Fix your RME ADI 2 - FS DAC sound.

[Gibsonian]

Appreciate this post - got me to finally load latest updates to my RME DAC and change filter setting to off. I don't need it. Maybe sounds better?

Anyhow my unit did not have the ability to set the filter in any way, wasn't an option. Does anyone know if this was set to "filter" in earlier firmware settings where this wasn't a user option?

 

[DonDish]

Appreciate this post - got me to finally load latest updates to my RME DAC and change filter setting to off. I don't need it. Maybe sounds better?

DC is explained in the manual. Which you should make your bedside reading if you want to understand this device. From what I understand it isnt harmful to the device itself. The device is DC coupled so it can handle both AC and DC, it is constructed to do so. For HP and speakers though, DC can be fatally harmful. Especially some YouTube videos seem to trigger DC protection in my setup. So my advice is to leave it ON. You can see the DC current in the spectrum analyzer as a mostly static spike in the left end of the spectra. Hovering a bit above the other columns. There are some references to songs at RME forum and probably some here so you can test protection for yourself, but be careful with your expensive equipment.

About cut off frequenzy. Its debated if you can tell at all. Some of us think they can hear anything, so its up to you to decide. Play some bass heavy music and try the different protection modes.

 

[unpluggged]

So my advice is to leave it ON

Depends on downstream equipment's protections. Active speakers in any case have steep low-cut filters. So I disabled it for line/digital outputs and set to "Filter" mode for headphone outputs. When DC protection is set to "ON", it annoys me when it cuts off the sound when it gets triggered on some content.

 

[Gibsonian]

I like it off. Not worried about any DC. Less filter good and less phase disruption even better. I ain’t scared!

 

[DonDish]

Depends on downstream equipment's protections. Active speakers in any case have steep low-cut filters. So I disabled it for line/digital outputs and set to "Filter" mode for headphone outputs. When DC protection is set to "ON", it annoys me when it cuts off the sound when it gets triggered on some content.

Thats why they put the switch there I guess Protection only activates every half a year anyway. No biggie for my use. I thought I cold hear a differnce, but I hesitate to argue with ppl who have more measurement gear than audio equipment

 

[unpluggged]

Thats why they put the switch there I guess

Exactly. This is what I like about RME gear: flexibility and versatility.

 

[win]

Since this thread is already off topic, if I may share my experience with the dc protection -

I discovered this feature because when I bought my (preowned) adi-2 pro, everything seemed fine. Then when my kid was playing Overwatch, the unit kept shutting off. I thought it was maybe a wonky toslink cable. The unit saying 'dc detected' emboldened my concern about the cable, thinking DC meant disconnection. I finally had the genius to look up the error in the manual. After which, I turned it to the filter instead of the muting. No issues since then.

It turns out the audio for D.Va's primary fire is poorly mastered and that is the event that kept triggering the DC protection. It was hard for me to figure out because I don't play that hero, but my daughter does and it kept turning off when she would shoot people!

I logged the bug with the audio on the Overwatch forum but to my knowledge it was never fixed.

 

[LesterHiggins]

The RME ADI-2 FS was a bit daunting and took me the better part of a year to get the muscle memory to know which of the three knobs to use to do what. Touch one and another half dozen or more options appear. The choices have real impact on the sound. Not like your run of the mill DAC. I am still deepening my understand of the significance of all the various functions as they have real significance. This DAC has turned my Heresy IV's from OK into incredible. Thank you RME!

I realized today that in the I/O > Line Out > Bass/Treble menu you can define what bass and treble frequencies are getting boosted or attenuated. Mine were set to something like 50Hz and 10kHz, and they're so far towards the extreme ends of the range of human hearing (20Hz-20kHz) which is less sensitive to lower frequencies and I don't think much music I listen to even contains sounds that high pitched. So I thought maybe if I adjust those to something that makes more of a difference for me, it will improve the sound even more, and I think that worked. I bumped bass frequency up to 60Hz and took treble down to 4kHz (human hearing is most sensitive to sounds in the 2-5kHz range).

The other thing that made a difference for me is the loudness setting. Tracks were feeling a bit lifeless to me unless I really bumped to volume way up. I realized I had set the loudness reference volume way low so that loudness would not come on, which for me was a mistake. By setting the ref really high, at a volume I'll never turn the thing up to, loudness is always engaged, and that works better for me, along with turning Auto Ref Level OFF and bumping Ref Level up to +7 dBu. That makes the volume dial at least make a little more sense for me, I was confused why I'd have to turn the thing up so high before.

 

[40th Anniversary]

The RME ADI-2 FS was a bit daunting and took me the better part of a year to get the muscle memory to know which of the three knobs to use to do what. Touch one and another half dozen or more options appear. The choices have real impact on the sound. Not like your run of the mill DAC. I am still deepening my understand of the significance of all the various functions as they have real significance. This DAC has turned my Heresy IV's from OK into incredible. Thank you RME!

I own both the RME ADI-2 DAC FS and ADI-2 DAC Pro FS: the Pro is even more involved!

 

[bumblebee657]

I know this thread is old, but anyway. I understand the importance of DC protection for DC coupled amps and passive speakers or headphone amps like those for Stax headphones. But what about active studio monitors, especially those that internally process the signal digitally (like Genelecs)? Do I have to worry about DC content at the input or can I turn the DC filter off in my Rme Adi DAC? Thanks!

 

[jhenderson0107]

But what about active studio monitors, especially those that internally process the signal digitally (like Genelecs)? Do I have to worry about DC content at the input or can I turn the DC filter off in my Rme Adi DAC?

The output from any DAC fed into a studio monitor (such as the Genelecs) is digitized by the monitor's internal ADC which is very likely AC-coupled, blocking any DC voltage present on the DAC output. It is certainly possible to design DC-coupled ADC circuits (I have designed many), but most audio circuits block DC - 10 Hz as a practical and safety measure.

 

[bumblebee657]

Thanks. I understand that about the internal ADC. But could DC at the input cause damage to something before the signal is digitized internally?

 

[Holmz]

Thanks. I understand that about the internal ADC. But could DC at the input cause damage to something before the signal is digitized internally?

Only if the DC is higher than the bit range of the ADC.

 

[bumblebee657]

Only if the DC is higher than the bit range of the ADC.

How likely is that? Or is it more of a hypothetical question?

 

[jhenderson0107]

Thanks. I understand that about the internal ADC. But could DC at the input cause damage to something before the signal is digitized internally?

If the ADC circuit is AC-coupled, then any DC present on the DAC output is blocked completely and thus cannot affect/damage downstream circuitry in any way. If the ADC circuit were DC-coupled, then it would typically be designed to accept a range of DC voltages appropriate for the intended use-case. For example, many industrial applications utilize control voltages in the +/- 10V range. But there is no value in direct-coupling the analog input to an active loudspeaker, so it is very likely an AC -coupled input.

 

[Holmz]

How likely is that? Or is it more of a hypothetical question?

I answered your hypothetical question.

If the ADC circuit is AC-coupled, then any DC present on the DAC output is blocked completely and thus cannot affect/damage downstream circuitry in any way. If the ADC circuit were DC-coupled, then it would typically be designed to accept a range of DC voltages appropriate for the intended use-case. For example, many industrial applications utilize control voltages in the +/- 10V range. But there is no value in direct-coupling the analog input to an active loudspeaker, so it is very likely an AC -coupled input.

Well anyone can hook say a 1.5V battery to their RME and see what it yields through the ADC.

 

[MC_RME]

The DC could damage the input coupling component (capacitor) if higher than what that component is rated for. In real-world that will never happen, DC at a DAC output is lower than 15 Volts, even much lower from musical sources, while coupling capacitors are typically 25V up.