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

skypablo

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That file installs a panel in the taskbar and the asio driver. In roon or qobuz (the 2 I am using atm) you can then select adi dac 2 fs ASIO mode. With that the frequency changes automatically. In wasapi mode (exclusive or not) the music player cannot override the setting in the madinterface panel.
Hope it works

Asio is asio there is not an exclusive mode, that is for wasapi
 

Jimbob54

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That file installs a panel in the taskbar and the asio driver. In roon or qobuz (the 2 I am using atm) you can then select adi dac 2 fs ASIO mode. With that the frequency changes automatically. In wasapi mode (exclusive or not) the music player cannot override the setting in the madinterface panel.
Hope it works

Asio is asio there is not an exclusive mode, that is for wasapi

@vlad335 what player software are you using? Installing the drivers wont help if you arent selecting the right output in the player. It will still go through Windows if you dont select the RME with ASIO in your player
 

vlad335

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That file installs a panel in the taskbar and the asio driver. In roon or qobuz (the 2 I am using atm) you can then select adi dac 2 fs ASIO mode. With that the frequency changes automatically. In wasapi mode (exclusive or not) the music player cannot override the setting in the madinterface panel.
Hope it works

Asio is asio there is not an exclusive mode, that is for wasapi


That's it! Damn, so stupid not looking there. Thank you.
 

vlad335

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@vlad335 what player software are you using? Installing the drivers wont help if you arent selecting the right output in the player. It will still go through Windows if you dont select the RME with ASIO in your player

I use Amazon HD music mostly and to an extent, Itunes. Also signed up for a trial of Youtube music
 

vlad335

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Thank you everyone who helped me earlier in this thread.

I have been playing around with the ADI-2 for a couple days and I continue to be amazed by this unit. I does everything I want and sounds awesome. Separate EQ's for IEM's, (Tin T2) full size phones, and then line output to studio monitors/sub are great.

I bought a used set of Sennheiser HD-58x to try with the headphone amp. I currently have old Hifiman HE400i and AT M50x now which are OK but pretty much lower tier headphones.
 

Tigi

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Hello again, I would like to discuss the following minor issue with you. When the RME ADI-2 DAC V2 is in stand-by mode (red circle around the power button), I hear a faint, but clearly audible hum in headphones. The hum disappears when the unit is turned on and returns when the device is switched off. In my current configuration, the ADI-2 is connected only to CD transport via optical cable and the standard power supply. Previously, when the ADI-2 was also connected to a switched-off power amplifier (which I dont have now) via XLR cables, I did not notice this problem. It seems to be some sort of grounding-issue. Do you have similar experiences with this? Could you please share your ideas how to solve it, if possible?
 

KSTR

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Yes, this is a known phenomenon and it is not directly related to the device itself. What happens here is this:
- you have a floating setup (TOSLINK feed)
- the power supply injects a tiny amount of mains noise into the ground (reference) potential which is connected to the headphone TRS, the S (sleeve) contact
- in power-down mode the signal contacts are open circuit (not shorted by the low output impedance)
- that little stray current now can flow -- capacitively coupled -- from (and through) the headphone transducer to you body
==> a tiny but audible hum is developped, the higher the efficiency of the phone the larger.

Solution, if it really bothers you: earth-ground the RME in some way. Like it was before when connected to the amp.
 

Tigi

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Thanks KSTR for your very helpful answer. If I understand it correctly, apart from earth-grounding the RME, a different power supply (e.g. battery-based device) could be also a solution.
 

Grotti

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Thanks KSTR for your very helpful answer. If I understand it correctly, apart from earth-grounding the RME, a different power supply (e.g. battery-based device) could be also a solution.
Perhaps I miss the point but who listens to a faint hum in headphones with the Amp in standby? I only use my headphones with engaged RME and as you mentioned, the hum is gone when it is turned on.....
 
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Tigi

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Grotti: Of course, this is practically an non-issue. Nevertheless, I asked to clarify if this behaviour is not a symptom of a broken device (fortunately, this is not the case). Furthermore, when using equipment of such advanced technical level, it's a lot about feeling of quality. And unfortunately, the parasitic sound in the headphones does not contribute to this good feeling, although it does not apply to listening to the music itself. Therefore, I will try to solve it.
 

weme

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earth-ground the RME in some way. Like it was before when connected to the amp.
You could connect the earth wire of an RCA cable to the 230V ground - if one of these jacks were free:
LINE OUTPUTS / SPDIF COAX
The housings of my equipment in the rack are connected to 230V earth via plug contacts in a star configuration. I use a screw on each unit for this purpose. With the ADI-2 DAC FS it is the screw at LINE OUTPUTS.

The hum disappears when the unit is turned on and returns when the device is switched off. In my current configuration, the ADI-2 is connected only to CD transport via optical cable and the standard power supply.
It's a "special function" that gives you an overall result:
(1) How well you can still hear (dynamic range).
(2) How badly the soles of your shoes separate you from the earth (floor).
(3) How high the leakage current (= low leakage resistance) of the headphones is.
(4) How high the leakage current of the power supply is.
(5) Which power supply you are using.

If you want to know more about "the problem":
To (2): Use rubber bathing shoes.
To (3): Use insulated headphones.
To (4-5):
After getting new equipment, I always look at the waveform of the DC power supplies on the oscilloscope. The original power supply of the ADI-2 DAC FS has an extremely distinctive, low-frequency signal that changes strongly with load (unit on). I have never seen this signal shape before. My power supply is installed in a rack, so it is too time-consuming for me to repeat the measurement and post photos of the power supplies here: ADI-2 DAC FS / old ADI-2, ...

the power supply injects a tiny amount of mains noise into the ground (reference) potential
So if it was only noise, you shouldn't be able to hear anything.
If you want to try a different power supply, make sure it has sufficient power: The ADI-2 DAC FS has an inrush current >> 1 Ampere.
 
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Tks

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Hello again, I would like to discuss the following minor issue with you. When the RME ADI-2 DAC V2 is in stand-by mode (red circle around the power button), I hear a faint, but clearly audible hum in headphones. The hum disappears when the unit is turned on and returns when the device is switched off. In my current configuration, the ADI-2 is connected only to CD transport via optical cable and the standard power supply. Previously, when the ADI-2 was also connected to a switched-off power amplifier (which I dont have now) via XLR cables, I did not notice this problem. It seems to be some sort of grounding-issue. Do you have similar experiences with this? Could you please share your ideas how to solve it, if possible?

It's present also with speakers (doesn't matter if it's XLR out, or RCA out being used). I believe it squarely has to do with the DAC not being earth ground for some reason (I don't know what prompts companies to go which way in the design).
 

KSTR

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A small and safe experiment will convince everyone that it is not a device issue (as no device is involved):
- unplug the RME from its power supply (keep the supply connected to mains)
- grab you unplugged headphone plug so that your fingers have contact to the long sleeve contact
- then touch the supply's DC-plug metal outer conductor with the tip of the headphone plug
- hum/buzz wil be present. If you short yourself to earth-ground it will increase, if your fingers stop making contact to the sleeve metal it will decrease
- use any other 2-prong SMPS DC supply for the same test, like cell-phone charger etc. You will always have some hum/buzz

==> If you want to reduce that capacitive stray current, tie the supply's output GND to mains earth or any other solid, noise-free potential (you may insert a series resistor like 1kOhms or so, it doesn't matter for the leakage current).
 

weme

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I believe it squarely has to do with the DAC not being earth ground ...

The ADI-2 DAC FS (like probably other DACs) has internally a direct connection between circuit ground and cabinet (~ 0.x Ohm). This is as good as it gets.

The "noise" are only caused by the leakage currents of the switching power supply (SMPS DC power supply: leakage current < 50 uA measured)!
The SMPS DC power supply corresponds to protection class II, it has no contact to protective earth. The ADI-2 DAC FS can therefore be used standalone anywhere in the world where there is no (reliable) protective earth.

An SMPS DC power supply with protective earth would have no "noise". On the other hand, there might be problems when interconnecting with other units.

With a transformer power supply with dc output, these leakage currents could be brought close to zero,
if the transformer was designed accordingly,
if the primary side of the transformer (~ 110 - 240 VAC) in the mains plug was connected correctly (e.g. UK)
or if the mains plug was plugged in accordingly.
 

weme

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Yes, this is a known phenomenon and it is not directly related to the device itself. What happens here is this:

That is exactly how it is. Here is another alternative "test":
I "test" the leakage currents of a (protection class II) power supply by pulling the DC plug slightly over the back of my hand. Then I turn the mains plug and repeat. It is only important that my feet have good contact with earth potential.
 

Risc1911

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The v2 has a newer remote; the v2 has an added Low-dispersion oversampling filter.

Thank you very much. I found a SD LD in the Filter section and i assume that LD stands for Low-dispersion.

Gotta say this DAC/AMP is a real swiss army knife and one can see that studio audio engineers have built it. First time a Display is really adding to the experience too. I usually prefer simple switches and LEDs than unnecessary Display that shows a volume number in big digits.
 

Risc1911

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I am doing the BIT TEST and the ASIO does not seem to do 32 bit. It does however show 24bit passed with the 32bit test wav file.
I can't see anything in the ASIO control panel or windows sound control panel to set the USB to 32bit.

Anyone know how to fix this or does the ADI-2 FS not support 32bit? (not that i care, i don't have any 32bit sources)

I also have the effect that when i boot the computer, the first sound i play, be it youtube video, mediaplayer, foobar, the sound isreally distroted but after maybe 3 seconds it fixes itself. Anyone have that issue too?

What do you guys use for listening to music in foobar, ASIO, WDM, Direct Sound? I am asking because it seems to be a pain in the ass using ASIO because then you will not hear ANY system sounds any more at all. No youtube video will play and you can't hearanyone if you join for example a game chat or Discord chat.

What advantage does ASIO or WSAPI have?

1615661137565.png


Too many options!
 

Risc1911

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Here are some other weird observations.

1. WSAPI will only play in the Sample rate you set in the MADIFACE Driver control panel. Anything else will produce an error in Foobar.
1615661642325.png


2. DS will not switch Sample Rate on the DAC but it will play any source sample rate, i guess DS up/down samples internally in Windows. So if i go balls and set the sample rate to 768, i should be fine unless the upsampling introduces errors or changes the sound.

3. ASIO switches sample rate automatically on the DAC. But it completely locks any other windows sounds and takes exclusive control of the sound engine. Not ideal unless you really just want to listen to music.

Maybe these are all perfectly normal things but until now i just had a tiny SMSL SD 793II and never bothered with ASIO etc.

Thanks
 
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