RME ADI-2 Pro FS R vs. MOTU M2

[manisandher]

If you think digital sound was solved years ago, feel free to skip this thread...

Following on from Amir's M4 review, I thought I'd share a couple of needle drops using my RME and MOTU:

I know this'll sound sacrilegious to some/many/all here, but I've been trying to capture the sound of vinyl faithfully for over 10 years now, and failed with every ADC I've tried. I even went as far as buying a Pacific Microsonics Model Two, but even there, the digital capture never sounded quite as good as the direct vinyl. (I'm fully aware that many members here will posit that I was believing what I wanted to believe. Well... after paying a small fortune for the PM2, I can assure you that I wanted to believe that the PM2 was totally transparent. But my ears told me it wasn't.)

But the search is finally over. I can truly hear no difference between the RME and the direct vinyl (using only 16/44.1 or 16/48).

Anyway, here are the needle drops:

A:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kglrJS04xk87gLtQy9ywMO3AeUFQ0fJ3/view?usp=sharing

B:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10zL6jLVSEzfeWSjJ2a0lecW-faNMp8bZ/view?usp=sharing

Can you tell which is the RME?

Mani.

 

[Tks]

I'll give it a shot when I get home

 

[digitalfrost]

I can't ABX this. Good job on the leveling.

 

[Doodski]

I'm guessing it is the B.wav that is the RME. It seems better in miniscule ways.

 

[manisandher]

Agreed... the difference is indeed pretty miniscule on this needle drop. I purposely used 'regular' as opposed to low-noise 'audiophile' vinyl (in this case, an LP I bought 32 years ago whilst at uni, which is pretty beaten up now) to see if the RME could still be worth the money over the MOTU.

Just goes to show what a great piece of kit the MOTU is for the money though. But once you're aware of the difference, the MOTU doesn't quite cut it (to my ears, at least).

Will identify which is which in the next few days.

Mani.

 

[ElNino]

Just out of curiosity, which of the four AD filters offered by the ADI-2 Pro are you using for your needle drops?

 

[Racheski]

Thanks for putting this together! I suggest you start a poll and folks can choose which recording is which.

 

[digitalfrost]

Ha!

foo_abx 2.0.5 report
foobar2000 v1.5.5
2020-09-04 18:02:02

File A: A.wav
SHA1: 8b28bc502432e9567d20f26e43847bd716ea0cb3
Gain adjustment: +1.91 dB
File B: B.wav
SHA1: fd1107b3888c86551ce775ab6875b3c987570eb8
Gain adjustment: +1.88 dB

Used DSPs:
Skip Silence, Downmix channels to stereo, Resampler (SoX), Convert mono to stereo, Ambiophonic XTC, mda Dither

Output:
DS : Primary Sound Driver
Crossfading: YES

18:02:02 : Test started.
18:03:19 : 00/01
18:03:24 : 01/02
18:03:30 : 02/03
18:03:47 : 02/04
18:03:53 : 03/05
18:04:01 : 04/06
18:04:08 : 05/07
18:04:12 : 06/08
18:04:12 : Test finished.

----------
Total: 6/8
Probability that you were guessing: 14.5%

-- signature --
38d4ec0e2127a3c36a77880f8f6585dd1d76d410


I like B slightly better, it sounds more open, maybe a tad more stereo width. That said, if you got the level of B even just 0.1 or 0.2dB louder that can be it. So many variables with recording vinyl.

 

[manisandher]

Just out of curiosity, which of the four AD filters offered by the ADI-2 Pro are you using for your needle drops?

SD Sharp. I simply can't see/hear any good reason for using any other filter.

Mani.

 

[manisandher]

Probability that you were guessing: 14.5%

Very good!

There was a difference of 0.03dB in your gain adjustment for the two, right? Doubt that would be a factor in any difference you seem to have heard.

Mani.

 

[manisandher]

OT...

I once achieved a 1% probability of guessing in a blind ABX... but it still wasn't accepted by some ;-)

Mani.

 

[manisandher]

Thanks for putting this together! I suggest you start a poll and folks can choose which recording is which.

Polls often seem to fall flat on their feet, with little or no interest. I'll perhaps try one in the future.

Mani.

 

[maty]

I can hear differences too. With JRiver MC 64 bits, Kernel Streaming.

Both have distortion. Bad rip? Can you try with better recording?

B has more distortion. And LF (current taste).

 

[maty]

DSP 64 bits only to correct small errors in frequency response at the listening point.

* PEQ
* Convolution

 

[CtheArgie]

Which phone preamp are you using? The Thoress?

 

[ElNino]

SD Sharp. I simply can't see/hear any good reason for using any other filter.

Mani.

Thx. Just keep in mind that SD Sharp is a minimum phase filter, and that alone could explain the sound difference over the Pacific Microsonics unit and the MOTU.

I'd expect that minimum phase might sound more natural with needle drops.

 

[manisandher]

Can you try with better recording?

Will do. Let me clean some vinyl first.

(I'll use the 'sharp' filter this time.)

Mani.

 

[manisandher]

Which phone preamp are you using? The Thoress?

No, not the Thöress, but another tube phono preamp. I like the Thöress a lot, but I just prefer the sound of this one a little better.

I've had SS phono preamps in the past, which have sounded crystal clear. But I prefer my vinyl slightly more fleshed out (especially my beaten up old stuff, which can sound overly bright and tinny with the SS preamps I've tried).

Mani.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Just for the sake of clarity, you were splitting the phono preamp output between the interfaces, right? It isn't obvious on the photo.

 

[manisandher]

Just for the sake of clarity, you were splitting the phono preamp output between the interfaces, right?

No, they were separate takes. One might have the odd tick that the other doesn't have, but otherwise I think the inputs were pretty much identical. But I agree, using splitter would be even better.

Mani.