RME ADI-2 FS Version 2 DAC and Headphone Amp Review

[Zensō]

Dear @amirm :
Could you tell me what kind power supply you are use for RME ADI-2 DAC FS? Thank you.

@amirm and @MC_RME will tell you to use the stock power supply.

 

[Willem]

No need to indulge is audiophile Angst about power supplies.

 

[Grotti]

Dear @amirm :
Could you tell me what kind power supply you are use for RME ADI-2 DAC FS? Thank you.

No need to replace the power supply.....

 

[Rja4000]

Dear @amirm :
Could you tell me what kind power supply you are use for RME ADI-2 DAC FS? Thank you.

I guess he's using the standard one that comes with the device.
There is little (nothing) left for improvement on that side.

I tried a battery power once, and no difference at all on measurements.

 

[BlackTalon]

Audigon has a thread where someone indicates this DAC is only so-so unless you get a different power supply, change out some caps, etc...

Apparently it is too uncolored to be listenable in stock form

 

[Rja4000]

 

[roog]

Dear @amirm :
Could you tell me what kind power supply you are use for RME ADI-2 DAC FS? Thank you.

Hi @cses050108 have a wander over to the RME forum, they have a pragmatic view on all things electronic, just like here. There are a few threads in the RME ADI-2 fs DAC section of their forum which don't so much discuss this point but tell you quite definitively what the answer is and why. I'll not repeat the detail here, (it is worth a read) but it is the stock PSU.

 

[zanzibar]

I guess he's using the standard one that comes with the device.
There is little (nothing) left for improvement on that side.

I tried a battery power once, and no difference at all on measurements.

Have a big tube mono blocks system and I tried an external battery.
It made a shocking difference but my system is very sensitive so any change will produce an audible change.
Typically the best changes are found with certain NOS tubes.

Then there's the upgrade in the firmware: from 35/35 to 66/41. It's an unreal improvement for a mere download.
RME is the bomb!

 

[Veri]

Have a big tube mono blocks system and I tried an external battery.
It made a shocking difference but my system is very sensitive so any change will produce an audible change.
Typically the best changes are found with certain NOS tubes.

Then there's the upgrade in the firmware: from 35/35 to 66/41. It's an unreal improvement for a mere download.
RME is the bomb!

Hard to take serious. You sure you're on the right forum?

 

[Chagall]

Oh, I see - this is Anecdotal Story Review...

 

[zanzibar]

Hard to take serious. You sure you're on the right forum?

Yeah, I'm in the right place. This is where I wrote my findings. Enjoy!

"The result was the shipping version FPGA 60 and DSP 39. This is a big step up from the former 35 / 35, the numbers indeed equal many steps of development. And we aren’t finished, some fine-tuning is always possible and will be done."

Firmware Update ADI-2 DAC 66 / 41 - Loopback (Page 1) — ADI-2 & 2/4 Pro series, ADI-2 DAC series — RME User Forum

Firmware Update ADI-2 DAC 66 / 41 - Loopback (Page 1) — ADI-2 & 2/4 Pro series, ADI-2 DAC series — RME User Forum —

forum.rme-audio.de

 

[Chagall]

I'm sharing my experience. You got a problem with it, come see me.

You can share, but that isn't enough to convince anyone.
Things like "unreal improvement", "very sensitive system" and "my big tube" doesn't mean anything really.

Measure your "big tube", before and after whatever change you made.

 

[pkane]

Measure your "big tube", before and after whatever change you made.

It’s not the size of the tube that counts.

 

[dfuller]

Have a big tube mono blocks system and I tried an external battery.
It made a shocking difference but my system is very sensitive so any change will produce an audible change.
Typically the best changes are found with certain NOS tubes.

A battery makes very little sense here. The biggest improvement you could make would be a good switching power supply (and actively regulating the heaters).

 

[Jimbob54]

It’s not the size of the tube that counts.

Its how often it gets used.

 

[Music1969]

Hi @MC_RME or @amirm

Can you do the same measurement as per the slide below, with your ADI-2 DAC ?

Rob Watts says his current DACs are the only ones in the world with no measurable noise floor modulation (below is his Hugo TT2 measured with his own APx555b)

Would be really nice to show him he is not correct

Hugo TT 2 by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

I used to think DAC/amp that measures incredibly well would equal sterile and analytical sound, obviously not the case with Chord. Yes using traditional measurements there is truth in that observation. If you reduce 2nd harmonic distortion, and reduce higher order harmonics, things sound...

www.head-fi.org

 

[zanzibar]

A battery makes very little sense here. The biggest improvement you could make would be a good switching power supply (and actively regulating the heaters).

Yeah well I'm sure others like their Teddy Parlo or whatever they call it. I've seen others give it a whirl but I don't see it for myself.

 

[Grotti]

I'm not measuring any one tube. My friend who designed these one of a kind monoblock tube amps from an Allen Organ C3 architecture has all that measuring equipment, sheer loads of it. I'm not going to be adding this "big tube" request to the list.

Who is convinced or not is of no consequence to me.

I'm sure that anyone reading this is curious about how the "one of a kind monoblock" measures.

You have to understand, that subjective impressions are meaningless without being backed up by data.

 

[Rja4000]

Hi @MC_RME or @amirm

Can you do the same measurement as per the slide below, with your ADI-2 DAC ?

Rob Watts says his current DACs are the only ones in the world with no measurable noise floor modulation (below is his Hugo TT2 measured with his own APx555b)

Would be really nice to show him he is not correct

Hugo TT 2 by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

I used to think DAC/amp that measures incredibly well would equal sterile and analytical sound, obviously not the case with Chord. Yes using traditional measurements there is truth in that observation. If you reduce 2nd harmonic distortion, and reduce higher order harmonics, things sound...

www.head-fi.org

That's a funny one !
I especially like the "High order harmonics are all below 150dB"... while H7 is shown at around 122dB below signal on the AP plot...

 

[zanzibar]

I'm sure that anyone reading this is curious about how the "one of a kind monoblock" measures.

You have to understand, that subjective impressions are meaningless without being backed up by data.

When I respond to the insiders here and I chose not to get into the measurements of the amps, I'm deleted.
They of course are not.