TechEnthusiast
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- Oct 19, 2020
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I recently picked up a pair of Hifiman Edition XS and was thinking about upgrading my old system which consists of a Liquid Spark connected to my Asus H170 pro gaming sound card off of my PC. Problem is that when comparing the 2 set-ups with no EQ or other DSP I cannot hear a difference. Of course using the EQ and Loudness etc. features does create a significant gap, however, I can close that gap by utilizing Peter's EQ APO software on my PC. Could that old ass soundcard (2015 or 2016) compete with the ADI-2? I wouldn't think so. Keep in mind that I cannot hear over 13k but I wouldn't think that would make that much of a difference....or does it?
The thing is that I really love the ADI-2 and the power that it produces is probably more than I will ever need. I don't ever really need to take out of low power mode with my Grado SR 325,Sivga Phoenis, or Sony MDR 1A plus I really like the IEM output for my Shure SE 535's. And of course I love the EQ and all the other tweaks that I can use. And the added bonus is that it provides a balanced output just in case I needed to add more amplification in the future....plus it is all in one attractive box keeping my desktop neat.
I still have the internal struggle of justifying the $1390 that I just spent on it vs my current set-up which was only $85 and just as clean of a desktop but not nearly as pretty as the ADI-2.
Am I missing something on the ADI-2? It is plugged into the USB. I tried Toslink but no difference.
The thing is that I really love the ADI-2 and the power that it produces is probably more than I will ever need. I don't ever really need to take out of low power mode with my Grado SR 325,Sivga Phoenis, or Sony MDR 1A plus I really like the IEM output for my Shure SE 535's. And of course I love the EQ and all the other tweaks that I can use. And the added bonus is that it provides a balanced output just in case I needed to add more amplification in the future....plus it is all in one attractive box keeping my desktop neat.
I still have the internal struggle of justifying the $1390 that I just spent on it vs my current set-up which was only $85 and just as clean of a desktop but not nearly as pretty as the ADI-2.
Am I missing something on the ADI-2? It is plugged into the USB. I tried Toslink but no difference.