Hi! After searching for a modern audio interface with a good headphone amp and a parametric EQ, I settled on the ADI-2 DAC. Just wanted to share some of my impressions and experiences:
1. "Driverless" operation is still clunky on
Windows 10 1809 even with the latest firmware
26/30. Windows' sound control panel disallows sample rate/format selection, locked at 44.1 KHz and 32 bits. DirectSound works, but "exclusive mode" aka WASAPI is clunky: Foobar2000 in WASAPI mode produces various clicking and beeping noises, and sometimes either errors out with "unsupported format" when switching to tracks with different sample rate, or "successfully" changes the sample rate (as confimed by the ADI-2 DAC display) but produces heavily distorted sound. MPC-HC, on the other hand, works OK in "exclusive" (aka WASAPI) mode, changes the sample rate and all, but when it enters said "exclusive" mode, all other applications that were producing sound at that moment crash or display error messages. While I'm hoping this is all just Windows being Windows, and not a problem with the ADI-2 DAC, still it is a bit disappointing
2. Keeping the above in mind, after installing the official RME drivers, everything works great through either DirectSound or ASIO, albeit WASAPI stops working completely. I guess I can live with that, as long as RME continue providing their drivers for all the new Windows versions that Microsoft pushes every six months
3. One other thing that was not clear to me from all the reviews and product descriptions, is that the ADI-2 DAC can't use all of its outputs independently. It only toggles between them, either manually or automatically. Furthermore, the "phones" and "IEM" outputs are not separated -- they are both active at the same time and share volume control. This is not a huge problem for me personally, though something to keep in mind if you're considering this device and want to use all outputs independently and at the same time.
4. The controls are very responsive, the display is a fairly high-resolution IPS panel. The UI probably could be a bit more easy to navigate, but it's fully functional, fast enough to navigate, and far from "horrible" like some reviews say.
So far, when it does work as expected, there are no audible sound quality problems