Why not more external USB DACs and/or AIOs with MIC in?

[Trell]

It would certainly be handy. All the replies talking about other solutions seems to miss the point, the OP is asking for a sensible all in one aimed at the consumer who want convenient quality in a home office situation.
RME could do the perfect product, they already have all the tech required. I would instantly buy a new ADI2 DAC with mic inputs and maybe (pretty please) a bit more power.

He did not write that in his OP, just saying.

 

[Trell]

RME made product for professional not audiophile.

How much audiophile needs a mic ?

 

[Paolo]

He did not write that in his OP, just saying.

It’s on the third paragraph:

…
Especially now in 2021 with the COVID-19 pandemic going on working from home is very common. Many companies state that they will continue supporting/encouraging working from home after COVID-19 as studies show the positive effects of working from home.
More and more people are therefor in need of a home setup that is capable of audio/video meetings which includes a microphone.
….

 

[Berwhale]

So if Topping try to cram an E30 + L30 + ADC into a single, user friendly package, whilst maintining the audio perfomance, how much is it going to cost?

It's going to be pretty hard for them to match the value proposition of the something like the Sound Blaster X4 - Hi-res 7.1 External USB DAC and Amp Sound Card with Super X-Fi® and SmartComms Kit for PC and Mac - Creative Labs (UK)

 

[Paolo]

RME made product for professional not audiophile.

How much audiophile needs a mic ?

The ADI 2 DAC FS is a consumer product, don’t know how many people would like an All in One, I certainly would.

 

[Trell]

It’s on the third paragraph:

Note to self: Read carefully before replying.

 

[Trell]

The ADI 2 DAC FS is a consumer product, don’t know how many people would like an All in One, I certainly would.

RME themselves has been clear that it's oriented towards the HiFi segment feature wise but with the usual RME quality and performance, and you can even see it in the manuals as well as their videos.

Edit: My comment was directed to other readers that missed the RME memos

 

[Frgirard]

The ADI 2 DAC FS is a consumer product, don’t know how many people would like an All in One, I certainly would.

The ADI-2 DAC includes an improved SteadyClock, a fine-tuned to perfection analog circuitry, new MRC remote control, Extreme Power headphone output and a very special IEM output. It has all the bells and whistles that made the ADI-2 Pro famous, including its perfectly transparent sound signature and full DSP processing with Bass, Treble, Loudness, 5 Band Parametric EQ, Crossfeed and much more. With its simplified operation and stunning design it is the ideal center piece from home listening up to studio reference playback.

Many consummers love this
https://www.lynxstudio.com/products/hilo/


or https://spl.audio/en/spl-produkt/crimson-3/?v=11aedd0e4327

 

[Trell]

The ADI-2 DAC includes an improved SteadyClock, a fine-tuned to perfection analog circuitry, new MRC remote control, Extreme Power headphone output and a very special IEM output. It has all the bells and whistles that made the ADI-2 Pro famous, including its perfectly transparent sound signature and full DSP processing with Bass, Treble, Loudness, 5 Band Parametric EQ, Crossfeed and much more. With its simplified operation and stunning design it is the ideal center piece from home listening up to studio reference playback.

As I wrote above, hell yeah, this is mostly why I bought the device. Proven very long term support, reliability (no one is perfect, though) and useful (really!) manuals/documentation should be added as well. The device even come with a printed manual in two languages, though I could only read the English part of it.

Many consummers love this
https://www.lynxstudio.com/products/hilo/


or https://spl.audio/en/spl-produkt/crimson-3/?v=11aedd0e4327

Now you are shilling.

 

[Paolo]

I love my ADI2 for sure, and I would like it even more if it had the power to never reach 0dB with any headphone. Also, a microphone input would make it perfect to work from home.
Did I gave the impression I was criticising RME? Because that’s far from my intention, I’m just saying that RME is the perfect candidate for such a product.

 

[Trell]

Did I gave the impression I was criticising RME?

Not at all, but that does not matter. I really like RME but they make mistakes as every other manufacturer, or missing on some features for the intended audience, or whatnot.

 

[dfuller]

I don't think you need to spend a fortune to get a good headphone out, a good mic pre, and a good DAC all-in-one.

Audient stuff (specifically the ID4 mk2 and ID14 mk2) is solid in all respects if you use high impedance headphones. Failing that, an Apogee Duet 3 is a good choice - a little more money, but super-low headphone output impedance, very solid dynamic range and THD+N/SINAD (around -105dB SINAD and 125dB DNR)...

Then of course there's always RME, with the Babyface Pro FS

 

[Trell]

I don't think you need to spend a fortune to get a good headphone out, a good mic pre, and a good DAC all-in-one.

Audient stuff (specifically the ID4 mk2 and ID14 mk2) is solid in all respects if you use high impedance headphones. Failing that, an Apogee Duet 3 is a good choice - a little more money, but super-low headphone output impedance, very solid dynamic range and THD+N/SINAD (around -105dB SINAD and 125dB DNR)...

Then of course there's always RME, with the Babyface Pro FS

If the MOTU M2 has a poor headphone amp in the OPs opinion then the RME Babyface Pro FS wont cut it either, aside from being too expensive and laden with unneeded features

 

[Zensō]

If the MOTU M2 has a poor headphone amp in the OPs opinion then the RME Babyface Pro FS wont cut it either, aside from being too expensive and laden with unneeded features

Yup, though the reality is that the Babyface headphone amp is plenty good unless someone has one from a very short list of unusually hard to drive headphones.

 

[LTig]

Of course there are options out there like USB interfaces.. but that brings an extra box which requires power so power cable or adapter which needs additional poweroutlet available and prolly some extra set of drivers to install.

There are lots of audio interfaces which are USB bus powered.

 

[LTig]

To be clear I'm aware of the existence of audio interfaces but that is a different targeted audience imho.
They have mediocre DAC performance, very weak HP output or a combination of the two. The audio interfaces that score at least "meh" in both areas are very expensive as they come with tons of features which are not important nor need for your video conference every now and then.

I wouldn't direct people to an very expensive audio interface with tons of features they will never use or need when people show intrest in the Hel/Fulla or ARC MKII.

Of course you can think of 1001 work around ways like add-on USB microphone.. that was never the point..

I still think there is market for let say an D30Pro with a decent ADC baked in for people who want Hi-Fi audio DAC and need a microphone input for the occasional video conference.

For video conferences you won't need an accurate ADC or a high sensitive and noise free MIC input (if you choose a typical speaker mic). Putting a SOTA DAC, a headphone amp capable to drive extremely power hungry low and high impedance headphones, and such a low quality mic input in one box is difficult to sell, IMV (reviewers and potential buyers would always point to the bad ADC and mic input). A SOTA ADC might cost at least a 100 US$ and a SOTA mic preamp probably more, so a SOTA audio interface cannot be had for the price of a SOTA DAC.

The best solution IME is to use a decent wireless headset for video conferences, and a SOTA DAC and headphone amp for music and others.

 

[dfuller]

If the MOTU M2 has a poor headphone amp in the OPs opinion then the RME Babyface Pro FS wont cut it either, aside from being too expensive and laden with unneeded features

It has much more power available than the M2, so there is that

 

[escksu]

Companies like SMSL, Topping and Gustard all have many USB DACs in their lineup and honestly I think the USB DAC segment is (getting) saturated with minimal differences between different models.

However when you look at USB DACs/AIOs with MIC in there are not so many choices.
Most obvious choices are the Schiit Fulla/Hel and the Mayflower Electronics ARC MKII. Those are all marketed as "gaming" devices and targeted at the "gaming" audience. Why don't companies like Topping, SMSL and the like release a DAC/AIO with MIC in?

Especially now in 2021 with the COVID-19 pandemic going on working from home is very common. Many companies state that they will continue supporting/encouraging working from home after COVID-19 as studies show the positive effects of working from home.
More and more people are therefor in need of a home setup that is capable of audio/video meetings which includes a microphone.

Personally I believe there is a market for an Topping/SMSL USB DAC/AIO with MIC in that is not geared/marketed towards "gaming". Such a DAC/AIO would be far more interesting to me than yet another USB DAC that now has a 3dB higher SINAD and a slightly different display.

Are there more people interested in such a DAC/AIO?
It would be something to stand out in an otherwise saturated DAC market imho.

Pple plug directly to their laptops for meetings instead. All corporate laptops today comes with built-in mic/speakers/cameras. Devices like jabra are what pple use for meetings, not dac/aio. You never need any special headphones/mic for meeting. Most pple prefer not to wear headsets since it gets warm and uncomfortable over time.

So, its an entirely different market.

 

[MaxBuck]

Note to self: Read carefully before replying.

Oh, sure, so then you can jump all over the rest of us.

 

[Everett T]

RME made product for professional not audiophile.

How much audiophile needs a mic ?

Is there really a difference if a product is well made? That’s why the term audiophile is useless.