Mic Converter

Description

The Mic Converter JALE-20003 is an audio interface bundled with a microphone for Dream Audition, a Jaleco karaoke and rhythm title released early in the PS2s life. The converter contains an early analogue to digital audio interface, connecting a single channel audio input into the PlayStation 2 setup. This enabled making the player’s voice the central input for a bright arcade-derived singing contest, a relatively new feature albeit not unheard of feature for the era.

Internally the chipset is an Asahi Kasei Microsystems (AKM) AK5370 USB I/F A/D Converter. The AK5370 is a single-chip USB audio microphone interface, integrating a USB serial interface engine, USB transceiver, USB audio class encoder/decoder, endpoints, and a 16-bit single-channel A/D converter. Dream Audition included this converter and a dedicated microphone, however marketing made the point that any microphone, including much higher quality ones, could be used with this.