RME ADI-2 DAC Thread

[DarginMahkum]

I'm sure it's been said somewhere but going through 354 pages would be more than I can handle right now.
So I'm wondering if the RME ADI-2 DAC pairs well with Sundara and Arya Stealth? I have Sundara at the moment and am thinking of upgrading to Arya SE later, but thought I'd take the opportunity to buy this DAC/AMP first as I'm getting a good price on it right now.

Do you mean if it has the power to drive them? Yes, it does. If it is about a particular signature, you always have the EQ to fine tune to whatever signature you like.

 

[jamca]

^ It definitely pairs well with the Sundara. I own the ADI and Sundaras but haven't heard the Arya's.

I'm sure it's been said somewhere but going through 354 pages would be more than I can handle right now.
So I'm wondering if the RME ADI-2 DAC pairs well with Sundara and Arya Stealth? I have Sundara at the moment and am thinking of upgrading to Arya SE later, but thought I'd take the opportunity to buy this DAC/AMP first as I'm getting a good price on it right now.

I am sorry to tell (as i dislike RME after their dishonesty experience i had...) but RME will definitely drive the Aryas, even better than dedicated good amps... Althought it does not drive full headphones as good as other amp do, it provides one of the best combo with Arya. Having these two you do not need anything else. It is kind of endgame (for me) for the money. So i thing it is a great option. I want to add, that appart from the full headphone output, ADI 2 has the best iem output i have experienced even compared to really good daps, with zero hiss.

 

[talan7]

@VRacer-111 or any other Stax users. So far I've only managed to read the first 60 pages but I'd like to ask a fairly basic question. I'm running L700 Mk II with SRM-252S, but looking for a used 353X.

I've currently got a QuteHD and am naturally interested in the Qutest. I've recently missed out on a couple of used Qutests that were selling for around the same as new ADI-2 FS.

The RME looks interesting and I might order it from a dealer with good return terms to see how I feel about it. "Feel" is the key word here. I'm of an age where the idea of not wanting to spend two or three weeks messing around with a myriad of options has little appeal. I'd just want to turn it on with standard settings and absorb what I'm hearing and decide if it's for me. I appreciate that much of the attraction of this product is the functionality and if I did keep it, I'd no doubt start 'playing' with some of them. It would be an added bonus.

So the question is, does anyone have impressions of how the ADI-2 compares using the factory settings in realation to any of the Qute lineage?

Thanks.

I just got around to the idea of selling my Stax 353X. If you're still interested, PM me, and I'll get you pics. I haven't set up a classified yet (lazy).

 

[IXOYE]

Placed an order for it today, can't wait

 

[ST33L]

I'm sure it's been said somewhere but going through 354 pages would be more than I can handle right now.
So I'm wondering if the RME ADI-2 DAC pairs well with Sundara and Arya Stealth? I have Sundara at the moment and am thinking of upgrading to Arya SE later, but thought I'd take the opportunity to buy this DAC/AMP first as I'm getting a good price on it right now.

Yes, it’ll easily power both the Sundara and Arya SE.

 

[wantan]

The headamp does, in my experience, actually sound awesome. It took me a while to get used to the fact that it is just a small add on amp compared to some of the big headphone amps I had. In the meantime I've sold most of the "big guys" because I love the ADI 2 amp with pretty much everything. Microdynamics and soundstage and detail is just delicate.

 

[jamca]

I have a question about polarity. If i change the polarity to "both" i would swear that i hear a little more soundstage and a little loss of center image, which i find good thing for soundtracks, orchestral ect. Have you experienced anything like that or it is just mine (faulty) impression? thx

 

[batmansbest]

Why did you sell it and what do you have as alternative?

I have a Rockna wavelight.
I's just in a different league.
It's also 5x the price

 

[wantan]

I have a question about polarity. If i change the polarity to "both" i would swear that i hear a little more soundstage and a little loss of center image, which i find good thing for soundtracks, orchestral ect. Have you experienced anything like that or it is just mine (faulty) impression? thx

This happens to me, too. But I've never been able to confirm it in long time listening. It's one of these typical audio features, you change something and it sound better, eventually you change it back and it sounds better again.
I also think polarity depends on the recording.

BTW if you check things like this I'd recommend to use the remote control to switch between settings because a change in listening position leads to different results and can be very misleading.

 

[ShootingStills]

Guys can I ask for some help here?

The product - https://www.rme-audio.de/adi-2-dac.html - Is this a new product or an old one?
I was told that all the latest ones are now using a new digital socket on the back with an adapter for COAX, but I notice this one still have the COAX input?

Have the ADI-2 DAC FS had any revisions in its life? Looks like it came out a number of years ago with reviews dating back to 2017. However, all the 'expert reviews' are from last year and this year. Was there a revision?

Sorry to babble

 

[fordski]

Guys can I ask for some help here?

The product - https://www.rme-audio.de/adi-2-dac.html - Is this a new product or an old one?
I was told that all the latest ones are now using a new digital socket on the back with an adapter for COAX, but I notice this one still have the COAX input?

Have the ADI-2 DAC FS had any revisions in its life? Looks like it came out a number of years ago with reviews dating back to 2017. However, all the 'expert reviews' are from last year and this year. Was there a revision?

Sorry to babble

It's a good question as there have been some changes to RME's lineup over the years. The only recent change has been the addition of a new Pro offering that has a balanced 4.4mm output and some updated internals. The ADI-2 DAC FS has only had chip changes as far as I'm aware. Due to a fire at the AKM factory they changed to an ESS chip in the latest versions and they claim there are no sound differences among the 2 models. Previous ADI's had AKM 4490 and more recently AKM 4493 chips. The only other change is a larger remote with more functionality. They address the changes in the first page of the manual which you can download from their site. I have the latest version and really enjoy it.

 

[wantan]

Guys can I ask for some help here?

The product - https://www.rme-audio.de/adi-2-dac.html - Is this a new product or an old one?
I was told that all the latest ones are now using a new digital socket on the back with an adapter for COAX, but I notice this one still have the COAX input?

Have the ADI-2 DAC FS had any revisions in its life? Looks like it came out a number of years ago with reviews dating back to 2017. However, all the 'expert reviews' are from last year and this year. Was there a revision?

Sorry to babble

This one:
https://www.rme-audio.de/de_adi-2-4-pro-se.html

It's a new product with different functionality compared to the ADI 2 DAC FS. The pro-audio tech can be quite confusing.

 

[jamca]

Guys can I ask for some help here?

The product - https://www.rme-audio.de/adi-2-dac.html - Is this a new product or an old one?
I was told that all the latest ones are now using a new digital socket on the back with an adapter for COAX, but I notice this one still have the COAX input?

Have the ADI-2 DAC FS had any revisions in its life? Looks like it came out a number of years ago with reviews dating back to 2017. However, all the 'expert reviews' are from last year and this year. Was there a revision?

Sorry to babble

Adi 2 dac FS had a big revision changing from AKM chips to ESS in around 2020 i think. I would not trust new RME ADI-2 FS as it may be from the batch that had the weird hand soldered cable issue, there are some threads about it. Obviously RME did not want the issue to be widely known as we never got any official answer from MC (who is the guy who is answering at forums) or RME in general. What makes me nervous and suspicious as i asked at both rme forum and AudioScienceReview forum and at both sites they closed the thread as obscure...although i and some others only wanted an official answer. So i would suggest the RME 2 fs but only if you are 100% sure it has not the hand soldered cable, until we get an official answer from someone or measurements between a hand soldered and a non hand soldered RME... It is great dac-amp but this fact was disappointing...

 

[ShootingStills]

Crikey ok. I have no idea if it would be one of those or not. Is there a serial range that this affected? I may opt for the iFi Neo instead as there's a bundle version available at a very reduced price currently. And I will pretty much only be using this as a home HiFi DAC rather than a headphone amp.

 

[jamca]

Crikey ok. I have no idea if it would be one of those or not. Is there a serial range that this affected? I may opt for the iFi Neo instead as there's a bundle version available at a very reduced price currently. And I will pretty much only be using this as a home HiFi DAC rather than a headphone amp.

I dont know if there is a serial range... if RME had ever answered to our replies we would know...Also never heard ifi neo, although i once had ifi idsd dac-amp which i liked a lot. I think they use Burr Brown chips which are great, and very analog sounding, without sacrifying detail retrieval.