digital outs, as well as digital pre amps, there are no controls for the ADCs whatsoever.

When they're "internal" to a turntable, AVR etc. the input levels (at the point of entry to the ADC chip) are completely knowable by the designer. Then they pick a fixed sample frequency and they're are done. The Regs A2D Fono Mini is like that. The ADC is presumably after the RIAA circuit and so levels are predictable.

 

[zeropoint]

That’s exactly Roy the sort of thing. But is it any good?

I haven't tried mine, but reading through the reviews indicates it works and seems to perform well especially bearing in mind the price of ~£16.99.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

When they're "internal" to a turntable, AVR etc. the input levels (at the point of entry to the ADC chip) are completely knowable by the designer. Then they pick a fixed sample frequency and they're are done. The Regs A2D Fono Mini is like that. The ADC is presumably after the RIAA circuit and so levels are predictable.

With turntables, yes. AVRs and digital pre amps, no.

 

[Lambda]

Similar to this one?

Behringer UMC204 HD Audio Interface Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Behringer UMC204HD Audio Interface (ADC/DAC/Mic Preamp). I reviewed it a long time ago. OK, it was just two years ago but in dog years, it is a long time. :) I had a different audio analyzer there which made it difficult to measure USB...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Measures like a typical behri I guess which is close to their (worst) analog stuff:

Cheap analog electronic crossover

Additional "asking for a friend" questions: Would the DC PSU Motronix sells be quieter than an AC transformer? Should the PSU be kept separate from the crossover (mounted in a separate box)? Should the box be metal or is plastic OK? Are there other considerations for keeping things quiet (hum...

www.audiosciencereview.com

They do the job and that's it.

The beringer Interfaces Work Perfectly fine as long es you don’t turn the Analog nobs past 12 o clock.
Everything from there is "Positive gain"

For a recording setup this might be helpful since you maybe want to amplify a signal that are way below 0dBFS

it’s a massive Overside on Behringer not to label this accordingly. but ists also a overside on the Reviewer not to notice this...

 

[MaxwellsEq]

AVRs and digital pre amps,

That's incorrect, unless YOU deliberately overload the input, in which case you get everything you deserve But if you overloaded an analogue AVR or Preamplifier you would get very high distortion.

The way it works is this: an AVR or digital preamplifier will have a published sensitivity for full output, let's say it's 2V. The designer then sets the input buffer/gain element such that 2V incoming is say 75% of the ADC's input range. This means that assuming your peak signal is under about 3V (already 50% too high for the official spec), the ADC won't be overloaded. The downside is that the more headroom they design in, the poorer the noise. They could alternatively just put a limiter on the front end to stop you doing something silly.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Is there a standalone ADC that's similarly plug 'n' play?

One moment, please...