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

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Lupin

Lupin

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Wow this topic went completely of the rails fast.. :(
The majority of the people completely missed the point I was trying to make or misunderstood it (i hope)

No I'm not looking for suggestions nor alternatives nor I need any of these and I'm very well aware that there are 1001 existing alternative ways to achieve what I proposed. Again that was not the point at all.

I simply wanted to create a thread to share thoughts about Topping/SMSL entering the market segment of a DAC and/or AIO with an ADC included like Schiit and Mayflower Electronics. Those two companies pour a "gaming sauce" over their products, I just think that a company like Topping could do better than either of these two other companies without having to hide behind the "gaming" facade.

Instead this became a thread about how the audio interface is the be all and end all.. well it is simply not. Look the the performance, price and all the bells and whistles that comes with an average audio interface.. they hardly overlap at all with what the Fulla/ARC are trying to do.
Yes an audio interface is definitely the way to go when you're a mixer, streamer or running your own YouTube channel or something alike. For the demographic that has an USB DAC/AIO because they love to listen to high quality music and need an ADC every now and then the audio interface falls short as the audio interface is focussed on different aspects.

Amir reviewed the Moto and Babyface. I just repeated what he stated in his review and apparently when Amir says it it's fine but when I repeat what he says in the review it suddenly becomes "audiophile bias". You can call it audiophile bias all day long but at the end of the day objectively measured output power of 24mw is just poor as Amir also labeled it poor. As an audio interface it's just "fine" but again what the audio interface is doing very well is not the focus of a device like Fulla/ARC.

I'm disappointed that this thread turned into a crusade on how the audio interface is the be all and end all, and everyone is just laser focussed on that portion missing the original intent of this thread.

A moderator might as well lock this thread.
 

Trell

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Wow this topic went completely of the rails fast.. :(
The majority of the people completely missed the point I was trying to make or misunderstood it (i hope)

No I'm not looking for suggestions nor alternatives nor I need any of these and I'm very well aware that there are 1001 existing alternative ways to achieve what I proposed. Again that was not the point at all.

I simply wanted to create a thread to share thoughts about Topping/SMSL entering the market segment of a DAC and/or AIO with an ADC included like Schiit and Mayflower Electronics. Those two companies pour a "gaming sauce" over their products, I just think that a company like Topping could do better than either of these two other companies without having to hide behind the "gaming" facade.

Instead this became a thread about how the audio interface is the be all and end all.. well it is simply not. Look the the performance, price and all the bells and whistles that comes with an average audio interface.. they hardly overlap at all with what the Fulla/ARC are trying to do.
Yes an audio interface is definitely the way to go when you're a mixer, streamer or running your own YouTube channel or something alike. For the demographic that has an USB DAC/AIO because they love to listen to high quality music and need an ADC every now and then the audio interface falls short as the audio interface is focussed on different aspects.

Amir reviewed the Moto and Babyface. I just repeated what he stated in his review and apparently when Amir says it it's fine but when I repeat what he says in the review it suddenly becomes "audiophile bias". You can call it audiophile bias all day long but at the end of the day objectively measured output power of 24mw is just poor as Amir also labeled it poor. As an audio interface it's just "fine" but again what the audio interface is doing very well is not the focus of a device like Fulla/ARC.

I'm disappointed that this thread turned into a crusade on how the audio interface is the be all and end all, and everyone is just laser focussed on that portion missing the original intent of this thread.

A moderator might as well lock this thread.

I think that you missed the (implicit) point of many posters: An USB DAC with an ADC for microphone input is an audio interface.

What you essentially asked is: When will Topping/SMSL make an audio interface for the HiFi market, but with poor to non-existent support for many quality microphones available at good prices.

You do make a number of assumptions about people using audio interfaces, though.

I use my MOTU M2 for video calls and most of it is work related due to the pandemic: No streaming or youtube or mixing or whatnot. As I too thought the M2 output was too low for my Beyerdynamics DT880 250 Ohm I ended up with the RME ADI-2 DAC FS for that as well as output to my monitors. I bought the ADI-2 for the numerous features it has as the DAC is audibly transparent, and many DACs review here are audibly transparent as well.
 

Berwhale

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I simply wanted to create a thread to share thoughts about Topping/SMSL entering the market segment of a DAC and/or AIO with an ADC included like Schiit and Mayflower Electronics.

It's been stated many times on ASR that DACs are 'done' (i.e. audibly transparent) and, within the last couple of years, HP amps are also 'done'. So the differentiation between competing devices is no longer dependant on performance, but on build, form factor, features, service & support, etc. I think this will drive companies like Topping and SMSL to add features like a basic ADC facility, rather than any pecieved market opportunity (in a market that is already occupied by interface manufacturers and gaming focused brands).
 

beeface

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It's been stated many times on ASR that DACs are 'done' (i.e. audibly transparent) and, within the last couple of years, HP amps are also 'done'. So the differentiation between competing devices is no longer dependant on performance, but on build, form factor, features, service & support, etc. I think this will drive companies like Topping and SMSL to add features like a basic ADC facility, rather than any pecieved market opportunity (in a market that is already occupied by interface manufacturers and gaming focused brands).
This is exactly something I would buy. Hope it happens!
 

McFly

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RME made product for professional not audiophile.

How much audiophile needs a mic ?
One that likes the sound of his own voice.

But seriously, just get a focusrite solo??
 

beeface

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But seriously, just get a focusrite solo??
Happy to be corrected, but I'm pretty sure the headphone output would be considered fairly underpowered compared to products from the likes of Topping and SMSL.

Obviously there are a tonne of existing products that have the functionality being described, but that isn't the point. Read the OP's most recent post above. It feels like we are going in circles in this thread.
 

dfuller

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Happy to be corrected, but I'm pretty sure the headphone output would be considered fairly underpowered compared to products from the likes of Topping and SMSL.

Obviously there are a tonne of existing products that have the functionality being described, but that isn't the point. Read the OP's most recent post above. It feels like we are going in circles in this thread.
Yeah the headphone output on the Scarletts (the bus powered ones especially) is... pretty bad. Very little power and high distortion. Getting a headphone amp with lots of power out in an interface requires significantly more money than the Scarletts.
 
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