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Measurements of RME ADI-2 DAC and Headphone Amp

Tks

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Did anyone read the comments in a superaudiofriends about this unit not being so great? Favoring SDAC a lot?

Yes I've read their insanity. They have golden material that's still up where they rail on the JDS Atom for bring "boring" and "just because it measures good, doesn't mean it sounds good", and finally the "you can cheat performance measurements".

Even I as someone who is coming to terms and reading about the metrics and science around audio daily can see the nonsense coming out of some of the people there >_<
 

MC_RME

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Sparky

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@MC_RME This latest update is the icing on the cake for me. I use a Harmony Elite and was concerned about how it would integrate with my setup and if I could get it to work but you guys have sorted that with this. :p:cool:

I must be honest and say that the continuous support you provide for this product goes beyond anything I've seen before and really does validate my purchase of this DAC.
I look forward to using it when it arrives on Friday.

Thanks guys. :D
 

badboygolf16v

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I just treated myself to an ADI-2 DAC last week. It sounds great. The build quality and features are second to none. Very happy with my purchase, and I haven't even tried the headphone amp yet!

I had to upgrade from firmware 26 to 29 last week. This week an upgrade from 29 to 30.

Weekly firmware updates are the icing on the cake.. ;)
 

Sparky

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I just treated myself to an ADI-2 DAC last week. It sounds great. The build quality and features are second to none. Very happy with my purchase, and I haven't even tried the headphone amp yet!

I had to upgrade from firmware 26 to 29 last week. This week an upgrade from 29 to 30.

Weekly firmware updates are the icing on the cake.. ;)

Oh great! I was going to buy a Chord DAC but the features of the RME just made it a no-brainer.
I can't wait to get mine set up... Like a kid again... All excited.. :D
 

Sparky

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I don't understand... Didn't you already order the RME? What Chord was in your mind?

I ordered the RME but it was delayed so only had confirmation of despatch yesterday.
I ordered it nearly a month ago! :oops:

I was going to buy the Chord Qutest......
 

Sparky

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Ok. As you probably red, I own both few months back and you definitely made the right choice value-wise! Enjoy your unit!
Did you keep the RME then or go for something different??
 

Sparky

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The irony being that the music they are listening to on their schitty amp in many cases was recorded using RME hardware as it is well regarded in studios.

Didn't know that! Thanks for the info... :)
 

Tks

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That would cause me to lose my faith in RME.

I'd love if they attempted something like this. Throw in a streamer module, and it'd be perfect (though lose the OLED, burn-in is still a thing and has been seen in SMSL products even with simple 1-bit OLED matrix).

The reason I'd love to see it is simply because of how they handled the 4490. Have folks noticed how their implementation performs better than some dedicated 4497 and nearly all 4493 devices out there overall(I keep repeating myself all over the place, this is interesting considering the RME came out over a year ago and it still holds it's own against nearly all devices out there in raw performance)? I'd love to see what sort of overkill implementation they would manage with a 4499, and essentially bury all competition from a performance metric.

As for price though? Oh brother, can easily see a double, if not triple price out of it.. Possibly a new tier that wouldn't replace the ADI 2 DAC, just a new sector of the market being addressed (like forinstance DX3 Pro currently out, VS the upcoming DX7 Pro that will be in a different price tier).
 

Sparky

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Burn in with the RME? Is that a thing really?
I noticed a significant change in my speakers after a few weeks but a DAC? Don't get me wrong, if you're right then I'm a happy chap. :D

I agree with you on the streamer module though, I've just bought one to pair with the RME but if they did their own, I would've bought it.

Can you tell me which products the RME has outperformed just out of interest.
So the RME has a much older DAC chip?
 

Hugo9000

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Burn in with the RME? Is that a thing really?
I noticed a significant change in my speakers after a few weeks but a DAC? Don't get me wrong, if you're right then I'm a happy chap. :D

I agree with you on the streamer module though, I've just bought one to pair with the RME but if they did their own, I would've bought it.

Can you tell me which products the RME has outperformed just out of interest.
So the RME has a much older DAC chip?
@Tks was talking about OLED burn-in (the display), not 'audiophile burn-in' haha!
 

Tks

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Burn in with the RME? Is that a thing really?
I noticed a significant change in my speakers after a few weeks but a DAC? Don't get me wrong, if you're right then I'm a happy chap. :D

I agree with you on the streamer module though, I've just bought one to pair with the RME but if they did their own, I would've bought it.

Can you tell me which products the RME has outperformed just out of interest.
So the RME has a much older DAC chip?

Oh no, I'm sorry for the horrible wording that might've confused you, as the fellow above me said, I mean't OLED "burn in", not like audiophile burn-in nonsense >_<

As for which devices it beats? You have the Topping DX3 Pro in SINAD, and you also have the latest D70 pure DAC it beats in terms of SINAD as well. RME is a 4490, the DX3 is a 4493, while the D70 is the latest 4497. Yet regardless, the RME wins out in some respects.

This is why it would be interesting to see just out of curiosity, how much RME could do with a 4499.
 

Damian

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Oh no, I'm sorry for the horrible wording that might've confused you, as the fellow above me said, I mean't OLED "burn in", not like audiophile burn-in nonsense >_<

As for which devices it beats? You have the Topping DX3 Pro in SINAD, and you also have the latest D70 pure DAC it beats in terms of SINAD as well. RME is a 4490, the DX3 is a 4493, while the D70 is the latest 4497. Yet regardless, the RME wins out in some respects.

This is why it would be interesting to see just out of curiosity, how much RME could do with a 4499.

Don’t you think that the RME being up there is enough? Will it translate into the audible realm?
 
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