Signal path from R2R to DAC

[brillcat]

I have a Teac A4010s that I enjoy a lot but I am curious about running the analog output of the R2R into an ADC (analog-digital converter) so that I can process the digital signal through my Benchmark DAC. Has anyone tried this and, with what results? (I have the same idea about doing this on my vintage FM tuner.)

 

[judsonw]

Just to clarify, are you wanting to run it through a ADC so you can record it and then play those digital files through the DAC? If so, there should be no problem. I have run my A2300SD through a Behringer UCA-202 and recorded to flac. Played back through my DAC, they sound great (if you want samples, I have been posting my digitzed tapes here, though I need to get back to converting more of the tapes).

If you are wanting to go from analog to digital to analog during playback, that would also work, though I am not sure why unless the process colors or adjusts the sound in a way that you prefer.

 

[brillcat]

Yes to both, though initially I was just thinking about digital playback. How did you settle on the Behringer UCA-202? I have had a hard time finding reviews of budget ADCs (a lot of the audiophile ADCs are hundreds if not thousands of $)

 

[judsonw]

There were several reasons that directed me to the Behringer, most of which were price and quality. There are some posts on AK about the Behringer and generally it is viewed as good enough, especially for the price. There are always better ones, but more than one user here uses it for transferring vinyl. Another reason was that I was not certain how much digitizing I was going to do, so I did not want to drop too much money on an ADC to start (especially since I had spent a bit more money on a new phono preamp, headphones, and a heaphone amp the month prior).

For me, the UCA-202 is more than sufficient for what I need and how much I use it, especially at the $30 price range.

 

[brillcat]

Thanks, good info. Did you happen to come across any ADCs that output optical and also coax? The optical input in my DAC is already taken by a feed from my Airport Express, but I have a two digital coax inputs available. Or if you can point me to any threads you found helpful. I would be appreciate it.

 

[judsonw]

Here are a few threads:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....e-decent-analog-to-digital-conversion.770161/
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....for-vinyl-ripping-would-you-recommend.764418/
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/adc-recommendations-based-on-your-experience.751049/

Just looking at the first one, there is this unit: http://www.esi-audio.com/products/u24xl/ which has inputs and outputs for coax, optical, and analog, so that might be something you could look into. It seems to be around $100 on amazon.

 

[judsonw]

Looking over the ESI thing a little more, it might not be completely what you want, as it seems it needs to be connected to a computer to run. That might not work within your settings, I am not sure.

 

[brillcat]

Good links, thanks again. I spotted this little ADC on Monoprice with surprisingly good reviews, https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8127. But I have not found any AK reviews of it. It's tempting just to see how well it performs...

 

[brillcat]

I bought the Monoprice ADC and posted my observations here: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....og-to-digital-converter.807728/#post-11308772