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Which RME should I get?

Sir Sanders Zingmore

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After some sage advice if I may.

I'm thinking about getting an RME dac to run directly into my power amp. The main reason is that I really like the loudness feature. A second reason is that I could get rid of my preamp.
The problem I have is that I run two digital sources (CD player and streaming) and one analog (turntable). The analog source is the problem of course

My question is am I better off going with the ADI-2 Pro FS R which has a built in ADC (and costs AUD ~3k) or the ADI-2 DAC FS (cost AUD ~$2200) and getting a separate ADC? Given the largish price difference between the two models, is there a transparent standalone ADC that people might recommend ?
 

Matias

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In your place I would get the Pro and be done with it. Better than saving some money, buying another ADC+cables and always wondering if it is resolving as well as the Pro.
 
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Another Bob

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You probably already know this but... you will still need your preamp with the RME as long as you have the turntable. The RME doesn't have the gain for the low output of a phono cartridge and doesn't do RIAA equalization.
 
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Sir Sanders Zingmore

Sir Sanders Zingmore

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You probably already know this but... you will still need your preamp with the RME as long as you have the turntable. The RME doesn't have the gain for the low output of a phono cartridge and doesn't do RIAA equalization.

Yes I'm aware of that, although I don't need a "full" preamp, just a phono preamp
 

AudioJester

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What pre are you using? I wonder if your better off with what you all ready have?
 
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Sir Sanders Zingmore

Sir Sanders Zingmore

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What pre are you using? I wonder if your better off with what you all ready have?
That's a good point.
I have a SandersSoundSystems Pre which I think is very good (although I've never seen measurements of it) and it has a decent phono stage built in

Really, what I want is some way to implement dynamic loudness for my digital and analog sources. I'd be happy if there was a way to do that and not get rid of my preamp
 

Blumlein 88

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Really up to you.
All in one RME and your phono pre is a good simple choice.

RME DAC, your phono pre, and say a Motu M2 for digitizing the phono output would work and be less expensive. The Motu would also have a microphone input which might be used with your phono bypassing your phono preamp. You could try that later and ditch the phono pre if it were to your liking. The Motu as phono pre is easier to make work right with moving coil, and you'll have to use DSP RIAA somewhere along the chain of playback. Sticking with your phono pre feeding the Motu is probably operationally simpler.

I don't think you have to spend big bucks on an ADC for it to be transparent to your analog source.

I've helped a few people feed a quality phono preamp to an inexpensive ADC. In some systems where just the low cost of the ADC made them skeptical. All have been quite happy at how well this works and eventually quit worrying about 'digitizing' an analog signal.

PS-most audio interfaces you might use for an ADC will work stand alone. You'd connect to a PC to set it up the way you want it to work. Then controls from the front like gain and level still work, but you don't need a PC connected. It will sit there and do its job like any other black box of digitizing the input you've selected for it, and you can connect a digital out to your choice of DAC.
 

therobin

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I am not sure what the loudness feature you are looking for is, but thought I would suggest condsidering the Benchmark DAC3L. It will probably cost you more but has multiple digital inputs and two analog inputs which will bypass needing an additional ADC/DAC conversion for your turntable.
 
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Sir Sanders Zingmore

Sir Sanders Zingmore

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I am not sure what the loudness feature you are looking for is,
The RME has the ability to apply a Fletcher/Munson equal loudness eq curve. This is dynamic and automatically adjusts depending on volume.
It’s the main reason I’m thinking of changing anything. So it’s a “must have” that rules out the Benchmark
 

Soniclife

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I would look into phono stages that have digital out, a much simpler way to do it. There is the puffin that has been reviewed here, and project have a few.
 
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Sir Sanders Zingmore

Sir Sanders Zingmore

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I would look into phono stages that have digital out, a much simpler way to do it. There is the puffin that has been reviewed here, and project have a few.

I've actually tried the puffin - someone lent it to me.
It's a really cool bit of equipment. I especially liked the "magic" setting which removes clicks and pops.
The other settings like "tube" and 'tape' are fun and prove (to me at least) that if you like those kind of distortions you can emulate them quite easily without having to spend big dollars on real tubes :)
 
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