Connecting a Topping L50 to RME Adi-2 DAC FS?

[peaceonearth]

Hello,
It's probably a bit of a silly question but how can I connect the RME to the L50? I'd like to compare headphone amps. Do I use the headphone output on the RME or line out? What settings do I use for the RME?
Thank you.

 

[staticV3]

Use the XLR Line out with Ref level set to +13dBu.

For this, you will need two XLR->TRS cables.

 

[staticV3]

Sorry, do I turn it up to 6dBr and keep it on full?

Tbh, while I did say +13dBu because it's closest to nominal 4Vrms, in practice the L50 can likely take any voltage the ADI-2 can output without issues, so it really doesn't matter.

Edit:
ASR user @nagster has measured the max input voltage of various Topping Headphone Amps and so far, all of them could take 9V or more:

L70:


A90D:


A70 Pro:


The L50, though not yet measured, should be in the same ballpark.

 

[staticV3]

must have been mistaken, I thought -5dBu was closest to 4V and at the other end of the scale 13dBu is close to 10V.

Here's an online converter:
https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/v-dbv-dbu.php#gsc.tab=0

 

[Oldson]

been considering an L70 to add to my RME, just out of curiosity.

but even though the Topping measures slightly better, would the difference be audible?

 

[jkim]

been considering an L70 to add to my RME, just out of curiosity.

but even though the Topping measures slightly better, would the difference be audible?

I own both and even tried to connect them and measure them. There's no point. The RME has a very competent headphone amp. In terms of quality, you won't hear a difference. Sure, the L70 has higher output from its balanced connection, but is useful only for very power-hungry headphones. In terms of quality (not output power), there's no benefit of balanced connection.