RME ADI-2 DAC

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Luckbad, Jan 12, 2018.

  1. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    I do.
    Besides, no posts are deleted here. Ever. Just look. This isn't head fi
     
  2. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    I'd just like to point out that right after the "garbage" IM was posted, I asked for more info :)
     
  3. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    You're at least 90% correct if not more. Asking even more specific questions about, oh maybe plankton or staging would earn you a true gold star...

    I was going to ask Marvey to compare headphone outs compared to the Amethyst, but I thought that might be too unfair considering the time separating the two auditions, and the vastly different DACs in the devices...
     
  4. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    I reached out to him via PM much earlier to try to get him to cool off. FWIW it is hard here for people who haven’t followed closely and have a sense of how the senior members post or don’t. I am finally getting the hang of reading the tea leaves.

    And back to the the subject at hand. I appreciate everyone’s input on this DAC/Amp. I had one on order and cancelled after gathering enough data points, especially it’s performance as a combo unit.
     
  5. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I have pruned a few things looking back from day zero until today:
    1. Obvious spam posts
    2. Posts that edge on violence (can't think of this off hand but I am sure I must have done this once somewhere)
    3. Leaks from members about obviously confidential unpublished deals/group buys, upcoming products or cool sensitive information (I've never deleted anything about something being wrong with a product). As a community we've lost a few avenues for special insider info and deals due to members posting publicly to feel important and cool to people they don't know over the internet when they should have known better.
     
  6. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    I has seemed to me for a while now that it's strengths lie more in the additional features you get, and not in it's headamp or stand-alone DAC capabilities. Basically, the nice filters, interface options, etc., don't matter so much to me, and I doubt it beats a Gungnir + Magni3 in audio quality. And it would have to beat that pairing, as otherwise why would I spend more $$$ on the ADI2? So it seems priorities other than audio quality make this worth getting.

    (I'm not saying it sounds like shit, because I have not heard it to know such things. I'm just commenting on perceived value.)
     
  7. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

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    @zerodeefex

    3. Perhaps....."confidential" information should not have been discussed on an open floor of Canjam in front of multiple people. I wasn't the only one and I didn't even mention that I was an SBAFer or related to any audio forum. I don't see how I was taking advantage of "cool" sensitive information. Sorry but I won't be blamed for "spilling the beans" for confidentiality that wasn't there in the first place. As if I couldn't keep my mouth shut when I was told to stay silent. If its really confidential perhaps the manufacturer should show more discretion and learn how to keep their own mouth shut.
     
  8. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    Exit stage left....
    defensive much?
     
  9. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    Nice going. Now it's schiit kits for sbaf meets going forward No more show don't tell stuff anymore.
     
  10. Mithrandir41

    Mithrandir41 Friend

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    @Cellist88 , no need to voluntarily self-incriminate. Let sleeping dogs lie when names aren't mentioned
     
  11. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Did I mention your name in that post or call you or anyone else out specifically? If you want to have this out, I'll start a new thread and you can argue and defend yourself there. I'll occasionally pop in, post something random that may or may not be directed toward you, then ignore it for the 18-19 or so hours of every day I have committed to personal and occupational obligations plus the 4ish hours a day I hope to sleep. You can then get defensive and read deeply into whatever I post or realize that my context might be wildly different than you are imagining in your head and that I might not even be talking about you.

    Also, forget something like CanJam, I have been pretty vocal to manufacturers that sharing anything confidential with friends on SBAF or even a small handful of members is a horrible idea. Our hobby attracts self-centered, low EQ people and if everything shared doesn't leak immediately because some insecure person thinks it would be cool to share with others in an effort to show how big his or her (most likely his given the demographics of our hobby) e-penis is, it's due to luck.
     
  12. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Have been using adi2 as my main dac and amp for 1.5 months, never thought to spend $100-400 urgently to order additional SS amp. Rather save those money until my fund reaches to Yggdrasil a2 or ecaf some days. Lost somethings from the previous combo (Gungnir Multibit+jot), but not that critically.

    Sub-optimal yes (agree with almost every negative point already posted). Unbearable no.

    At the end of the day, I think perceived garbage is a function of expectations and threshold. Aren't these called "preference" in layman's terms?


    OR


    I might be just a garbage-lover. Highly likely :oops:
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2018
  13. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    Lots of discussion of the device as DAC/AMP. I think @atomicbob uses it with a Crack as just a DAC. I certainly would like to hear from others about their impressions using it as only a DAC, and compared to what. Thanks. For my purposes a DAC (Bifrost Multibit.5), an amp, and a Loki might just meet the same needs, for me, as the ADI2. Would be nice to read impression of the DAC stage.
     
  14. k.e.

    k.e. Winning combo: narcissistic and stupid

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    I tried the ADI-2 DAC today for the first time. I was mostly interested in the IEM output. Most silent output ever! We used the Andromeda for detecting hiss and the DAC performed admirably. It's not gonna give you the +3 dB OI that this specific IEM needs but it might be a new reference for every other earphone.

    I cannot claim that the improved clock is noticeable.
     
  15. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    @GanGreinke was nice enough to bring his ADI-2-Pro to my apartment last weekend so that I could compare the SE output with balanced (with and without PRT). It was really hard to discern given the difficulty of level matching with the 3 different setups, as each one was progressively louder. My subjective feelings were that the balanced (and moreso balanced + PRT) was a little fuller sounding at lower volume, but I admit that could be result of just volume matching discrepancies and/or placebo. And any perceived difference was subtle regardless. More importantly, I was able to confirm that the SE output still had more than enough power to adequately drive the PMx2 and I still liked the unit very much. Later, when I reverted back to my Liquid Carbon (even after using the balanced cable that @GanGreinke generously gifted me) seemed like a stepdown. Not sure how much this was due to the DAC section (versus the onboard DAC from my Sonos streamer) or the amp section. At least a little of both I suspect although I feel like the LC is a little limp sounding with the PMx2 and there was much more slam with the AMI-2-Pro.

    I had demoed the Hugo 2 the night before with my PMx2 and based on SQ alone, I think I might go with that over the ADI, but then there is price and build quality issues, but mostly price with that. I also think I might have slightly preferred the amp section on the iFi iCan Pro, but then I need a separate DAC and am in a much higher price range overall. Given its good synergy with the PMx2, small form factor and apparently decent build and reasonable price, I think I am better off with the ADI-2-DAC as an AIO solution.Really don't need balanced at the end of the day and pro features are meaningless to me. And remote control is a big bonus. I probably should have listened to it with my HD600 or 650 while I had it in my home to see if it works with those as well. Nobody seems to have the DAC version in stock, but I think I will pick one up as soon as stateside dealers have them again.
     
  16. k.e.

    k.e. Winning combo: narcissistic and stupid

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    Once you want to look past the synergy with PMx2, I still have a PEQ profile stored for the PMx2. Let me see what you think:
    B1 G+6 F 30 G 0.5
    B2 +7 F 2k G 2.2
    B3 +2 F 3k Q 2
    B4 +4 F 6.5k Q 1.8
    B5 +5.5 F 20 Q 0.6
     
  17. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    Thanks. When I get the unit I will give it a try.
     
  18. Azteca

    Azteca Friend

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    I use it primarily as a DAC feeding Focal Solo 6 BE speakers and a Focal Sub 6 subwoofer in my office with bass traps and some absorbers. It sounds excellent, to me. I don't AB stuff in that configuration but based on my experience, it was a big step up from the Grace m903 it replaced.
    I use it as a headphone amp when I need to get really tweaky about stuff but that's almost always with HD600 purchased from Sonarworks (±1dB accuracy) and Goodhertz CanOpener for crossfeed/psychoacoustic help to make it more like my monitors. I don't really hang out and listen to it for fun on the headphone portion. I do have a ball listening to Spotify throughout the work day when I'm not mixing.
     
  19. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    Everyone is missing it here. Read the post as to why again:
    Now, let's come to reality to a few things.
    1. The whole thing is powered by a swtiching 12V 1.25 A DC power supply.
    2. It may not even use all of those 1.25 amps because this is the same power supply RME uses for other devices, including the Fireface UCX, which has enough to drive 8 Analog I/O's.
    3. This thing has a whole lot of op amps. The entire thing is driven by op amps, including the I/V, buffer, headphone amp, etc.
    4. It is all contained in a box that is just smaller than the Schiit 2nd tier box sizes (Asgard, Vali 2, Jot, etc.).
    This is to not take away with the engineering and sonic engineering feat of a well designed computer recording interface AD/DA really is. I am just trying to point out that it does have it's limitations.

    And lastly, I am sure once you heard and compared as much gear as Marv has, differences become very apparent pretty quickly. We also know Marv is not one to coat his comments in sugar.
     
  20. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    blablablabla . Opinion about other opinions and no personal experience added. + Marv's cock sucking. This is wrong. this is noise. just STFU !

    The only way to make this thread and this forum better is to bring knowledge and real experience. Period.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2018

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