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

[MC_RME]

Been spinning vinyl through the 2/4 all day, sounds great. Heavily modded Rega RP6 with AT150MLX cart. 2/4 ref level set to +26 dB, works well for most cuts, good level, no clipping. All the EQ/filter options are great for getting it to sound just right. Haven't tried it with my old phono pre into analogue ins instead, not sure I will as it's sounding great as is. Be nice if they added an option to monitor the analogue inputs pre ADC at some point, for people that want to do their own digital RIAA curves etc.

That last sentence I don't understand. You want to do digital RIAA but monitor pre ADC - what is that good for? You would listen to a very low level, heavily treble boosted signal. If you want to do your own digital RIAA compensation all you need to do is use the ADI-2/4 without switching on RIAA mode, with analog input set to the lowest Ref Level of +1 dBu, then apply digital gain and RIAA EQ on your computer.

 

[Gregg Hermetech]

How are you connecting your turntable to thew RME? I see only balanced analog inputs on the back. Thanks.

No, it's one of those Neutrik combo jacks, with regular XLR plus a jack socket in the middle, so all you need is phono to jack adapters.

 

[Gregg Hermetech]

That last sentence I don't understand. You want to do digital RIAA but monitor pre ADC - what is that good for? You would listen to a very low level, heavily treble boosted signal. If you want to do your own digital RIAA compensation all you need to do is use the ADI-2/4 without switching on RIAA mode, with analog input set to the lowest Ref Level of +1 dBu, then apply digital gain and RIAA EQ on your computer.

Yeah you're totally right MC, it was a brain fart.

 

[Kax]

Hi everyone, can this be used as a replacement for a DAC3 L (and eventually even my phono preamp) in the following setup :

• roon > pi4 (ropieee) > Benchmark DAC3 L > Benchmark AHB2 > Speakers
• Turntable > Cambridge Duo > Benchmark DAC3 L > Benchmark AHB2 > Speakers

I'd like to add the possibility for DSP for room correction and sub integration (crossover).
I have a monolith 12 v2 in a box waiting to be used and Focal aria 906.

 

[Chester]

Hi everyone, can this be used as a replacement for a DAC3 L (and eventually even my phono preamp) in the following setup :

• roon > pi4 (ropieee) > Benchmark DAC3 L > Benchmark AHB2 > Speakers
• Turntable > Cambridge Duo > Benchmark DAC3 L > Benchmark AHB2 > Speakers

I'd like to add the possibility for DSP for room correction and sub integration (crossover).
I have a monolith 12 v2 in a box waiting to be used and Focal aria 906.

Yes, and the Cambridge Duo if you wish.

 

[Kax]

Yes, and the Cambridge Duo if you wish.

Thank you! I'm a bit sad to say goodbye to the DAC3 L but I can't find a solution with sub integration while keeping it.
Anyone know if I'll be able to keep the low gain on the AHB2 with this RME?

 

[badboygolf16v]

Yes, and the Cambridge Duo if you wish.

Not quite. The Duo can only be replaced if using a MM cartridge. If using an MC cartridge the Duo will still be required. Or use an MC SUT as I do.

 

[badboygolf16v]

Thank you! I'm a bit sad to say goodbye to the DAC3 L but I can't find a solution with sub integration while keeping it.
Anyone know if I'll be able to keep the low gain on the AHB2 with this RME?

The max output of the RME is +24 dBu. Quick look at the DAC 3 L's specs gives +30 dBu I think? Don't know what your speakers need.

 

[Kax]

The max output of the RME is +24 dBu. Quick look at the DAC 3 L's specs gives +30 dBu I think? Don't know what your speakers need.

No idea. They are Focal Aria 906. Right now with the DAC3 L the AHB2 amp is on low gain which is perfect.
I'm using an MM turntable so the Duo replacement should be fine.

 

[40th Anniversary]

The max output of the RME is +24 dBu. Quick look at the DAC 3 L's specs gives +30 dBu I think? Don't know what your speakers need.

How are you hooking up your sub? High Level connections? Benchmark have FAQs on their website for connecting to AHB2 amps, either in dual mono or stereo mode, hence if you are using high level inputs on the sub, you are golden.

 

[HerbertWest]

How are you hooking up your sub? High Level connections? Benchmark have FAQs on their website for connecting to AHB2 amps, either in dual mono or stereo mode, hence if you are using high level inputs on the sub, you are golden.

Uhm, HL input on the subs would help with the crossover, but maybe defeat the purpose of having separate PEQ for subs via the ADI. Maybe I am missing something.

The ADI2/4 has 4 xlr/trs out, and I’d use these to interconnect the subs, IF you can have the crossover duties done outside of the adi, eg in software via the ADI USB I/O. (At least my adi2 pro fs doesn’t support ”proper” crossovers or latency management for room correction.)

Example:

Turntable > ADI (analog in) > roomcorrection-unit(USB in/out) ->
ADI - > AHB2 Speakers
ADI - > Sub

I guess the room correction unit doesn’t have to be connected via USB, it could also be something that accepts AES in (from the ADI), and has 4 aes channels out to map the 4 xlr/trs out (2 would go in the adi via AES (in), 2 via the SPDIF-IN with a proper cable specified in the manual), eg a miniDSP SHD studio unit.

 

[Kax]

Uhm, HL input on the subs would help with the crossover, but maybe defeat the purpose of having separate PEQ for subs via the ADI. Maybe I am missing something.

The ADI2/4 has 4 xlr/trs out, and I’d use these to interconnect the subs, IF you can have the crossover duties done outside of the adi, eg in software via the ADI USB I/O. (At least my adi2 pro fs doesn’t support ”proper” crossovers or latency management for room correction.)

Example:

Turntable > ADI (analog in) > roomcorrection-unit(USB in/out) ->
ADI - > AHB2 Speakers
ADI - > Sub

I guess the room correction unit doesn’t have to be connected via USB, it could also be something that accepts AES in (from the ADI), and has 4 aes channels out to map the 4 xlr/trs out (2 would go in the adi via AES (in), 2 via the SPDIF-IN with a proper cable specified in the manual), eg a miniDSP SHD studio unit.

Right now the sub is not even unboxed. It's a Monolith 12 so it has line input and XLR. On my system the easiest option would be to connect it directly to the DAC3 L with RCA cables. I've not used it yet because I have no way to apply a high pass filter to my speakers and thought integration would be poor only using the options available on the sub itself for crossover (let me know if I'm mistaken). Hence the idea of using the RME for mainly crossover: applying high pass filter to the speaker and having the sub directly connected using XLR. In order to do I was thinking of using the DSP options of the RME with the help of the minidsp mic + REW.

I'm not sure I understand your message, are you saying the RME is not able to do proper crossover?

EDIT:
I guess I understand that I would still need a proper DSP to do a clean job and the possibilities offered by the RME are limited.
But then if I need to add another device such as a minidsp SHD studio could I just go with keeping my DAC3L and adding a minidsp flex (balanced) so:

Sources (ropieee/turntable) > DAC3 L > minidsp flex balanced ->
minidsp flex balanced > AHB2 > Speakers
minidsp flex balanced > Sub

This is starting to be offtopic

 

[jae]

@MC_RME Is the ADI-2/4 SE still limited to 5 band peq?

 

[Gregg Hermetech]

5 band parametric EQ plus Bass and Treble shelves

 

[HerbertWest]

And DC digital filter. The friendly manual covers these features extensively.