RME ADI-2 Pro Discussion Thread

Did it feel easier to pick the DACs apart via speakers or headphones?

 

It's quite difficult any way you look at it, but so far it has been "easiest" on the ATC speakers through the Lab Gruppen.

With my Genelecs, it was a tossup against the HE-6. The speakers were better on some aspects, and headphones better on others. With the ATCs, I find their midrange more resolving than the HE-6 so that's the area I hone in on.

 

I'm looking at DAC/AMP combo units to use with my Genelec 8030/7050, HD650 and Andros but primarily the Genelecs. I'm trucking along with a GO2A SE right now, which I find a little bright and fatiguing. @Armaegis, when you describe the RME as 'hard', do you mean in a fatiguing sense?

 

In comparison to the others, yes. In comparison to the GOV2 that I used to have, no.

 

Could someone please give me the dimensions of the box it comes in? I may have an opportunity for a colleague to bring one back in carry-on from Germany next month. Weight when packaged I can get online, but verification would be super double ++.

 

I suggest to send an email to Thomann and ask the box dimensions if nobody here can help.

 

My colleagues stole my box. They're super jelly.

 

9x22x35 cm

 

What cable is used in this picture? (Link wanted)

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Dyson-A...159366?hash=item1a270aa786:g:6rsAAOSwTM5Yu19X

 

Thanks, much appreciated.

Side note, question for @sorrodje and @Armaegis or others having tested this DAC/AMP , do any of you see a need to feed an external amp with the ADI-2? I know for you @Armaegis it's all about power, , but set aside your love for HE-6, how's the performance of the built-in amp? I can see the specs are impressive...

 

It's a nice amp, and the balanced option gives you all the grunt you need for virtually every headphone you can throw at it. If I were looking for a compact all-in-one unit, this would be on my shortlist. Overall I would classify the sound as leaning towards the cool/clinical side of things.

Right now with the newest firmware, I can flip between the front headphone output or rear line outputs feeding into an external amp. Very handy for doing quick comparisons.

 

Cool, thanks both of you.
Since I've sold off everything but my Yggdrasil now that my upcoming work madness will soon begin, I decided to order the RME ADI-2 Pro with a 60 day free return just to have something in the office during summer*.
It'll be super interesting to see how it behaves within my ecosystem of VST's (Sonarworks, DMGAudio Equick bass boost, Waves NX and phase flipper) but also if I can use Sonarworks systemwide + the ADI-2's own settings of width/crossfeed + PEQ and come close to the former mentioned.

*I'm doing this simultaneous as I look for a solid state amp to match my Yggdrasil, within the 4-12 month scope - but it seems from your comments that this might be a potential unnecessary step.....

 

At times like this I wish I were back in L.A. so I could hear a bunch of gear for myself instead of having to make best guesses. I'm in the all-in-one market to feed mainly HD6XX and my Genelec 8030B/7050A monitors.

I've found since getting in good listening time on the Genelecs that they expose treble issues very noticeably (I listen to the Gennies by far more than anything else). My GO2A SE sounds good via my Andros and HD6XX, but gives a fatiguing treble character, glarey and steely feeding the Gennies (balanced). I can't stand listening to it now that I have noticed it. My Chord Mojo is much better, but does have a sort of cellophane crunch in the treble. At least it's not fatiguing though - it has changed my listening experience from annoying to enjoying . Just for funsies I tried EQ'ing out the glare from the GO2A and it just doesn't work for me, there's a whole lot more going on than just accentuating frequencies that creates that glare.

I really like the feature set of the ADI-2 Pro - it has all the bells and whistles I could want outside of a remote control. The plan would be to feed it off a UnDEAS-O to bypass USB. My main concern is that I make the purchase and end up with a similar fatiguing glare that just end up pissing me off.

On the opposite approach I could get a Gungnir Multibit for a similar price, also fed from a UnDAES-O with an AES-->SPDIF converter. That is almost exactly the same cash outlay.

If the glare isn't an issue, and sound differences are small, I'd rather have the smaller footprint and capability of the ADI-2 Pro. My gut feel is the ADI-2 Pro not being Sabre-based would be just fine, but I have no way to actually hear the damn thing, or a Gungnir Multibit for that matter.

Given my experience with Chord Mojo vs GO2A, where would you say the ADI-2 Pro sits in terms of sound signature and glare?

 

Maybe it's the Gennies having treble issues? I think the ADI-2 Pro is clean as a whistle regarding treble or otherwise. Depending on where you come from or what you're comparing it to it may feel clinical.

 

Thanks, @Hrodulf. Yes, I'm sure the Gennies play a part in it, I know some find the tweeters to be a bit bright. But the fact that Mojo clears it up makes me think that I can address it satisfactorily from a system synergy standpoint.

I haven't tried the treble tilt come to think of it, just EQ, so I'll give that a go. But to be honest I'm kind of questioning the logic of trying to soften up the GO2A. It maybe a better Sabre implementation, but it is a Sabre nonetheless, and on USB. I'll do some playing around. Hard to get lots of free time with a 2 year old in the mix .

If ADI-2 Pro is closer in nature to Mojo than to GO2a, I believe I'm in business. Have you had an opportunity to hear Mojo?

 

Does it automatically change the DSP for the unique output? If I had monitors connected to the rear line-outs they could have one DSP-setting and headphones a different one?
Also, what happens if you have balanced headphones connected to both 1/2 and 3/4 output at the same time as rear outputs?

 

Yes, different settings per output

The front balanced headphone vs rear outputs are activated separately. Pressing and holding the volume button will switch between which one is turned on.

 

Hey fellas, since I'm not an owner yet, I can't contribute to the current line of questioning, but have any of yous guys who've heard the RME also heard the Auralic Vega? I'm curious to know if there's any appreciable difference, that would cause a current Auralic stack owner to trade in for the ADI-2 Pro?