Review and Measurements of RME ADI-2 Pro (comparison to ADI-2 DAC)

[watchnerd]

Is the head amp part on par with the DAC?

Yes.

 

[derp1n]

Archimago's thoughts/preview of the ADI-2 Pro FS.

 

[chungjun]

New firmware...

https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=27467

 

[Jimster480]

New firmware...

https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=27467

Wow maybe even better performance will arise from this xD

 

[watchnerd]

New firmware...

https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=27467

Oh god, they changed the menu structure....after I spent so much time learning all the obscure places where things lived.



Not seeing anything in this firmware that screams 'must install'....

 

[Dro]

They cleaned up the SETUP - Options - Hardware/Diagnosis menu by adding a new SETUP - Options - Display submenu.

 

[derp1n]

New firmware today:

FPGA firmware 183 (Pro/AE/Pro FS/Black Edition) and 23 (DAC) brings a new control circuit to make the Class Compliant mode even more compatible. We had observed limitations in higher sample rates with various hosts, like music servers, network players or tablets (not Mac computers, iPhones or iPads). Our new USB asynchronous control loop circuit for Class Compliant mode now operates perfectly even with such hosts and ensures full data transmission performance.

Additionally DSP version 23 for the DAC fixes the missing mute of the IEM output in DSD Direct mode. The unit now switches to Line Out whenever DSD Direct is active and DSD is played back (and of course reverts as soon as PCM is played).

 

[BurritoJustice]

Just put in my preorder for the newest Pro FS Black Edition. From the images it is basically a Pro FS with the chassis of the DAC. Hopefully it has the superior performance that Amir saw in the DAC over the original Pro. Came to around $2000 AUD which is honestly pretty reasonable compared to the local market, though I'm still completely insane for spending that much on something I'm unlikely to be able to tell apart from my Scarlett 6i6

 

[amirm]

Splurging is fine.

 

[hiddentunnel]

Hi,

new member here. I have been reading this and currently have an RME ADI-PRO 2(non fs version). To me it sounds great, is the jitter something that will be noticeable when listening, the type to mess with transients or is this such a subtle thing that it is almost not noticeable?

 

[andreasmaaan]

Hi,

new member here. I have been reading this and currently have an RME ADI-PRO 2(non fs version). To me it sounds great, is the jitter something that will be noticeable when listening, the type to mess with transients or is this such a subtle thing that it is almost not noticeable?

I'd say almost certainly the latter - extremely unlikely to be perceptible.

For a fuller understanding on the audibility of jitter, this is a good (but difficult) read.

 

[hiddentunnel]

I'd say almost certainly the latter - extremely unlikely to be perceptible.

For a fuller understanding on the audibility of jitter, this is a good (but difficult) read.

Thanks!

Yeah to me it sounds way more defined than the outputs from my MOTU 1248, I assumed this was in part due to clocking, but I guess its the overall implementation

 

[andreasmaaan]

Thanks!

Yeah to me it sounds way more defined than the outputs from my MOTU 1248, I assumed this was in part due to clocking, but I guess its the overall implementation

I'm not sure how the 1248 measures, but given the Adi-2 Pro's measurements, I'd be very surprised if any of its distortions could be audible.

 

[pos]

But then that should also be the case of the Motu 1248, which uses the same DAC as the motu 8A.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Maybe a blind comparison would be worth doing then.

 

[hiddentunnel]

Maybe a blind comparison would be worth doing then.

True,

I have switched back and forth many times between the RME and Motu, of-course this could be placebo, but to my ears, transients are more defined in the RME, there is a resolution there that I don't hear with the Motu. Its most noticable with acoustic guitars and rhythmic components. The motu is still very good and sounds great but the RME just seems a level up to my ears (ofcourse there could be lots of confirmation bias involved). I have also compared this to the Project Audio Pre S2 which sounded pretty great aswell.

Have yet to do a blind test though

 

[pos]

I am currently testing a Motu 24Ao, which sports the same kind of DAC and output specs as the two aforementioned Motu units, and my experience has not be very positive so far: https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/motu-8a-measurements.2342/page-2#post-106692

 

[hiddentunnel]

I am currently testing a Motu 24Ao, which sports the same kind of DAC and output specs as the two aforementioned Motu units, and my experience has not be very positive so far: https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/motu-8a-measurements.2342/page-2#post-106692

I also have the 24Ao - I use this to feed a modded soundcraft delta for summing, not for critical listening. So some of those issues arent as prevalent to me.

What sort of noises are you hearing on the outputs? I don't seem to notice noises on mine

 

[pos]

The typical "computer" noise you get with badly designed laptop dacs

 

[hiddentunnel]

The typical "computer" noise you get with badly designed laptop dacs

Sorry, I am not too sure what you mean? I normally associate computer DAC noise as a higher noise floor or high frequency hum. Do you mean this or EMI/RFI spikes or buzz?
I notice this gets picked up with my console and indeed with unbalanced DACs when I have an external monitor turned on - but the 24ao seems pretty silent to me. I can only measure with my AD converters so I can't get an accurate measurement, but we could compare loopbacks if this noise is picked up with a DSP spectrum analyzer.