RME ADI-2 DAC vs. D90+A90 vs. Burson Conductor 3

[EchoChamber]

Or, it could be that as we age, we lose hearing, so we keep turning up the volume until finally the wife can hear the stereo clearly from the kitchen.

I find myself in the kitchen a lot, that’s why I need to crank up the volume... Sitting in the sweet spot is a luxury.

 

[Harmonie]

I love Goran Bregrovic, especially the gypsy stuff with all the horns. It’s supper addictive, a good test of system speed and resolution BTW.

Some recordings that can give me goose bumps:
Interstellar Soundtrack
Faure Requiem (this performance is unbelievable - I’ve been listening to it for years)
Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach Cello Suites
Delibes flower duet (recently found performance, really well recorded IMO)
Tuareg music
Tête Raides - I’m a huge fan

I'm replying to your post only to keep its track and also because we share the same taste and goose bump sensations

 

[EchoChamber]

I'm replying to your post only to keep its track and also because we share the same taste and goose bump sensations

Salut Harmonie!

This is what's giving me goose bumps right now (desk system driving the Sundara's in balance):

 

[mjoshi]

I knew I remembered someone posting a pic of that combo! @EchoChamber has this stack.
View attachment 69905

Thank you that looks like both are identical size and easier to stack, and looks great, now I need to order A90 as well as acrylic RACK to keep both of them, looking sexy - any help or suggestion for quality acrylic rack ?

 

[mjoshi]

That's just it...you look at the measurements and wonder! I'm tempted to try the Soncaz after looking at all the measurements.

I’m rethinking now if I should return my RME ADI-2 and instead buy Soncaz, the price of RME ADI-2 looks like I can buy Son Caz as well as Topping A90. Decison ?

 

[Rja4000]

I’m rethinking now if I should return my RME ADI-2 and instead buy Soncaz, the price of RME ADI-2 looks like I can buy Son Caz as well as Topping A90. Decison ?

Why mess up with 2 devices and loose functionalities for same money and 0 sound improvement (Or negative impact) ?
You like the design better?

 

[EchoChamber]

I’m rethinking now if I should return my RME ADI-2 and instead buy Soncaz, the price of RME ADI-2 looks like I can buy Son Caz as well as Topping A90. Decison ?

That’s what I did. But I got a Schiit Modius instead. I realized I didn’t need all the features the adi-2 had. There was a subjective sonic difference BTW.

 

[LTig]

That’s what I did. But I got a Schiit Modius instead. I realized I didn’t need all the features the adi-2 had. There was a subjective sonic difference BTW.

Then it seems to me you made a mistake wrt accuracy ...

 

[mjoshi]

That’s what I did. But I got a Schiit Modius instead. I realized I didn’t need all the features the adi-2 had. There was a subjective sonic difference BTW.

I'm curious about the "subjective sonic difference" part. Could you explain what felt different?

 

[Jimbob54]

I'll get the popcorn....

 

[EchoChamber]

Then it seems to me you made a mistake wrt accuracy ...

Why? I don’t get it. Both A90 and Modius have excellent SINADs.

 

[basshead]

Doesn't really makes much sense. Search here at ASR for a posting by @MC_RME where he explains why. AFAIR someone wanted to add an Atom headphone amp to the RME ADI-2 DAC.

That's what MC_RME said:
"Therefore the Atom behind the ADI-2 Pro or DAC is a setup that brings no improvement at all (instead it bypasses the various protection mechanisms that the Extreme Power stage offers). The THX on the other hand has more power and offers balanced operation, which can be a valid reason to add it to a setup."

So it still makes sense adding A90 to ADI-2 DAC for power hungry headphones.

 

[EchoChamber]

I'm curious about the "subjective sonic difference" part. Could you explain what felt different?

The adi-2 is a forum favorite and I don’t want to upset anyone with my subjective impressions. Please scroll up and back one or two pages and you should find some of my comments regarding my sonic perception. My final setup (described in my signature) reflects my preference. I also saved about $1K which I used to help finance an Okto Research dac8 Stereo purchase (waiting to be built and shipped).

A few months ago, I found a video on YouTube that compares it with the Mytek Brooklyn. I can hear differences even when playing through my far from accurate iPhone speakers. The differences with the adi-2 on that video sounded similar to what I heard on my multiple systems. I did like the adi-2 when playing through my headphones though, and could recommend it in that setup paired to the A90.

See if you can hear a difference:

Disclaimer: I didn’t produce this video, I don’t know the author, I never heard or had the Maytek Brooklyn, my system is completely different, and I don’t listen to those tracks (not my cup of tea).

 

[muslhead]

Or RME ADI-2 PRO fs: the two unbalanced headphone outputs can be configured as one balanced headphone output. Pricy though, but you get an excellent ADC as well. May join the ASR measurement community then ...

that looks interesting. do you own it? if so, can i ask a couple of questions?

 

[LTig]

that looks interesting. do you own it? if so, can i ask a couple of questions?

Yes and yes.

 

[trl]

My Conductor 3X Reference measured about 100dB SINAD with my Focusrite Gen3 @4V RMS. It is definitely not aimed for pure performance, but for extreme power and a class-A output stage: it has over 10V RMS at the adjustable XLR output and 14-15W/channel @ 15...60 ohms loads. This amount of power is causing an increase in background noise (due to the fixed internal high gain used), although for headphones having a sensitivity lower than 115dB/V SPL shouldn't be an issue.

The combo is really good looking and with a very good build quality, but it doesn't measures as ADI-2 or D90+A90.

 

[JohnYang1997]

My Conductor 3X Reference measured about 100dB SINAD with my Focusrite Gen3 @4V RMS. It is definitely not aimed for pure performance, but for extreme power and a class-A output stage: it has over 10V RMS at the adjustable XLR output and 14-15W/channel @ 15...60 ohms loads. This amount of power is causing an increase in background noise, although for headphones having a sensitivity lower than 115dB/V SPL shouldn't be an issue.

The combo is really good looking and with a very good build quality, but it doesn't measures as ADI-2 or D90+A90.

It can't be pure class A which is an issue I take from many discrete manufacturers.
Power has nothing to do with noise either.

 

[trl]

Definitely not pure class-A, but given the heat dissipation I guess the first watt could be really class-A...who knows.
More power means more gain; I lowered the internal gain and background noise was cut in half, hence better THD+N @2V & 4V.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Definitely not pure class-A, but given the heat dissipation I guess the first watt could be really class-A...who knows.
More power means more gain; I lowered the internal gain and background noise was cut in half, hence better THD+N @2V & 4V.

That sounds about right.
But more gain doesn't mean it has to be noisy tho. You can choose small Rg and high Rf for high gain +low noise + small loading to output. Sure it will always be relatively more noisy than unity gain.

 

[312elements]

I've been lurking here for awhile. This forum is actually why I purchased the A90. I've had my A90 for about a week. I'm using the adi-2 as my dac using Hifiman Arya cans. I just wanted to toss my 2 cents in and ask if anyone else had a similar experience. The A90 undoubtably reaches a higher SPL, but in terms of sound and normal listening volumes, I defiantly can't tell the two amps apart. I'm trying to justify keeping the A90, but I'm really struggling to find a reason to. Sound signature, soundstage, etc. It all sounds very similar to my admittedly untrained ears. I've got a balanced cable coming for the Arya to see if that makes a difference (I've read multiple threads suggesting it does) but I'm inclined to return the unit. I'm not sure if this is a testament to the RME or knock against the A90. Like I said, there's noticeably more headroom in the A90, but unless I'm trying to make my ears bleed, I'd never notice or benefit from it in this setup. I've also got some HD6XX's in route. Maybe they'll benefit more from the A90.

I really would like to keep both. Could someone suggest a song or passage that would really articulate the superiority of the A90?