RME ADI-2 DAC

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

  1. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    from the manual:
    The XLR line outputs do not operate servo balanced! When connecting unbalanced equip- ment, make sure pin 3 of the XLR output is not connected. A connection to ground might cause a decreased THD (higher distortion) and increased power consumption!

    Sounds pretty straight forward to me. Pin 3 should be floating, not connected to anything.
     
  2. kvn864

    kvn864 New

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    It says do not connect pin 3 at all, thats how I understand it,
    posted this not seeing the post above, saying the same thing, oh well.

    today an email came from "proaudiotoys" on ebay, explaining that they can't get ahold of the unit for another week, and I decided to wait, and not jump around. the unit is still in short supply it seems.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2018
  3. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    ZenPo Audio still has a few available units ready to ship based on my discussion with the owner Monday morning.
     
  4. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

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    You generally don't want any of the output buffer phases to see a short, hence better leave it at infinite impedance (open).
     
  5. SodaOat

    SodaOat New

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    Hi folks. A quick question: what voltage is coming out of the XLR outputs at 0dBFS?
     
  6. Zed Bopp

    Zed Bopp Friend

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    ADI-2 DAC has been in my possession for nearly a month. I won’t say much about the DAC (nothing good to compare to), other than it sounds very resolving, is clean of digi-fizz, non-fatiguing and un-colored. My previous quality DACs have had some sort of a ”sound” to them:
    • Modi Multibit through USB had great space and clarity from mids up, lacked low-end punch
    • Arcam irDAC was a good all-rounder with some extra mid-bass warmth clouding (?) sub-bass presence



    I haven’t yet discovered what kind of coloring this RME produces. I’m guessing there is some, but right now it just sounds quite flat and very coherent to my ears. My ADI-2’s DA-filter is set to SD Sharp. I’m using a PYST USB-cable, if that matters to some.

    [​IMG]



    ADI-2 DAC’s amp vs Schiit Lyr 2 (LISST tubes) using Audeze LCD-2.1

    I already posted my comparison impressions with these two amps using HD600 on the PRO-thread. Here's some more, largely similar findings with my Audezes.


    Listening to Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (Apple Lossless CD rips from here on..)


    Listening to Deftones - White Pony


    Listening to Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh

    [​IMG]


    Conclusions (with HD600 and LCD-2)


    Last thoughts...



    Cheers folks!




    Edit: Added a few pics..
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2018
  7. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    I received my RME ADI-2-DAC today and set it up this evening. One issue I am having is that the power cable won't click into placer on the back of the unit. Instead, it will go in but kind of just dangles a bit loosely. So, if I don't breathe on it, it will power up and be OK, but the slightest movement and the jack moves and it loses power. Maybe I am just simply not pushing it in place hard enough, but I feel like it should not be so difficult to plug in and do not want to force anything and cause an issue with the unit itself if the issue could simply be the cable. Visually it all looks OK and like it should fit in fine. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
     
  8. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    You can jack the power cable into to back in only position; in the rest of the positions it will barely make a connection. It's more of a insert & twist-to-lock type of connection
     
  9. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    I suspected that and kind of twisted it around a bit when I first set it up, but could not get it to lock. Will try again tomorrow. It is getting late now. Thanks for letting me know though.
     
  10. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    OK. I got it to lock. Thanks. Now, how do I get the red standby light to go off. I recall there was some sort of auto-dark feature but I have packed away the manual and remote and was wondering if I could turn it completely off (or shut off all lights) without unplugging again. Thanks.
     
  11. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I'm not sure you can turn off the standby light. Autodark works when the unit is on.
     
  12. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Lyr 3 is super clear winner in every criteria in my book by healthy margins. Micro-details and clarity might be close (Lyr 3 still better). They are just in different tiers/leagues.

    The major weakness of adi2 (as a headphone amp) is that it lacks both micro- and macro- dynamics by comparison. Small signals, transient expressions, and catharsis at the climax are entirely on another level with Lyr 3. Large orchestral works such as symphonies (crest factor is high; short term loudness varies and often sky-rockets) easily magnify these differences.

    ADI2 amp is far from trash imho. Rather it does many things not wrong. But Lyr 3 does the same things too perfectly by comparison.

    PS. Used the same dac (adi-2 dac) and the same settings. Also used eqed lcd2c and modded hd6xx. Did not objectively match volume, but compared multiple times with different volumes.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2018
  13. gepardcv

    gepardcv Almost "Made"

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    Does it run hot when on? Is there any reason to turn it off? It sounds like it can be perfectly dark when in with autodark mode, which should solve @Colgin’s problem.
     
  14. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    If the ADI-2 were sold without the headphone amp, would you buy it again?
     
  15. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    Are people generally using the amp in low or high power mode? It literally took me 20 minutes to figure out how to switch between low and high power modes. While I appreciate all the features I am really a plug and play person and this unit is driving me a bit nuts with learning how to operate it.
     
  16. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Even with the same price, probably, yes.

    Eitr + Decent "digital i/o" eq (e.g. deq2496) themselves cost around $480..
    I feel confident that ADI-2 DAC is superior to any dacs on the market priced <$600
    So even without amps, adi-2 had amazing value (to my use).
     
  17. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Honestly, unlike Schiit's products (to me always high-gain was better) I couldn't find clear sonic difference between low and high power modes in adi-2 dac. So I just stick to use low-power.
     
  18. craigl59

    craigl59 New

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    Colgin:
    Agree with you completely. I needed to become comfortable with the Menu structure (p. 9) and the specific components of each tree (e.g., EQ to Phones to Settings). Once you ferret out the location, then you have to figure out how to use the right hand buttons to move or select choices. They need more buttons or the kind of TotalMix computer interface RME uses for its studio products.
    HOWEVER...
    ...once you see how well the Loudness feature is configured for custom design, you will be convinced of the value of this kind of flexibility. Another example is the Dual EQ that allows you to configure EQ separately for L and R channels -- so you can use this to fine-tune your room settings with the app REW.
    Hang in there and keep the manual nearby while learning. You will become comfortable soon.
     
  19. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    I thought in high power mode the amp sounds a bit more rough than in low power mode.

    If RME had cut down pretty much all features and retained the same sound quality for $750 just for the dac, that would have been ideal for me. I think of the additional $250 as getting me a bunch of interesting features.

    Edit: since I don't have much experience with good dacs I don't want to comment on where the dac part lies in the spectrum of good dacs.
     
  20. craigl59

    craigl59 New

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    Have been able to test the ADI-2 DAC with its stereo system now and can report that the DA Filter options offer a good deal of sound difference within a quality audiophile system.
    SO...
    ...when the unit is compared with other units, think that it would be helpful to know which DA Filter option is active for the test. Suspect that the unit might outperform other units with certain DA choices (such as Short Delay Slow) and be considered inferior with other choices (perhaps Short Delay Sharp).
    The ADI-2 DAC is a chameleon after all and will frustrate certain kinds of traditional comparisons.
     

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