[Luckbad]

Seems unique to his system. Could be driver conflicts, bad USB ports, slow PC, etc. RME has one of two good USB implementations integrated into a DAC that I trust (Schiit Gen 5 being the other. Soekris is said to have good USB as well).

It's the first DAC in a long time that I actually use the USB instead of feeding it SPDIF.

I do have an Allegro USB card that I bought for no good reason (I wasn't getting dropouts in Windows 10).

Anyway, I generally see nothing but praise for the USB on this and other RME products. They make pro gear that has to be 100% reliable.

 

[jerick70]

Anyone else having power plug issues? With the slightest amount of wiggle on the PS connector, the red/green light goes out because the unit has lost power.

I'm running my ADI-2 Pro from a powered USB hub and have zero problems. Most likely his computer.

 

[strojo]

I'm running my ADI-2 Pro from a powered USB hub and have zero problems. Most likely his computer.

Just didn't have the AC connector twisted in correctly. All is good.

 

[ZenErik]

Good to hear things are resolved. I'm very impressed with RME's USB implementation. No issues. I've had more expensive DACs that are more finicky via USB due to inferior implementations.

 

[jerick70]

Just didn't have the AC connector twisted in correctly. All is good.

Good deal that you figured it out.

 

[VRacer-111]

Just got mine in this afternoon... picked it up and brought it to work. The Koss KPH30i has never sounded so good:

Haven't even bothered with any EQ yet, just Loudness and crossfeed on and tested out my Shure SE215, Monolith M1060, and TH-X00 Mahoganies as well. Volumes all roughly adjusted for all 3 outputs. Real test will begin when get home and try it on the STAX system, which is what I got it for.

Really am impressed with it so far, zero issues with USB - extremely great sounding right out the box. The amp section is pretty usuable... really nice. Not as good as my modded Gustard H10, but not that lacking compared to it either. Drives the M1060's VERY WELL!

 

[Violent_Sneeze]

.

 

[trybeingarun]

Putting my RME ADI-2 Dac for sale. As good as the unit is, I realize that I'm not using most of the DSP functionality and always use an external amp and hence the decision.

Sale Link:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fs-rme-adi2-dac-in-india.880722/

 

[Violent_Sneeze]

.

 

[SAndreev]

Got the unit yesterday, very impressed by build quality and driver quality. Plan to mostly use it as a DAC, with occasional headphone amp when I want solid state sound for my D7200. Preliminary impressions on the built in amp are very positive, but I need more time to test properly.

 

[DaaDaa]

just got mince. very impressed. cold be a keeper. honestly im tired of swapping gear and want to settle with the one to keep and its eaither this or Audio-gd D2R1

 

[boxerlc]

Here is my impression on RME adi-2 dac:

My system:

Major Component: PC(HQPLAYER) -> 2qute or adi-2 dac -> AccurateAudio A281(I'm not proud of) -> HD800s

HQPlayer config: poly-sinc-xtr-2s DSD256 to adi-2 dac or DSD128 to 2qute

Source output mode: USB

Power supply: ifi ipower 12v and breeze linear power supply 12v.


Recently I became a hqplayer user, after feeling the difference it caused on 2qute, I decided to upgrade 2qute to a more DSD capable DAC. By looking through HQplayer's recommended hardware list, I found adi-2 dac, this relatively cheaper DAC. I read many good reviews about it, so I placed the order.

There was a conflict between hqplayer developer's idea and Chord dac's DSD implementation: to fully use hqplayer, you need to select the best possible filter and highest possible DSD format on a delta-sigma dac. On the other hand, to fully use chord dac's WTA filter, designer Rob Watts suggested do nothing to the original audio stream. Since I got improvement from HQplayer on a Chord DAC, I thought if I buy a comparable Delta-sigma DAC I should experience more improvement from it. I thought adi-2 might outperform the 2qute.

However, after days of comparison, I think these 2 dac are on the same level. They have the almost the same level of resolution, but difference is noticeable: adi-2 dac offers a slightly tighter sound, while the 2qute offers slightly more airy sound.

In terms of personal preference, I like 2qute better, but if I had adi2-dac already, I wouldn't bother change it to 2qute. again, they are pretty close to my ears.

A little extra information:
The build quality of the adi-2 dac is the best I ever saw on audio equipment, everything feels so good and fun to play with. The manual is very detail and even educational. I also like the amp section of adi-2 dac very much. I paired it with Grado GH2, I got a detailed, clean and the most importantly a smooth and well controlled sound. I would recommend Grado user to try this one.

 

[SAndreev]

After a week with ADI 2 DAC I started using built-in amp a lot more and I quite like it. Very very impressive, especially given that it is paired with a really impressive DAC for the price.

And all the comments on build and manual quality are true, it is really well made. Thumbs up to German engineering.

 

[simon740]

Hello,

can I use ADI-2 DAC direct with power speakers? As a preamp.

 

[boxerlc]

Hello,

can I use ADI-2 DAC direct with power speakers? As a preamp.

Yes, you can, except one condition. If you are using direct dsd, the output level is fixed at the highest level and cannot be adjusted. If you use it to play pcm, you will be fine.