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Review and Measurements of RME ADI-2 DAC

Sparky

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Hi.

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply! :)

I initially looked at the mini to be honest and went to check out the Innuos website.... That's when I saw the Zen and checked its specs with all the fancy pictures of the internals etc etc and did what a lot of people do.... Buy the more expensive model... :rolleyes:

If you say, as a current owner, that it is essentially the same but in a small form factor then I will definitely put the mini back on my radar!

The reason I'm looking at the RME is for its amazing ability for EQ adjustments. I'm really intrigued by it and it would be a fantastic way to learn about room acoustics and how best to fine tune sound to suit me and my room.

I would normally not EQ anything where music is concerned but I tend to get boundary gain because I can't have my speakers halfway out into the room so being able to tone down the low end a touch is really appealing to me.

The way DIRAC handles room EQ for my movie watching is amazing so being able to do something manually for music sounds great to me!

If the mini does have analogue out, that would also be a great way to A-B the changes I've made using the RME as that will be on a different analogue input obviously.
 

VintageFlanker

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The reason I'm looking at the RME is for its amazing ability for EQ adjustments. I'm really intrigued by it and it would be a fantastic way to learn about room acoustics and how best to fine tune sound to suit me and my room.
That's a good reason. But... Are you able to measure the FR of your speakers in your room? I mean RME doesn't has room EQ and you will have to do EQ by your own ears. Not the best way in my opinion, if you set it basing on one sound it couldn't work with another etc etc.
 

Sparky

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That's a good reason. But... Are you able to measure the FR of your speakers in your room? I mean RME doesn't has room EQ and you will have to do EQ by your own ears. Not the best way in my opinion, if you set it basing on one sound it couldn't work with another etc etc.

Hi Vintage.

Yes I can measure the in-room response.
I have a Umik1 calibrated microphone with tripod and I use REW (Room Eq Wizard) via my laptop with a long HDMI lead (so I'm not in the room when measurements are taken) .
It's how I got my dual subs to work well together by level matching then moving each one until they both cancelled each others peaks and nulls.

It's a big eye opener actually being able to see the frequency response of any speaker at any time and in any position.
Some old speakers I had could be port bunged and seeing the response of that visually was interesting indeed.

I'm no expert by any means but I'm eager to learn and I really enjoy it.
I think I missed the boat with this because I'm a 41 year old electrician but would drop that in a heartbeat to do this for a living! :cool:
 

VintageFlanker

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Yes I can measure the in-room response.
I have a Umik1 calibrated microphone with tripod and I use REW (Room Eq Wizard) via my laptop with a long HDMI lead (so I'm not in the room when measurements are taken) .
It's how I got my dual subs to work well together by level matching then moving each one until they both cancelled each others peaks and nulls.
Very good news. So you're able to get the FR of your speakers and then manually correct it with RME EQ! :)
 

Sparky

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Very good news. So you're able to get the FR of your speakers and then manually correct it with RME EQ! :)

Yes! :)

I can play whatever test tone (or anything else for that matter) and adjust it on the fly then compare the results.
That's why it's so appealing to me as I can actually "see" the eventual outcome.
I know that measurements aren't everything but they definitely help when it comes to the low end!
 

nscrivener

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Yes! :)

I can play whatever test tone (or anything else for that matter) and adjust it on the fly then compare the results.
That's why it's so appealing to me as I can actually "see" the eventual outcome.
I know that measurements aren't everything but they definitely help when it comes to the low end!

Room EQ can only help with bass frequencies.

I would start with the basics.

Do you have your speakers placed optimally? Small adjustments can make big differences. You want to ensure the distance from the rear and side walls is just right. Also experiment with the amount of toe in.

Next, what is your room like? If it is excessively reverberant, can you do anything to reduce reflections? For example if it is a hard floor surface, can you put a rug down.

Your amp should be enough to drive your speakers at first glance.

You could look at a dac but it might not make much difference. The RME is great but it depends on whether you need the extra features. Amir's master SINAD list can help you find something. Topping do some great dacs that are much cheaper.

If you are going to get a streaming system why not start with something like an Allo USBridge. That can be configured with multiple services such as upnp, Spotify connect, Airplay, and Roon bridge. I personally use Roon as I think it's the best.
 

Sparky

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Room EQ can only help with bass frequencies.

I would start with the basics.

Do you have your speakers placed optimally? Small adjustments can make big differences. You want to ensure the distance from the rear and side walls is just right. Also experiment with the amount of toe in.

Next, what is your room like? If it is excessively reverberant, can you do anything to reduce reflections? For example if it is a hard floor surface, can you put a rug down.

Your amp should be enough to drive your speakers at first glance.

You could look at a dac but it might not make much difference. The RME is great but it depends on whether you need the extra features. Amir's master SINAD list can help you find something. Topping do some great dacs that are much cheaper.

If you are going to get a streaming system why not start with something like an Allo USBridge. That can be configured with multiple services such as upnp, Spotify connect, Airplay, and Roon bridge. I personally use Roon as I think it's the best.

Hi.

When using DIRAC for my movie watching, I only ever EQ up to 500hz.
It took me a long time to get to that figure though as I used to EQ the entire range (from zero to 20khz) and never understood why everything sounded almost metallic in nature... That disappeared when I limited the EQ.

My speakers are placed as optimally as I possibly can considering it's a lounge so some compromises have to be made.
There is wiggle room though so I'll adjust them slightly to see if the changes are audible.
I have them toed in so that I can see the side panel only slightly on each speaker and they're as symmetrical as I can get them.

My room is a mixed bag as we have wood flooring with a large rug in the centre of the room in front of the speakers.
Sofas are material but it's not ideal I guess.
Carpet would probably help clear some of that bass boom but can't do that tight now. Maybe in 6 months or so......

I focused on the RME for its very low noise (as shown in Amir's chart) and for its "tweakability" and for its ability for modifying the low end....

As far as the Innuos is concerned, the main attraction for me is the cd ripping capability of the device.
I've spent many an hour/day ripping my cd's only to find that half of them aren't recognised when it comes to playback. :(
Plus, it also acts as a streamer and server so it kind of ticks every box really....
 

nscrivener

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When using DIRAC for my movie watching, I only ever EQ up to 500hz.
The author of REW recommends only going up to 200hz.

My speakers are placed as optimally as I possibly can considering it's a lounge so some compromises have to be made.
There is wiggle room though so I'll adjust them slightly to see if the changes are audible.
I have them toed in so that I can see the side panel only slightly on each speaker and they're as symmetrical as I can get them.
Depending on the speakers and the room, different degrees of toe-in will work best. Some even suggest aggressive toe-in which crosses 1m in front of the listening position. It's worth trying all the options.

My room is a mixed bag as we have wood flooring with a large rug in the centre of the room in front of the speakers.
Sofas are material but it's not ideal I guess.
Carpet would probably help clear some of that bass boom but can't do that tight now. Maybe in 6 months or so......
It sounds like your room is going to be your biggest issue. Maybe look at room treatment options before investing in more equipment.
 

Ceburaska

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Hi.

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply! :)

I initially looked at the mini to be honest and went to check out the Innuos website.... That's when I saw the Zen and checked its specs with all the fancy pictures of the internals etc etc and did what a lot of people do.... Buy the more expensive model... :rolleyes:

If you say, as a current owner, that it is essentially the same but in a small form factor then I will definitely put the mini back on my radar!
The Zen mini has all the functionality, I think, and that’s really what matters. The more expensive versions have pricier components and audio jewellery, but nothing you’ll miss.
It’s an excellent ripper, and pretty good streamer. I’ve got the 1tb version which can hold about 2000 albums. That’s plenty for me as I now use the streamer a lot.
 

JIW

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He also commented on the newer AKM chips and even hinted towards a potential replacement for the 4490 in the ADI-2:



Here.

It's here now.
Screenshot%202019-11-11%20at%2022.50.51.png


My discovery of this was a bit of an odyssey...

Also, it likely explains the lack of stock at the dealers.
 

Oukkidoukki

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It looks the same. How to tell 4493 version apart from 4490....well whateve.....would be fun to get the new one to the amirms test bench..
 

MC_RME

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> How to tell 4493 version apart from 4490

That's easy. First the new one comes with the new remote. Second only the new one has the SD LD filter selectable (it's part of the new chip so can't be added to the old one). And if some day the DAC enters the used market and people still worry we will also provide serial numbers. Right now there is no need for it.
 
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DomieMic65

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Does anyone use the adi-2 fs with a RPi/piCorePlayer?
I admit I haven't read the whole thread. I am doing it but just want to know if there are any issues with this combination up to all the sample rates and DSD.
Thank you!
 

ElNino

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This new revision looks very solid. The new short delay low dispersion filter is very similar to Archimago's "goldilocks" filter: not quite linear phase, but with minimal phase angle shift to 18kHz. Only 0.5dB FR droop at 20kHz, though aliasing suppression isn't as aggressive as it could be.

Regardless of whether it's audible or not, it's nice to have this option without having to run a software resampler.
 

Sedyn

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Here is a part of an email I received today:

“As you may or may not know RME announced a few days ago that they have updated the version of the ADI2 DAC. The RME ADI-2 DAC's are being produced at the factory as we speak and we expect to receive them somewhere between the end of November and mid December.

The updated DAC has even better DA specs then it's predecessor and a much nicer remote.

You will be one of the first to receive this updated version.

Full specs can be found here: https://www.rme-audio.de/adi-2-dac.html

Soooo, maybe we need to retest?

Edit: Looks like I’m late to the party. Ah well!
 
D

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So did a REW measurement of my room/speakers. Since I just bought a RME ADI-2 DAC I'd like to use the DAC's EQ to do some room correction.

Need suggestions based on the measurements below how I best use the fiveband EQ correcting up to 200-300 Hz.
@mitchco & @Krunok


Left.jpg


Right.jpg


LR.jpg
 
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Juhazi

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With the new FS versions released, second hand markets for older ones should explode? Oldie was a goodie anyway...

It is eay to know which is new
ADI-2-DAC-C.png
 
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