[Luckbad]

Anyone else having power plug issues? With the slightest amount of wiggle on the PS connector, the red/green light goes out because the unit has lost power.

It is a locking plug. You'll notice little metal wings on the plug itself. If you twist it clockwise as you insert, you'll find the socket and it'll lock in completely.

 

[strojo]

It is a locking plug. You'll notice little metal wings on the plug itself. If you twist it clockwise as you insert, you'll find the socket and it'll lock in completely.

Thank you. Never seen that kind of connector before on my other RME gear. <insert dumbass emoticon here>

 

[ZenErik]

@Luckbad Could you offer any comparisons between the Liquid Crimson and the ADI-2 DAC headphone out? Or if I missed some comparisons could someone point me in the right direction. I've been looking but may have missed some things. Thanks!

I'm curious, of course, because of the upcoming Liquid Platinum.

Should have my ADI-2 DAC in today!

 

[Luckbad]

Not comparable. The amp in the ADI-2 DAC is very good for IEMs and adequate to goodfor most headphones. The Liquid Crimson is a proper TOTL headphone amplifier.

I have high hopes for the Liquid Platinum and plan to acquire one as soon as they're available.

 

[ninetylol]

Hey there,

How would you compare the RME ADI 2 vs the Questyle CMA400i and why?

 

[AudioQuality777]

The newest review appeared on the web ADI2 DAC !!!
http://prosound.ixbt.com/interfaces/rme-adi2dac.shtml

 

[VRacer-111]

After reading up on it the last few days I went ahead an put in an order for the RME ADI-2 DAC. It will simplify my STAX rig, replacing 3 components (Gustard X20U DAC, Schiit EITR, and Schiit Loki) and allowing for better EQing and adding crossfeed. Now I can move the X20U/EITR/Loki back to my dynamic/planar rig where they will be better suited...

 

[Mizicke5273]

Can anyone comment on the EQ compared to a Schiit Loki? Particuarly with sub-bass and mid-bass? I’m considering upgrading my DAC, as I just upgraded my amp to a La Figaro 339 and the ADI-2 is one of the DACs I am looking at. I’m also looking at the Gustard X22 or X20 Pro and the Gumby. If I can remove the Loki from the chain, that might another plus for the ADI-2; along with looks and size. I think the ADI-2 is one good looking DAC.

 

[gepardcv]

Never tried the Loki, but the ADI-2 family implements a reasonably full-featured parametric equalizer. The Loki does not attempt to solve that problem. IOW, the ADI-2 gives far more granular control over the EQ, and can be set up to emulate Loki's behavior. Which device sounds better when they are set up to do exactly the same thing, I can't say.

 

[AudioQuality777]

The next review and measurement.

http://headflux.de/rme-adi-2-dac/

 

[Mizicke5273]

Never tried the Loki, but the ADI-2 family implements a reasonably full-featured parametric equalizer. The Loki does not attempt to solve that problem. IOW, the ADI-2 gives far more granular control over the EQ, and can be set up to emulate Loki's behavior. Which device sounds better when they are set up to do exactly the same thing, I can't say.

What about the max adjustments? I am not familiar with parametric EQ, so I don't really understand the adjustments and what is possible. The Loki has +/-12dB at 20Hz and 8kHz and +/-6dB at 400Hz and 2k. With the ADI-2, I see it also offers simple EQ settings for bass and treble at +/- 6dB, what would the parametric adjustments equate to in +/- dB?

 

[gepardcv]

What about the max adjustments? I am not familiar with parametric EQ, so I don't really understand the adjustments and what is possible. The Loki has +/-12dB at 20Hz and 8kHz and +/-6dB at 400Hz and 2k. With the ADI-2, I see it also offers simple EQ settings for bass and treble at +/- 6dB, what would the parametric adjustments equate to in +/- dB?

Fully explaining PEQ is beyond the scope of a forum post. I'm sure you can search around for details. Briefly, however, it lets you set a target frequency, its gain, and its width (called Q). So you basically select the frequency you want to adjust, then you decide how much adjustment you want, and then how adjacent frequencies should be affected. A small Q will affect more frequencies, creating a wider adjustment, and a large Q will affect fewer frequencies, creating a narrower peak or trough. A PEQ will allow you to do this in multiple bands. The ADI-2 DAC supports 5. So you make that frequency+gain+Q adjustment five times. The ADI-2 DAC allows gain changes of +/-12dB on each band. So you can easily recreate the behavior of the Loki by using four of the available bands, if you can figure out the corresponding Q numbers (it should be quite doable with a measurement rig, or you can make an educated guess by listening to the Loki's behavior as you adjust it).

The ADI-2 bass+treble controls are basically a simplified PEQ with just two bands, and a max gain of +/-6dB. You can change the frequencies on which they're centered, as well as their Q values (the defaults frequencies are 85Hz and 6.5kHz, I think, and I don't remember the Q values).

BTW, if you really do crank an equalizer too much, expect to hear some massive and nasty distortion.

 

[Luckbad]

TLDR: The equalizer on the RME units is significantly more powerful than a Loki. The only arguable advantage a Loki has is that it's analog instead of digital. The real advantage a Loki has is that it works with whatever you have.

 

[Mizicke5273]

Thank you gepardcv and Luckbad. That answers my question. And thank you for the brief explanation of parametric EQ gepardcv. So the RME has three advantages over the other DACs I am looking at.

 

[chungjun]

Thinking of pulling the trigger on one... was checking out the RME forum and noticed this:-

https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=27060

A little unsettling as I'm also using Windows 10 machine (I know...), just wondering if anyone else facing the same issue or just an anomaly?