Measurements of RME ADI-2 DAC and Headphone Amp

[yeaster]

Are you looking for the distance from the inside edge of one foot to the inside edge of the other (width and depth) or from the center of one foot to the center of the other (width and depth)?

Thanks for your reply. I'm looking for the distance from the outside edge of one foot to the outside edge of the other.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[RPG]

Width is approx. 7 3/8"
Depth is approx. 4 3/8"

Both of the above measurements were taken from outside edge to outside edge.

 

[yeaster]

Width is approx. 7 3/8"
Depth is approx. 4 3/8"

Both of the above measurements were taken from outside edge to outside edge.

Thanks a lot! Much appreciated!!

 

[Pritaudio]

Is it a good option to add the separate adc only rme unit to the adi dac 2 as an alternative to the adi pro fs model (which does adc and dac).
how would the combined sinads be affected.
and the dac 2 model has sinad of 115db in dac mode, while the pro fs only has Sinad 110db in dac mode.
it may provide a feasible upgrade path this way?

 

[VintageFlanker]

Why doesn’t such nice DAC come in colour silver?

Because:

The Pro line was silver/blue. But sales and requests are zero now that the Black Edition is out. DAC in silver/blue won't sell at all, IMHO.

 

[Pritaudio]

Is it a good option to add the separate adc only rme unit to the adi dac 2 as an alternative to the adi pro fs model (which does adc and dac).
how would the combined sinads be affected.
and the dac 2 model has sinad of 115db in dac mode, while the pro fs only has Sinad 110db in dac mode.
it may provide a feasible upgrade path this way?

I forgot the fact that the dac model won’t provide digital out after it has processed the digital input signal. Sorry.

 

[odyo]

I hope someone can make cheaper version of this. Something like Monoprice dac amp combo but well done version of it.

 

[ninetylol]

If I was using the RCA out as a equalized DAC would the SINAD drop to as low as 109?

Since my active speakers have a input sensitivity of 700mV I cant use higher voltages than about 2V.

Since I already have an headphone amp, would another DAC like SU-9 be superior for my case? (losing eq though)

 

[Willem]

From what I understand the auto reference level function largely deals with this problem. I don't think a separate headphone amplifier will be a meaningful sonic improvement, let alone another DAC. Just enjoy the music.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Will a Motu M2 will sound much worse than this DAC?

 

[Willem]

No, all remotely decent DACs will sound the same. The advantage of the ADI-2 is its functionality with auto reference level, tone, balance and loudness controls, headphone crossfeed, some parametric filters, etc.

 

[MC_RME]

If I was using the RCA out as a equalized DAC would the SINAD drop to as low as 109?
Since my active speakers have a input sensitivity of 700mV I cant use higher voltages than about 2V.
Since I already have an headphone amp, would another DAC like SU-9 be superior for my case? (losing eq though)

You missed this one:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ac-and-headphone-amp-review.13379/post-401802

 

[Gomjab]

You missed this one:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ac-and-headphone-amp-review.13379/post-401802

THIS!

That is what I love about my ADI DAC and Pro. The auto setting is a great default for probably 90% of users. And for edge cases they give you the options to manually control things.
I originally set mine manually and would over think things. Now I leave it on auto and just enjoy the sonic bliss!

 

[HerbertWest]

FYI two informational videos by @MC_RME
- SteadyClock FS
- Extreme Power mode

Speaking of Headphones modes, the ADI2-PRO FS also support an additional "balanced" mode thanks to its dual headphone jacks (and 2x DAC chips), to increase SNR by 3 dBA. Basically, two power amplifiers are used to drive one side of the phones each.

Pasting from pag 41. of the online manual "Compared to normal, grounded operation, the voltage seen by the phone driver/speaker is doubled
In Advanced Balanced mode the ADI-2 Pro’s maximum output level rises to +13 dBu for HiPower Off and +28 dBu for Hi-Power On. The signal to noise ratio rises from 117 dB / 120 dBA to 120 dB / 123 dBA.".

 

[rcstevensonaz]

somy said:
Why doesn’t such nice DAC come in colour silver?

Because:
MC_RME said:
The Pro line was silver/blue. But sales and requests are zero now that the Black Edition is out. DAC in silver/blue won't sell at all, IMHO.

RME Team (@MC_RME): You are correct, almost nobody* will purchase Silver and Blue (but they do want to purchase Silver).

Can I suggest you look at decision a bit differently?

Given you have seen the opportunity with the "Prosumer" audio community (as evidenced by design decisions you made in launching the ADI-2 Pro FSR), it might be economically worthwhile making a branding decision to offer both Black and Silver models for that segment. The reason is that most of the Prosumer customers are combining your gear with other components they are also purchasing. The industry has standardized on Black and on Silver as the colors for audio gear; and most audio customers will typically try to keep their gear color matched.

So why not take your recent "branding" change just a half a step further?

Professional Audio Products:

• Silver & Blue - retain RME's design and branding for this market, e.g., UC*, Babyface, etc. (including Pro Audio targeted ADI*)

Prosumer Audio Products:

• Black - e.g. ADI-2 Pro FSR B
• Silver - e.g. ADI-2 Pro FSR S

Since you have relatively few offerings in Prosumer category, it will not add that many additional SKUs. And, those products share the same form factor, so the primary shell case will be the same across the silver models; with just the face plate being customized for the ADI-2 DAC and ADI-2 PRO FSR.

Will this pick up additional revenue? Some, but not huge. However, it will reduce a buying obstacle for people in your new, expanded market segment. And more importantly, it will bring increased satisfaction for your customers who no longer have to "give up" their visual aesthetic — a choice they make because they love your products so much, but a trade-off they wish they didn't have to make.

* I'm weird... I love the Silver / Blue and I wish that was an option for the PRO FSR... but your logic in not offering that color for the Prosumer market is correct from both an economics perspective and, more importantly, a branding perspective.

 

[Harmonie]

Nowadays Mini, Fiat 500 and many others boosted their market by the pallet of customized options.
Of course the scale of automotive vs Hifi isn't the same; but there's a beginning to everything.

It would make RME much more popular and accessible to the crowd too.

There is a market for customized Hifi gear.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Nowadays Mini, Fiat 500 and many others boosted their market by the pallet of customized options.
Of course the scale of automotive vs Hifi isn't the same; but there's a beginning to everything.

It would make RME much more popular and accessible to the crowd too.

There is a market for customized Hifi gear.

Two makes I looked into over the last few years had a lot of options and they were expensive options too.
Most of the options are standard on other makes.
The only option I actually was looking for was a non-black interior - I am totally bored with almost all car interiors being black - but in the cars with a different colour interior option available at zero cost things like LED lights were expensive options so I refused to be ripped off and didn't bother to complete a configuration.

 

[Harmonie]

Two makes I looked into over the last few years had a lot of options and they were expensive options too.
Most of the options are standard on other makes.
The only option I actually was looking for was a non-black interior - I am totally bored with almost all car interiors being black - but in the cars with a different colour interior option available at zero cost things like LED lights were expensive options so I refused to be ripped off and didn't bother to complete a configuration.

Expensive options ?
Depends on which side you are.
You just boost my point about the added value for this marketing for a car or maybe a Hifi manufacturer.

 

[VintageFlanker]

You just boost my point about the added value for this marketing for a car or maybe a Hifi manufacturer

I think you're missing the point: RME is not some
Hi-Fi manufacturer at all. It is a pro brand and is advertising only one of its products to be suitable for Hi-Fi purposes (that one, precisely).

 

[Harmonie]

Not sure to agree.
Sure RME is a pro brand.
But getting more popular, let alone on ASR, Audiophonics, Thomann aso.
Means that RME could "add" a new "department" for Hifi and to make it more attractive, adding other colours.

Wait and see ...