New York 2014: ADL gets even higher (resolution)

Raymond Li of ADL beckoned me over the ADL table. I’m pretty sure he waggled his eyebrows when he said that the GT40 had just been updated (now called “GT40 Alpha”) — the ADC/DAC USB paths were now fully 24bit/192kHz. “See?” He seemed to say. “ADL is on top of it.”

And they are. I don’t really need an analog-to-digital recorder, myself, but I can see where that would be tempting. I actually do have a giant Blue microphone — you know, for those late-night crooning sessions that somehow, even after all those expensive lessons, still sound like throttling penguins — so I can see where this is kind of a big deal. Oh, and all you I-must-archive-my-LP folks — here’s a way to finally capture the full(er) glory of those LP majesties. For the rest of us, however, $550 seems pretty reasonable for a USB DAC. The fact that it has a “phono stage” (both MM and MC, courtesy of the ADC input), is remarkable.

Shown here with the ADL H128 ($470), the pair makes for a rather compelling sub-$1k system that is not only simple to use, but rather comfortable — and yes, it sounds great.

Affordable, portable audio? Yes, yes it is. I’m going to have to look harder at this brand and soon.