Looking for an ADC (stereo RCA in to digital USB out) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: cvanc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2019, 10:35:45 pm
content: Hi all-I'm embarking on a digitizing project for some old media around the house. Need to take the line level output of vintage stereo sources (an old reel to reel, a cassette deck, and so on) and digitize them into a Windows laptop.Because I need to use a laptop I am looking for some kind of external dongle with a USB output. If any if you have a suggestion I'd be most grateful if you would share. Thank you.

author: sokoloff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2019, 10:44:56 pm
content: I'd look at USB audio capture devices and pick one that's stereo with good reviews.This one seems to have both those qualities:https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Audio-Capture-Windows-10-11/dp/B019T9KS04

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2019, 11:23:35 pm
content: Check any old(er) PCs you have lying around. There's a good chance at least one of them will have a decent sound card with line in.

author: rhb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2019, 12:03:15 am
content: Browse sweetwater.com, musiciansfriend.com, and americanmusical.comA stereo unit should cost under $150. search for "USB audio interface"

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2019, 01:24:58 am
content: Before you go spending any money, check that your laptop doesn't already have a line-in (I know this might seem obvious). Most sound cards these days can dynamically route the source of an input to either line or microphone-in through software. You're probably be better off using your soundcard's internal ADC over those cheap Chinese dongles.If you don't mind spending a bit more money, check out something like theFocusrite Scarlett 2i2for around AUD$200 retail.

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2019, 02:14:26 am
content: My 2c: sound cards are hit and miss, you can't trust claims or judge by price. There's no way to know before hand whether or not they meet your expectations, you just have to try them.Some laptops/desktops are good. Others have digital noise (interference) at an unacceptable level. I've even had a device that delayed one input channel compared to the other (a few ms IIRC). .I've had similar experiences with cheap USB audio cards. Some are good, others have problems. It's worth ordering a few different types at once, especially since they are so cheap.I have no experience with expensive devices, apologiesOther than discovering some of the expensive devices have garbage proprietary drivers that don't even necessarily work on Windows.I'm glad I didn't have to pay for those ones.Trust nothing other than actual concrete hard evidence: record some actual target music and record some silence, see what mess is in there and whether or not you think it's good enough. There is no such thing as perfect, only "good enough for human hearing".

author: thermistor-guy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2019, 02:42:14 am
content: Quote from: cvanc on February 10, 2019, 10:35:45 pmHaven't used it myself, but Behringer makes products in that vein, e.g.:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GHBYZ0/https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0023BYDHK/

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2019, 04:24:48 am
content: I have an older version of the Behringer audio box, pretty good but only 48kHz sample rate so beware of aliasing if the source has a lot of high frequency noise. (There is a pretty good low pass filter but input a sweeping square wave and enough high frequency harmonics slip by to see them "bounce off the end" in the spectrum view.)BTW, I suggest using baudline to measure the performance of whatever you end up using.