The more sophisticated your converter package, the more likely you are to have adjustable operating levels and precision calibration capability. The process of properly aligning an ADDA signal chain is actually pretty simple.
Regardless of the form of an audio computer, audio is represented digitally on the inside, as streams of bits and bytes to be manipulated by math as opposed to physical analog circuitry.
Nowadays it's easy to buy a laptop that can handle a DAW, and with a fast external drive and the right interface, today's mobile multitrack is more likely to travel in a backpack than a flight case.