[Ordeith]

Hey all! I think I posted earlier in this thread, but can't find my posts.

I was about to pull the trigger on an RME ADI-2 DAC on Amazon, but I thought I remember pages ago (sometime last year?) that there was an 'updated version' of the ADI-2 silently pushed to vendors?

Where can I be sure that I'll get the latest version? Also, on Amazon it's odd - there are different vendors for the DAC, but some bundle headphones and other goodies with it, which I found a bit surprising...

EDIT: after reading the RME forums, it seems that they have done their very best to ensure that the change to the ESS DAC chip remains as "sonically indistinguishable" as possible from the AK4493 versions. I plan to buy one later today - any reason not to, at this stage?

 

[Slaphead]

Perhaps you didn’t read my posts where i stated i read the manual many times. I did as you stated several times as detailed in the manual. Looks like my unit was sold as new, but someone has changed deep settings. Even tried updating firmware. I had to make changes in set up.

This took me 20 seconds to find in the manual

Press the I/O button (unintuitively the I/O button is above where it says I/O) -> Press the lower right encoder to scroll down to "Lock Volume" -> turn the lower right encoder to turn the volume lock off.

 

[gikigill]

Hello,

i am going to discuss with Bax-Music as I believe they sent me a used product.
Otherwise there would be many posts by new owners complaining about why the default setting is locked volume. Which is also dangerous to hearing. Plus the transparent outer packaging was already ripped.
Therefore i deduce it is not new.

it included a separate UK plug adapter instead of a proper UK full lead/plug.

Its a grey market product if it doesn't have the original plug and has an adapter bundled.

 

[enb141]

Maybe an unpopular opinion but I finally got my RME AIO PRO, which is slightly similar to the ADI-2 DAC, the main difference is that is limited to 24/192k but for my sources is more than enough. Also doesn't has DSP but in my case I don't need DSP besides EQ (Jriver already has eq). The only and only maybe the only thing behind the ADI-2 is that the headphones have only 6.9V but not an issue to me either, not even with my HD650.

So after doing a comparison with my sound blaster AE-9 + Sparkos OP AMs, the Sound blaster Sparkos win, not by a huge difference but still sounds better. So if you are on a budget and have a desktop computer I highly recommend you this way.

If you have a laptop then you could buy an external enclosure (one of those used for video cards), and still be a cheaper option.

If you only need 5.3V for your headphones, you should consider this combo.

 

[Soundizer]

This took me 20 seconds to find in the manual

Press the I/O button (unintuitively the I/O button is above where it says I/O) -> Press the lower right encoder to scroll down to "Lock Volume" -> turn the lower right encoder to turn the volume lock off.

You missed my point. I did that. Product has been screwed up by someone. Had to do several resets. Then it unlocked.

 

[mcgo]

EDIT: after reading the RME forums, it seems that they have done their very best to ensure that the change to the ESS DAC chip remains as "sonically indistinguishable" as possible from the AK4493 versions. I plan to buy one later today - any reason not to, at this stage?

FWIW, I bought my RME ADI-2 DAC specifically because it had an AKM chip. It was on the strength of my experience with the AK4309 that is in early PS1 consoles that convinced me I would LOVE it.

I have two ESS dacs in my junk dac box (along with a Schiit multibit plus others) and they both failed on my tonality tests. I think I was using the first track of BoC Hi Scores (1996 EP) at the time.. you could really hear the difference. Now they may have been bad implementations of course, but two times bitten…

ADI-2 PRO still has AKM…

 

[Slaphead]

FWIW, I bought my RME ADI-2 DAC specifically because it had an AKM chip. It was on the strength of my experience with the AK4309 that is in early PS1 consoles that convinced me I would LOVE it.

I have two ESS dacs in my junk dac box (along with a Schiit multibit plus others) and they both failed on my tonality tests. I think I was using the first track of BoC Hi Scores (1996 EP) at the time.. you could really hear the difference. Now they may have been bad implementations of course, but two times bitten…

ADI-2 PRO still has AKM…

Honestly it's a case of don't blame the DAC chip, blame the implementation of said DAC chip.

it's not like DAC technology isn't well understood these days, and I would posit that a dirt cheap DAC with a good, well thought out implementation will beat an expensive DAC chip that's been installed in a lacklustre electronic design.

I have no fear of ESS, or Cirrus even, if they have been carefully and properly integrated into the electronics in which they have to work.

 

[Iggnasty]

FWIW, I bought my RME ADI-2 DAC specifically because it had an AKM chip. It was on the strength of my experience with the AK4309 that is in early PS1 consoles that convinced me I would LOVE it.

I have two ESS dacs in my junk dac box (along with a Schiit multibit plus others) and they both failed on my tonality tests. I think I was using the first track of BoC Hi Scores (1996 EP) at the time.. you could really hear the difference. Now they may have been bad implementations of course, but two times bitten…

ADI-2 PRO still has AKM…

FYSA, E-earphones in Japan still has AKM RME-2 so does Yodobashi

 

[Ordeith]

FWIW, I bought my RME ADI-2 DAC specifically because it had an AKM chip. It was on the strength of my experience with the AK4309 that is in early PS1 consoles that convinced me I would LOVE it.

I have two ESS dacs in my junk dac box (along with a Schiit multibit plus others) and they both failed on my tonality tests. I think I was using the first track of BoC Hi Scores (1996 EP) at the time.. you could really hear the difference. Now they may have been bad implementations of course, but two times bitten…

ADI-2 PRO still has AKM…

I ordered it earlier today from Sweetwater, and will see. If it has the ESS chip and I don't like it, I might ask if anyone in NYC with the AKM chip would let me try their ADI-2 to see.

I also watched the video RME themselves put out, before ordering it:



So I'm going into this rather reassured. Here's hoping.

 

[Matias]

As Matthias Carstens says, there is more than just the chip itself, it is how they implement it. With digital overhead and steady clock, plus the same low distortion and noise, they consider it the same.

 

[Tuneslover]

On the back is a sticker with the serial number.

rightmost you’ll find a single capital letter: B denotes a built in AKM chip; C denotes a ESS chip.

as you see here mine has the AKM chip:

Mine doesn’t have a letter, only numbers.

 

[Forsaked]

Mine doesn’t have a letter, only numbers.

Then it is the first generation with the AKM 4490.

 

[enb141]

I would like to know if this chip has been used as well in other cards, in my case AIO PRO, does anyone knows if other cards have changed from AKM to ESS?

 

[Forsaked]

I would like to know if this chip has been used as well in other cards, in my case AIO PRO, does anyone knows if other cards have changed from AKM to ESS?

I dont think so, since the ADI-2 Pro still uses 4493.
RME sayd in their forum, that they still have enougth 4493 chips to continue producing the Pro products with it.

 

[enb141]

I dont think so, since the ADI-2 Pro still uses 4493.
RME sayd in their forum, that they still have enougth 4493 chips to continue producing the Pro products with it.

Thanks for the advice, so as I said before here, if my AIO pro has an AKM chip, and my Soundblaster has an ESS, I can tell you that there's no "flavor" difference, they sound the same, most of the sound difference comes from the OP AMS which they stated that haven't changed.