[betula]

I have an RME ADI-2 DAC and am pleased with it.

Quite a few people seem to prefer the RME to the Chord Qutest and Hugo2 for sound quality. Has anyone compared the RME with a Chord Hugo TT2? I know the Hugo TT2 is a lot more expensive, but I was wondering about upgrading the RME at some point when I can afford to.

I used to own the Qutest and TT2. Also tested the Hugo2. I really like Chord sound. In my opinion Rob Watts is definitely doing something right with his filters and FPGA chips. With his DACs he creates a very lifelike, spacious environment and lifelike representation of the recording. It is very alive. Lifelikeness and realism presented by Qutest might actually be superior to the RME ADI2. That said, the ADI2 has excellent clarity, about the same level of details of the Qutest. The RME is more neutral but also more tunable. Qutest somehow gives a very lifelike presentation which you will love if you mostly listen to acoustic or orchestral music. RME is more dynamic, and also almost comes across as cleaner and more detailed. If you are after bass depth, they will both satisfy you. But with RME you can fine tune and enhance your satisfaction.
I would say if your ultimate goal is recreating lifelike acoustics go with the Qutest. If your goal is to have the clearest, punchiest and most fun sound which is also tunable to your taste, pick the RME. Don't underestimate the tunability of the RME. I was never into EQ, I still don't use EQ on the RME but I do experiment with loudness function and bass/treble knobs. These are great to fine tune capable neutral headphones to your liking, like the LCD-X.

Regarding the TT2. Yes, it destroys both the Qutest and the RME. The TT2 just sounds so much more natural, effortless, lifelike. Deep details are coming through in an effortless and natural way. It is smooth, never hurts your ears. Vast, as close to the space of recording as possible.
But it is 4K,or 3.2K secondhand. While the RME is well under 1K (7-800) and the Qutest is around 1K.

IMO you can build up a very satisfying system with the Qutest or the RME. Jumping to the TT2 only worth it if 4K is just a part of your monthly turnover. Yes, the TT2 is another level compared to the Qutest or RME. But only you can decide whether the improvement is worth 3-4 times more of your hard earned cash.

While I loved and enjoyed every minute with my TT2 for about a year, I realised I went over my sane budget for my personal audio. Now I am happy with the RME and saved a few thousands at the same time...

 

[FullBlownEargasam]

I used to own the Qutest and TT2. Also tested the Hugo2. I really like Chord sound. In my opinion Rob Watts is definitely doing something right with his filters and FPGA chips. With his DACs he creates a very lifelike, spacious environment and lifelike representation of the recording. It is very alive. Lifelikeness and realism presented by Qutest might actually be superior to the RME ADI2. That said, the ADI2 has excellent clarity, about the same level of details of the Qutest. The RME is more neutral but also more tunable. Qutest somehow gives a very lifelike presentation which you will love if you mostly listen to acoustic or orchestral music. RME is more dynamic, and also almost comes across as cleaner and more detailed. If you are after bass depth, they will both satisfy you. But with RME you can fine tune and enhance your satisfaction.
I would say if your ultimate goal is recreating lifelike acoustics go with the Qutest. If your goal is to have the clearest, punchiest and most fun sound which is also tunable to your taste, pick the RME. Don't underestimate the tunability of the RME. I was never into EQ, I still don't use EQ on the RME but I do experiment with loudness function and bass/treble knobs. These are great to fine tune capable neutral headphones to your liking, like the LCD-X.

Regarding the TT2. Yes, it destroys both the Qutest and the RME. The TT2 just sounds so much more natural, effortless, lifelike. Deep details are coming through in an effortless and natural way. It is smooth, never hurts your ears. Vast, as close to the space of recording as possible.
But it is 4K,or 3.2K secondhand. While the RME is well under 1K (7-800) and the Qutest is around 1K.

IMO you can build up a very satisfying system with the Qutest or the RME. Jumping to the TT2 only worth it if 4K is just a part of your monthly turnover. Yes, the TT2 is another level compared to the Qutest or RME. But only you can decide whether the improvement is worth 3-4 times more of your hard earned cash.

While I loved and enjoyed every minute with my TT2 for about a year, I realised I went over my sane budget for my personal audio. Now I am happy with the RME and saved a few thousands at the same time...

Thank you for the comparison. Chord products are the only other consideration I had when buying the RME. I am very happy with the RME and now after reading this I no longer wonder what I am missing.

 

[Crazeenick]

I used to own the Qutest and TT2. Also tested the Hugo2. I really like Chord sound. In my opinion Rob Watts is definitely doing something right with his filters and FPGA chips. With his DACs he creates a very lifelike, spacious environment and lifelike representation of the recording. It is very alive. Lifelikeness and realism presented by Qutest might actually be superior to the RME ADI2. That said, the ADI2 has excellent clarity, about the same level of details of the Qutest. The RME is more neutral but also more tunable. Qutest somehow gives a very lifelike presentation which you will love if you mostly listen to acoustic or orchestral music. RME is more dynamic, and also almost comes across as cleaner and more detailed. If you are after bass depth, they will both satisfy you. But with RME you can fine tune and enhance your satisfaction.
I would say if your ultimate goal is recreating lifelike acoustics go with the Qutest. If your goal is to have the clearest, punchiest and most fun sound which is also tunable to your taste, pick the RME. Don't underestimate the tunability of the RME. I was never into EQ, I still don't use EQ on the RME but I do experiment with loudness function and bass/treble knobs. These are great to fine tune capable neutral headphones to your liking, like the LCD-X.

Regarding the TT2. Yes, it destroys both the Qutest and the RME. The TT2 just sounds so much more natural, effortless, lifelike. Deep details are coming through in an effortless and natural way. It is smooth, never hurts your ears. Vast, as close to the space of recording as possible.
But it is 4K,or 3.2K secondhand. While the RME is well under 1K (7-800) and the Qutest is around 1K.

IMO you can build up a very satisfying system with the Qutest or the RME. Jumping to the TT2 only worth it if 4K is just a part of your monthly turnover. Yes, the TT2 is another level compared to the Qutest or RME. But only you can decide whether the improvement is worth 3-4 times more of your hard earned cash.

While I loved and enjoyed every minute with my TT2 for about a year, I realised I went over my sane budget for my personal audio. Now I am happy with the RME and saved a few thousands at the same time...

Thanks very much for taking the time to explain all that Betula - very useful information. I have the RME ADI-2 at the moment and find it to be very good - I especially like the EQ facility for tweaking the sound of my various headphones - I have Audeze LCD-X, HifiMan Arya and Sony MDR Z1R.

If in the future I do upgrade, it would probably be to the TT2 - but as you say it's a lot of money. I would certainly like the chance to hear a TT2 if the opportunity arises. Maybe if I wait a year or two, until newer models come out, I could eventually get a used TT2 for closer to £2k.....The Chord Dave is definitely outside my budget!!

But in the meantime I'll continue to enjoy the RME ADI-2...

 

[Hinomotocho]

As my headphone Kimber cable is 4.4mm I would have to use: my high quality Musashino 3.5mm - 4.4mm adaptor and a decent brand 6.5mm - 3.5mm adapter. I know this is less than ideal but will it have much of a negative impact.

 

[rickydenim]

I don't own the Shield TV but it's spec says it outputs audio over USB. You would just need to configure it to only output Linear PCM Stereo as the RME won't accept any surround sound formats.

Last night I grabbed my Oppo HA-2 DAC and tested this out on the Shield TV running line-out 3.5mm - RCA to my integrated amp. Worked great! I have my Heed Canamp connected to the integrated which I use when listening to my turntable so I can use this also for streaming now which is fantastic. Now that I know this will work it's just deciding if the RME will add further value. My 2 main heaphones are the Q701 and Elegia and I do like to EQ both of these so I think that alone would make it worth it. Plus I can do some further tweaking for stereo listening if needed.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Last night I grabbed my Oppo HA-2 DAC and tested this out on the Shield TV running line-out 3.5mm - RCA to my integrated amp. Worked great! I have my Heed Canamp connected to the integrated which I use when listening to my turntable so I can use this also for streaming now which is fantastic. Now that I know this will work it's just deciding if the RME will add further value. My 2 main heaphones are the Q701 and Elegia and I do like to EQ both of these so I think that alone would make it worth it. Plus I can do some further tweaking for stereo listening if needed.

You're not going to get MQA out of the RME anyway so if the analog out on the Shield works well then you're done

 

[Lolito]

I used to own the Qutest and TT2. Also tested the Hugo2. I really like Chord sound. In my opinion Rob Watts is definitely doing something right with his filters and FPGA chips. With his DACs he creates a very lifelike, spacious environment and lifelike representation of the recording. It is very alive. Lifelikeness and realism presented by Qutest might actually be superior to the RME ADI2. That said, the ADI2 has excellent clarity, about the same level of details of the Qutest. The RME is more neutral but also more tunable. Qutest somehow gives a very lifelike presentation which you will love if you mostly listen to acoustic or orchestral music. RME is more dynamic, and also almost comes across as cleaner and more detailed. If you are after bass depth, they will both satisfy you. But with RME you can fine tune and enhance your satisfaction.
I would say if your ultimate goal is recreating lifelike acoustics go with the Qutest. If your goal is to have the clearest, punchiest and most fun sound which is also tunable to your taste, pick the RME. Don't underestimate the tunability of the RME. I was never into EQ, I still don't use EQ on the RME but I do experiment with loudness function and bass/treble knobs. These are great to fine tune capable neutral headphones to your liking, like the LCD-X.

Regarding the TT2. Yes, it destroys both the Qutest and the RME. The TT2 just sounds so much more natural, effortless, lifelike. Deep details are coming through in an effortless and natural way. It is smooth, never hurts your ears. Vast, as close to the space of recording as possible.
But it is 4K,or 3.2K secondhand. While the RME is well under 1K (7-800) and the Qutest is around 1K.

IMO you can build up a very satisfying system with the Qutest or the RME. Jumping to the TT2 only worth it if 4K is just a part of your monthly turnover. Yes, the TT2 is another level compared to the Qutest or RME. But only you can decide whether the improvement is worth 3-4 times more of your hard earned cash.

While I loved and enjoyed every minute with my TT2 for about a year, I realised I went over my sane budget for my personal audio. Now I am happy with the RME and saved a few thousands at the same time...

thanks for the explanation, it helps a lot!!! what about the RME dac/amp, versus something cheaper like Topping DX7 Pro dac/amp? features are less, no eq, but lower price and similar performance... I am waiting on that one to go down in price, hopefully during black friday. I can not justify the RME price to be used with a 1100€ speakers... and 200€ headphones. And I do not plan on buying 900€ heaphones any time soon, nor crappy 250€ sundara neither... maybe one or 2 subwoofer/s and this new dac/amp thing...

I can get the rme for 725€ after vat... not sure I should, I´m not that far on the audiophile whole, I do not like to throw away money for nothing. My khadas sounds great with the atom amp anyways...

 

[cistercian]

Nice thing about the RME ADI-2 DAC is it makes an excellent stereo system preamp in a tiny package... so it makes for a great all in headphone/stereo system setup - just need the amp for the speakers (unless running monitors). My RME ADI-2 is my multimedia hub for my laptop (USB), Xbox One (optical), and Blu-ray/multimedia player (digital coax).

I bought my RME primarily for system control and also for a headphone output. I had been using an old sony cd player into a mixer (for volume control)
then an amp driving big speakers. I really wanted a balance, treble, bass, loudness, eq, etc but I did not know how to add those functions without adding noise too. When the Sony finally failed I bought a TASCAM CD300BT to replace it. My system was analog so I used the analog out on the TASCAM and it was horrible. No lows, no highs, it was bad. Unlike the old Sony CD player it had optical and coax digital output so I bought the RME. All the functionality I had wanted was now available to run my system! It was a perfect fit! Then I tried the headphone out with a pair of Sennheiser HD600 and a pair of the HD300PRO phones.
It was sad...because until then I had no idea how bad the DAC in the old Sony was!!!

Detail and frequency response of the RME are reference grade...I will never need another DAC unless it fails. Listening to my CD's has been amazing since everything has so much better detail and nuance. It is...incredible. It drives my amplifier perfectly too and my system is now endgame for my needs.
From critical listening to shaking the house I am set! If you don't need to control a system there are other DACs to use. But for me the RME is perfect.
The frequency display is fun to watch too! The RME is an epic piece of gear. I hope it lasts a long time.

 

[technobear]

<snip> I can not justify the RME price to be used with a 1100€ speakers... and 200€ headphones. And I do not plan on buying 900€ heaphones any time soon, nor crappy 250€ sundara neither... maybe one or 2 subwoofer/s and this new dac/amp thing...

I can get the rme for 725€ after vat... not sure I should, I´m not that far on the audiophile whole, I do not like to throw away money for nothing. My khadas sounds great with the atom amp anyways...

At that price, the ADI-2 DAC is a steal.

You may be surprised what it can do for your 1100€ speakers, so much so that you can forget the subs. They are generally more nuisance than they are worth anyway. All this assuming that your amp has enough power. Then again, cheaper to get a proper amp than buy 2 subs. I use the XTZ Edge A2-300 with the RME and it's brilliant.

 

[Lolito]

At that price, the ADI-2 DAC is a steal.

You may be surprised what it can do for your 1100€ speakers, so much so that you can forget the subs. They are generally more nuisance than they are worth anyway. All this assuming that your amp has enough power. Then again, cheaper to get a proper amp than buy 2 subs. I use the XTZ Edge A2-300 with the RME and it's brilliant.

I think i will notice zero difference between a khadas dac and the rme, sound wise.

 

[technobear]

I think i will notice zero difference between a khadas dac and the rme, sound wise.

I have owned a Sabre DAC (Audiolab) and the Velvet Sound based RME and, quality and price aside, I can tell you plainly that they sound quite different. I cannot alas tell you which you will prefer.

 

[creed2]

Ive only owned the RME adi2 for a week or so still on 30 day trial. I almost bought Orchid.I find Rme very open and detailed but not sterIle or bright very natural for solid state. My only concern is the soundstage using speakers.is not as deep and layered as im use to.How long was break in period for everyone or did you even notice one. I really dont want to return it. If i did would the topping d90 perform as well with better stage. i could try Chord qutest if it is more natural with better soundstage but are the sonics as open and airy without being bright compared to RME. Has anyone tried a outboard power supply upgrade maybe like a teddy pardo or others to expand sound stage?

 

[Lolito]

I see, both delta sigma, analitic kind of output, but ok, I trust you. 900€ though ;-((

 

[gimmeheadroom]

The RME is fiddly to set up correctly. Your first stop should be the RME forums.

There is no break in except in the brain.

 

[albertmuc]

Hardly read about the IEM-output of the RME in combination with low-impedance, efficient headphones (full size).

Since yesterday I have been using the Beyerdynamic T1 3rd generation at the IEM-output, the sound result seems silky to me compared to the PHONOS-output of the RME. Maybe someone would like to try it out.