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

[Colonel Bogey]

Yes, you will have to use Bass/Treble shelf filters. As far as I know, there is no way to store these together as one preset. No big deal if you only use one set of headphones. At least the settings are stored individually for Phones and Line out.

Great, thanks!

Bying a RME product is almost like setting of for an adventure, a quest I don't think Steve Jobs would of approved the user interface.

 

[danadam]

although I dont know what the "BW" column in the Oratory settings stands for

It is bandwidth:

Bandwidth BW / Slope S - Is the same as Q, but expressed in a different way. Some parametric EQ's let you adjust a Q-value, others let you adjust a Bandwidth-value.

Could it be the Bass/Treble settings?

Yes, it is:

For those that don't know: it's a DAC/amp combo with a built in DSP, that allows for 5 parametric EQs plus a bass and a treble control (which are essentially low- and high-shelve filters).

 

[SimpleTheater]

Just today, I started having an odd issue using RME ADI-2 DAC in Windows 10. During two Zoom meetings and one WebEx meeting, static started coming through that no one else could hear. I could fix it by disabling the RME in Sounds-->Playback, then quickly re-enabling it. Playing music ALL day (in between meetings) and no static at all. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

Been reading/watching many reviews......overall consensus is that Adi has more depht and stereo widht compared to d90 ( topping) ( d90 has better detail though)...........i can hear same here, my smsl dacs are more closed (less stereo widht) compared to old rme adi from 2004.........why is it so? What are these chinese designers missing in their designs?

 

[ElNino]

Been reading/watching many reviews......overall consensus is that Adi has more depht and stereo widht compared to d90 ( topping) ( d90 has better detail though)...........i can hear same here, my smsl dacs are more closed (less stereo widht) compared to old rme adi from 2004.........why is it so? What are these chinese designers missing in their designs?

I picked up a D90 on black friday, and to be honest, I can't reliably discern any differences between my ADI-2 FS v2 and the D90 via USB when they're both set to the same digital filter and volume-matched. Initially, I thought that subjectively I could discern some differences in low level detail and heft to some instruments, but after really sitting down and listening, I think they sound indistinguishable from one another. (And I'm not a person who thinks all DACs sound the same; I have a couple older DACs from below the midpoint on Amir's SINAD chart and I think there are very subtle differences there vs. the D90/ADI-2, though likely nothing I could reliably ABX.) These two are just so close in performance. Maybe via optical the D90 is the slightest, slightest bit darker subjectively (perhaps due to the higher levels of jitter on the D90), but even there I suspect it's likely all in my head. They're both great.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

I picked up a D90 on black friday, and to be honest, I can't reliably discern any differences between my ADI-2 FS v2 and the D90 via USB when they're both set to the same digital filter and volume-matched. Initially, I thought that subjectively I could discern some differences in low level detail and heft to some instruments, but after really sitting down and listening, I think they sound indistinguishable from one another. (And I'm not a person who thinks all DACs sound the same; I have a couple older DACs from below the midpoint on Amir's SINAD chart and I think there are very subtle differences there vs. the D90/ADI-2, though likely nothing I could reliably ABX.) These two are just so close in performance. Maybe via optical the D90 is the slightest, slightest bit darker subjectively (perhaps due to the higher levels of jitter on the D90), but even there I suspect it's likely all in my head. They're both great.

Yeah....noting differencies at this level needs a dead silent room....no pc fans, no fridge, nothing....good acustics, damping......normal living room doesnt cut it........calculated speaker positioning for the room shape and size for the best possible bass management.....and still you need to almost know what you are looking for to spot it.......hear but also sense the difference.......i can sense the air around the sound of rme not so in su 8........su 8 gives more real instruments and centered sound, sometimes i miss rmees widht ........i would say rme breathes better ( meaning old one here)................you could be right that they are the same but over all consensus from the rewievs is that d90 is bit more detailed because of akm 4499 and adi has better widht and depht...................now we would like to have rme with akm 4499

 

[Willem]

Such consensus about subtle differences at this level is pretty much fake news. The measurements are so obviously better than human hearing acuity that there is no point in worrying. Any perceived differences will be either imaginary or due to slight differences in the set up.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

if so , why no reviews concluding can’t hear any difference.....we have reached that level of accuracy......obviously there should be severals.....but not one........this speaks against your claim............they always report some differencies...........they surely can’t all mess up the set up.

 

[BDWoody]

if so , why no reviews concluding can’t hear any difference.....we have reached that level of accuracy......obviously there should be severals.....but not one........this speaks against your claim............they always report some differencies...........they surely can’t all mess up the set up.

Where are the ones with a proper setup? Any?
I don't believe I've ever seen a review that includes a properly controlled listening test.

 

[Willem]

None of these reviewers' claims have passed the crucial test of double blind methodology. Mind you: what business would be left for reviewers if their inevitable conclusion would be that there are no differences? Sadly for them, that is the current situation, apart from some badly designed gear that gets caught by Amir's Audio Precision analyzer. That analyzer is infinitely more resolving than a reviewer's hearing.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

https://www.themasterswitch.com/rme-adi-2-dac-review

https://www.13thnote.net/2020/02/20/rme-adi-2-dac-review-qutest-killer/

https://headfonics.com/rme-adi-2-dac-review/2/

surely one would say , it is the same, can’t hear the difference, but not one.........and there is dozen more

 

[BDWoody]

...you could be right that they are the same but over all consensus from the rewievs is that d90 is bit more detailed because of akm 4499 and adi has better widht and depht..

He's almost certainly right.

The consensus really is meaningless. That's what's so great about this forum.

 

[Veri]

they always report some differencies...........they surely can’t all mess up the set up.

Sure they can.

 

[BDWoody]

https://www.themasterswitch.com/rme-adi-2-dac-review

https://www.13thnote.net/2020/02/20/rme-adi-2-dac-review-qutest-killer/

https://headfonics.com/rme-adi-2-dac-review/2/

surely one would say , it is the same, can’t hear the difference, but not one.........and there dozen more

Sure.

Any with actual controlled testing, and not reviews written to sell stuff?

 

[Oukkidoukki]

None of these reviewers' claims have passed the crucial test of double blind methodology. Mind you: what business would be left for reviewers if their inevitable conclusion would be that there are no differences? Sadly for them, that is the current situation, apart from some badly designed gear that gets caught by Amir's Audio Precision analyzer. That analyzer is infinitely more resolving than a reviewer's hearing.

Ooo, secret audio scam system to keep their youtube site going.......give me a brake......most of them want to give honest opinion to their audience , thats the truth...............its not like hifi magazine which needs to sell expensive shit.....

 

[Willem]

There three reviews all say that it is very neutral. But scientifically, they are drivel: no measurements, no double blind listening tests, but only uncontrolled impressions.

 

[Sherwood]

Audio reviewers need a hard pivot. There is a job for them in a post-measurement world, but none of them has enough power on their own to bring about the needed change.
Many reviewers rely on free review samples and advertising from the companies whose products they review, and it discourages them from being honest and incisive.

Ooo, secret audio scam system to keep their youtube site going.......give me a brake......most of them want to give honest opinion to their audience , thats the truth...............its not like hifi magazine which needs to sell expensive shit.....

It’s exactly like that. Why would it not be? It’s not necessarily even a scam, but it is a set of impressions based around measurements that can’t be repeated. No two people have the same ears, no two subjective impressions are identical. Objective impressions are identical and repeatable, which is more valuable to you when forming your own unique subjective opinion.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

It's all Conspiracy everywhere.....you must be Trump supporters............lies everywhere........better crawl to your dooms day bunker now.....and dont take covid vaccine, there is nanobots included with 5g antennas and bill gates will control your thoughts now on.....

 

[ElNino]

if so , why no reviews concluding can’t hear any difference.....we have reached that level of accuracy......obviously there should be severals.....but not one........this speaks against your claim............they always report some differencies...........they surely can’t all mess up the set up.

If you look at the subjective reviews, some report that the ADI-2 FS "sounds better", and others prefer the D90. There doesn't seem to be a solid consensus one way or the other among the subjectivists, apart from a general agreement that they're both very neutral devices. If I was just going by those subjectivist reviews, that would suggest to me that there isn't much of an actual difference, given that subjectivist reviewers tend to prone to highlighting/exaggerating the smallest of differences.

And again, since I own both now, there isn't a meaningful difference between the two, at least to my ears. I think the reviewer's state of mind, level of tiredness on a given day, etc., is likely to have a bigger effect on their impressions than whatever utterly miniscule differences exist.

Incidentally, both the ADI-2 FS and the D90 default to the SD Sharp filter, i.e., minimum phase sharp. I found that choice interesting.

 

[danadam]

most of them want to give honest opinion to their audience

It's all Conspiracy everywhere.....you must be Trump supporters............lies everywhere........better crawl to your dooms day bunker now.....and dont take covid vaccine, there is nanobots included with 5g antennas and bill gates will control your thoughts now on.....

What, you don't believe conspiracy theorists? I'm sure they give their honest opinion.