RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE - RIAA mode measurements

[gordinho]

Interesting RME is exploring the vinyl RIAA land. Another engineering driven company in the Pro Audio world that has done this for over a decade (2?) is Metric Halo. People have used ULN-2 and more recently ULN-8 as their preamps. These audio devices have DSP onboard that allow you to implement other curves besides RIAA too, common if you get into shellacs etc

 

[Labjr]

I also have no idea why I should need a sample rate of 384kHz PCM. Nobody is able to hear the 192kHz they can provide.

My only explanation is that there are people out there who demand more and are willing to pay for it, whether it makes sense or not
The whole game is fueled by those who market the “more” because otherwise they wouldn’t know how to continue running their business. It's probably precisely for this reason that helium-cooled DACs will soon be available that will have 200dB SINAD. I bet they also will find their customers

It can be said that with the best today's DACs and amplifiers, the limit of perception has finally been reached. Transparency is no longer fiction but reality, at least when it comes to electronics.

Now that we know what the world actually looks like through transparent glasses, it might be time to put on rose, blue or yellow glasses every now and then and talk about the different aesthetics that this creates. But I think we already do that with turntables and tube amplifiers

What type of Helium cooling?

 

[Pearljam5000]

Armchair engineering is fun to do, especially when you're not an engineer, but it’s far removed from the real world designing, building, and selling a product. You've yet to provide any rational reason for why RME should want to use a more expensive DAC chip.

Better performance ?

 

[pkane]

Better performance ?

More expensive=better performance? Have you read any reviews here, on ASR? So which performance characteristic do you want RME to improve by using more expensive chips?

 

[Pearljam5000]

More expensive=better performance? Have you read any reviews here, on ASR? So which performance characteristic do you want RME to improve by using more expensive chips?

It's not about the price at all
The newer high end chips just have better specs that translate to better perform
It's a fact .

 

[pkane]

It's not about the price at all
The newer high end chips just have better specs that translate to better perform
It's a fact .

No, it's not a fact. In fact, most often, this is wrong in the audiophile world. But you still haven't answered what performance improvements you're looking for. I'm just trying to help you formulate your request to RME a little better, so they may just be a little more receptive to your needs

 

[LTig]

The pros want and need the best parts even more than audiophiles

One can see that you're not a pro, so better don't tell what pros need.

 

[LTig]

What type of Helium cooling?

Like this for example. It uses cold preamps. Just a few 100 k$ and it's yours. Don't forget the price of liquid helium you'll gonna need.

 

[DrCWO]

It's not about the price at all
The newer high end chips just have better specs that translate to better perform
It's a fact .

Fact is that the SINAD of the weakest part of your audio chain dominates the audible result.
Using a DAC and a power amplifier only the power amp will be the limiting factor. This means a DAC with a better SINAD won‘t help as the power amp is the limiting device. I hope you are able to understand this. Adding a pramplifier things in general get worse.
So why a SINAD of 200dB for the DAC if the power amp limits it to something about 100dB+.
In my eyes this whole discussion is completely crazy. I doubt someone likes to fool us here

 

[Sokel]

It's not about the price at all
The newer high end chips just have better specs that translate to better perform
It's a fact .

Test.
Which one would you choose?

 

[Pearljam5000]

Oh no, Pearljam has started polluting RME threads. Guys, he is doing this for 4 years now in the Neumann and Genelec threads. He is either a troll, a chatbot or so stupid it really hurts. Every argument has been explained to him for years by countless people - it's like pouring water into a sieve. He will never learn or understand anything, and also will never buy anything and make his own experiences.
He lives in his fantasy world and feeds on the attention, time and energy people are wasting for the interaction with him.

Asking questions and discussing is not "Polluting "
Also I'm entitled to my own opinions and I may agree or disagree with explanations given to me , exactly like anyone else here .
So I don't really get your personal attack on me .
This whole ad hominem claims are not my style, so I'm not even going to respond to them .

 

[MaxwellsEq]

As an owner of an ADI-2 Pro FS R Be I can confirm that the "pure DAC" capability feels like 10% of the functionality. The DAC + ADC capability feels like 50% of the total capability. The real core of this device is its very rich and robust set of routing and processing facilities.

If someone is thinking about buying a DAC / ADC but does NOT need all these complex features I'd advise against buying an ADI because they add costs and make it trickier to operate than a simple DAC.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Test.
Which one would you choose?

View attachment 341878View attachment 341879

The last test I took was when I was in school 22 years ago

 

[Sokel]

The last test I took was when I was in school 22 years ago

What the facts tells you is best of the two?

 

[Rja4000]

May I kindly ask that we stop with any comment not on the subject of this thread here ?
This thread is about the Phono Preamp functionality of the RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE.

 

[DrCWO]

Test.
Which one would you choose?

View attachment 341878View attachment 341879

Interesting question
Would you please be so kind as to solve the puzzle of which measurement is which Dac?
Seams distortions of the second one are also inaudible below -120dB. But the first one “looks“ better

Edit:
If you look at the distribution of the harmonics, the second DAC might even sound a little nicer.

 

[Sokel]

Interesting question
Would you please be so kind as to solve the puzzle of which measurement is which Dac?
Seams distortions of the second one are also inaudible below -120dB. But the first one “looks“ better

Edit:
If you look at the distribution of the harmonics, the second DAC might even sound a little nicer.

Short answer out of respect of @Rja4000 request.
The first one is an implementation of AKM4396 on a 100 euro interface (E-MU 0204) back on the time @Pearljam5000 took his last test,it can have better measurements than that obviously in some other implementation but not too much.
The second is Khadas tone1 9038Q2M.
Of course at 1Khz SINAD ESS smokes the 20yo AKM,but one would expect to be far-far better than this in every measurement.

End of OT.

 

[AdamG]

May I kindly ask that we stop with any comment not on the subject of this thread here ?
This thread is about the Phono Preamp functionality of the RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE.

Let’s honor the OP’s request and get back on topic.

Please and thank you for your cooperation and support.