RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE

[Bland_username42069]

Did you pay some customs duty or tax?

No I ordered from amazon.co.uk so the tax and shipping was included in the price but the phonostage was sent from the USA to the UK (I think).

If it is not available on your country's amazon site then you can order from amazon.com and it should charge you all the taxes and shipping upfront to your country. There should be no hidden charges.

You can download the app for your phone and play with it to see if it is good for you before ordering.


If you only play new records and want a one box solution then RME is extremely high quality.

But if all the extra features of waxwing would be useful then in my opinion waxwing + rme is an extremely powerful high quality combination.

 

[Rja4000]

Waxwing are an interesting product that I could also use the question is where to buy in Europe?

That is quite off topic here, isn't it ?
I think there is another thread where you're more likely to get an answer to that question.

 

[octavius]

You are right it is off topic. Im sorry.

 

[Gregg Hermetech]

I use the Pro 2/4 SE with a heavily modded Rega RP6 and an AT-150 MLX cart (MM) and can also confirm it works and sounds great. The computer app makes adjusting the EQ from the sweet spot incredibly easy while listening.

 

[Bland_username42069]

Personally what would make the phonostage perfect is if one had two sliders; one for gain and one for eq. That way you could select RIAA or other some other presets eqs or use a custom EQ and then it becomes a universal phonostage allowing you to play anything.

How much demand there is for that.. probably not much but one would think it is simply a firmware update

 

[Pearljam5000]

What are the chances of it sounding as good or better than the RME DAC?

 

[nomograf]

View attachment 369213View attachment 369214What are the chances of it sounding as good or better than the RME DAC?

Professional Mastering Engineer here. I wouldn't touch anything Antelopes makes.

I've never liked how their stuff sounds, and have heard many different units in many different studios (like 50+), but more importantly they have had significant reliability issues in recent years with a poor service track record.

Just one opinion.

 

[magchiel]

significant reliability issues in recent years with a poor service track record

Contrary to RME, I would add, which to my knowledge and experience is flawless.

 

[catastrofe]

Will the ADI 2/4 Pro SE work with Linux? The user manual mentions only Windows and Mac, but I would feed it via USB from a Nuc running Roon.

​

 

[Rja4000]

Will the ADI 2/4 Pro SE work with Linux? The user manual mentions only Windows and Mac, but I would feed it via USB from a Nuc running Roon.

Well, it's Class Compliant and it works from my Android smartphone, so I guess so.

From the manual :

"CC-Mode
Choices are Stereo and Multi-channel. The ADI-2/4 Pro SE supports two Class Compliant modes: 2 channel I/O, which allows to use sample rates up to 768 kHz even with iOS devices, and 6/8 channel mode to give access to all I/Os simultaneously. In multi-channel mode the sample rate is limited to 192 kHz."

 

[catastrofe]

Well, it's Class Compliant and it works from my Android smartphone, so I guess so.

From the manual :

"CC-Mode
Choices are Stereo and Multi-channel. The ADI-2/4 Pro SE supports two Class Compliant modes: 2 channel I/O, which allows to use sample rates up to 768 kHz even with iOS devices, and 6/8 channel mode to give access to all I/Os simultaneously. In multi-channel mode the sample rate is limited to 192 kHz."

Thanks, I was focused on the system compatibility. I hope you’re correct.

Disappointing however that in multi-channel, it downsamples to 192k.

 

[MC_RME]

Then please explain to me how you can use AES, SPDIF and ADAT at sample rates higher than 192 kHz. And how to transmit 8 channel data at 768 kHz via USB 2.

 

[catastrofe]

Then please explain to me how you can use AES, SPDIF and ADAT at sample rates higher than 192 kHz. And how to transmit 8 channel data at 768 kHz via USB 2.

My goal would be to use Roon for speaker management and send high/low pass signals to left/right/dual sub channels. If I sent 768k from Roon via USB, I would want that signal processed at its original rate.

Why can’t this be done? Is it a processing power issue (and hence a design decision by RME) or is it some other limitation?

The Exasound S88 will handle multichannel at 384K via USB:

“s88 will play natively DSD encoded files up to 8-channels DSD256, DXD 352.8 kHz and PCM up to 384 kHz.”

 

[Sokel]

Thanks, I was focused on the system compatibility. I hope you’re correct.

Disappointing however that in multi-channel, it downsamples to 192k.

If you want to go higher than that you can't do it through USB.
Take a look at Merging for example who does multichannel DSD,etc,no USB at all whatsoever.

 

[catastrofe]

If you want to go higher than that you can't do it through USB.
Take a look at Merging for example who does multichannel DSD,etc,no USB at all whatsoever.

Can you help me understand why? Is this a technical limitation of USB 2.0? If so, is it a limitation on the number of channels? Or is it sample rate?

Exasound uses USB 2.0 and claims 8 channels at 384k/DSD512 so it seems RME ‘s design is the limiter.

 

[poopy]

Can you help me understand why? Is this a technical limitation of USB 2.0? If so, is it a limitation on the number of channels? Or is it sample rate?

Exasound uses USB 2.0 and claims 8 channels at 384k/DSD512 so it seems RME ‘s design is the limiter.

No, with exasound you get 8 channels DSD256 not DSD512

 

[LTig]

Will the ADI 2/4 Pro SE work with Linux? The user manual mentions only Windows and Mac, but I would feed it via USB from a Nuc running Roon.

My ADI 2 Pro SE works just fine on Kubuntu.

 

[catastrofe]

No, with exasound you get 8 channels DSD256 not DSD512

The manual states DSD512…

 

[poopy]

The manual states DSD512…


View attachment 370970

Yet on their website they do make it precise that DSD512 is stereo only:

• Sample Rates: ENclusiv™ comprehensive sample rate support
  • DSD64: 2.8224 and 3.072 MHz
  • DSD128: 5.6448 and 6.144 MHz
  • DSD256: 11.2896 and12.288 MHz
  • DSD512: 22.5792 and 24.576 MHz (Stereo Only)
  • PCM/DXD: 44.1kHz to 384kHz at 32 bits

 

[catastrofe]

Yet on their website they do make it precise that DSD512 is stereo only:

• Sample Rates: ENclusiv™ comprehensive sample rate support
  • DSD64: 2.8224 and 3.072 MHz
  • DSD128: 5.6448 and 6.144 MHz
  • DSD256: 11.2896 and12.288 MHz
  • DSD512: 22.5792 and 24.576 MHz (Stereo Only)
  • PCM/DXD: 44.1kHz to 384kHz at 32 bits

So clearly either the manual or website are incorrect.

Ultimately, that’s not the point. I’m trying to find a reasonably affordable 4 channel DAC that doesn’t downsample to 192k (or worse, 96k) and thought the RME might be an option.