RME ADI-2 DAC

I think everyone was just hoping for a Sabre dac with accurate datasheets. Shit, you had to sign an NDA to get to them and even then Ayre (iirc) had to ask around in forums to find out the best master clock frequency for the chip. I have a buddy who got into the whole Buffalo DAC affair and spent around 2kUSD to make his listenable. Only took the right kind of shunt regulators and a FIFO buffer... Check out DIYA, Buffalo 3 dacs in 3U amp cases to cool the output stage and silly ammounts of shunt regs.

 

You know I've been in to this hobby now for 14 years and I have never owned anything "End Game". My Gilmore Lite mk2 is still too new to have any dust, but I'm debating just getting the RME and then just selling the big pile of gear I have collected. Should add up to to the purchase price of the RME.

Anyone who has heard the Gilmore family/Dynalo and can compare it to the amp section in the RME?

 

I would say the headphone output is there for convenience only. It's serviceable with some headphones but your Sennheisers will sound like ass out of it. Definitely use a standalone amp with the RME IMO.

 

The first amp I’ve ever built was a Dynalo, it was an imprivement over my FiiO E10, but all in all I found that it left too much of a footprint in the output. Contrary to many other reports, I found it to be a rather romantic mid-centric listening experience. later sold the thing off to one of the Head-case guys.

I now have a half-built Dynalo mini at hand, but I can’t get its negative rail regulation to work, so can’t really do a current comparison. I have compared the ADI-2 Pro headphone out to a Questyle Reference Gold amp and I did prefer the latter, but not by much.

I'd say, pair the ADI-2 Pro to a good tube amp and you’ll have your bases covered.

 

I have not found any major sins in the headphone out of the RME. Yes, it’s a bit lifeless and grey compared to better amps, but it seems expensive to really improve on it in all areas. I would start too look at seperates rather, if you plan to only use the DAC portion. I think a good tube amp will be a much better choice than another SS amp for the Senns HD6XX series.

 

I found the Pro to be highly proficient but fatiguing, ethereal, and lacking in dynamic range. The SE HP out made the fatigue much worse, and lacked low end authority. Though not as good on technicals I’d rather use the amp section on a Fulla 2 from the DAC outputs, and it’s just a cheap and cheerful little AIO.

Some like it, some hate it. It boils down to how sensitive you are to timbre and presentational issues. I found it harsh and glare-y, and a particularly bad match with headphones already possesing similar issues like the LCD-2 Classic and Utopia. The question is what is your personal threshold for such things, is there any gear you’ve tried that you just found too unpleasant to listen to?

 

Well back in the day I had EMU0404 -> Gilmore Lite -> Sony MDR-SA5000 which made me want to rip it off my head after 1 or 2 songs. Pure fatigue.

Other then that the MHDT Labs Paradisea+ -> Anything sounded so terrible it made me want to listen to music out of a cheap AM/FM radio....lol

 

Beyer DT770s, regardless of impedance. Those highs are enough to strip paint of walls. Also the AKG Q701 to my ears have a distinct hardness in the upper vocal presence range, similar to what the LCD2-C have but much worse. Half an hour with those was enough. I can forgive the LCD2-C on that due to everything else it does right.

With regards to good modern digital source gear then I'm afraid that I'm going to be a heretic here, and say I honestly don't hear a significant enough difference for me pick one over another based on sound alone. With well implemented DACs it's more or less a wash to my ears, although I've not heard an R-R DAC yet, apart from the very first generation of 80's DACs when digital was a bit shit anyway, so I may yet have my eyes opened for me.

 

I should have been more specific and excluded headphone frequency response, too easy to conflate timbre and tonality nasties.

@Slaphead I felt the same way about the 2C, it’s even worse if you try and EQ that area for a more accurate FR. That upper mid dip is there for a reason, it’s hiding poor timbre. The SE HP out on the Pro only made this worse.

@svperstar I’m not familiar with any of the equipment mentioned so I cannot advise directly. But more broadly; selling a collection of low/mid-fi stuff to fund something better would be a great move. On it’s strengths the RME is great value even without the hp out, and there’s the cheaper ADI-2 FS without DSP. So if you’re set on one it would be justifiable to get it and if you don’t get along with the hp out pickup an entry level amp from Schiit or Monoprice/Alex Cavalli afterward.

@Slaphead @svperstar It would be educational to get ahold of a used Modi Multibit to hear for yourself something where presentation is the top priority, just take into account it is overly soft sounding and that you’d have to go higher up the line to achieve both that natural presentation and a good level of clarity. But it will serve as a good point of reference, and if you discover you’re that way inclined it can be a revelatory experience.

 

Having just blown the best part of $3000 on audio gear in December I’m not in a hurry to splurge more gear, but if a Modi Multibit comes my way in a couple months time when I’ve forgotten the extravagances of last month then I’ll certainly give it a try.

 

I have a Modi Multibit right here just not hooked up. I prefer the SDAC honestly. Lately I've been thinking should I just enjoy what I have or order the RME and if I don't like it send it back. Meh I dunno.

 

@BenjaminBore
Yeah use the Modi Multibit to veil that Focal tweeter timbre. Or man up, stop whining that random boxes are etched, and ditch Focal and audeze. Stop blind buying gear based on price, wood veneer, and precious and rare metal content. Classified sections, audiogon, and eBay are that way.

It’s not the RME that’s bright and etched. That thing is veiled and compressed; it’s not an ESS Sabre or Mytek product. The real solution for actually better sound is to use better headphones whose drivers aren’t made from shitty tweeter materials made by a manufacturer infamous for shitty tweeters or by manufacturers making cavernous sounding headphones with zero treble except for random spikes. Or be a man and use speakers. Not Focal speakers. Ditch Focal and Audeze.

RME makes products that actually work and work well even if they’re not amazing. Focal? They make drivers that wouldn’t pass quality control at Seas, Tymphany, or any of the speaker manufacturers who make their own drivers like JBL, Sennheiser, ATC, and even Harbeth. Whoever assembled them would have their drug test results pulled up and be shown the door. Randomly wooly as hell woofers with measurable random massive thd spikes and metal tweeters with such massive resonances that they could be used as sonic torture devices by communist regimes. Shitting on good gear as you use shitty gear while recommending a tub of Vaseline to smear everything and make the ear rape go smoother is not good advice.

The best thing about owning shitty sounding audio bling is that you can sell it, buy stuff that’s actually good for a lot cheaper, and still have money left in your pocket for several cases of good beer.

 

That is one big ball of false assumptions right there, Psal. Do you believe anything in audio is perfect? The more I learn the more I believe it’s about finding just the right yet imperfect balance. I actually agree with all your criticisms of Focal. I’d much rather get a headphone without it’s flaws that doesn’t require a lot of work to make them listenable, or is so exorbitantly priced. Unfortunately that means accepting a very limited level of performance, and/or over use of damping materials that degrade what performance there is and do more harm than using upstream gear with a smoother presentation should. For the Focals I’ve used EQ, minimal damping materials, and an amp with tubes in the gain stage to find an acceptable balance.

I do not use the Modi Multibit and was suggesting it as an educational exercise with a caveat acknowledging it’s veiled presentation, to help contextualise the divisive opinions held on the RME. Not as an alternative to the RME itself. Also, I bought the LCD-2C as an educational exercise in planars. I don’t like them.

Repeatedly shouting that the RME is veiled really isn’t helpful. I get where you’re coming from better now after your lengthy exchange with purr1n, but that took a lot of work on his part to decipher that all important context from you. Now that I have that I can calibrate better to your impressions. In terms of presentation I believe your tastes are on the extreme end of the scale in one direction, and mine are about a third of the way past the centre in the other. For the sake of argument let’s say most people’s are dead centre. Either of us advising without taking that into account will result in poor guidance. One man’s etched is anothers normal, not everyone hears things or prioritises them the same way you or I do.

You have accused me of whining about and shitting on the RME. I had to laugh at this due to the irony. I am criticising it, giving context for that criticism, and acknowledging that there are differing opinions. Attempting to find where their tastes may lie so that we can offer better guidance, and not impose my own. I believe there is substance in the impressions you share but because you lose your shit on a regular basis when someone has a different opinion, offer little to no context for your viewpoint, and insist your way is the only way your contributions are even worse than noise, they’re an absolute liability to newcomers.

 

A 300 dollar tub of Vaseline is more cost effective and less time wasting than whatever the hell you’re doing.

 

Yeah purrin, the RME has a Michelob Ultra sound.

 

Only if I can pour it on you.