Motu UltraLite Mk5 for DAC testing

[bachatero]

I'm in the position to do some testing of some DACs of my own, but I don't have good enough equipment for it yet. My best performing ADC is in my Motu M2, which is merely in the 90s with ADC SINAD. I'm considering getting the UltraLite Mk5 which at $650 has much better performance at about 114dB. Are there any better, cheaper options I should consider as well?

 

[staticV3]

E1DA Cosmos ADC:

E1DA Cosmos ADCiso Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the E1DAC Cosmos ADCiso specialized Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). The grade "B" was kindly purchased by a member and costs US $179. As you see, you have dual balanced inputs. Back side has two USB-C inputs: one for power and one for computer...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[bachatero]

Almost perfect, except for the absurdly low 1.8K ohm input impedance which could make it unusable for general DAC testing if they're not designed to withstand that.

 

[Blumlein 88]

If you don't want to go the Cosmos route the RME ADI pro is the only comparable choice. I also think there's a buffer for the Cosmos for the low input impedance. . The RME will cost more than the Motu.

 

[staticV3]

Almost perfect, except for the absurdly low 1.8K ohm input impedance which could make it unusable for general DAC testing if they're not designed to withstand that.

Cosmos Scaler ups the Zi to 200/100kΩ and there's also the Cosmos APU if you want to measure SINAD up to 130+dB.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Also do you want to be as absolutely good as possible measuring or just good enough. I use a BabyFace Pro which I think is just barely behind the Motu Mk 5. Now I also use it for recording and other uses. If I test something and it runs up against the limits of the BabyFace I don't know just how good it is. OTOH, for my purposes if it is as good as the BabyFace or better I don't have to worry about it for practical purposes. If you want to do your own measurements and reviews then okay you need the best you can manage.

 

[bachatero]

The Cosmos ADC + APU would only be $180 + $140 = $320 for truly endgame performance, so that looks like a screaming deal. HOWEVER, I also have run into a couple situations where I could use the mic preamps of the UltraLite for my regular desk setup. Then the question comes down to whether it's worth the extra $330 for all the other stuff from the UltraLite. That's something only I can answer, but at the moment, it looks like it might be worth it to just get the ADC + APU and be done with test equipment forever.

 

[bachatero]

I ended up settling on a Cosmos ADC + Scaler because that turned out to be only $258 on Aliexpress and I already have a Scarlett Solo anyway for line in usage, but I might get the APU too. Any thoughts on that?