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

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#5106 for me, ESS version. Purchased beginning of November this year.
So it appears it's impossible to deduce from the serial number (without seeing the B or C letter, that is), which chip is inside. From what I'm reading on here, the numbers are not progressing in a linear fashion.

Well, whatever. I ordered mine yesterday. Can't wait! Got a UMIK-1 coming in the mail too.
 
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xaviescacs

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I've read in the manual that if the sample rates are high, the computation costs are quite high, and that limits the performance of the unit, meaning (I'm saying from memory) that you can't apply crossfeed and EQ at the same time with high sample rates. Perhaps that can affect too the time it takes to respond with the remote.
With my remote, and ADI-2 Pro, quite often it takes a couple of seconds until the unit reacts, even when the remote is right next to it. I keep the button pressed, e.g. the volume increase, the green light on the remote is blinking, but nothing happens. After pressing it a couple more times the volume finally starts changing. Does anyone else has the same?
In which conditions does this happen?
 

Matias

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Why would you use a preamp or analogue volume control with these?
Because of this.
 

KSTR

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With my remote, and ADI-2 Pro, quite often it takes a couple of seconds until the unit reacts, even when the remote is right next to it. I keep the button pressed, e.g. the volume increase, the green light on the remote is blinking, but nothing happens. After pressing it a couple more times the volume finally starts changing. Does anyone else has the same?
No, it works absolutely fine here.
 

danadam

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I've read in the manual that if the sample rates are high, the computation costs are quite high, and that limits the performance of the unit, meaning (I'm saying from memory) that you can't apply crossfeed and EQ at the same time with high sample rates. Perhaps that can affect too the time it takes to respond with the remote.

In which conditions does this happen?
Standard 16/44 playback, with EQ enabled.
Maybe a significant factor is that, AFAICT, when it happens, it happens after the remote was not used for longer time (1 hour or so). Once is catches on, it usually works fine.
 

Willem

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Because of this.
But does that auto reference level facility not show that there is no point in using an external preamp?
 

Jimbob54

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With my remote, and ADI-2 Pro, quite often it takes a couple of seconds until the unit reacts, even when the remote is right next to it. I keep the button pressed, e.g. the volume increase, the green light on the remote is blinking, but nothing happens. After pressing it a couple more times the volume finally starts changing. Does anyone else has the same?
My remote became less responsive (as opposed to simply not working) Changed battery, back to being nice and snappy.
 

Matias

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But does that auto reference level facility not show that there is no point in using an external preamp?
Sure, for the RME absolutely, but not the Topping.
 

amper42

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Did you connect both directly to a power amp, without a preamp or analog volume in between?

Yes, each DAC (ADI-2 and D90SE) was connected directly to the amp. My ADI-2 DAC FS is the "B" version with the newer remote. The RME remote works extremely well. Topping indicates a preamp is not needed with the D90SE.

It's amazing how bad the D90SE remote performs. You would think Topping would understand a remote is the window to their product? If it's cheap, poorly engineered and aggravating to use then the DAC it controls will be perceived as having less value. It might be acceptable with an E30 but not a $900 DAC. I wonder if they do customer testing?
 
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G.R.Waters

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I got a chance to compare the D90SE directly against the RME ADI-2 FS DAC for a few hours with my speakers and music. The comparison unexpectedly made me appreciate the ADI-2 even more.
Just received the D90se to substitute my ADI2 in the 1st system or a BlueOS node2i in the 2nd (moving the Node to bedroom and headphones listening), so first I made direct comparison in the main system. As I hear only liquid music both were hooked directly to XLR inputs of my amp, so the D90 was set in preamp mode, so fair comparison.
The ADI-2 remote is 1000% better than the D90SE. I never though much about the remote being important but when you compare the $10 Topping remote against the far superior RME it's a BIG difference. The D90SE is so cheap and only works if laser focused on the DAC. It's absolutely horrible for casual use. When using the RME remote as long as I'm within a 30 degree angle it works fine. The D90SE remote did not work unless I pointed it in a direct line with the DAC. I couldn't get use to this limitation. To think it comes with a $899 DAC is a huge oversight and totally poor human engineering.
Agreed! The D90se remote even managed to turn on the led strip on top of the fireplace nearby... on the other end I've to mention that I had to return the 1st RME's remote to shop because it was draining each new battery in a couple of weeks. I've change the battery in a year with the replacement.
I also noticed when turning off the D90SE it would cause a short pop in the speakers. Nothing like that happens with my RME. In addition, when changing tracks with Audirvana using the RPi4 via USB there was a crackle noise. The same setup is dead quiet when switching tracks with the ADI-2. Not sure how the D90SE adds this noise.
The glitch noise happened as well with PC feeding the USB of the D90se with Roon/Qobuz , not between tracks of the same album, but from different album tracks (i.e. Roon choosing automatically the following song or a playlist). I jumped a lot from album to album with the Bluos Node as Roon Client feeding the Coax imput and there was no crackling noise at all.

Lastly, in my A/B tests, the ADI-2 offered a smoother and more refined presentation than the D90SE which sounded a bit harsh and edgy to my ears. I just couldn't get the same smooth sound out of the D90SE that I enjoy with my ADI-2. All in all, my session ended with me quite puzzled the D90SE wasn't more of a competitor for my DAC usage. This session helped me understand SINAD scores alone don't provide me with important usability scoring I certainly need when selecting a DAC I want to use with my system.
What made me keep RME as main dac was, mostly, the depth of the stage. I played my usual set of Waters' Amused to Death - Three Wishes: old lady narrations at the beginning is coming form the far left front corner, like it was out of my room with RME, more inside the room with Topping; the baritonal voice of the Genie is enveloping you from the right almost to your back with RME while with Topping remains on the right. In Lou Reed's Transformer - Walk on the wilde side the choir of the girls starts deeper and arrives in crescendo nearer you with RME.
I may say in favor of D90 that in Alexandre Desplat's Moonrise Kingdom last track, where a number of instruments are announced and located on the stage one after the other, each addition sounded more precisely positioned, individually, from left to right than RME, but they also sounded as coming from the same distance on the stage. I can conclude so far that stage wideness is similar, but depth is RME's land.

I've searched and read in the forum about Sound Stage measurements, and Stage Deptht in particular: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...asure-amplifier-sound-stage-capability.17669/ although related to amplifiers, and https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-cannot-be-measured.20808/page-59#post-779145, but I haven't seen any answer that solved the issue and picked up a value to look for in electronics for the "deepest stage".

As the D90 was the latest purchase I may add that I was in a way biased and had expectations (ASR measurements generated) that it would clearly beat the good old RME. Anyway before being accused of subjectivism (even if my bias would have lead me toan opposite conclusion) I propose myself to return to an a/b comparison as soon as I'll get the help of a friend to blindtest them another time.
 

Trell

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Just received the D90se to substitute my ADI2 in the 1st system or a BlueOS node2i in the 2nd (moving the Node to bedroom and headphones listening), so first I made direct comparison in the main system. As I hear only liquid music both were hooked directly to XLR inputs of my amp, so the D90 was set in preamp mode, so fair comparison.

Agreed! The D90se remote even managed to turn on the led strip on top of the fireplace nearby... on the other end I've to mention that I had to return the 1st RME's remote to shop because it was draining each new battery in a couple of weeks. I've change the battery in a year with the replacement.

The glitch noise happened as well with PC feeding the USB of the D90se with Roon/Qobuz , not between tracks of the same album, but from different album tracks (i.e. Roon choosing automatically the following song or a playlist). I jumped a lot from album to album with the Bluos Node as Roon Client feeding the Coax imput and there was no crackling noise at all.


What made me keep RME as main dac was, mostly, the depth of the stage. I played my usual set of Waters' Amused to Death - Three Wishes: old lady narrations at the beginning is coming form the far left front corner, like it was out of my room with RME, more inside the room with Topping; the baritonal voice of the Genie is enveloping you from the right almost to your back with RME while with Topping remains on the right. In Lou Reed's Transformer - Walk on the wilde side the choir of the girls starts deeper and arrives in crescendo nearer you with RME.
I may say in favor of D90 that in Alexandre Desplat's Moonrise Kingdom last track, where a number of instruments are announced and located on the stage one after the other, each addition sounded more precisely positioned, individually, from left to right than RME, but they also sounded as coming from the same distance on the stage. I can conclude so far that stage wideness is similar, but depth is RME's land.

I've searched and read in the forum about Sound Stage measurements, and Stage Deptht in particular: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...asure-amplifier-sound-stage-capability.17669/ although related to amplifiers, and https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-cannot-be-measured.20808/page-59#post-779145, but I haven't seen any answer that solved the issue and picked up a value to look for in electronics for the "deepest stage".

As the D90 was the latest purchase I may add that I was in a way biased and had expectations (ASR measurements generated) that it would clearly beat the good old RME. Anyway before being accused of subjectivism (even if my bias would have lead me toan opposite conclusion) I propose myself to return to an a/b comparison as soon as I'll get the help of a friend to blindtest them another time.

If they are level matched you almost certainly will hear no difference between them with DSP disabled.

I choose the RME ADI-2 DAC for it’s outstanding features, including a powerful headphone amplifier.
 

G.R.Waters

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If they are level matched you almost certainly will hear no difference between them with DSP disabled.
Level matched and no DSP.
I choose the RME ADI-2 DAC for it’s outstanding features, including a powerful headphone amplifier.
I may add that when I took off the coax cable from the D90 , to my shock, the external metal part of it's female jack remained attached to the male plug of the cable, to testify that if sound wise they may compete, but built-quality and feautures wise RME wins hands down. Just a look at the feet equipping the D90 will tell you where quality stands.
 

amper42

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If they are level matched you almost certainly will hear no difference between them with DSP disabled.

I choose the RME ADI-2 DAC for it’s outstanding features, including a powerful headphone amplifier.

I wish that was true, but it's not. I can easily tell the D90SE and the ADI-2 apart 100% of the time when level matched in a blind test and Qobuz albums are randomly played. It's not only the slight difference in sound smoothness but every time the person performing the test switches from one album to another in Qobuz the D90SE puts out a crackling distortion sound before playing the music via UPnP. It's a dead giveaway the D90SE is being used in the blind test. This D90SE defect, makes it easy to tell them apart if you pay attention at all.
 

Trell

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I wish that was true, but it's not. I can easily tell the D90SE and the ADI-2 apart 100% of the time when level matched in a blind test and Qobuz albums are randomly played. It's not only the slight difference in sound smoothness but every time the person performing the test switches from one album to another in Qobuz the D90SE puts out a crackling distortion sound before playing the music via UPnP. It's a dead giveaway the D90SE is being used in the blind test. This D90SE defect, makes it easy to tell them apart if you pay attention at all.
Is this a defect that applies to most/all units? It’s the first time I’ve heard about it.
 

amper42

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Is this a defect that applies to most/all units? It’s the first time I’ve heard about it.

Read post #1791 paragraph 3. The writer is experiencing the same issue with the D90SE. He calls it "The glitch noise". I thought it was just my setup until I read his post. It's the same exact D90SE defect I am experiencing. In his case it's with Roon and BluOS. In my case, it's with Audirvana. It's amazing this issue got through quality control.
 

Trell

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Read post #1791 paragraph 3. The writer is experiencing the same issue with the D90SE. He calls it "The glitch noise". I thought it was just my setup until I read his post. It's the same exact D90SE defect I am experiencing. In his case it's with Roon and BluOS. In my case, it's with Audirvana. It's amazing this issue got through quality control.
I overlooked that part of his post and I must admit my eyes glaze a little over when I read about sonic differences between DACs that measures exceptionally well.

Hopefully the issue can be fixed with a firmware update if D90SE supports that.
 

G.R.Waters

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. In his case it's with Roon and BluOS. In my case, it's with Audirvana.
To be precise my case to report is only for Windows 10 pc used (temporarily, since my Nuc with Roon Rock suffered a SSD failure) as Roon Core feeding Qobuz albums directly to the D90se via USB. Streaming the same music with a BlueOs Node (either as Roon Client or BlueOs alone) via coaxial input to D90se didn't produce any crackling noise.
 
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Wow, am I glad I decided to splurge on the RME instead of getting a much cheaper Topping. Getting rid of the glitches and pops was one of the main reasons why I'm shelving my CIAUDIO VDA-2 DAC. I'm too old to be able to tolerate quality compromises, lol. Even a cursory glance at the respective manuals is enough to convince me RME is the way to go.
 
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