[gimmeheadroom]

People tend to buy the RME for the crap-ton of features, first and firemost

I didn't and I don't know where you came up with that idea.

 

[Baten]

I didn't and I don't know where you came up with that idea.

I guess there's all kinds of people in this world, then

How I came up with that idea, I don't know did you check the size of the manual? It can do a LOT of things.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I guess there's all kinds of people in this world, then

How I came up with that idea, I don't know did you check the size of the manual? It can do a LOT of things.

The DAC gets great reviews for sound quality, as well it should. The sound is first and foremost.

The other features are icing on the cake and not only will most people not see the manual until after they buy it, but most people will only use a (small) subset of the features. If you check the RME threads you can see how much hair-pulling there is over the setup.

 

[mikel]

I also have the RME ADI-2. I agree... sound is amazing...the many features are really coming from the software side.
On my end... I use direct DSD basically bypassing all software processing.... the result... amazing clean sound.
The RME ADI 2 is a fully transparent DAC. I would be very surprised if any DAD below 5000 USD offers a clearly superior D/A converstion. The only DAC i have heard that is more expensive was the Chord DAVE..... and in my ears it was comparable with the RME ADI-2 being driven by HQPlayer.
My chain is
Roon/Tidal -> HQPlayer Desktop upsampling to DSD 128 -> RME ADI-2 in Direct DSD Mode -> Violectric V281 -> Focal Utopia

 

[sajunky]

And.... it is how discussion about RME, Topping, Chord ends....

Hopefully.

 

[Lolito]

People tend to buy the RME for the crap-ton of features, first and firemost

Exactly. and german quality and warranty. And price is great for the features and the display, and i bet the knobs are reliable, not like topping.

But about the dac performance and sound, same as akm decent dac out there... no miracles really.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Exactly. and german quality and warranty. And price is great for the features and the display, and i bet the knobs are reliable, not like topping.

But about the dac performance and sound, same as akm decent dac out there... no miracles really.

Who says the Topping sounds like the RME?

 

[Baten]

Who says the Topping sounds like the RME?

Let's just quit this whole sound science topic in this thread. It's the Ares II thread, whether RME and cheaper AKM DAC will sound similar/same is hardly relevant here and will only invite back and forth bickering ....

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Let's just quit this whole sound science topic in this thread. It's the Ares II thread, whether RME and cheaper AKM DAC will sound similar/same is hardly relevant here and will only invite back and forth bickering ....

Why are you talking to me? Why don't you address your concerns to the individuals who moved the discussion in that direction?

 

[Lolito]

i mix all threats, sorry mates!!! LONG LIFE TO THE ARES 2!!!! the most analog dac out there, with months waiting list to buy one!!!!
I want an ares 2, but I will buy one when the hype is over!!! or when ares 3 is out.

there is a nice review out there by @poetryonplastic or something like that is the name of the guy, very nice review, i trust that guy. Digital needs to move on really, ARES 2 is showing the light. I still would like a cheaper ares, because the other cheap non delta sigma dacs really not that nice. Bifrost not worth it anymore at that price if ares 2 is there.

Cheap RCA denafrips, with external PSU, or smaller psu with smaller linear transformer... maybe with no dsd, to save costs, with no xlr, single ended design... maybe.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I also made a full in-depth written review about the Ares II

since a lot of people know about it, I did my best to point out personal observations, and compared it with much more expensive DACs, to see how it stands in the market

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2021/01/r2r-alive-denafrips-ares-ii-balanced-r2r-dac.html

 

[312elements]

I also made a full in-depth written review about the Ares II

since a lot of people know about it, I did my best to point out personal observations, and compared it with much more expensive DACs, to see how it stands in the market

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2021/01/r2r-alive-denafrips-ares-ii-balanced-r2r-dac.html

Cool article, thanks for sharing. How would you describe the differences in soundstage, separation, and imaging vs something like the Brooklyn. My takeaway from reading your article was that the differences more focused on color and dynamics.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Cool article, thanks for sharing. How would you describe the differences in soundstage, separation, and imaging vs something like the Brooklyn. My takeaway from reading your article was that the differences more focused on color and dynamics.

The soundstage is wider on DAC+, but deeper and more balanced on Ares II. Separation is similar, imaging is slightly better on Ares II, thanks to its deeper soundstage

 

[Uncle00Jesse]

Anyone who has bought one from Singapore that lives in the states, did you have any customs charges or shipping issues to speak of?

 

[adamos]

Anyone who has bought one from Singapore that lives in the states, did you have any customs charges or shipping issues to speak of?

My order was just over a year ago, but it was a smooth process with no extra charges or shipping issues and it arrived fairly quickly. Also just as a side note Vinshine is in Singapore but it shipped from China where they are made.