Jason said somewhere earlier in this thread that really an LP has about 12 bits of dynamic range. Unless you're ripping CD-4 LPs (with the right cartridge) you probably don't need that high a sampling rate.
Here's an interesting chart that grants LPs a dynamic range of about 12.5 bits, vs. CD's 16. The chartmakers also invent a FPI (Fidelity Potential Index) which gives the nod to DVDA and SACD as the potentially highest fidelity mediums. Reel-to-reel kicks vinyl's ass, FWIW, and comes out on top of the analogue heap.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0409/
But that's not the point of oversampling (i.e. recording at greater than 16/44.1 Redbook). You are nearly always going to want to do some post-recording editing, even if it's only cutting up the continuous nature of recording one side of a record into individual tracks. You want "extra" bits to "throw away" during the editing process (please forgive the scare quotes) before creating the final iTunes (etc.) version of the track. I always want to remove some click and surface noise when possible. That's why you want the ADC to be able to do at least 24/96, even when the final target is 16/44.1, so you can do some (inevitably) lossy editing, and still have high fidelity.
There's an interesting question thread on Quora that talks about vinyl vs CD and what quality means.
https://www.quora.com/Why-are-vinyl-records-considered-to-have-better-audio-quality-than-CDs-or-high-bitrate-MP3s?share=1
I like the idea but would want Schiit to offer a bundle. Buy the ADC for $X, Sys for $Y, Mani for $Z or a combination for ($X+$Y) * 90%. Unless one says shipping it all together is your savings.
Schiit have a page on their website about deals. The bottom line, they don't do them.
http://schiit.com/about/on-deals
I don't know about savings on bundled shipping though, that might be a possiblity. I live in Canada. International shipping is brutal…
You need a high bit count to give room for editing for noise reduction.
My phono cartridge claims to go to 25KHz so I'd like a sample rate of at least 50KHz but since that's a strange number I'll take 88.2KHz.
Your cartridge may reach 25KHz, but the chances of that being encoded in the vinyl grooves is pretty low. Not impossible, but really low. Only 1/2 speed mastering would press that kind of frequency, and there's only a few hundred titles that used that technique, even if the mastering plant didn't roll off the high end to save their cutters.
The good news is, a sampling rate of 24/96 would meet your needs.
Put a strategic "NOT" in my post you quoted -- a cut-rate ADC is NOT what archivists...
You're probably right. That's out there. The
Griffin iMic is below $50 and the
Behringer UCA202 below $70. Both have an ADC, DAC and headphone amp. Neither does 24/96. Neither would be happy with a 300-ohm headphone. But a cut-rate ADC is not what we're hoping for. We want a Schiit-rate ADC!
OK, that sounded funny, but you know what I mean. We're agitating for a thoughtfully designed, punches-above-its-weight, affordable, quality, bare-bones ADC built with the proven Schiit attention to detail we've come to expect. At this point we're discussing an entry-level model. If when we can afford it we get to step up from the entry level to something even better for our birthdays, then yippee!
Remember, Schiit started with one product: the Asgard, for around $250, in 2010. They now have seven amps and four DACs (not counting variations). For all we know, starting with one ADC could end up adding an entire third line of products to their offerings.
