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

[weme]

It's interesting to read how Rja4000's very short but incomplete note has led to further discussion here. Since misunderstandings can lead to the most serious crises, I too had to comment ...

So while all audio equipment manufacturers worldwide have converted their devices to Cinch / RCA sockets for line / tape / ... inputs and outputs, professionals like Rja4000 have continued to use the professional XLR interfaces ...

The digital interfaces mentioned here (AES... / SPDIF (S/PDIF) are specified, but not completely:
Referring to the cable impedance of 75 Ohms and the termination resistors of 75 Ohms (in the transmitter and receiver), I do not know of documents that also specifies the impedance of the primitive Cinch / RCA connector (I prefer BNC connections).
If you don't believe morillon either, you should simply try to find a 75 Ohm Cinch / RCA built-in socket for soldering at a distributor.

Of course there are manufacturers who offer Cinch / RCA plugs with an impedance of 75 ohms and there are even people who buy them unnecessarily.
Here, for example, is an adapter recommended by RME,

which only works 90% of the time because the electronic components on the transmitting and receiving side have been so good for some time and such mismatches no longer interfere or can even be more advantageous if the cable length is not very long.

A problem and, of course, solutions are described here:
AES-3 via AES-3/RCA-RME-adapter to RME ADI-2 DAC FS causes sound dropouts

 

[fifeeliz]

Hey, I didn't meant to ashame you.
See my comment as a kind mokery, an "hello" from an older generation man to a younger one, with completely different references...
Time flies by...

Haha Happy Holidays

 

[asrUser]

Is this the latest RME ADI? Is it still the old ES9028 DAC card? Warranty 5 years? You can apply 5 bands on each EQ profile, right? How many EQ profiles can be saved?
And the most important question: Do I need it?

 

[unpluggged]

Is this the latest RME ADI?

Yes, though it does not replace any other model of the series.

Is it still the old ES9028 DAC card?

ES9038Q2M, IIRC.

Warranty 5 years?

Depends on your distributor.

You can apply 5 bands on each EQ profile, right?

5 + Bass + Treble in each preset.

How many EQ profiles can be saved?

22.

And the most important question: Do I need it?

Reading the manual can help you decide

 

[asrUser]

ES9038Q2M, IIRC.

That one is also old and at the bottom of the ESS lineups. Just why can't RME and Schiit get the better ones from Sabre? Do the Chinese brands grab all the DACs so the rest is left with the bottom? Yeah I know it probably depends on how the chips are implemented and RME should do a good job as I read a lot of praises.
edit: I meant since the RME is already expensive, could as well put in a ES9038 Pro which is ~$50, whereas ES9038Q2M is $15.

22 profiles sounds good.

 

[unpluggged]

That one is also old and at the bottom of the ESS lineups.

I don't understand your dissatisfaction. These chips are proven to be more than adequate for the task: transparently convert digital audio to analog. What specifically is not up to the task with the ADI-2 series? You need to assess the device as a whole, not its individual components.

As for me, I hardly even use the DAC portion of my ADI-2 Pro now (only with headphones). I used to use it with my analog Neumann KH 120 monitors, and this combination sounded fantastic. Before that, I used the RME with HEDD Type 07 MK2 speakers over digital connection, and again there was nothing wrong with the sound of those speakers' built-in DAC. And recently I added the KH 750 DSP sub to my Neumann setup, again connected digitally to the RME, so now my monitors use the DAC of the subwoofer. Do I feel any disadvantage? Not at all.

The DSP features and the clever analog design of the RME bring much more value and have much more influence on the final performance than a specific DAC chip.

That's, as a matter of fact, why I suggested to look into the manual: even if you don't plan on buying the gear, it's still a really worthwhile read on its own, helps to better understand how things work in audio.

 

[Pearljam5000]

That one is also old and at the bottom of the ESS lineups. Just why can't RME and Schiit get the better ones from Sabre? Do the Chinese brands grab all the DACs so the rest is left with the bottom? Yeah I know it probably depends on how the chips are implemented and RME should do a good job as I read a lot of praises.
edit: I meant since the RME is already expensive, could as well put in a ES9038 Pro which is ~$50, whereas ES9038Q2M is $15.

22 profiles sounds good.

I agree 100%
They need to use the top of the line chips
Especially when they're DACs aren't exactly cheap

 

[LTig]

I agree 100%
They need to use the top of the line chips
Especially when they're DACs aren't exactly cheap

And if they do it you are the first to complain about the price increase.

 

[asrUser]

And if they do it you are the first to complain about the price increase.

It's about $40-50 more per DAC chip. Shouldn't be too much of an increase.

 

[Pearljam5000]

And if they do it you are the first to complain about the price increase.

LoI
It's going to cost them just a few $$$ more so I don't imagine the price increase would be big .
If I'm spending this kind of $$$ I expect everything to be top of the line flagship level

 

[asrUser]

My E1DA 9038D got the same DAC chip and it's the brightest dongle of my collection. It's a good pairing for warm IEMs.

 

[LTig]

It's about $40-50 more per DAC chip. Shouldn't be too much of an increase.

In business life you have to multiply the cost of hardware by a factor of at least 6 to get the retail price.

 

[unpluggged]

My E1DA 9038D got the same DAC chip and it's the brightest dongle of my collection. It's a good pairing for warm IEMs.

How this is relevant to this topic's subject?

 

[LTig]

LoI
It's going to cost them just a few $$$ more so I don't imagine the price increase would be big .

Nope, see my post above.

If I'm spending this kind of $$$ I expect everything to be top of the line flagship level

Then buy devices at Chord pricing level.

 

[asrUser]

How this is relevant to this topic's subject?

Maybe someone who owns both an E1DA dongle and RME could tell if the sound signatures are similar?

 

[pkane]

LoI
It's going to cost them just a few $$$ more so I don't imagine the price increase would be big .
If I'm spending this kind of $$$ I expect everything to be top of the line flagship level

Engineering is about using the right parts, not the most expensive ones.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Engineering is about using the right parts, not the most expensive ones.

I still want the highest end parts
It's audiophilia after all
You don't search for the "The nice DAC with the somewhat OK chip."
You search for the the best DAC with the latest and best chip , hopefully at the same price .
And there are DACs that cost less and have better chips than the RME so it can be done.

 

[Rja4000]

It's about $40-50 more per DAC chip. Shouldn't be too much of an increase.

Except that the 'Pro' chip requires a completely different architecture.

They used the current chip because the transition from AKM chip, around which the ADI-2 family (and most RME devices) was designed, was relatively easy.
To use the Pro, they'd have to re-design everything from scratch, which is a very different story -and would explode the costs.

For what benefit ?
A few dBs of noise that you can't hear anyway.
(I measure more than 120dB SINAD in a mono DAC+ADC loopback with the ADI-2/4.
This is the sum of the DAC and ADC !
This is well above any competitive device.
Does anybody need more ?)

I'm personnaly very happy they didn't go that way but focused on adding usefull functionalities and a very coherent performance between ADC and DAC instead.

Anyway, all this is pretty much out of the scope of this thread.

 

[asrUser]

I'll probably try the RME ADI even if the DAC chip isn't the most expensive one. At least the ADI got so many useful features to make it worth it.

At my country warranty seems to be 2 years. Some other people on forums mentioned 5 years?

 

[unpluggged]

It's audiophilia after all

Then I would rather see a doctor