I hope it's priced lower than that as the older DAC was way cheaper, nothing wrong with Benchmark Media's DAC's at all... but I wish they upped their game and released a newer updated model as competition usually leads to lower prices.
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New RME ADI-2 Pro EX DAC
- Thread starter Pearljam5000
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I just called Synthax which is out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL and the rep I spoke to believes that the price will be $1299 MSRP, so I hope he's right! Also, while on the phone I asked him what DAC chipset they where going to use and he stated he had no idea as RME hasn't shared any of that information yet. He speculated that they will use a newer updated DAC chipset, so I guess it's wait and see.
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I still have not seen any data that the price of the unit is actually high, since the list price (in Euros) seems relatively unchanged.
A breakdown of the following costs affecting the USA pricing would help clarify whether RME increased the price, or if politics & geopolitical factors outside of RME's control have raised the price that we will pay in the USA:
- Tariffs — normal ones
- Tariffs — the beautiful ones more recently imposed
- Shipping costs — increase above normal due to higher fuel prices
- Exchange rate — currently at $1.16 USD for every €1.00 (16% increase in USD cost)
Also keep in mind that prices in Euro for Europe on Thomann.de will be inclusive of VAT, which I think is 20%. So the VAT portion should be removed from the European-based price to get to the underlying price before taxes.
Shipping has been skyrocketing since 2020 and has never really come down. Plus massive inflation.
Everything is higher since COVID, I looked back at items I purchased before COVID on my search history on Amazon and some of the same items are 50% higher!!!
I’d be more than happy to measure one 
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The best comparison of new ADI-2 Pro EX vs. prior ADI-2 Pro FS R BE is last year when the ADI-2 Pro FS R Black Edition was still being sold. Using a date from before last year's massive changes in tariffs and prior to any clearance sale prices.
What was the price then out of curiosity?
I work in supply and logistics and just know shipping continually is going up.
The last price for the ADI-2 Pro FS R BE before discontinued was $1999 USD.
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I'm hoping someone can post the Euro price for sale within the EU for the now discontinued ADI-2 Pro FS R BE. That would be the most accurate comparison of base price between the older and newer.
The USD pricing has a lot additional variables.
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Pearljam5000
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Some prices examples
b73i57dc3f
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Thanks! Assuming that is ~1600 € inclusive of VAT, then the initial EU pricing is about 400 € higher. Though there is also possibility that regular price will drop down from a "full MSRP" after it has been in the market for a bit.
RME is not known for discounts and definitely not for their top of the line products or newest additions.
People who think the ADI-2 Pro EX is expensive, why not consider the Fireface UCX II audio interface instead. It costs significantly less (it's like 1 thousand euro on Thomann without tax) while offering far more functionality. You get many more I/O channels, effective 12-band EQs by onboard DSP for the output channels instead of the 5-band EQ on the ADI-2 series, real microphone preamps, MIDI I/O, and, most importantly, TotalMix support, the most flexible and robust routing matrix I've seen in the industry.
What do you lose? Louderness feature, DSD support, remote control, better analog specs, superior headphone output stage, and the black chassis. In practice, most of these don't matter. You won't hear a difference, and for most headphones the UCX II output is beyond just fine. The only thing I would personally miss is the spectrum analyzer on the front-panel display, which is very beautiful!
What do you lose? Louderness feature, DSD support, remote control, better analog specs, superior headphone output stage, and the black chassis. In practice, most of these don't matter. You won't hear a difference, and for most headphones the UCX II output is beyond just fine. The only thing I would personally miss is the spectrum analyzer on the front-panel display, which is very beautiful!
I had a Fireface UCX II, in fact, I had 3. Got the first one right after release from Sweetwater, just like I did yesterday with the ADI-2 Pro EX. After 3 months, I got it replaced under warranty by Synthax because due to overheat ,the internal LCD screen protector glass broke in one corner. Synthax sent me a brand new unit right away. The second unit broke the internal glass as well after about 6 months. At this point I knew this was caused by overheat and a poor cooling design due the smallish case. The UCX II gets pretty HOT... After I got the third replacement, put it for sale even without opening the box. It is a good sounding unit and very versatile for people like me who does editing, mixing and a bit of mastering from home but not without compromises.
The fire in fire face comes from how hot it is inside.
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