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Review and Measurements of RME ADI-2 DAC
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danadam
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It is intended for when you listen quiet, so I'd say it's rather opposite to a party
confucius_zero
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What's the SINAD of this product? Had it been updated to new test bench?
Not yet measured with Amir's new setup... Expected to be 110.
Really trying to decide if I want to pick this up. I have a Babyface Pro and the hardware and drivers are stellar (TotalMix is a different story - people rave about it, but I find it very intuitive). Currently using it as an audio interface for my guitars and a Bifrost Multi/Asgard 2 stack for my headphones listening (HD600, HE400i and very soon the Beyerdynamic Home). A combo with a lot of features and a small footprint is appealing, but the mixed reviews on the headphone amp leave me wondering about going the separate route. Decisions, decisions.
wadec22
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mixed reviews on the amp? measured well for amir… measured well here: http://headflux.de/rme-adi-2-dac/
it's a very good headphone amp. I have it and the jds labs atom on my desk now and find them indistinguishable. I had the THX 789 as well and found it to be the same, unless you actually need the -10db on the gain 1 of the thx.
i'm leaning towards a simpler setup, simply bc the rme unit has way more than I need and care to learn to use. however if you are looking for an all in one solution - make no mistake, this is it.
Over in the head-fi thread on it, there are some people that are unimpressed with it, along with others who swear by it. I don't have any place near me to audition one so I have to buy based on what I can glean online (and somewhere with a decent return policy).
What simpler solution are you looking at?
wadec22
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it measures very well. you can use amir's measurements and the ones I linked to determine THD+N at your resistance and listening volume and I would be surprised if it wasn't going to meet your criteria.
i'm leaning EL DAC/Atom Amp but that's just preference. I like the DAC for lack of the ESS hump and all other measurements are great. I like the amp because it matches end game performance for $100. I also like the aesthetics and small footprint on my desk. I will miss a remote and I wish JDS would do XLR, even though I've never actually had an issue with mains hum or grounds loop that I have noticed....
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None of the headphones you mentioned need a more powerful amp than the ADI-2 DAC!
If you go by what's written of HF, you will never buy anything
. On the same thread, you will see people say : "this is my Endgame" and others "this is not so great". Who is right? None. Everyone who's paying a lot for a DAC/amp want to believe it's great or it doesn't worth the money. And regarding amps, many only trust the sensitivity of the volume knob to evaluate power (in that case, yes, the RME is not impressive!). I have to admit I posted the same on forums, but also bought a lot of useless stuffs because what I was reading over there...The only solution is to try it yourself or be only based on measurements.
The Audiolab MDAC + is already a very competent DAC from what I remember (I owned it back in 2016).
I don't think you may hear a noticeable difference between this and ADI-2 or D1.
The only room for improvement would be the features : EQ, setting and Headamp.
For the line out only it shouldn't be an "upgrade".
Mm, I came from a Emotiva XMC-1 with a Electrocompaniet amp and this combination sounded much better then I have now.
Audiolab MDAC+ with a Icepower 1200AS amp.
As I kind of made the switch right away, I don't know if its one of them or the combo.
Could also be the amp
wadec22,
are there any SINAD numbers on the EL dac? I'm also stuck, if i'm spending over $300 for a dac, i want one w/known reliability and a solid warranty. Not filling to fork out any dough for any ChiFi at that level. I wish RME made a basic version of this DAC.
*EDIT* just read the AS review...EL DAC is not balanced. I want a balanced DAC.
are there any SINAD numbers on the EL dac? I'm also stuck, if i'm spending over $300 for a dac, i want one w/known reliability and a solid warranty. Not filling to fork out any dough for any ChiFi at that level. I wish RME made a basic version of this DAC.
*EDIT* just read the AS review...EL DAC is not balanced. I want a balanced DAC.
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Oukkidoukki
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Yeah, rme if you are reading........why don’t you make a dac box with adi 2 dac specs......balanced out and room correction eq....install mic input (or get it done some otherway) and use eq from adi 2 dac......must be easy....sweep and bang! Its there......no headphone amp, no other fancy dsp stuff needed....then price down......you can call it baby dac 2
How do you describe a room correction but a DSP?! I don't think RME is going to design this anytime soon. This is not at all the targeted market. And I don't see anyhow this feature should drop the price down...
You should buy a Lyngdorf amp!
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Oukkidoukki
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Sorry, I don’t understand. Room eq correction feature would be great anyhow. Everything else basic to get the price down, except the dac ofcourse. Well it could be targeted market soon now when they see how succesful adi 2 dac is......rme traditionally targets pro audio world, producers etc. , but there is much more music listeners, so why not....How do you describe a room correction but a DSP?! I don't think RME is going to design this anytime soon. This is not at all the targeted market. And I don't see anyhow this feature should drop the price down...
You should buy a Lyngdor amp!
wadec22
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Glad you found it. And actually if you look closely, the El DAC performs eerily similar to the RME in several tests, the scaling of the graphs is just different. I assume because they are both great implementation of the 4490 and maxing out it's potential.
Nope, no balance. Kind of a bummer they don't do XLR. I have a pretty simple desktop setup, so not really concerned about ground loops but I do wish it had it...
If you want XLR on the cheap, SMSL SU8 is the top performer for the $
I had purchased the SU8 from massdrop only to get the 1.1 (mid) version. I have requested notification for the next drop, but there have been some mysterious power issues on the SU8 that leaves me a little hesitant to buy one with nothing besides DOA protection from massdrop. Still might be worth the risk due to the RME unit costing 4x as much even w/the "friends of RME" discount.
Price to performance ratio wise, no doubt. But the higher price of the RME also includes a made in Germany product with 5 years warranty, responsive support and constant firmware updates. With my respect to SMSL, you won't get that from them.
I'm having a minor issue with my ADI-2 Dac and wondered if you helpful folks could help?
The issue is this: I've noticed some low-level noise coming through my speakers when the Dac is switched off. (When it's powered on, there is no noise.)
It's quite low level - but is audible at 6 feet away, so annoying. I leave my power amps on all the time since the switches are round the back and powering them off every time is a pain.
I don't know if this is related, but I'll mention it as well: I get a reasonably nasty click through the speakers when powering the Dac on as well. It's not terrible, but there is definitely a loud-ish click. I thought the Dac was supposed to have relays to prevent this?
The noise through the speakers is being picked up by the Dac even if it is unplugged from the power source and all inputs are disconnected. I would have thought that when powered off, the Dac would ground the inputs to prevent this, but it seems not. I am wondering (bearing in mind the click mentioned above) if there's an issue with a couple of the relays perhaps?
Has anyone else noticed noise when the Dac is off? And also, power-on clicks?
The issue is this: I've noticed some low-level noise coming through my speakers when the Dac is switched off. (When it's powered on, there is no noise.)
It's quite low level - but is audible at 6 feet away, so annoying. I leave my power amps on all the time since the switches are round the back and powering them off every time is a pain.
I don't know if this is related, but I'll mention it as well: I get a reasonably nasty click through the speakers when powering the Dac on as well. It's not terrible, but there is definitely a loud-ish click. I thought the Dac was supposed to have relays to prevent this?
The noise through the speakers is being picked up by the Dac even if it is unplugged from the power source and all inputs are disconnected. I would have thought that when powered off, the Dac would ground the inputs to prevent this, but it seems not. I am wondering (bearing in mind the click mentioned above) if there's an issue with a couple of the relays perhaps?
Has anyone else noticed noise when the Dac is off? And also, power-on clicks?
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