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

[PortableMusic]

as i'm looking for a DAC/headphones amp that has full MQA decoding/unfolding, that would disqualify the Burson and RME, as RME has never had any proprietary algorithms, hence RME has never had an MQA device. Thus far, i've not seen any Bursons that have MQA as well.

besides the Topping D90, may i ask the good folks here what other brands/models offer superior quality sound and good enough build quality please with the price being a little flexible?

thank you in advance.

 

[312elements]

as i'm looking for a DAC/headphones amp that has full MQA decoding/unfolding, that would disqualify the Burson and RME, as RME has never had any proprietary algorithms, hence RME has never had an MQA device. Thus far, i've not seen any Bursons that have MQA as well.

besides the Topping D90, may i ask the good folks here what other brands/models offer superior quality sound and good enough build quality please with the price being a little flexible?

thank you in advance.

I think your best bet would be to set a budget and try to stick with it. The DAC side of of the m500 seems to test well.

 

[Celty]

as i'm looking for a DAC/headphones amp that has full MQA decoding/unfolding, that would disqualify the Burson and RME, as RME has never had any proprietary algorithms, hence RME has never had an MQA device. Thus far, i've not seen any Bursons that have MQA as well.

besides the Topping D90, may i ask the good folks here what other brands/models offer superior quality sound and good enough build quality please with the price being a little flexible?

thank you in advance.

What about:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/gustard-x16-balanced-mqa-dac-review.17419/

 

[luxus]

The x16 is out of stock and nobody knows when it will be available again.

i have the same "problem" like many people here.

at the moment i only have a dunu 3000 and a Hifiman ananda to drive.. but im sure i will sooner or later upgrade them.
now i search for a reasonable dac and amp or dac/amp combo.

i want to got for the gustard h16/x16 combo but its not available at the moment. (pre sale $864)
A90 is available for good prices at black Friday deals but i'm still not sure what dac i should pair it with (with the d90 its $1164)
the rme would be a alternative .. but Im not sure if im that flexible with it (no balanced hp-outputs and i would have to replace the whole unit for a dac or a amp upgrade) ($1012)
did anyone buy something lately and can maybe give me the reasoning behind it?

 

[Kchuenmusic]

Hey any more detailed comments on the WA6-SE? Did you compare it to the RME Adi-2 dac output or the A90? I'm very curious as I'm interested in getting a tube amp to compliment my VC+ADI-2 dac. Been thinking about the Feliks, pendant or Woo audio WA6-SE. However there isn't any demo in Hong Kong (where I live). And like most here I lean towards the scientific side of this hobby. So would really like your input in your experience.

@Jimbob54 It actually gets more interesting. I may start a new thread to speak to the entire journey. The short version is that I've been listening to WA6SE all week... On my Arya cans I can't hear the noise floor, but on my HD6XX I can if I'm looking for it. Other than that, I don't think I could pass an A/B test. I wish there was a better way of A/B testing than yanking the jack out of the amplifier. My perception gets really messed up by the sound change/interruption. I don't regret the purchase because it provides a better experience and it's a little bit more fun, but damn if I can say that one sounds better or even different than the other. Moral of the story is that if I feel like spending money from here on out, it will be on headphones.

 

[312elements]

Hey any more detailed comments on the WA6-SE? Did you compare it to the RME Adi-2 dac output or the A90? I'm very curious as I'm interested in getting a tube amp to compliment my VC+ADI-2 dac. Been thinking about the Feliks, pendant or Woo audio WA6-SE. However there isn't any demo in Hong Kong (where I live). And like most here I lean towards the scientific side of this hobby. So would really like your input in your experience.

many opinions:
They’re all really similar at face value. With my cans, while actually listening as opposed to just testing how loud things could go, but while actually listening I never ran out of steam on the RME. Maybe if you liked to listen really really loud there’d be a benefit to having the a90. At normal listening levels I never had an issue with the RME. At normal listening levels switching back and forth if I had to choose I liked the RME better. That said, I would assign zero value to that difference. They’re more or less the same and I sent the A90 back.

The WA6-SE is a little different and while at first blush it also has a very similar sound after spending time with it I started to appreciate the differences. I really don’t like that the proper word to use to describe this is distortion because I believe they scientifically that word means something different than it does audibly, but I digress. Once I started digging in and rolling tubes things changed a bit. Nothing mind blowing mind you, but subtle differences. I think it’s a little bit user experience too. Let’s start with the sound. There’s a very small amount reverb effect added that I really appreciate. This when combined with distortion or as a result of distortion is really pleasing and does make things feel a little bit more full as it effects the way that notes decay. As a test I tried to mimic the sound using UAD plugins and was able to get most of the way there using a tape effect and a reverb plugin which brings me to the user experience part. I’m not the guy who is back and forth from my desk all day listening music. I turn on the amp, I sit in my listening chair and enjoy music while surfing the web or playing a game. The music is the primary reason for sitting. That’s how hard I need to be listening to appreciate the differences. If it was just throwing cans on in-between business calls I doubt I’d bother with tubes. At least not this particular amp.

I feel like I used a lot of words to not say very much. Bottom line is that I wouldn’t argue with someone that said it all sounds the same. It does. I also wouldn’t argue with someone that told me they could hear the difference, because if you listen for it it’s there. Whether or not it’s worth the money is up to you, but I very much enjoy my Woo Audio amp and the experience it provides from the great sound, the glowing tubes, and the satisfying volume pot.

 

[Kchuenmusic]

many opinions:
They’re all really similar at face value. With my cans, while actually listening as opposed to just testing how loud things could go, but while actually listening I never ran out of steam on the RME. Maybe if you liked to listen really really loud there’d be a benefit to having the a90. At normal listening ....
I feel like I used a lot of words to not say very much. Bottom line is that I wouldn’t argue with someone that said it all sounds the same. It does. I also wouldn’t argue with someone that told me they could hear the difference, because if you listen for it it’s there. Whether or not it’s worth the money is up to you, but I very much enjoy my Woo Audio amp and the experience it provides from the great sound, the glowing tubes, and the satisfying volume pot.

Thank you for the detailed reply. I really appreciate your very objective approach. I read another review that someone saying the Euforia is around 35% better than the a90 for him. It's hard to quantify the difference though, especially considering a significant part of the tube exp is the touch, build, the glowing light, etc. Really wish I could demo some of these nice tube amps here. Never realised some hifi products are still so localised before I got into this hobby.

 

[312elements]

Thank you for the detailed reply. I really appreciate your very objective approach. I read another review that someone saying the Euforia is around 35% better than the a90 for him. It's hard to quantify the difference though, especially considering a significant part of the tube exp is the touch, build, the glowing light, etc. Really wish I could demo some of these nice tube amps here. Never realised some hifi products are still so localised before I got into this hobby.

i think hobby is the important word. My other hobby is coffee. I like to do a few pour overs a day. The 10 minutes it takes to heat up the water, grind the beans, and slowly pour the water into the filter is totally worth it. Yes it’s still a cup of coffee, and a good coffee maker with good beans and good water could get really close to being as good. The coffee maker might even hold the coffee at a perfect temperature longer, but I’m going to enjoy the pour over more because of the effort put into it. I might even taste a little something extra too.

 

[Acerun]

If you want parametric EQ, you'd need a DAC with parametric EQ wouldn't you? How are people using Parametric EQ with an A90 + D90 combination...or an L30 + E30 for that matter? Sorry for the uninformed question.

 

[trl]

How are people using Parametric EQ with an A90 + D90 combination...or an L30 + E30 for that matter?

I am using EQ 100% of my listening time (with D90 and with Conductor 3) from the OS or from the software player used. This is very convenient due to the simplicity, but of course the ADI-2 has it built-in and technically is a more advanced piece of equipment.

 

[Jimbob54]

If you want parametric EQ, you'd need a DAC with parametric EQ wouldn't you? How are people using Parametric EQ with an A90 + D90 combination...or an L30 + E30 for that matter? Sorry for the uninformed question.

I reckon the vast majority of home audio users that use EQ will be doing it on the software side before the DAC. Lots of the paid player software (I use Roon) has it built in, or Equalizer APO or others are free and apply to the whole system.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ows-linux-macos-ios-ipados-and-android.18450/

This is actually far easier to use than doing it in the DAC (like the RME) as you get far more bands to work with, maybe limitless (RME is 5 plus low and high ) plus its a click of a button to select different profiles. Likewise on my phone when mobile- EQ in UAPP.

 

[maverickronin]

If you want parametric EQ, you'd need a DAC with parametric EQ wouldn't you? How are people using Parametric EQ with an A90 + D90 combination...or an L30 + E30 for that matter? Sorry for the uninformed question.

It depends on your source. If your only source is a computer and it's only important for straight music it's usually easier to do it all in software.

If you add in other sources, games, video, do a lot of multitasking on the computer, etc, then external hardware EQ like the ADI-2 makes sense.