[DarginMahkum]

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.

So first time you see a bridge cable being added to an electronic product? That is the huge "issue" you are talking about? What is the issue, it acts like an antenna and you hear your neighbour talking on the phone while listening to music? Or is it just not audiophile enough?

 

[wantan]

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...

How do you know the cable is hand soldered and how does this affect the performance of the unit?

 

[jamca]

I would say that i know nothing, and i only assume. That is why i asked for an official answer and instead of it every thread about it was closed. Nothing more to say, as you start the same ironies as others did. I just say my experience and i will continue talking about it until i get an OFFICIAL answer. Perhaps it is better with the cable, not sure too, no-one knows. MC could just answer with measurements, he is able to do it.

 

[ShootingStills]

So the soldering thing wasn't an issue as such, but more of an unknown? As in, has anyone reported issues that correlated with the hand soldered stuff? If not I will ignore it as a potential problem, assuming the German co knows more than me about it.

 

[jamca]

So the soldering thing wasn't an issue as such, but more of an unknown? As in, has anyone reported issues that correlated with the hand soldered stuff? If not I will ignore it as a potential problem, assuming the German co knows more than me about it.

I could not disagree with you. However it is annoying knowing that there is something NOT REGULAR for nowadays production lines, and was implemented as such as a quick way too keep up with the production, after AKM fire. It looks like a solution of necessity and as we got aware of it they should answer, they should reply something. It is not a cheap device to say "ok i dont care" .

 

[ShootingStills]

I could not disagree with you. However it is annoying knowing that there is something NOT REGULAR for nowadays production lines, and was implemented as such as a quick way too keep up with the production, after AKM fire. It looks like a solution of necessity and as we got aware of it they should answer, they should reply something. It is not a cheap device to say "ok i dont care" .

Right, I understand what you mean. Hopefully its not a problem in that case.

Do you guys think this would work well as a home HiFi DAC? This is the predominant use case for me. I will use as a headphone amp too but not that often.

 

[jamca]

Right, I understand what you mean. Hopefully its not a problem in that case.

Do you guys think this would work well as a home HiFi DAC? This is the predominant use case for me. I will use as a headphone amp too but not that often.

Totally...Regardless the "issue" it is a great DAC one of the best, great usability and wonderfull amp...Also works as preamp...

 

[ShootingStills]

Wasn't sure if I would get cast out onto the streets for asking about HiFi here
Awesome thank you.

Basically I have just bought an SMSL SU-9 DAC, love it, love the sound, very dubious of the longevity and the failure risk down the line, tonnes of reports of then stopping working. Shoddy internals I think. Thinking of returning and buying this instead. Thanks for your help

 

[DarginMahkum]

Do you guys think this would work well as a home HiFi DAC? This is the predominant use case for me. I will use as a headphone amp too but not that often.

I use the DAC mainly for driving my active speakers in the living room. I or my wife also use it for driving HPs when the other needs some silence. Also being able to EQ due to room imperfections is great. I wouldn't even consider using anything else.

 

[ShootingStills]

Thanks Dargin. The headphone amp is a great little benefit for sure. I am definitely returning the SMSL SU9n that is for sure. I have no confidence in its long term reliability. How do you think this compares to something like the SMSL I am getting rid of, or the Topping DX7 or D90SE?

I am concerned about long term performance and reliability... It seems Topping are better at this than SMSL but by no means great. While RME has no problems at all that I have seen.

 

[wantan]

Reading ASR occasionally it seems many people have issues with Topping gear.
Buy the RME at a regular dealer so you get 2 years warranty, if it manages to survive that time it should stay with you for ages. I find RME very reliable, similar to Sennheiser and Violectric.

Performance is just fantastic on all fronts, I've never had something like this before. It offers so much more than everything else, fantastic USB implementation, digi check, auto ref. level, iem out. This stuff alone stands out against the competition.

You need to be willing to get into all the technical details though. It takes some time to fully understand the unit and it's setting.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Thanks Dargin. The headphone amp is a great little benefit for sure. I am definitely returning the SMSL SU9n that is for sure. I have no confidence in its long term reliability. How do you think this compares to something like the SMSL I am getting rid of, or the Topping DX7 or D90SE?

I am concerned about long term performance and reliability... It seems Topping are better at this than SMSL but by no means great. While RME has no problems at all that I have seen.

I am probably one of the lucky few that I didn't have any issues with his audio toys. Before ADI-2 I had the T+A HA200 which costs 8x the price of ADI-2 new and but had a display problem sometime after I sold it. It apparently also had a software bug and with some sources there was no sound after the first start. And there was no way to update the software by the user and it had to be updated by T+A or an official reseller.

I am no way missing it for the audio performance and features for sure but neither the A90 nor our RMEs failed on us - unlike the HA200 which failed on the person I sold it to. For sure the luck factor is always there, but at least I didn't have any negative experience with ADI-2 or A90.

 

[jamca]

I am probably one of the lucky few that I didn't have any issues with his audio toys. Before ADI-2 I had the T+A HA200 which costs 8x the price of ADI-2 new and but had a display problem sometime after I sold it. It apparently also had a software bug and with some sources there was no sound after the first start. And there was no way to update the software by the user and it had to be updated by T+A or an official reseller.

I am no way missing it for the audio performance and features for sure but neither the A90 nor our RMEs failed on us - unlike the HA200 which failed on the person I sold it to. For sure the luck factor is always there, but at least I didn't have any negative experience with ADI-2 or A90.

There have also been issues with RME adi 2 screen...if you search you will find posts. It is a matter of luck, and of each company's will to help. But it is too sad not to be able to update by yourself the firmware, especially for such expensive device. Of course it is a plus for me for RME, as not only they provide a program for easy update, but also there have been many updates, always providing something new.

 

[IXOYE]

So I've set up the parametric EQ on my RME ADI-2 DAC for my headphones and it sounds great, but I'm a little confused by the preamp gain value. I understand what it's for, in that it reduces the overall level of the signal by the maximum boost of any of the parameters, to prevent clipping, but I can't for the life of me figure out where to set this value on the RME ADI-2 DAC.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Matias]

So I've set up the parametric EQ on my RME ADI-2 DAC for my headphones and it sounds great, but I'm a little confused by the preamp gain value. I understand what it's for, in that it reduces the overall level of the signal by the maximum boost of any of the parameters, to prevent clipping, but I can't for the life of me figure out where to set this value on the RME ADI-2 DAC.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

As far as I know it calculates and applies automatically, or else testing any massive peak EQ would be reaching 0 dBFS and distortion would be clearly audible.