RME ADI-2 DAC Thread

[Golyatx]

Depends on your setup. It really does it's work at lower output levels. Definitely give it a try, see what you think.

My settings:
Bass Gain: 7
Treble Gain: 6
Low Vol Ref: -30

I also use crossFeed set at 1

Thanks. I will definitely try some of those.
How can you describe ADI2 with and without Burson? Its realy step up in sound quality?

 

[brif]

Thanks. I will definitely try some of those.
How can you describe ADI2 with and without Burson? Its realy step up in sound quality?

I don't hear many of the things that others describe here. I am definitely not an audiophile, I am an older music lover with typical hearing damage for my age. That being said, I feel like the Burson is a warmer fuller sound over the ADI headphone output. But the main reason I purchased the Burson was to drive Arya. The Burson made Arya come alive for me, and when I discovered power amp mode and combined that with loudness it was another step up.

 

[betula]

I don't hear many of the things that others describe here. I am definitely not an audiophile, I am an older music lover with typical hearing damage for my age. That being said, I feel like the Burson is a warmer fuller sound over the ADI headphone output. But the main reason I purchased the Burson was to drive Arya. The Burson made Arya come alive for me, and when I discovered power amp mode and combined that with loudness it was another step up.

The ADI-2's loudness function is basically just a bass/treble boost. I would not mystify it much. The good thing is that RME lets you fine tune this function; adjust the level of bass and treble enhancement you desire at certain volume levels. The idea behind this is that at lower volumes the bass and treble is not as present as it is at higher volumes. Loudness was invented to compensate this loss. Also can found on older hi-fi gear.
I reduced the factory values myself, but I also use this function. It just makes the sound more fun in general to me.

Regarding the Soloist 3XP's headphone power amp mode it is what I prefer as well. In this mode Burson completely bypasses the whole volume stage, which is already a pretty good quality volume stage. But in bypass mode to me the sound becomes much cleaner, clearer, more energetic and more dynamic. The most obvious change to me is a punchier, cleaner and firmer bass response. Unfortunately this mode is only available with DAC's that have a volume control. Before enabling this function, make sure you lower volume everywhere to avoid unpleasant surprises. Also, IMO to enjoy all benefits of bypassing the amp's volume you will need a pretty good quality DAC. At least something like the ADI-2.

 

[robm321]

Depends on your setup. It really does it's work at lower output levels. Definitely give it a try, see what you think.

My settings:
Bass Gain: 7
Treble Gain: 6
Low Vol Ref: -30

I also use crossFeed set at 1

Awesome, will try these settings, thanks.

 

[skhan007]

OK, I've done a test drive with the great advice above from @Dogmatrix. The results were quite loud, so my ears have dictated that I should stay at +1 dBu, -25, and about 9 O'Clock on my tube amp. My cans are ZMF Auteur, which I know are a well-regarded match for my Bottlehead Crack Speedball amp. It's great to know that if I bring my amp to 100% with no music playing, there is no background noise or artifacts.

 

[G8torbyte]

Similar to my adjustments with the THX AAA 789 at mid-gain:

 

[Anathema123]

Not too happy with my ADI-2. I've only had it for a few days and it's quite unstable.

Everything works, but every couple of hours my audio cuts out completely. Restarting the unit fixes it, but it's not a problem a new device should be exhibiting, and I'm somewhat worried things might get worse.

 

[betula]

Not too happy with my ADI-2. I've only had it for a few days and it's quite unstable.

Everything works, but every couple of hours my audio cuts out completely. Restarting the unit fixes it, but it's not a problem a new device should be exhibiting, and I'm somewhat worried things might get worse.

That is quite an unusual problem. What is your input source?
My feeling is it is not the ADI-2's fault but something else.

 

[Anathema123]

That is quite an unusual problem. What is your input source?
My feeling is it is not the ADI-2's fault but something else.

My computer via USB. No issue with any other USB devices and other audio output devices still work just fine when this issue occurs.
Already on the latest drivers and firmware for the ADI-2 DAC.

Edit: Can't map the occurrence to any error events in the OS. Definitely persists through an OS reboot, sadly. Will need to keep an eye on it for a while longer to see if I can pinpoint a cause.

 

[betula]

My computer via USB. No issue with any other USB devices and other audio output devices still work just fine when this issue occurs.
Already on the latest drivers and firmware for the ADI-2 DAC.

Windows or Mac?

If it is Windows, have you tried to reinstall the RME software?

What exactly is happening when your "audio cuts out completely"?
What audio player do you use on your computer? Is it just your music player cutting out or all computer audio?

 

[captblaze]

Not too happy with my ADI-2. I've only had it for a few days and it's quite unstable.

Everything works, but every couple of hours my audio cuts out completely. Restarting the unit fixes it, but it's not a problem a new device should be exhibiting, and I'm somewhat worried things might get worse.

can you try it connected to a different PC, or even mobile device to rule out your PC as the culprit and not the ADI-2 DAC?

 

[Golyatx]

Not too happy with my ADI-2. I've only had it for a few days and it's quite unstable.

Everything works, but every couple of hours my audio cuts out completely. Restarting the unit fixes it, but it's not a problem a new device should be exhibiting, and I'm somewhat worried things might get worse.

try writing on ofocial rme forum, they may help you

 

[gugges]

I have seen macOS issues when trying to use both Tidal (with the RME in Exclusive Mode) and Qobuz simultaneously. It totally hoses the sound driver and I have to restart the computer. Not the RMEs fault in this case. @anathema are you doing something similar?

 

[Anathema123]

Thanks for all your feedback. I'm not yet convinced the ADI-2 is at fault. I've been using it for 10+ hours already today with no issues whatsoever. Running it from the same PC as a source, but while working on another workstation.

The only differing variable I can think of is that the other times the issue occurred was when I was playing video games, so perhaps it's some partial graphics driver related crash.
Can't find any events pointing towards graphics driver crashes, and the games continued without a hitch, so I can't be certain, but I'd say it's a likely candidate.
Fingers crossed, in any case. If it happens again the next troubleshooting step will indeed be to see if I can reproduce the issue using another device as the source.

On a more positive note: other than this problem (for which the ADI-2 may well not be to blame) I've got nothing but positive things to say about it.
Still need to find some time to do a deep dive into all the configuration settings. The pEQ works very well, and will take many hours of fiddling before I decide how to tweak it (or leave it at default!). The programmable EQ settings are a great feature as not all genres benefit from the same sound signature and I - like most of us I'm sure - have somewhat eclectic taste in music.

Audeze LCD-Xs have just arrived today and they seem to be powered beautifully by its amp component as well. Don't have a sensible point of reference though since the only other non entry level amplifier I have is an OTL tube amplifier (Feliks-Audio Elise), which is not exactly the best match for low impedance sensitive headphones like the X.

All in all; My outlook is much more positive after a full day of stability and that's truly my one and only complaint.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Does your computer have optical out?

I'd been using my RME-ADI 2 via USB with a Lenovo Tiny PC, no matter what USB port I used the treble was harsh and there was a metallic shimmer to the sound (but no drop outs), but when I used my old Galaxy Note 5 with an OTG cable the problem was absent. Because my little PC doesn't have optical out I purchased this USB to optical / coax converter, it completely solved the problem, now I run the RME via optical entirely, and IMO the sound better than USB anyway.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/392866127540