MINIDSP Adept ADC & Phono Preamp Review

[aschen]

Nice. As a long time minidsp customer I didnt even know this was a thing. I use the ADC in my SHD for TT and it seems like it works well. Would be nice to have a SHD+ that had RIAA and mv input as well. It is already such a flexible product.

 

[nothingman]

View attachment 472378

Sure, but what's the SNR at 5mV input?

It will be worse than the SNR measurement at 4V - but how much worse - and how does it compare to phono preamps?

Exactly. That response wasn’t remotely what I was asking about.

This review feels complete with 5mV FFT and dashboard, and the HPF function was completely missed. I know @amirm has to work quickly to get through his queue but hope these can be added.

 

[Davey]

Exactly. That response wasn’t remotely what I was asking about.

This review feels complete with 5mV FFT and dashboard, and the HPF function was completely missed. I know @amirm has to work quickly to get through his queue but hope these can be added.

That's exactly what you asked about.

I don't think Amir recognized this device as being (primarily) a phono preamp unit.
Maybe he's done some other testing and didn't post it? (Or maybe not.) We'll see.

 

[Dennis_FL]

Quite unfortunate that the price of this jumps from $299 in the US to £399 in the UK. That's hard to justify.

What is the VAT in the UK?

 

[welwynnick]

What is the VAT in the UK?

20%

 

[morillon]

It has been shown that it's better to test these phonos on suitable dummy loads, not AP in mm for example ( 20ohm)..so perhaps a more reasonable observation has been made here on points less subject to controversy than in Sinad at 1khz. However, the observation at the line-level input in unbalanced mode will be more relevant.

 

[nothingman]

That's exactly what you asked about.

I don't think Amir recognized this device as being (primarily) a phono preamp unit.
Maybe he's done some other testing and didn't post it? (Or maybe not.) We'll see.

I hesitate to even engage because you’re so wrong, but what part of what you showed me is the standard 5mV FFT and SINAD dashboard that starts every phono input review?

 

[audio_tony]

What is the VAT in the UK?

EDIT: (corrected previous post)

VAT rates for goods and services​

	% of VAT	What the rate applies to
Standard rate	20%	Most goods and services
Reduced rate	5%	Some goods and services, for example, children’s car seats and home energy
Zero rate	0%	Zero-rated goods and services, for example, most food and children’s clothes

 

[morillon]

I hesitate to even engage because you’re so wrong, but what part of what you showed me is the standard 5mV FFT and SINAD dashboard that starts every phono input review?

It has been shown that it was not so relevant, because the load was not adapted and that it had created artifacts in the results in mm... see the long discussion on the phono fosi

 

[xanalog]

And the patient ADC fans cheer both Team miniDSP and @amirm!

Here are the possible scenarios of this ADC
View attachment 472343

The best scenario that I am salivating over is the one where legacy analog sources (RCA+XLR) are routed thru the ADept, to its digital USB output, en route to devices other than just a "computer", as shown.

 

[Ismapics]

Here are the possible scenarios of this ADC




View attachment 472343

Love the Trust the measurements quote.

 

[amirm]

Forgive me if I’m missing the obvious, but is it possible for us to see the SINAD FFT and dashboard at 5mV and MM High Gain, like is shown in the other reviews of all other phono preamps? For purposes of comparing apples to apples.

Sorry, my bad. There is a bug in Photoshop where sometimes it sticks the exports in a different folder so I missed it when I post the review. I just edited the review:

 

[amirm]

It has been shown that it's better to test these phonos on suitable dummy loads, not AP in mm for example ( 20ohm)..so perhaps a more reasonable observation has been made here on points less subject to controversy than in Sinad at 1khz. However, the observation at the line-level input in unbalanced mode will be more relevant.

Don't try to be cute. Nothing like that has been shown as no one has shown how the dashboard can be generated using their scheme. The dashboard is still highly valuable in the way it shows differences between phono stages using a repeatable, generic load as opposed to a one-off sample load.

 

[amirm]

And to be clear as noted, the RIAA equalization is completely optional. So the device can be used as a regular audio capture device with any analog source including cassettes.

 

[xanalog]

So the device can be used as a regular audio capture device with any analog source including cassettes.

The front panel does not seem to show any indications about which output (Opto/Coax/USB) is enabled.
Could it be that all 3 digital outputs are available simultaneously (@all times)?
If so, the secondary output(s) can possibly be used for additional Zone(s).

 

[amirm]

Could it be that all 3 digital outputs are available simultaneously (@all times)?

I think that is the case.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Great review,its like a very basic Parks Puffin.....

Measures better than the Puffin but has way less features. I guess the question is, given the relatively poor technical performance of vinyl as a medium, is there going to be an audible difference between the two units (ie, is technical excellence in measured performance even warranted in this application) and do you need the expanded (and most impressive) feature set of the Puffin (or Waxwing)?

 

[welwynnick]

Sorry, my bad. There is a bug in Photoshop where sometimes it sticks the exports in a different folder so I missed it when I post the review. I just edited the review:

Thanks Amir
That means I can add it to my phono amp league table. It sits mid-table, so respectable phono performance.

 

[Calypso1]

Just a heads up for those that have products such as the MiniDSP and are considering the Adept, the remotes do not have unique codes. For example, turning off the MiniDSP, turns ON the Adept!

 

[xanalog]

Just a heads up for those that have products such as the MiniDSP and are considering the Adept, the remotes do not have unique codes. For example, turning off the MiniDSP, turns ON the Adept!

We can only hope other manufacturers follow FOSI' lead (in unifying remotes):