[tekkster]

I'm really surprised at my preference for the RME ADI-2 DAC. Of all the headphones I have, surprisingly, the Cascade is my favorite and the T1 is my second favorite with this DAC/AMP. Others tested: Utopia, HD800, M50x, M70x, PM-3, Nighthawk, Nightowl, TR80/250, KSE1200, Meze 99c. The Cascade does need a slight drop in bass in EQ, but once that's done, it's pretty ideal.

 

[tekkster]

Another interesting, and perhaps not so important discovery.

The RME ADI-2 DAC is well shielded from RF.
Maybe it's obvious to everyone else, but I've gotten used to the really bad susceptibility of the iFi iCan Pro when my cell phone is within 6 inches of it. My desk is pretty cramped, so my phone accidentally ends up near the iCan Pro fairly often. Not a big deal, I just move the phone at least a foot away and the interference goes away. But I'd gotten so used to it that figured it was just a thing that happens with a lot of these compact desktop devices.
Really happy that the ADI-2 DAC doesn't suffer from this. To really test it, I put my phone on top of the DAC, next to it, in front of it, behind it. No interference or static of any kind.

A small thing. But very happy.

 

[Flater]

Huh, strange, the RME ADI-2 DAC arrived today, and it's hard to get the same sound I remember from the unit I borrowed.

Gotta admit, I do love the eq controls and the spectrum analyzer, and like how each of the three outputs have their own settings to customize, that's pretty nifty.

Overall, sounds a little "veiled" compared to the H2, but a pretty laid back and relaxing sound. Through the ifi ican pro, the hd800 sounds great with classical orchestral and big band jazz music. I mean, there's a little more blending of sounds than on the H2, but even still, playing around with eq, I can really bring up instruments focused on certain frequencies that often disappear. So, while it might provide less detail, I can customize more with the detail I do get. Which I really enjoy.

Barely had half an hour with each headphone, jumping between sara bareilles, lindsey stirling, vivaldi, wa mozart, ella fitzgerald, robben ford, dave brubeck, chris botti,

A lot of little sounds you can hear with the Utopia on the H2 disappear. and it sounds kinda muddy to me.
Not super happy with the KSE1200 on it
Pretty good fit with the HD800 after passing through iCan Pro.
Nice with Cascade. Helps soften the bass and bring up the mid and get to my desired ceiling for the treble without causing wincing pain.
With the nighthawk and nightowl, it's pretty darn phenomenal to me. Yes, it is a little thin compared to how these headphones act on the Mojo or iCan Pro, but very middling, in a good way.
On the T1, it lacks oomph at higher volumes (which isn't very loud for me anyway) but the surprise for me is how well the T1 sounds at low volume. I like.
On the PM3, meh. doesn't really do anything for me.
On the Meze 99c, I really really enjoy it. I bring up the treble a bit, drop the bass a bit, and the 99c becomes a brighter headphone. still a tad bit of blending of instruments, which always bugged me about the 99c, but much less so.

If I didn't have the mojo, h2, idsd bl, (and the ican pro amp), I'm pretty sure the rme would leave me wanting a little more for some headphones, and a lot more for the utopia and kse1200. But, given what I already have, the rme is a really great addition for certain types of music. A little more laid back, never overwhelming or sharp, always relaxed and enjoyable.

For me, the ideal pairing with this, especially at lower volume listening, is the T1.

I have the ADI-2 DAC as well, nice little unit. I also like the pairing with the Nighthawk, great synergy there IMO. Do you use any EQ on ADI-2 with the Nighthawk?

Can you say a bit more about the pairing with KSE1200? Have you tried different digital filters? Is H2 or Mojo a better match for KSE1200 to your ears?

 

[Flater]

Have been reading up the manual and digesting the information provided in it.

One thing that caught my curiosity is the "De-Emphasis" option.

Default setting is "Auto". And from what I read, where the "ADI-2 DAC activates the DAC's de-emphasis automatically when the current source is AES or SPDIF". (from the User Manual para. 31.2)



Not clear how it will be implemented when USB is the source (i.e. would it have a way to detect the if source is recorded with "Emphasis" or not?). As I feed my ADI-2 DAC with USB, I set it to "On" and that seems to tone down the high / treble.

Have you guys tinker around this? What do you set?

My chain is : PC(USB) > RME ADI-2 > Headphone / IEMs

Hi Chungjun,

I hope you enjoy your new ADI-2 DAC. Can you comment on the pairing with the Focal Clear in comparison to V281? In other words, does putting V281 to the chain (after ADI-2 as dac only) improve the sound quality of the Clear in your opinion?

 

[tekkster]

I have the ADI-2 DAC as well, nice little unit. I also like the pairing with the Nighthawk, great synergy there IMO. Do you use any EQ on ADI-2 with the Nighthawk?

Can you say a bit more about the pairing with KSE1200? Have you tried different digital filters? Is H2 or Mojo a better match for KSE1200 to your ears?

I use EQ on the RME ADI-2 a ton. Love it. Have also enjoyed going into I/O settings and playing around with the bass and treble, crossfeed, da filter, de-emphasis, polarity.

For "Phones" I've saved a few settings to work with different headphones.

---

As far as the KSE1200 pairing is concerned, I've yet to come across a DAC/AMP pairing I don't like for those IEMs. Whatever the DAC/AMP can produce, the KSE1200 delivers all of it, it seems like. Pretty unreal.

There is a tiny tiny little issue for me in pairing the KSe1200 with the ADI-2, and that's that there are some quick snare drum rim hits, the distinctive staccato sound, that don't always sound like when a dummer hits the rim of a snare drum. Sometimes it sounds like a staticky tick. I wanted to make sure my memory wasn't playing tricks, so I would pair the 1200 with the H2, and the tick would turn into a snare drum rim hit again. So the ADI-2, as phenomenal as it is, does seem to lose a bit of detail.

Some subtle sounds become more subtle, and in the case of large orchestral pieces, some very very subtle second violins or third violins, sometimes second flutes and third flutes, will become really hard to hear. It happens on very very few pieces. Some examples include:
- JSB's Concerto for 3 violines in D Major. VWV 1064 - III Allegro,
- WAM's Symphony 25 G Minor: Allegro con brio,
- Vivaldi's Concerto Concerto in E minor RV134, 1. Allegro moderato,
and one more particularly good example is
- beethoven's symphony no.6 in F major Pastoral.

The last one is especially interesting to me because the flute plays such a tiny tiny role in the piece, and yet, it has this really cool, almost jazz like riff early in the piece. I never knew it was there until I heard it on the Hugo 2 with the Utopias. I can hear it with the KSE on the H2 as well. Now that I know it's there, I look for it whenever I this piece comes up on my playlist. On the ADI-2, you can hear it, but only if you're looking for it, because it blends with the cello as the violins overwhelm the early part of this piece. Still, it's impressive that the ADI-2 can produce it, even if it's incredibly subtle.

The ADI-2 is still way better at detail retrieval and accuracy relative to the Schiit Jot, or the portable DAC/AMPs I have. Like the R3, N5II (Where the flute riff I mentioned completely disappears), and obviously, it goes without saying that it's more detail than smartphones. To my ears, it's relatively close in detail retrieval to the R6.

Despite the minor minor loss in detail, the ADI-2 is currently my main desktop headphone amp. I connect direct to it with many headphones, and run it through the iFi iCan Pro for the HD800 and T1 at the moment.

Also, a lot of comments I've read in the past is that the ADI-2 is rather analytical and dry, without getting to some good toe-tapping fun. I haven't noticed that. While it's a little less thumpy/energetic, it's plenty fun for me.

----

Right at the moment (my mind changes a lot so my opinion may be different tomorrow), my favorite desktop setup is ADI-2-iCan Pro-HD800, but then, I've been on a vivaldi/wam/jsb/brahms kick for the past few days or so. Last week I was on a thelonius monk/tommy flanagan/coltrane/brubeck kick and it was Utopias all the way, and the week prior I was all sara bareilles, enjoying the softer vaguely "analogue record to old 80's wooden speakers" feel I get from the Nighthawks.

---

Probably not a very valuable response to your question.

 

[Flater]

I use EQ on the RME ADI-2 a ton. Love it. Have also enjoyed going into I/O settings and playing around with the bass and treble, crossfeed, da filter, de-emphasis, polarity.

For "Phones" I've saved a few settings to work with different headphones.

---

As far as the KSE1200 pairing is concerned, I've yet to come across a DAC/AMP pairing I don't like for those IEMs. Whatever the DAC/AMP can produce, the KSE1200 delivers all of it, it seems like. Pretty unreal.

There is a tiny tiny little issue for me in pairing the KSe1200 with the ADI-2, and that's that there are some quick snare drum rim hits, the distinctive staccato sound, that don't always sound like when a dummer hits the rim of a snare drum. Sometimes it sounds like a staticky tick. I wanted to make sure my memory wasn't playing tricks, so I would pair the 1200 with the H2, and the tick would turn into a snare drum rim hit again. So the ADI-2, as phenomenal as it is, does seem to lose a bit of detail.

Some subtle sounds become more subtle, and in the case of large orchestral pieces, some very very subtle second violins or third violins, sometimes second flutes and third flutes, will become really hard to hear. It happens on very very few pieces. Some examples include:
- JSB's Concerto for 3 violines in D Major. VWV 1064 - III Allegro,
- WAM's Symphony 25 G Minor: Allegro con brio,
- Vivaldi's Concerto Concerto in E minor RV134, 1. Allegro moderato,
and one more particularly good example is
- beethoven's symphony no.6 in F major Pastoral.

The last one is especially interesting to me because the flute plays such a tiny tiny role in the piece, and yet, it has this really cool, almost jazz like riff early in the piece. I never knew it was there until I heard it on the Hugo 2 with the Utopias. I can hear it with the KSE on the H2 as well. Now that I know it's there, I look for it whenever I this piece comes up on my playlist. On the ADI-2, you can hear it, but only if you're looking for it, because it blends with the cello as the violins overwhelm the early part of this piece. Still, it's impressive that the ADI-2 can produce it, even if it's incredibly subtle.

The ADI-2 is still way better at detail retrieval and accuracy relative to the Schiit Jot, or the portable DAC/AMPs I have. Like the R3, N5II (Where the flute riff I mentioned completely disappears), and obviously, it goes without saying that it's more detail than smartphones. To my ears, it's relatively close in detail retrieval to the R6.

Despite the minor minor loss in detail, the ADI-2 is currently my main desktop headphone amp. I connect direct to it with many headphones, and run it through the iFi iCan Pro for the HD800 and T1 at the moment.

Also, a lot of comments I've read in the past is that the ADI-2 is rather analytical and dry, without getting to some good toe-tapping fun. I haven't noticed that. While it's a little less thumpy/energetic, it's plenty fun for me.

----

Right at the moment (my mind changes a lot so my opinion may be different tomorrow), my favorite desktop setup is ADI-2-iCan Pro-HD800, but then, I've been on a vivaldi/wam/jsb/brahms kick for the past few days or so. Last week I was on a thelonius monk/tommy flanagan/coltrane/brubeck kick and it was Utopias all the way, and the week prior I was all sara bareilles, enjoying the softer vaguely "analogue record to old 80's wooden speakers" feel I get from the Nighthawks.

---

Probably not a very valuable response to your question.

Thanks for your elaborate and valuable answer, much appreciated

It seems the ADI-2 gets along with quite a few headphones, which is nice. I now use it as my main desktop unit too. IEM output is great as well, super low noise floor. The notorious Andromedas do not hiss at all (and sound good out of the Adi-2). I also enjoy the EQ, digital filters and crossfeed options very much, it appears the German engineers have done a good job here. If all recordings and headphones were perfect, there would be no need for these type of features. But they are not obviously, and some tweaking with dsp really helps to make some older recordings (with much stereo separation) or poorly mastered stuff digestible imo. E.g. Beatles Abbey Road with crossfeed step 2 (Jan Meier emulation) sounds very natural to my ears. I am even inclined to use the crossfeed (step 1, very subtle) as a default.

I briefly tested whether there is any difference between optical and usb, could’t hear a difference. USB from my old laptop works flawlessly, this RME unit does not seem sensitive to jitter, RF – like you noted as well.

I am surprised that the ADI-2 DAC is not discussed much here on Head-Fi. It seems very competitive for the price. And these RME guys are very responsive to questions/problems; nice forum as well on their website. I guess RME does not do much marketing as a pro brand.

As an aside: do you use KSE1200 typically on the go or also on your main rig? Can it keep up with the big boys like Utopia, HD800?

 

[tekkster]

Thanks for your elaborate and valuable answer, much appreciated

It seems the ADI-2 gets along with quite a few headphones, which is nice. I now use it as my main desktop unit too. IEM output is great as well, super low noise floor. The notorious Andromedas do not hiss at all (and sound good out of the Adi-2). I also enjoy the EQ, digital filters and crossfeed options very much, it appears the German engineers have done a good job here. If all recordings and headphones were perfect, there would be no need for these type of features. But they are not obviously, and some tweaking with dsp really helps to make some older recordings (with much stereo separation) or poorly mastered stuff digestible imo. E.g. Beatles Abbey Road with crossfeed step 2 (Jan Meier emulation) sounds very natural to my ears. I am even inclined to use the crossfeed (step 1, very subtle) as a default.

I briefly tested whether there is any difference between optical and usb, could’t hear a difference. USB from my old laptop works flawlessly, this RME unit does not seem sensitive to jitter, RF – like you noted as well.

I am surprised that the ADI-2 DAC is not discussed much here on Head-Fi. It seems very competitive for the price. And these RME guys are very responsive to questions/problems; nice forum as well on their website. I guess RME does not do much marketing as a pro brand.

As an aside: do you use KSE1200 typically on the go or also on your main rig? Can it keep up with the big boys like Utopia, HD800?

Kse1200 is plenty good enough to use at home and holds its own against the utopias and hd800. I like the hd800’s for the sheer sense of expansiveness, which can surprise me. Sometimes hat expansiveness is hard to tell at first, but then i’ll be listening for a while and, wham, i hear a section that sounds exactly where i imagine it would when at a concert. The T1’s do the same thing once in a while. The Utopias have this energy and what sounds to my ears as a “perfect” vibration and “speed” that is always there when listening to jazz trios or quartets.

The kse1200 is more akin to the hd800 in that it doesn’t do anything for me in the beginning, and just sounds like a good pair of iems, but after listening for a while, it will suddenly surprise me as i get a sudden sense of sound separation perfection and accuracy. It sounds like whatever is being delivered, is delivered exactly up to the limit of the dac/amp. Hard to describe the sensation.

For me, at least, the kse1200 is great at home or on the road.

—-

I agree the adi-2 dac is an incredible value for dollar and the features are impressive by a wide margin. Really would have thought it would be discussed on head-fi more as well.

 

[Flater]

Kse1200 is plenty good enough to use at home and holds its own against the utopias and hd800. I like the hd800’s for the sheer sense of expansiveness, which can surprise me. Sometimes hat expansiveness is hard to tell at first, but then i’ll be listening for a while and, wham, i hear a section that sounds exactly where i imagine it would when at a concert. The T1’s do the same thing once in a while. The Utopias have this energy and what sounds to my ears as a “perfect” vibration and “speed” that is always there when listening to jazz trios or quartets.

The kse1200 is more akin to the hd800 in that it doesn’t do anything for me in the beginning, and just sounds like a good pair of iems, but after listening for a while, it will suddenly surprise me as i get a sudden sense of sound separation perfection and accuracy. It sounds like whatever is being delivered, is delivered exactly up to the limit of the dac/amp. Hard to describe the sensation.

For me, at least, the kse1200 is great at home or on the road.

—-

I agree the adi-2 dac is an incredible value for dollar and the features are impressive by a wide margin. Really would have thought it would be discussed on head-fi more as well.

Nice to hear that KSE1200 holds its own against your open over ear headphones. Definitely have to audition them. They may be a nice upgrade of my Andromeda’s. I like (need) iems for very late night listening in bed when the wife sleeps.

 

[tekkster]

Nice to hear that KSE1200 holds its own against your open over ear headphones. Definitely have to audition them. They may be a nice upgrade of my Andromeda’s. I like (need) iems for very late night listening in bed when the wife sleeps.

I never heard the andromedas. The only other thing i would say about the kse1200 is that i needed to listen for a while before it hit me just how good it was. It didn’t strike me at first. It’s not as attention grabbing from the beginning as, say, the utopias. But when it hit me, a few days into listening to them, it was....”revelation” is too strong a word. More “surprisingly effortless and perfect” to my ears.

 

[Flater]

I never heard the andromedas. The only other thing i would say about the kse1200 is that i needed to listen for a while before it hit me just how good it was. It didn’t strike me at first. It’s not as attention grabbing from the beginning as, say, the utopias. But when it hit me, a few days into listening to them, it was....”revelation” is too strong a word. More “surprisingly effortless and perfect” to my ears.

Are they consistent across music genres in your view?

 

[tekkster]

Are they consistent across music genres in your view?

Very much so.

 

[VRacer-111]

My TH-X00 PH doesn't pair well with the ADI-2 DAC, but most everything else has so far. Just put the HD58X on and it pairs well...though would probably be a little better with the ADI-2 outputting to my modded Gustard H10 amp.

I got the RME ADI-2 DAC mainly for my STAX rig which it works EXTREMELY well for, though a little less full and warm sounding than with the Gustard X20U previously used (which is now back in the dynamic rig, because it's PERFECT pairing for my modded TH-X00PH.) Detail is simply great though and overall sound very much fits the character of the STAX L300 Ltd 80th. I'll take the enhanced sense of detail and tighter punch over slightly fuller sound for those STAX.

 

[Flater]

I have been playing around with the digital filters lately. Keep coming back to the default SD Sharp for critical listening, sometimes slow when I feel a bit 'slow' too. Have you guys settled on any of the filters? Do you hear much difference between them?

 

[chungjun]

I hope you enjoy your new ADI-2 DAC. Can you comment on the pairing with the Focal Clear in comparison to V281? In other words, does putting V281 to the chain (after ADI-2 as dac only) improve the sound quality of the Clear in your opinion?

Couldn't get much time to enjoy my new ADI-2 DAC enough. Has been rather caught up with other much less important stuff lately (like work / real life) - I need to get my priorities right!

When I do sit down for a listen, I have been spending most of my time with ADI-2 > V281 > HD800S setup.

I did a quick listen with Focal Clear tonight hopefully to share a few cents worth and shed some light or initial impression. Relatively, Focal Clear isn't a hard to drive headphone. ADI-2 (Phones) without "Hi-Power" (Auto-Ref Level ON) provides more than sufficient listening volume for me (at around -30 dBr). Granted, I usually listen late at night and in a quiet study room environment.

Sonically, switching between V281 (6.3mm) and ADI-2, listening to a few pop-song tracks, suggests to me that my ears prefer / enjoy the setup with V281 amp in the chain. Hard for me to describe and I must say this is all rather preliminary and it could possibly be that I have had my V281 for some time now and listening mostly to it prior to acquiring the ADI-2 as a DAC - thus my mind / ears may have grown familiar / mental burned-in or developed a preference for V281.

That said, brief critical listening for any 'difference' (i.e. setting aside notion of 'better SQ or otherwise') between the two - I don't think there is a wide margin nor are we talking about night vs day experience and I would conclude ADI-2 stand tall on its own to pair with the Clear.

 

[Flater]

Couldn't get much time to enjoy my new ADI-2 DAC enough. Has been rather caught up with other much less important stuff lately (like work / real life) - I need to get my priorities right!

When I do sit down for a listen, I have been spending most of my time with ADI-2 > V281 > HD800S setup.

I did a quick listen with Focal Clear tonight hopefully to share a few cents worth and shed some light or initial impression. Relatively, Focal Clear isn't a hard to drive headphone. ADI-2 (Phones) without "Hi-Power" (Auto-Ref Level ON) provides more than sufficient listening volume for me (at around -30 dBr). Granted, I usually listen late at night and in a quiet study room environment.

Sonically, switching between V281 (6.3mm) and ADI-2, listening to a few pop-song tracks, suggests to me that my ears prefer / enjoy the setup with V281 amp in the chain. Hard for me to describe and I must say this is all rather preliminary and it could possibly be that I have had my V281 for some time now and listening mostly to it prior to acquiring the ADI-2 as a DAC - thus my mind / ears may have grown familiar / mental burned-in or developed a preference for V281.

That said, brief critical listening for any 'difference' (i.e. setting aside notion of 'better SQ or otherwise') between the two - I don't think there is a wide margin nor are we talking about night vs day experience and I would conclude ADI-2 stand tall on its own to pair with the Clear.

Thanks for these first impressions, let us know if the picture changes after longer listening. Hope you can get those priorities right