RME ADI-2 DAC FS vs Fiio K9 Pro ESS vs SPL Phonitor One d vs SMSL M400+SMSL SP400

[dazkyl]

Hi all,

as you can see I am on the hunt for the end game dac/amp to use on my Audeze lcd x (2021)

i will be using these headphones for 4k movies, no mixing or mastering music.

I pretty much like neutral, warm sound with very fast and punchy bass with great dynamic range and headroom. I currently use the dt 1990 pro and fiio k7 with harman eq and i really like the sound however i want a new set up for another computer which ideally needs to be a step up of what I currently own.

above are some amps/dacs that i can buy. There is also a local guy that has the SMSL M400+SMSL SP400 combo which he is selling for a very good price, but budget isnt really an issue. I am taking everything into consideration especially the ones I mentioned above.

which one would you go for and why? how do you rank these from best to worst including sound quality?

i will not be using inbuilt eq and bluetooth.

 

[unpluggged]

end game dac/amp

Then it's the RME.

i will not be using inbuilt eq

You will

index/list_of_presets_rme_adi-2 - oratory1990

r/oratory1990: Mostly covering topics like headphones, in-ear headphones, acoustics, electroacoustics, acoustic tuning, headphone design …

www.reddit.com

 

[dazkyl]

Then it's the RME.


You will

index/list_of_presets_rme_adi-2 - oratory1990

r/oratory1990: Mostly covering topics like headphones, in-ear headphones, acoustics, electroacoustics, acoustic tuning, headphone design …

www.reddit.com

normally i uses the peace software to eq the headphones. just to be clear, i can eq the headphones using the inbuilt eq instead of peace? any advantages?

 

[jhaider]

Not a close call IMO - even if you don’t use the internal EQ, crossfeed and loudness make RME a more compelling package.

Aside from RME’s vastly superior feature set, unless one of other the boxes has a lot less power or high output impedance, there’s no intelligent reason to think any one would make your headphones sound different compared to the others.

 

[dazkyl]

Not a close call IMO - even if you don’t use the internal EQ, crossfeed and loudness make RME a more compelling package.

Aside from RME’s vastly superior feature set, unless one of other the boxes has a lot less power or high output impedance, there’s no intelligent reason to think any one would make your headphones sound different compared to the others.

so if they will not sound different from one another, should I go for the cheapest from the above? as i said, movies only. i dont listen or mix or master music

 

[LTig]

so if they will not sound different from one another, should I go for the cheapest from the above? as i said, movies only. i dont listen or mix or master music

Go for the cheapest which has all features you need.

 

[unpluggged]

so if they will not sound different from one another, should I go for the cheapest from the above? as i said, movies only. i dont listen or mix or master music

I did appreciate the DSP features of my ADI-2 Pro only after I got it. I have to admit that I decided to buy it strictly to be able to connect my monitors over AES. I was happy with my THX AAA 789 HP amp and did not plan to replace it with the RME, nor was I interested in EQ. But after I got familiar with the device, I knew that this is the most valuable and enjoyable piece of audio hardware that I ever seen. I occasionally develop a GAS for speakers, headphones and IEMs (that is only being tamed by my modest resources), but I never thought of giving up the ADI-2 Pro.

 

[dazkyl]

I did appreciate the DSP features of my ADI-2 Pro only after I got it. I have to admit that I decided to buy it strictly to be able to connect my monitors over AES. I was happy with my THX AAA 789 HP amp and did not plan to replace it with the RME, nor was I interested in EQ. But after I got familiar with the device, I knew that this is the most valuable and enjoyable piece of audio hardware that I ever seen. I occasionally develop a GAS for speakers, headphones and IEMs (that is only being tamed by my modest resources), but I never thought of giving up the ADI-2 Pro.

whats the difference between built in dsp and software eq?

 

[wavetrade]

so if they will not sound different from one another, should I go for the cheapest from the above? as i said, movies only. i dont listen or mix or master music

I have the first and the last dacs on your list. My subjective ears thinks the SMSL sounds a little better. But it is so close that it is easy to think it is all in my head. With that said the RME is far superior in features, gain options and customer support.

My experience with SMSL makes me think that it could quit working at any moment. Meanwhile I bought the RME used and have very little concern that it will quit working. In addition, it does not send any clicks or pops through my speakers when changing tracks or bitrate. Oddly enough, the RME is not quite as compatible with Windows as it does not do Wasapi, so no exclusive mode with Tidal. However, the Tidal player is not so great anyways and I have happily added Roon which does play Tidal lossless with the RME using Asio.

 

[dazkyl]

I have the first and the last dacs on your list. My subjective ears thinks the SMSL sounds a little better. But it is so close that it is easy to think it is all in my head. With that said the RME is far superior in features, gain options and customer support.

My experience with SMSL makes me think that it could quit working at any moment. Meanwhile I bought the RME used and have very little concern that it will quit working. In addition, it does not send any clicks or pops through my speakers when changing tracks or bitrate. Oddly enough, the RME is not quite as compatible with Windows as it does not do Wasapi, so no exclusive mode with Tidal. However, the Tidal player is not so great anyways and I have happily added Roon which does play Tidal lossless with the RME using Asio.

There is a local guy that is selling SMSL M400+SMSL SP400 for €500 each. I may even give him €400 each and call it a day. Or I can go for a new RME for around €1,010. By saying sounds a little better, in which terms? i dont want to spend extra money when the difference in sound in a blind test is not even noticable.

 

[oleg87]

normally i uses the peace software to eq the headphones. just to be clear, i can eq the headphones using the inbuilt eq instead of peace? any advantages?

For those of us switching between multiple sources, an advantage is that the EQ applies to whatever you're feeding it.
On the other hand, the RME's EQ is restricted to relatively few bands.

 

[dazkyl]

For those of us switching between multiple sources, an advantage is that the EQ applies to whatever you're feeding it.
On the other hand, the RME's EQ is restricted to relatively few bands.

i wont be switching between multiple sources. i only have 1 can of headphones.

 

[unpluggged]

Oddly enough, the RME is not quite as compatible with Windows as it does not do Wasapi

It does. You can choose which of the drivers to use, the standard Windows UAC driver or the RME ASIO driver with WDM wrapper. When you use the Windows driver, it lists all supported sample rates (limited to 384 kHz by the Windows UAC driver). When you use RME driver, ASIO client can set the sampling rate, and this sampling rate will be reported through the WDM wrapper.

On the other hand, the RME's EQ is restricted to relatively few bands.

Not a big concern, though. I would like it to be more flexible, but I still even managed to do some room correction, not to say about headphone EQ.

 

[raif71]

I have the SMSL M400 and SP400. Very good combo and I enjoy the sound. Alas coz of their preciousness, I keep them in their respective boxes and occasionally take them out for a spin. My goto setup is Asgard 3/ Bifrost 2. I have other few setups too on a crowded desk and not so crowded desk.

 

[dazkyl]

so guys if you had only 1 can of headphones which is the audeze lcd x 2021, and using them for 4k movies only, which one from the above would you go for? i dont think i will benefit from so many extra features as i currently have a k7 and dt 1990pro with harman eq and it sounds fantastic.

 

[wavetrade]

It does. You can choose which of the drivers to use, the standard Windows UAC driver or the RME ASIO driver with WDM wrapper. When you use the Windows driver, it lists all supported sample rates (limited to 384 kHz by the Windows UAC driver). When you use RME driver, ASIO client can set the sampling rate, and this sampling rate will be reported through the WDM wrapper.


Not a big concern, though. I would like it to be more flexible, but I still even managed to do some room correction, not to say about headphone EQ.

I spent hours scouring the internet and trying both drivers but could never get it to work with Tidal exclusive mode. And my tech skills are decent. The RME guy on their forum said it was a no-go and that there wouldn't be anything coming. Let me know if you have any specific into that could help though. Qobuz direct mode works fine but is not direct on my mac (I use both pc and mac). With Roon I get lossless with both services, on both machines, and I like the signal path feature.

As for sound differences, this isn't the forum for those descriptions... But in my head I think the SMSL sounds like a wider soundstage with a touch more sparkle in the highs. But highly doubtful this would be apparent in a blind test. They both sound terrific.

 

[wavetrade]

Meant to add that you could likely get what you are looking for with the SMSL DO300EX for less money than all of these options. But with that said if I could only choose one I would go with the RME.

 

[jhaider]

so if they will not sound different from one another, should I go for the cheapest from the above? as i said, movies only. i dont listen or mix or master music

Yeah, probably. But if watching movies is really your only use case, expensive open headphones are a waste of money too IMO.

 

[Antagron]

I have the first and the last dacs on your list. My subjective ears thinks the SMSL sounds a little better. But it is so close that it is easy to think it is all in my head. With that said the RME is far superior in features, gain options and customer support.

My experience with SMSL makes me think that it could quit working at any moment. Meanwhile I bought the RME used and have very little concern that it will quit working. In addition, it does not send any clicks or pops through my speakers when changing tracks or bitrate. Oddly enough, the RME is not quite as compatible with Windows as it does not do Wasapi, so no exclusive mode with Tidal. However, the Tidal player is not so great anyways and I have happily added Roon which does play Tidal lossless with the RME using Asio.

Have you tried the madiface driver?

 

[Hausmeister]

I would like to ask, why is the "RME Fireface UCX II" not in the equation? I ask this because I am currently going through the same decision process. DACs not good enough? It comes with 9 PEQ now and you also get Crossfeed for the headphones. Sounds quite interesting to me.