TOPIC:

No need to disconnect.

adjust settings and listen on the fly.

just consider the USB as an 8 channel DAC…

Tktran303 wrote:

What about the E1DA Cosmos ADC?
 

Thanks!  I had not seen this one.  Yes, that looks like a pretty nice device.  It only seems to have XLR inputs, so presumably you’d need a preamp with RCA inputs for the turntable and XLR outputs for the ADC, so that might be tricky.  Also it only seems to output USB, so there may be the issue of having to disconnect the computer from the Flex  8 in order to connect the Cosmos ADC.  Finally it costs 4-6 times as much as the Swissonic and, even if it actually sounds better,  it seems like the turntable and the vinyl are likely to be the weakest links in the sound reproduction chain.  So I’m thinking that this is a case where a “good enough” ADC isn’t audibly distinguishable from a superior ADC because the noise floor of the analog components is so much higher.  (Others may disagree!)

vred wrote:

OMG. I just checked the manual for the Flex and saw that the usb input is not only for control but for audio as well (unlike the 4x10). Okay, then I guess you can't change any settings with the computer software while you are playing a record thru the usb input. You would need to unplug the phono preamp and plub the computer back in? or software control thru bluetooth? 

No software control through Bluetooth.  But for sure you can send adjustments to the Flex 8 using your computer, while also streaming via USB.  It’s definitely more tricky when streaming a connected turntable.  The Swissonic ADC I’m using has only S\PDIF (optical and RCA) outputs, so USB doesn’t enter the picture.  But if you were using an ADC with USB output, either you’d have to do the switching you suggested between the ADC and your computer, or perhaps you could figure out how to route the the USB output of the ADC into your computer and then back out of the computer and into the Flex 8 via its USB connection.  That might work.

Thanks for all the help. The information provided in this thread should be helpful to many.

If you want to simplify your system and use an excellent phono preamp, you might consider using a Puffin Phono DSP.  It has excellent measured performance (it is basically transparent), and the analog signal is converted to digital to apply the RIAA equalization (the analog signal of an LP needs to be equalized with an RIAA curve), so your signal is now digitized, and you can choose whether to use the analog output or digital output of the Puffin.  The Puffin's DSP also includes numerous tools to address/improve/modify the sound output if you so choose. The Puffin is not cheap, but it is far cheaper than many phono preamps, and far better from many perspectives.  Just another option to consider. 

Great thread. AustinJoeC’s contribution to analogue inputs, esp. phono turntables is especially useful for LX521 users such as myself. 

And it is good to hear from Davey that the Flex Eight outperforms the venerable 4*10HD well. 

Regards George

 

Thanks for all the valuable contibutions to this topic!

I'm in the decision phase to buy a Flex eight as my new Speakers are 4-Way DSP xover driven (and DEQX only supports 3-Way, also gets old...). Owning a (lets say decent) RIAA equalising Phono Preamp (Lehmann BlackCube SE II) I've searched for (seemingly equally) decent ADCs.

For me it is (subjectively?) important, though, to avoid avoidable conversions as much as possible, so a Flex Eight internal ADC, directly feeding off the internal clock and connecting through internal I²S as a slave device seem to be an optimal solution. Doing ADC to SPDIF/Toslink and then feed this into the Flex Eight seems sub optimal to me in that light.

In my searches I've come across the Audiophonics ADC (board) with TIs PCM1804 chip putting out 24/96 through SPDIF & Toslink, supporting a clock slave mode and featuring I²S solderbumps on the back-side. I'd like to share this option here for anyone interested, as the board can be used externally (with enclosure and supply added), but at the same time I seek help in potentially implanting it to the Flex Eight internal I²S as there's a lot of air inside it anyway. I would happily sacrifice the Bluetooth interface for that.

Thanks for suggestions!
Regards,
Winfried
PS: We could take the modding project off-line if inappropriate in this environment ;o)
 

Good post,

I have been wandering the interwebs looking for just a gizmo as that....  
I would have liked the large format rackable 
flex instead of the little box that is....Maybe I'll gut my 4x10HD and add all the new guts to that ....   Hmmmmm.
Can you buy an empty 4x10 case anymore ?

Matt

Hi Matt,

well, the 4x10 enclosure is unavailable, but maybe have a look at the 2x8/8x8 enclosure , which has the same dimensions, in the miniDSP shop :o) The idea is actually tempting because a nice linear power supply, an ADC and output balancing circuits would probably fit in nicely as well ;o)

Greetings,
Winfried

 

Hi there,

Sorry for a slight sidestep, though still related query…

I'm hoping the Hifime S2 Digi might be a nice solution for my setup. I think technically the UR23 would suffice, but part of me thinks the S2 is more versatile should my setup change. I am concerned to read of the noise you've experienced though. On the product page Hifime declare that this device should be used with one of their USB_cables (for compatibility reasons) I wonder if you were using one of these cables? If not, maybe that was the only problem (which would return some of my confidence in the product)

Thanks, Neigh

AustinJoeC wrote:

...  I will say though, that the Hifime S2 seems noisier (at least mine does) than the UR 23, but by trial and error, I found a USB port where noise was essentially eliminated and I’m happy with the results.
 Interestingly, if you hook the Topping D10s’s Toslink passthrough output to the Toslink input of the Hifime S2, and then on to your computer, you can directly record a digital stream.  (From, for example, Apple Music, though I’m not suggesting that you should…

)  I have used that capability to compare streamed versions to albums that I’ve recorded, especially if the streamed version sounds flat or too loud.  (And where invariably, remastering has crushed the life out of the recording through compression.)  A case in point is Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi where both the original and a remastered version are available on Apple Music.  The original has some truly incredible low frequency effects if your system can render them.  In the remaster, those LFEs are dialed way way down and it’s incredibly disappointing.  In such a case, recording the original may be prudent just in case the remaster becomes the only version available in the future. 
 Now I just have to figure out how to implement the Flex 8's FIR filters! Joe


 

Sorry I forgot to quote you in my last post. Joe, please see my previous post

Neigh wrote:

Hi there,

Sorry for a slight sidestep, though still related query…

I'm hoping the Hifime S2 Digi might be a nice solution for my setup. I think technically the UR23 would suffice, but part of me thinks the S2 is more versatile should my setup change. I am concerned to read of the noise you've experienced though. On the product page Hifime declare that this device should be used with one of their USB_cables (for compatibility reasons) I wonder if you were using one of these cables? If not, maybe that was the only problem (which would return some of my confidence in the product)

Thanks, Neigh
 

Hi Neigh,
Sorry for the slow response.  I definitely took Hifime's caution about providing the proper cable as a warning and dutifully bought one of theirs.  (It was not too expensive.)  However, in retrospect, I think they are just trying to make sure you buy the correct cable out of the range of USB cable connector formats.  As it turned out, the cable (made by Ugreen, BTW) was too short (~15 cm) for me to use long term, so I bought a similar format in a longer length (10 ft) from Monoprice.  (Additionally, the Monoprice cable has a ferrite choke which I think should help out with respect to noise...though I'm no expert.  I've bought a lot of stuff from Monoprice and have generally been very satisfied with the quality of their products.) 

I'm pretty certain I tried out the Hifime cable and had the same results as the Monoprice.  However, now that you raise the question, I'm no longer certain, and since simply switching to a different USB port on the hub generally eliminated the problem, I didn't look further.  I will try to investigate this and report back.  However, I'll be away for several weeks, so don't stay up late waiting for the answer!

Joe

AustinJoeC wrote:

... I took the RCA analog output from the Mani pre-amp to a Swissonic AD 24/192.  The Swissonic, so far, seems to be a solid A/D converter that provides 24 bit resolution at a fixed 192kHz sampling rate.  The Swissonic provides both Toslink and RCA S\PDIF digital outputs, so either one of those outputs can then be used directly into one of the Flex 8's digital inputs...
 

This is currently my solution as well. I'm simply feeding any analog inputs I may have into an ADC (actually, that same Swissonic AD 24/192), and then into a digital input on the MiniDSP Flex 8. It may not be as "easy" as dedicated analog inputs would be, but it's a viable option for folks who already have the Flex 8 and don't want to wait for (or don't want to buy) a future MiniDSP device that encompasses the need for at least 8 output channel along with analog input.

Thanks for the great info Joe, really appreciate it! I look forward to your tests but won’t hold my breath ☺️